The vision of creating a professional youth ballet company began in excess of fourteen years ago as a dream of Elizabeth Bathurst, Artistic Director of Indiana Youth Ballet. She has been a ballet instructor for over twenty years and has had scores of students selected to perform in various ballet productions throughout Chicagoland. The most prestigious of these is the Chicago Tribune Charities Ruth Page Foundation’s production of The Nutcracker. It has presented over fifty of Ms. Bathurst’s students during its renowned productions at the Arie Crown Theatre. Ms. Bathurst’s students have performed many of the leading children’s roles, including Clara and the Nutcracker Prince. In fact, even Ms. Bathurst’s own sons have been cast members in this famous production.

Fall of 1996 was Indiana Youth Ballet’s debut, with its first annual production of The Nutcracker. The company was graced with the talent of Meredith Benson, a principal dancer with both Ballet Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet Company. Since the initial production, The Nutcracker has been expanded and refined to include over 200 youthful dancers from over 25 area dance studios. Each year, since our 1998 production, audiences have been delighted by a special appearance made by the principal dancers from the world-renowned Joffrey Ballet Company, Jennifer Goodman and Michael Anderson during our weekend performances.

Spring of 1997 marked Indiana Youth Ballet’s first production of Peter Pan. The fun and excitement led to expanded productions the following two years. This most recent show included over 150 dancers from Northwest Indiana and Illinois and is complete with exquisite costumes, exciting choreography, beautiful scenery, and of course, Peter Pan!

Indiana Youth Ballet is composed of a core company of extraordinarily talented young dancers from Northwest Indiana who dedicate their time and energies to promoting the fine art of ballet. In addition to their local dance training, several of these aspiring dancers train extensively in Chicago. The remainder of Indiana Youth Ballet is composed of area ballet students ranging in age from 5 to 19. Through the efforts of Indiana Youth Ballet, all of the young dancers are afforded the opportunity to showcase their talents. This in fact, is the mission of Indiana Youth Ballet.