Those within the greater New Haven Community who have an interest in classical ballet training, performances, and outreach programs that nurture appreciation of ballet and foster the joy of dance
New Haven Ballet (NHB) is widely regarded as the premiere school for classical ballet training throughout Greater New Haven. For over thirty years NHB has provided the highest caliber professional classical ballet training and dance education in southern Connecticut to students preparing for professional careers or dancing for the sheer joy and pleasure of movement.
As one of New Haven’s major arts organization, New Haven Ballet plays a vital role in the community through outreach and school programs, a student performance ensemble, and collaborations with artists within the community and beyond. Students aged 3-8 years enjoy classes in the Children’s Division, which instills a love of dance and music by providing age appropriate movement classes. By age 9, those who comprise serious recreational and pre-professional students participate in a graded curriculum of ballet, with pointe, repertory, conditioning, and contemporary dance rounding out class offerings. NHB also provides recreational ballet classes through our Open Division, for students aged 12 years and over.
In 2014, Lisa Kim Sanborn, a distinguished teacher and dancer, was named the Artistic Director of New Haven Ballet. Under Ms. Sanborn’s leadership New Haven Ballet has continued offerings throughout the pandemic, improving the Children’s and Student divisions, instituting DanceAIR, which brings ballet education to New Haven Public School children, offering needs-based scholarships, bringing in world renowned guest master teachers and choreographers, adding classes for teens and adults through our Open Division, and expanding Shared Ability, which brings dance and performance opportunities to differently abled artists. She has staged and choreographed many works, including excerpts from: Sleeping Beauty, La Sylphide, Raymonda, La Bayadère, Giselle, Le Corsaire, Swan Lake, and Paquita. In 2013, Ms. Sanborn premiered an all-new Nutcracker, which was again reimagined in 2022 due to the pandemic. She established partnerships with area arts organizations, as well as leading musicians. Ms. Sanborn choreographed the full-length children’s ballets, Beauty and the Beast, which premiered at the historic Shubert Theatre in 2018 and Peter Rabbit in 2019. In 2021, she premiered video performances of new works, including Vivaldi Concerto for Two Violins and Caprice Nos. 4 and 5, composed by Polina Nazaykinskaya. In 2022, she premiered a children’s ballet version of Don Quixote. New Haven Ballet has also performed at several local community performances and festivals, including the Branford Festival and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas.
In December 2021, New Haven Ballet returned to the Shubert Theatre New Haven for our first live performance since 2019 -- performing, The Nutcracker. It was a magical and emotional return to the stage for both students and the audience. On May 28, 2022, New Haven Ballet performed the classical ballet, Don Quixote, with music composed by Ludwig Minkus, and the neo-classical ballet, Symphonic Nonsense, with music composed by Leroy Anderson and choreography by Tom Gold. This welcomed for the first time since 2019 children as young as 5 years old to perform live. New Haven Ballet resumed its annual presentation of The Nutcracker in December 2022 and looks forward to presenting three ballets in May 2023: Coppélia with music composed by Léo Delibes, Caviliere Allegro with music composed by Franz Joseph Haydn and performed by the Neighborhood Music Premier String Quartet, and Vivaldi Concerto, with music composed by Antonio Vivaldi and performed by Music Haven's Pomegranates String Quartet.
Under Ms. Sanborn, NHB is poised to continue meeting the challenges that come with success: maintaining a high caliber dance program that supports students from beginner to pre-professional; and continuing to develop community ties within Greater New Haven and southern Connecticut.
New Haven Ballet admits students of any age, race, color, creed or national origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded and made available to school students.
On October 31, 2020, the Board of Directors adopted the following Diversity and Inclusion Statement:
New Haven Ballet celebrates those who aspire to excellence in classical ballet. A culture of creativity is the core of our work and diversity promotes innovation. The arts can provide powerful life-changing experiences that prepare students and impact audiences to lead more successful, meaningful and culturally rich lives. The arts can also prove to be an important platform for social change. At New Haven Ballet we are passionate about creating an inclusive dance environment and performances that promote and value diversity and inclusion. We will continue to strive to increase diversity in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective, which will improve and strengthen our work.
MISSION STATEMENT
To provide the greater New Haven Community with exceptional classical ballet training, performances, and outreach programs, that nurture appreciation of ballet and foster the joy of dance.
New Haven Ballet began in the basement of St. Paul's Church in the fall of 1985 as an outgrowth of the Connecticut Ballet.
