2024-2025 Sponsorship Opportunities
In 2025, The School of Ballet Chicago proudly celebrates its pearl anniversary, marking three decades of instructional excellence and artistic innovation. When Dan Duell and Patricia Blair founded The School of Ballet Chicago in 1995, they envisioned a curriculum of the highest caliber, where dancers would receive exceptional training in a supportive and nurturing environment. Its core mission is to educate and inspire young dancers and, in so doing, to empower each one to reach their full potential with poise, passion, and purpose. To that end, the heart of Ballet Chicago has always been its students. Our efforts focus on their growth and development, both as avatars of classical ballet and as young people equipped to navigate the challenges of a complex world. Sponsorships are due by October 1, 2024.
The spirit of Ballet Chicago remains strong in its 30th year. Ambitious plans are underway, including collaborations with esteemed Chicago institutions, innovative performance opportunities, and diverse training options tailored for dancers of all ages. Together, Ballet Chicago and its supporters will continue to impact lives through the beauty and power of ballet. View sponsorship levels in the PDF below.
Benefits of Sponsorship
Your support enables us to instruct dancers from all over the city and to bring the joy of dance to the stage. Sponsors enjoy a number of behind the scenes experiences, tickets, program recognition, dinners, and opportunities to meet the choreographers, directors, musicians or costumers they support.
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Receive a private rehearsal invitation at Ballet Chicago Studio located on the 19th floor of the Stevens Building
with a beautiful view of the Chicago skyline. Or, a personal invitation to watch a technical rehearsal before we open the show to the public.
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Enjoy cocktails and charcuterie after the evening show of Balanchine + Beyond at Afterglow Donor Reception
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Enjoy a photo-op with our dancers. Take a one-of-a-kind photo with our remarkable young artists on the stage.
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Receive VIP tickets to your performance of choice and a 20% discount on merchandise and performance tickets.
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Meet Ballet Chicago’s Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer and to gain special insight into the ballets on the program. An Interactive Q + A is included. You will have the opportunity to discuss the repertoire with the artists who put it together.
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Be recognized in programs, get ad-space in a variety of sizes, and be listed under "Educational Performance Sponsor."
Events and Performances Available for Sponsorship
The Nutcracker
Through its inspiring story, beautiful music, and charming choreography, The Nutcracker is a celebration of the joyous holiday season. Every year, this beloved ballet takes us on an unforgettable journey with young Marie as she travels from her home on Christmas Eve to the Kingdom of Snow and the Land of the Sweets. For adults, it is a time to relive cherished memories of childhood. For children who wait with breathless anticipation for the holidays to arrive, it is the opportunity to create new memories.
Balanchine + Beyond
Each spring, Ballet Chicago Studio presents a program of repertory masterpieces at the Harris Theater for Music and
Dance, located in the heart of the city at the north end of Chicago’s famed Millennium Park. With a repertory of close to 50 ballets, a third of them Balanchine masterworks, Ballet Chicago offers audiences family-friendly programs that display the highest standards of artistry.
DanceVision
Each fall, Ballet Chicago presents DanceVision, a unique performance series that highlights innovative new works by some of today’s most exciting young choreographers, dancers, and musicians. We are proud collaborators with the Merit School of Music, an organization dedicated to removing barriers to high quality music education. Four original pieces are created each year under Project Director and Ballet Chicago Resident Choreographer Ted Seymour. The choreographers are encouraged to reflect on the human experience through movement, with an emphasis on the music and the composers as the primary inspiration.
Gift of Dance
At Ballet Chicago, we believe the arts should be accessible to all. That’s why we started The Gift of Dance, a program that provides free tickets to our performances to underserved Chicagoans. The Gift of Dance program is entirely underwritten by donations. Our goal for 2024-2025 is to sponsor tickets for 4,500 Chicago students, adults, veterans, and seniors to experience Ballet Chicago’s critically acclaimed performances.
Scholarship Funds
Ballet Chicago’s Dance for Tomorrow program provides formal ballet training to children from low-income families. Established in 1996 under the Illinois’ Statewide Opportunities for the Arts and Recreation (SOAR) initiative, the program now operates independently with support from Ballet Chicago’s annual donations. Students served by
Dance for Tomorrow receive free or reduced tuition fees. The program serves students across all levels, from beginners in Creative Movement to advanced dancers in our Studio Company, offering a nurturing and supportive environment for high-quality dance education.
Other Ways to Give
Click on the image above to learn about our Masterworks Society, a premiere giving group to recognize the companies most dedicated annual supporters.