About Us

Grand Rapids Ballet is Michigan’s only professional classical ballet company. Under the artistic leadership of James Sofranko since 2018, the company has made an exciting transformation that has attracted world-class dancers and choreographers, generating local, national, and international attention. The company consists of 20 professional dancers and an additional apprentice and trainee program.  Rehearsals, Grand Rapids Ballet School classes, and performances are held at their own Meijer-Royce Center for Dance and Peter Martin Wege Theater, as well as at DeVos Performance Hall, downtown Grand Rapids.  Frequent collaborative partners include the Grand Rapids Symphony, Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Grand Rapids Ballet presents numerous styles of dance from some of the finest choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries. They have presented works by choreographers including George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Ben Stevensen, Andy Blankenbuehler, Alejandro Cerrudo, Trey McIntyre, Jose Limon, Gerald Arpino, Ulysses Dove, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Dani Rowe, Yuri Possokhov, Lar Lubovitch and resident choreographer Penny Saunders.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION (DEI) STATEMENT

Grand Rapids Ballet is dedicated to expanding the experience of world-class dance and artistic excellence. Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee, comprised of board members, staff, and dancers, is committed to examining our efforts, seeking out all voices in our community, and creating actions to be a more inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible cultural organization.”

Posted June 2021

MISSION STATEMENT

Grand Rapids Ballet is Michigan’s only professional classical ballet company, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a stated mission to lift the human spirit through the art of dance.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

As a first important step in our ongoing mission for social justice, Grand Rapids Ballet would like to recognize the People of the Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potowatomi peoples on whose land we are gathered. The Three Fires People are indigenous to this land which means that this is their ancestral territory. The Grand Rapids Ballet is built on native land. As such, we are guests on their land, and one way to practice Right Relations is to develop genuine ways to acknowledge the histories and traditions of the people who originated here first, who are still here, and who tend to the land always. As we take this step, we understand that there are many more ahead as we continuously advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our community.

© Copyright - Grand Rapids Ballet 2022