The Washington Ballet
Enjoy a classic ballet masterpiece while visiting our nation's capital by attending an evening performance by The Washington Ballet.
The Washington Ballet has been running successfully for 75 years now, growing out of The Washington School of Ballet, first founded in 1944. The school was founded and directed by the iconic Mary Day, whose vision for the school and company is still clearly illuminated today: to create a stellar institution of teaching, creating, and enlightenment through dance.
The ballet company was established itself in 1976, under the eye of artistic director, and longest-serving dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, Julie Kent. During her years serving the company, Kent has 'introduced into the repertoire seminal works by George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins, Antony Tudor, Justin Peck, and Alexei Ratmansky while embracing the work of emerging choreographers including Clifton Brown, Gemma Bond, and Ethan Stiefel, among others.'
Today the ballet puts on a delightful combination of classics and exciting new works and themes. See a presentation of beloved classic 19th-century ballets and landmark 20th century works such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Peter Pan, and many more.
The Washington Ballet company also serves children and young dancers, over 70,000 since 1999, with its Washington School of Ballet Southeast Campus and DanceDC program.
