Louisville Ballet at 75: Celebrating History and What Comes Next

By VOICE-TRIBUNE • Photos By Matt Johnson

Seventy-five years gives a ballet company a long list of names to remember. Louisville Ballet’s anniversary season uses that history as a point of departure, bringing together the people, performances, and artistic experiments that have defined the company while introducing a season centered on new work and reimagined repertory.

The company was founded in 1952 and is the fifth-oldest ballet company in the country. Over its seven and a half decades, the company has featured works and collaborations by some of the most recognizable figures in American dance, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Twyla Tharp, and Wendy Whelan. 

The 75th Anniversary Committee is central to the celebration. Rather than functioning solely as a ceremonial group, its members have been assembled with the company's longer-term financial and civic future in mind. Felicia Swoope, Louisville Ballet’s Executive Director, said,  “The committee is dedicated to elevating the ballet's profile while demonstrating their own personal support for the organization's financial future." 

That connection between history and infrastructure is particularly relevant for a company whose past includes both major artistic achievements and periods of instability. Alun Jones, who served as artistic director from 1978 through 2002, remains the longest-serving artistic director in Louisville Ballet's history. His tenure included appearances by Baryshnikov during the 1978–79 and 1979–80 seasons. Baryshnikov's 1979 performance of Petrouchka at Louisville Memorial Auditorium remains one of the company's significant historical events.

Baryshnikov returns to Louisville this season, but in a different role. On February 12, 2027, he will appear for an evening of conversation as part of the anniversary celebration. The event coincides with the premiere of Resident Choreographer Andrea Schermoly's Carmen. Another anniversary event, "Stories of Legends," will bring together Baryshnikov, Whelan, and Clinton Luckett to discuss their connections to Louisville Ballet.

The season begins this month with Frankenstein, October 30–31 at the Brown Theatre. The new ballet, Frankenstein, is being choreographed by Louisville Ballet’s Artistic Director, Anthony Krutzkamp, his first work for the company since joining in 2025.

Classical repertory remains in the picture. The Brown-Forman Nutcracker returns to the Kentucky Center December 11–21, followed by Carmen in February. In March, Bourbon & Ballet, formerly Choreographer’s Showcase, brings together the work of Louisville Ballet’s choreographers at Actors Theatre, while May's Momentum will feature works by Alejandro Cerrudo, Adam Hougland, and the recipient of Louisville Ballet's inaugural Commonwealth Choreography Award. The award provides $100,000 in support for Momentum, with $25,000 specifically allocated to the award-winning choreographer for the creation of the new work.

Meanwhile, “Behind the Curtain: 75 Years of Louisville Ballet”, on view at The Filson Historical Society through August 2027, showcases costumes, set models, photographs, and other archival material alongside the stories of the artists who made the company's productions possible.

The anniversary, then, is unfolding in two directions. The exhibit looks back at the dancers, artists, and community members who established Louisville Ballet's place in the city. The 75th Anniversary Committee is helping carry that history into a season that puts new choreography, collaborations, and audiences into the conversation. At 75, the company honors its legacy not by repeating the past, but by using it to build what comes next. 

To learn more and support, visit: https://louisvilleballet.org/

Louisville Ballet Timeline

1949: The Louisville Dance Council is formed under the leadership of Estelle Volin

and William Habich

December 1951: Louisville Ballet is incorporated under Thomas Jordan’s artistic

direction, beginning a legacy that makes it the fifth oldest continuously

operating company in the U.S. today

March 1952: The Ballet performs for the public for the first time

1952: Nancy Dysart, née Lewis Smith, becomes artistic director

1959: Fernand Nault becomes artistic director and resident choreographer

1963: The Ballet performs its first full annual production of The Nutcracker

1964: Nelle Fisher becomes substitute artistic director during Nault’s hiatus

1965: Lawrence Gradus becomes full-time artistic director

1967: George Skibine becomes artistic director

1969: Nels Jorgensen becomes artistic director

1973: Richard Munro and Christina Stirling become artistic directors, teachers,

dancers, and choreographers for the Ballet

1975: The Ballet moves to new headquarters at 200 E. Oak Street

1975: The Academy of the Louisville Ballet is founded by Cristina Stirling Munro

and Richard Munro

1978: Alun Jones becomes artistic director

1978 and 1979: Mikhail Baryshnikov performs with the Ballet

1981: The Ballet moves to new headquarters at 1300 Bardstown Road

1985: The Ballet tours to New York to perform La Fête Étrange at the Brooklyn

Center for the Performing Arts

1987/1988 season: The Ballet becomes the only American company to stage all

three Tchaikovsky ballets at that time

1990/1991 season: The Ballet becomes the first U.S. company to perform Echoing

of Trumpets in 25 years

1994: The Ballet moves to new headquarters at 315 East Main Street after raising

funds for the project from community members

1995: The Ballet performs the first Choreographers’ Showcase

2002: Bruce Simpson becomes artistic director

2009: The Ballet receives $1 million from the Brown-Forman Corporation to stage

the first annual performance of The Brown-Forman Nutcracker

2014: Robert Curran becomes artistic director

Summer 2016: The Ballet performs Shakespeare in Dance as part of the Kentucky

Shakespeare Festival for the first time

2019/2020: The Louisville Ballet School Trainee Program (2-year program)

becomes the Studio Company (4-year program)

2020: The last show of the season is cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

2020/2021 season: The Ballet performs an entirely digital season; WDRB airs a

recording of The Brown-Forman Nutcracker for free for the entire state

2023: Mikelle Bruzina and Harald Uwe Kern become artistic directors

2026: Anthony Krutzkamp becomes artistic director

May 2026: The Ballet receives $9 million to support its mission into the future

August 2026: Felicia Swoope becomes executive director