14 replies to this topic

[kirovboy]

Lets see if we can get a compilation of the top 20 companies in the country in no specific order.  Just a compilation!

[dancingmeghan]

I agree w/ Kirovboy!
~*Meghan*~

[stinger784]

ok well nice list but Nutmeg ballet isnt even a real ballet theatre....just a school that performs a lot...not professional.

[Ed McPherson]

Ballet West, and Millwaukee (pardon spelling if its wrong) Ballet, should be on, I would think.


Kirovboy ;) come'on you asked the question, help us out!

[kirovboy]

Hi ed!  haha, I guess it is my turn to post my idea!  Im very opinionated, but I think I know my stuff;)  Let me first tell you that I am rating these companies on the technical level of the dancing in the company, the reputation of the companies that I have heard, and not on financial stability(though that may play some part in my list).  So here we go, in no particular order, I actually like to go east coast north and around counterclockwise somewhat.

1. Boston Ballet
2. ABT
3. NYCB
4. Houston Ballet
5. SFB
6. PNB
7. PA Ballet
8. Carolina ballet
9. Miami City Ballet
10. Joffrey
11. Ballet West
12. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
13. Washington Ballet
14. Orlando Ballet
15. Milwaukee Ballet
16. Cincinatti Balet
17. Kansas City Ballet
18. Tulsa Ballet
19. Colorado Ballet
20. Atlanta Ballet

There is my list, I dont want to offend anybody, I may have forgotten one or two and replaced them with others, so please dont be upset with my list!  But there it is.  Let me know what you think!

[Ed McPherson]

dublindancer722-

You're going to have to excuse my ignorance, I have heard of BalletMet quite a few times, but know almost nothing about the company. Where is the company located? (Columbus?) and what do they have in their Rep.?

[nlkflint]

Here is their website.

http://www.balletmet.org/

Click on About BalletMet at the top and then when a brief description loads look to the left you can click on History and/or Repertoire  for detailed info.

Among other facts

Quote

Annual operations of $5.4 million for the 2001-02 season rank BalletMet among the 15 largest dance companies in the nation.

Quote

BalletMet ranks among the nation's top 15 dance companies. Energized, eclectic, ensemble company of 27 soloist caliber artists. Diverse repertoire ranges from classical ballet to contemporary masterworks.

Quote

The 1,000 student Dance Academy ranks among the nation's five largest dance training centers affiliated with professional companies.

[kirovboy]

Hey!  I am not to sure where I would rank BalletMet, being that I did have a friend there that is an incredible dancer, I would say that the company must be pretty good, as well as the fact that Stanton Welch is(or was) the artistic director assistant(or associate or something like that).  In my past post though, I was going specifically on what I know of the companies from what Ive seen and heard.  And although I have a friend there, I dont know too much about the dancers of the company.  I have heard(keyword heard), that the dancers are generally good, but dont have the best facility(not that it matters, you use what you have), but they dont seem to have too much of a national reputation.  Perhaps I just havent read anything on the company!  So yes Balletmet could be up there, but I definitely wouldnt base it on the idea that they have a larger budget than many regional companies!  Carolina ballet is an incredible company, and their budget isnt too great!  Money isnt everything!  But I reiterate that Balletmet could well be up there.

[Alexandra]

There are several mid-sized companies not on that Top 20 list, including, in addition to Ballet Met:

Alabama Ballet (former ABT star Wes Chapman is director);
Ballet Austin (Stephen Mills, director);
Ballet Arizona (former City Ballet and Royal Danish star Ib Andersen, director);
Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley (Dennis Nahat, director)
Oakland Ballet (Karen Brown, former DTH dancer, director)

[Mel Johnson]

I think the whole idea of declaring twenty "top" companies is a bit of a futile chore.  Perhaps we can establish the top three or four companies, perhaps, that is, but after that, we'll have to admit that the next level is held by three or four companies, then the next after that by five or so, and the next thing you know, long before twenty, we'll have exhausted every professional company in the US, and start to reach into the top reaches of the civic companies.

[Alexandra]

Agree, Mel.  Agree, agree, agree   Also, the situation below the top institutional rank is so very fluid.  An artistic director moves, a donor dies or puts his money elsewhere, and the situation changes.  When doing the calendar for Ballet Alert! we try to include about 40 companies -- not saying they're "the top," just the largest, anything above "We do Nutcracker and a kid's show every spring" companies.