Louisville Ballet Receives a $1 Million Anonymous Donation

August 16, 2015

Louisville Ballet artistic director Robert Curran makes an exciting announcement. Photo by Sam English, via Louisville Ballet.


On Friday
, Louisville Ballet announced what may possibly be the best news a ballet company can receive in today’s economy: It had been given an anonymous donation of $1 million. While the windfall, from an unnamed New Yorkbased donor, would be welcomed by any troupe, it’s particularly fantastic news for a midsize company where budgets are usually modest.

Aside from that, it gives new artistic director Robert Curran the resources to shape the company in his image. First up is LB’s reimagined Coppèlia, which kicks off the 64th season on October 2. According to a press release from the company, the production, choreographed by Curran, “marks the beginning of this new artistic vision and the immediate impact of this generous gift.” Yes, we’ve all seen Coppèlia. But not this version, which will be set in 1917 Louisville, Kentucky, before the country joined World War I.

Hearing positive news about state of ballet certainly makes my day, but more importantly, it’s further evidence that ballet is thriving. Cheers to an abundant fall and successful seasons at all companies!