A Letter from Executive Director, Samantha Turner
Where will you be in the future?
That’s something we haven’t been able to think about in a long while. Uncertainty has been limiting our vision to the range of our headlights, as they say. Slowly, that has been changing.
Your support in the Be our Bridge fund helped make sure we survived when we couldn’t perform, train students in our studios, or go out to the community in service. Your continuing support is making it possible for us to return to Symphony Hall this season and, at long last, present the world premiere of Ib Andersen’s Juan Gabriel.
During the summer, our board and leadership team resumed a strategic planning process that was halted when the pandemic began. As a task force, this group began evaluating opportunities for Ballet Arizona to expand its mission and began formulating plans for a number of strategic initiatives. These initiatives range from creating new works that attract new audiences, to building the capacity and reach of The School of Ballet Arizona. This expansion not only promotes the evolution of the art form but increases access to the performing arts and provides valuable services to our community.
We see in the future, great opportunity for Ballet Arizona to expand its role as a cultural jewel for the Valley. After the financial devastation of the pandemic, it was unclear how we would move toward that future.
Visionary philanthropy provides hope for these dreams to become a reality and you, are a part of that vision.
In September, the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust included Ballet Arizona in the largest single-day grant initiative in Arizona history, surprising us with an unrestricted grant of $2.5 million. This extraordinary gift will help fund strategic initiatives we could only dream about. We look forward to sharing more details as those plans take shape.
Thank you for all that you’ve done to put Ballet Arizona in a position to thrive. Your support means everything to us.
