Tell us about your organization:
• Mission: To create a community dedicated to the arts through quality dance education, training and performance.
Denim & Diamonds
Who: Western Arkansas Ballet
What: Dinner, drinks, silent auction, entertainment
When: 7 p.m. Nov. 9
Where: Riverfront Glass Pavillion in Fort Smith
Tickets: $55 or $400 for a table of eight
Attire: Favorite jeans and best bling
Information: (479) 781-0152 or waballet.org
• Services provided: Teach ballet, tap, pointe, jazz, modern, hip-hop and adult classes to ages 4 to adult. Also to provide outreach dance programs to other nonprofit organizations and schools. Provide quality performances throughout our area.
• Service area: Arkansas/Oklahoma River Valley.
• Average number of people served annually: Including our academy, company, outreach programs, performances and fundraisers: 11,347.
How is your organization's mission unique? Western Arkansas Ballet is a nonprofit dance academy and regional ballet company. That means that our academy and company are governed by a board of directors. Most dance schools have a for-profit school and a nonprofit company. Having our full organization under the direction of a board of directors enables our staff to use their gifts and talents to their fullest.
Another aspect of Western Arkansas Ballet is that we are one of two members of Regional Dance America in the state of Arkansas. This is a national organization of nonprofit regional dance companies. Each year each RDA region holds a Festival where the member companies attend classes during the day and perform in the evenings. March 26-28 Western Arkansas Ballet will be hosting the festival in Fort Smith.
We are the only nonprofit dance academy and regional ballet company that has scholarship funds for children that have the desire to dance but not the financial means to afford classes.
Why do you work for a nonprofit organization? Do you have a personal connection to the mission? If so, what is it? This job is my first job out of college. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with bachelor's and master's degrees in ballet pedagogy. I was hired as the artistic director in 1988 and then given the title of executive artistic director 10 years ago. My personal connection to our mission is education in all areas.
What part of your job fills the most of your time? Teaching.
What have you learned on the job that you didn't expect? Learning how to grow sponsors, relationships with underwriters and party planning.
What challenges face your organization? Fundraising and communicating our mission to our community are very challenging. When people think of ballet, they generally think of little girls in pink tutus. We are so much more than that.
Are there volunteer opportunities in your organization? What are they? We love volunteers! We have volunteers to help with our performances on both sides of the curtain. We have volunteers that will help support, organize and work our fundraisers. And in March of 2020 we will need a small army of volunteers to help set up, monitor, work at Regional Dance America Southwest Festival 2020 "The Natural State of Dance."
What upcoming fundraisers and/or other events does your organization have planned? Our upcoming fundraiser is "Denim and Diamonds." It is Saturday, Nov. 9, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Riverfront Glass Pavilion. We will have Allison Grace for entertainment and Al's Bar-B-Que for dinner. We will also have many fun ways for prizes to be won. Tickets are $55 per person or $400 for a table of eight. So put on your best Denim and Diamonds and come dance with us.
NAN Profiles on 10/13/2019