Mission

The three-part mission of BTC is to enrich the Greater Hartford by producing professional dance productions, to partner with community organizations to make the art of dance enjoyable and accessible to all through its Community Enrichment Program, and to teach dance education for ages three through adult at the School of Ballet Theatre Company.

This ballet company aims to improve DEI progressively, maintain equity in the arts, and dynamically provide approachable programs for all ages. In the past 24 years, BTC has trained thousands of aspiring dancers, provided hundreds of jobs to local dance professionals, produced over one hundred incredible live-action ballets, and has enriched the community through its four youth enrichment programs by making dance accessible to over 11,000 children in the Greater Hartford metro area.

Community Reach

Number of Persons Served Annually: 7,000+



• Professional ballet performances: three public performances of The Nutcracker (2,700 audience members), two public performances of Spring main stage ballet (1,800 audience members), two performances of the Sensory-Friendly Ballet.
• A Sensory-Friendly Ballet (totaling up to 1,800 audience members).
• Other Community Enrichment Programs: 600+ (estimate)* children, adults, and senior citizens served. These numbers are growing as BTC updates its programming to be dynamic for the multiple communities this organization is a part of.
• School program: 150+ School of Ballet Theatre Company students (ages 3-adult)
  

Professional Company Performances

BTC provides professional, cutting-edge performances, exposing Greater Hartford to local and national talent while integrating theater into dance. Each season, BTC stages its quintessential performance of The Nutcracker. A main-stage performance is delivered each spring (i.e., Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty), and two black-box performances of mixed repertoire, called Up Close, are premiered each fall and spring in BTC's Ron and Nancy Compton Studio located at its 20 Jefferson address in West Hartford.

Since founding its professional Resident Company in 2021, BTC has been leading the initiative in Connecticut to provide a minimum 32-week, bi-weekly salaried contract for a company of professional artists residing in Greater Hartford in order to share their world-class artistry within our community. BTC is the only professional ballet company in the state that pays its dancers a steady wage for an entire performance season. BTC’s resident dancers hail from across the United States and overseas, sharing their visceral passion for movement in uniquely curated performance programs over the course of their 32-34-week agreement, throughout Hartford and beyond.

Community Enrichment Program (CEP)

BTC's CEP provides customized in-studio dance education classes for children of all abilities and makes live professional dance performances accessible for children free of charge, or for as little cost as possible. BTC leadership believes that all lives are made better through exposure to the performing arts and believes in the power of the performing arts to heal and unite us all. BTC offers five different and popular enrichment programs. Additionally, BTC's professional dancers tour Greater Hartford to bring the art of ballet to libraries, nursing homes, and museums.

Programs include:

• Raising the Barre - a partnership with Boys and Girls Club Hartford providing free dance training by a BTC professional at its club sites.
• Everybody Dance Now - a partnership with the Miracle League of Connecticut providing an adaptive dance program at BTC
• Behind the Curtain - a partnership with CT public schools where BTC goes into schools to expose children to the world of performing arts
• A Sensory-Friendly Ballet - a fully dedicated performance of its main stage ballets at The Bushnell (i.e The Nutcracker) for those with sensory sensitivities
• A Children’s Ballet - an abbreviated performance of its main stage ballets at The Bushnell (i.e The Nutcracker) exclusive for CT students, especially Hartford Performs

School of Ballet Theatre Company (SBTC)

Through SBTC, dreams of becoming ballet dancers transform into the reality of main stage debuts. SBTC's carefully constructed curriculum emphasizes strong technique, proper alignment, musicality, and expression. SBTC serves its community and beyond in a state-of-the-art facility with a faculty of distinguished professionals who incorporate the best of the French, Italian, and Russian training ballet methods.