City Ballet of San Diego, founded in 1993 as City Ballet Inc., is led by its founder and artistic director, Steven Wistrich. The company employs 15 dancers on 32-week contracts and presents four main-stage productions each year across three theaters in the county. This approach helps City Ballet reach a broader audience by overcoming geographical barriers. The varied ballet programming attracts a wider audience and helps to sustain the art form. The productions include full-length story ballets, original works by Resident Choreographers Elizabeth Wistrich and Geoffrey Gonzalez, and pieces by George Balanchine and other guest choreographers. Since 1995, City Ballet has been dedicated to showcasing ballets by George Balanchine in the San Diego community. Over the past three decades, The George Balanchine Trust has granted permission for the company to perform 21 of Balanchine’s ballets.

City Ballet offers a variety of educational programs throughout the year making ballet accessible and enriching for our community.

– Discover a Dancer: A residency program offering customized ballet training for at-risk youth, to foster artistic expression and personal development through structured mentorship and skill-building workshops.

– Summer Intensive: An immersive three-week program tailored for pre-professional dancers, encompassing advanced technique classes, choreography, and performance opportunities designed to elevate their training and artistic
capabilities.

-Ballet Goes to School: A community engagement program integrating ballet into the educational landscape, utilizing theater performances and school assemblies to enhance and inspire a love for ballet among students.

– A Book and a Ballerina: A program that facilitates interactive presentations at public libraries, merging storytelling with ballet to create an engaging experience for families, thereby promoting literacy and appreciation for ballet in the early
childhood.

– Outreach Programs: A series providing free and low-cost performances across San Diego County, aimed at increasing accessibility to the arts and fostering community engagement through diverse ballet presentations.