About this Organization
Baltimore Ballet Boys is a community collective that encourages boys and young men to continue in or explore ballet training by offering extracurricular support services, funding, and educational activities. Baltimore Ballet Boys is not a dance school or troupe. We do not provide ballet training. Instead, Baltimore Ballet Boys offers male ballet dancers an intentionally designed program that equips them with essential life skills, integrated wellness strategies, and invaluable internships, all tailored to help them succeed both on and off the stage.
Our mission is to promote ballet as an athletic and artistic outlet, as well as a viable career opportunity, for Baltimore City males ages 7-24.
Our vision is that generations of young men in Baltimore are willing, free, and inspired to embrace ballet as an art form and opportunity. We value the lives, beauty, and talent of our young men. We value ballet as a sport, art form, skill building activity, and career opportunity. We value our community. Our mission, vision, and values all align to support our young men as they go off into the world as artists and productive, well rounded citizens.
Since we began our program in 2020 (at the height of the pandemic), we've achieved remarkable milestones, including our special projects. "Peace In Motion: Baltimore Ballet Boys," our debut project in August 2021, showcased striking photographs of eight male dancers gracefully posing in various locations throughout the city. We also collaborated with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to create a captivating short film interpretation of "The Firebird." You can see both projects on our website: www.baltimoreballetboys.com
Here's what we offer:
Life Skills Training in partnership with Artist U: We teach our dancers how to make a living as artists, budget wisely, and navigate the unique challenges they may face on their artistic journey.
Integrated Wellness: We focus on safeguarding their physical and mental well-being, offering guidance on joint protection, restorative yoga practices, and emotional management, all of which are crucial for artists. We also introduce them to the benefits of meditation.
Internships: We provide them with eye-opening internships that offer a different perspective on the business of art, giving them insights into the artistic industry's inner workings.
We also support parents in navigating the ballet world and conduct outreach activities to familiarize families with ballet's potential benefits for their sons.
