Ballet Wichita, a non-profit arts organization and one of Wichita’s oldest and largest performance arts organizations, performs for over 23,000 people annually. Over the past four years, the company has increased its reputation for creating and presenting new, entertaining, exceptional dance and continues to build its touring schedule, performing classics to communities throughout the state. Through the company’s arts outreach programs, each year Ballet Wichita buses nearly 6,000 elementary-age students to its annual matinée performances of “The Nutcracker” (often a first-time exposure to both dance and live theatre for students). Ballet Wichita engages new audiences by performing its family friendly, free Ballet in the Park series in the summer and fall in local parks throughout the region. In small, impromptu and intimate appearances throughout the year, the company collaborates with schools and local arts and non-profit organizations to promote dance and support the thriving Arts scene in Wichita. These alliances have expanded the company’s educational and outreach programs that have received commendation and support from both the Kansas Health Foundation and The National Endowment for the Arts, and helped earn us the 2015 Arts Organization of the Year Award from the City and Wichita. Through the Ballet Wichita Institute, BW is committed to providing exceptional opportunities in dance for dancers of all ages and skill levels, including the chance to train with professional guest artists in residencies and master classes. Students attending our workshops and dancing in our productions represent nearly all the studios and numerous universities and colleges from across South Central Kansas; we are grateful for the enduring relationship we have with the talented teachers, schools, and countless arts and cultural organizations in our community.