Sacramento Ballet
Sacramento Ballet was founded in 1954 by Barbara Crockett and Deane Crockett. During Ms. Crockett’s tenure as Company Director, Sacramento Ballet gained national recognition as one of the finest regional ballet companies. Through community support, the formation of the Ballet Guild, and grants from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ballet was able to grow and begin to hire a resident company of professional dancers. In 1986, having accomplished her goal of making Sacramento Ballet a professional company, Ms. Crockett retired as Company Director. In 1988 Ron Cunningham was engaged as Artistic Director, and was joined by his wife Carinne Binda the following year. They became Co-Artistic Directors in 1991. Sacramento Ballet is known for Cunningham’s world premieres including Carmina Burana, The Rite of Spring and Bolero and his classic ballets, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella. Sacramento audiences have experienced a vast repertoire, including works by Septime Webre, David Parsons, Kathryn Posin, Agnes de Mille, Glen Tetley, Val Caniparoli, Trey McIntyre and Twyla Tharp. During 18 seasons, SacBallet added 13 full-length ballets, 18 Balanchine masterworks, 36 Sacramento premieres, and 34 world premieres. Sacramento Ballet has been an integral