Mission + History
Alabama ballet company
About Us
The Alabama Ballet is the state’s premier professional ballet company. The company has achieved national prominence as one of only eight ballet companies in the world permitted by the Balanchine Trust to perform Balanchine’s Nutcracker®. The Alabama Ballet promotes the development of classical and contemporary ballet through high-quality performances, dance education, and community outreach. Education and outreach activities include CityDance, which provides 16 weeks of dance training for youth from the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County. The Alabama Ballet is a 501(c )(3) not-for-profit organization.
Our Mission
Our History
The Alabama Ballet began in 1981 as an outgrowth of the Birmingham Civic Ballet, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Ballet and Ballet Alabama. Under the co-artistic direction of world-renowned dancers Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski, the company found status and recognition in the ranks of professional companies. Arova’s and Sutowski’s outstanding 15 year foundation set the stage for the leadership of Wes Chapman and Roger Van Fleteren, who came on board in 1996. Van Fleteren danced with the American Ballet Theatre as Soloist, performing title roles in performances such as Agnes de Mille’s The Other and Kenneth McMillan’s Romeo and Juliet.
betty brice
FOUNDER
The Alabama Ballet began in 1981 as an outgrowth of the Birmingham Civic Ballet, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Ballet and Ballet Alabama. Under the co-artistic direction of world-renowned dancers Dame Sonja Arova and Thor Sutowski, the company found status and recognition in the ranks of professional companies. Arova’s and Sutowski’s outstanding 15 year foundation set the stage for the leadership of Wes Chapman and Roger VanFleteren, who came on board in 1996. In 2005, Tracey Alvey joined the artistic team as Ballet Mistress.
In 2007, Wes Chapman was named Artistic Director of ABT II, and Alvey was named Interim Artistic Director. As the season began, Alvey was named Alabama Ballet’s Artistic Director. In her sixteen seasons as Artistic Director, Alvey significantly enhanced the company’s repertoire with major works and classical ballets while maintaining a long-standing relationship with The Balanchine Trust® to stage George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® for twenty consecutive years. In 2023, Alvey retired as Alabama Ballet Artistic Director.
In May of 2023, Christopher Stuart was announced Artistic Director of Alabama Ballet. The 2024-2025 Season will be the first season curated by Christopher Stuart.
