New American Youth Ballet announces new name: PROJECT BALLET
August 2017
The Board of Directors is delighted to announce that New American Youth Ballet has selected a new name for the organization: Project Ballet.
According to the Founding Artistic Director, Beth McLeish, our new name better reflects the vision, mission and operational methods of our organization. The word “Project” accurately describes the unique flexibility and adaptability of our organization. We work hard to constantly reevaluate and improve our curriculum and programming to best meet the needs and goals of our students. Further, our new mission statement, “providing superior ballet training for our region’s youth”, succinctly describes our student-focused operations.
Founded in 2004, Project Ballet has grown not only in numbers but also in reputation. We offer a full youth ballet curriculum for 3-18 year old dancers. Our ballet training program is often recognized as one of the finest in the country, with accolades and awards from some of the top ballet companies, universities, choreographers and master teachers in the field. Our students regularly matriculate into premiere schools, universities and professional companies, including Indiana University (the top ballet department in the country), School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet. This reputation has resulted in the establishment of a significant regional presence. According to Beth McLeish, “as our organization’s enrollment has grown we have also seen our regional influence expanding to populations outside of Allen County. We have a significant number of families who commute long distances, or even relocate, to Fort Wayne to study at our school. We are blessed to be able to reach so many students from throughout the Northeast Indiana region and beyond.”
One of only a handful of schools of it’s kind nation-wide, Project Ballet also offers an onsite Academic Conservatory for our elite dancers. This unique arrangement allows our dancers to pursue both their ballet training and their academic coursework in one facility. We employ a full team of highly qualified academic teachers in addition to outstanding ballet coaches. The Academic Conservatory at Project Ballet boasts outstanding academic rigor, a student to teacher ratio of 5:1 and a phenomenal graduation rate and college placement record of nearly 100%. While most of our students are ballet dancers, we also enroll a number of non-dancers in our Academic Conservatory. Teens who have exceptional scheduling needs (such as elite athletes, figure skaters and musicians), as well as those who are simply looking for an adaptable education, can benefit from the flexibility of our school day and intimate learning environment.
This combination of superior ballet training for ages 3-18 and a college-preparatory academic school for grades 5-12 has created a truly unique organization where each child is valued, treated with dignity and educated with the whole-person in mind. Our standards are uncompromisingly high, but we also have made it a priority to maintain a family-focused environment with a respect for both the physical and mental health of our students. These core values permeate every facet of our organization.
This summer, Project Ballet has undergone a significant capital renovation and expansion resulting in a state-of-the-art 15,000 sq. ft. facility specifically tailored to our unique organizational needs. This updated facility will serve us as we continue to expand our regional footprint and national reputation.
Please direct questions to Beth McLeish at mcleish@projectballet.org or 260-471-7848.