Mission

​Co-founded in 1987 by acclaimed dancer/choreographer Daniel Duell and former ballerina Patricia Blair, Ballet Chicago’s mission is to educate and inspire young artists through the study of classical ballet, and in so doing, to lay a foundation of life skills that empowers each one to realize their full potential. Ballet Chicago is a place where the beauty of one’s character is as important as the beauty of one’s tendu, where diversity is intentional – where foster children, middle-class students, and those of great fortune dance side-by-side, although you’d never know who’s who. It is a place where young people learn to celebrate their triumphs and weather their disappointments with equal grace, where high achievement is the norm, and where delivering moments of truth becomes a way of life.

With a curriculum based in the Balanchine Technique © , and through a special arrangement with the George Balanchine Trust, Ballet Chicago provides an accelerated training program where dancers receive years of on-stage experience, building confidence, camaraderie, community, and an array of skills that translate to any arena.

Our students learn both new choreography and Balanchine masterworks – the kinds of pieces that are typically reserved for professionals and top students worldwide – helping them build outstanding performance resumés. Ballet Chicago is a home, it is a family; it is a launching pad for exemplary youth.