Bakersfield City Ballet

Our goal is to continue to contribute to the development of Bakersfield’s rich culture by bringing the beauty of dance to more lives. We plan to provide an environment where future dancers can fulfill their dreams right here in Bakersfield. As a pre-professional company we are currently a stepping stone between studio training and a professional career, and only able to contract volunteer dancers. With more funding we can achieve our organizations dream of becoming Bakersfield’s professional ballet company and provide paid contracts to our dancers over 18 years old, and create jobs in the arts within our community.

BCB’s strategy is to raise awareness within our community about what our organization is - We aim to educate on how a non-profit ballet company is different from a studio business. As for how to achieve the funding we need, BCB currently runs several small fundraisers with local restaurants throughout our season. We also organize a Christmas Spirit educational fundraiser called Nutcracker Tea in the month of December for the youth in our community to enjoy a reading of The Nutcracker Story, meet and greet with characters in costume from the ballet, and attendees at this event also have the opportunity to watch a live performance of The Nutcracker, performed in part by our company dancers. Our annual Beer and Ballet fundraiser in January is an opportunity for members of our community to enjoy craft beer tastings, bid on silent auction items, and watch short performances from Bakersfield City Ballet members. Our Organization also participates in a monthly Arts Walk called First Friday, where we offer our company’s merchandise and hand made crafts for a donation while mingling with community members and educating them on what our company’s purpose and goals are.

The Bakersfield City Ballet artistic faculty have all trained at a pre professional level with professional ballet programs, or attained a college degree in dance learning from accomplished dancers, teachers, and choreographers in their field. BCB faculty passes all of their knowledge to company members in weekly classes and rehearsals, helping them to refine their technique and explore their artistry. We provide master classes with dance industry professionals, and also attend ballet and contemporary dance conventions/competitions to gain further training and to stay relevant with the ever progressing demands and styles of the art form.

In our inaugural season we began to establish our classical ballet and contemporary repertoire. We provided two master classes for our members and community dancers, as well as attended Youth America Grand Prix semi finals in San Diego, 2019. We have participated in several months of Bakersfield’s Arts Walk communicating with our community members the purpose and need for a professional company in Bakersfield. BCB artistic faculty, board members and company dancers have all participated in over 100 hours of community service with socio-economically challenged youth groups, assisted living facilities, children with disabilities, and other organizations throughout our community. We have successfully raised funds to contract three local choreographers, purchase costumes, and rent our theatre for our first annual spring production Ethereal Visions. We aim to continue to grow in each of our successes so that we will be able to take the next steps in our second and future seasons to achieve our goal of community recognition, support, and title of professional company.