Community Engagement Programs
Support Ballet Arizona’s Community Engagement Programs
Ballet Arizona offers a wide variety of Community Engagement programs that seek to educate communities about the transformative power of dance. Through our work, we strive to empower individuals to engage more deeply with the art form and eliminate the barriers to participation that prevent people from experiencing dance. Below are just a few examples of the programs and work that we bring into our community:
- Student Matinees light the spark of a lifelong love of dance for kids all over the Valley. As part of this program, Ballet Arizona offers deeply discounted tickets to local teachers and schools so that they can bring their students to attend an abbreviated performance by Ballet Arizona. Each year, nearly 7,000 students are able to explore the rich tradition of ballet, speak with performing artists and learn about different performance-related careers.
- Class Act gives local elementary school children a chance to dance, create and perform under the guidance of Ballet Arizona’s own professional dancers. Students at our partner schools perform their newly-created works alongside their mentors at our Ballet Under the Stars performances.
- Ballet Under the Stars brings free, fully-staged performances to local parks around the Valley, making dance accessible to our Arizona community. These free performances inspire more than 15,000 people each year, many of whom experience dance and Ballet Arizona for the first time.
- DanceAZ is an after-school residency program that lets kids explore the world of dance, choreography, and performance, all while learning how to be themselves and make friends. During each residency, Ballet Arizona teaching artists work with partner schools and centers to develop kids’ social and emotional learning skills through active participation, self-discovery, and reflection.
- Creative Aging through Dance supports the needs of the minds, bodies, and spirits of Arizonans as they grow older through a variety of programs. Partnerships with the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at ASU, senior centers, and care facilities allow us to bring supportive and enriching dance experiences to older adults across the Valley.
- The Adaptive Dance Program creates a safe and nurturing environment for children who are neurodivergent to experience dance. Through these classes, students explore how music, movement, and self-expression are connected while discovering the joys of dance.
- Book Club, Guest Speaking, & More. Ballet Arizona understands the importance of educating the community about the past, present, and future of ballet. Through these discussion-based opportunities, Ballet Arizona continues to uphold the legacy of this beautiful art form and invites Valley residents to build a community around an appreciation for dance.
