By David A. Mann for Louisville Ballet First
October 27, 2017
The Louisville Ballet often comes to mind this time of year as “The Brown-Forman Nutcracker” has become a holiday tradition for many families.
But there’s much more to the ballet than that one well-known production.
There are six productions on the bill for the 2017-18 season, which began in September. Those six performances include “Stravinsky!” in November and a collaboration with the Kentucky Opera, called “The Beyond,” in March.
The organization has ranked in the top five on our annual list of the area’s largest performing arts organizations in the last five years. The list is ranked by annual budget.
Recently, we spoke with Robert Curran, who has led the ballet since 2014, about the organization and the arts in general.
Here are three takeaways from that conversation.
A part of the community
There are 24 dancers in the company as well as a ballet master and mistress. There are other creative professionals on staff too, such as lighting and costume designers. And Curran, himself, of course.
“The dancers live here in Louisville. They’re not just brought in for the season. They have families and children that are here,” Curran said.
That makes them a part of the community, and Curran said that’s something a lot of people don’t realize. He said having an arts community is beyond important — it’s vital.
“We have an arts community that can impact the health in the city, the education in the city, and (help lower) violence in the city,” he said.