- Celebrating 55 Years as a School -

Purpose and Objective of the Company and School

Virginia Ballet Company is a non-profit organization established to enhance the cultural interests of people of Northern Virginia and the Metropolitan area through the institution of a ballet school that will perform and bring to the community an artistic force that will add a dimension to the education of the community’s youth.

History of the School

Fifty-five years ago the Virginia Ballet Company and School was established to provide classical dance education of the highest quality and to stage performances of high artistic merit in the Washington Metropolitan area. In 1965, a group of seven interested individuals, joining with the talents of Tania Rousseau and Oleg Tupine as Artistic Directors, formed a Board of Directors that incorporated Virginia Ballet Company and School as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Board of Directors accepted the responsibility of managing the operation of the company and school and, with other volunteer members, formed a nucleus to assist the Artistic Directors. Today the Board of Directors is a group of eleven individuals elected annually by a corporate membership that consists of all the adult students and parents of minor students in the school.

Originally, Virginia Ballet was located near the center of Annandale, Virginia, attracting students from a wide cross-section of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. The school grew rapidly and, becoming too large for the small classrooms of the original location, moved to a larger facility in Springfield, Virginia, where it continued to grow successfully for the next 30 years. In October of 2000, Virginia Ballet moved to its present location, a new state-of–the-art facility in Fairfax, Virginia, near Burke Centre. The facility was designed with three large studios to provide dual classrooms, rehearsal space, and accommodation for our future growth.

Virginia Ballet Company’s greatest asset lies in the direction established over half a century ago by its founding Artistic Directors, Tania Rousseau and Oleg Tupine. Such direction was built upon their own training by prima ballerinas of the pre-revolutionary Kirov Theater and performance experience with the Diaghilev and other European companies, and combined with development of their own methods of instruction. This legacy enables our students to join the great.

Russian ballet tradition. Moreover, Ms. Rousseau's extraordinary talent of adapting original choreography allows Virginia Ballet to be in the enviable position to offer its students the rare opportunity to dance major roles in full-length classical ballets. This classical ballet training coupled with the extensive performing experience has proven an invaluable combination. Indeed, the success of the school’s approach can be measured through some of our alumni who have gone on to have professional careers with a number of national and international ballet companies, including American Ballet Theater, Houston Ballet, Israeli Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, National Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Tulsa Ballet Theatre. As a further incentive for the students, the Artistic Directors have established scholarship programs to recognize individual effort and aid students who demonstrate exceptional ability. Moreover, the discipline instilled through the instruction provided by Virginia Ballet establishes a foundation for success in other career paths as well.