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THE GEORGE BALANCHINE FOUNDATION INC
New York, NY · EIN 133180628 · Form 990 · FY2024 · Small ($100K-$1M) · balanchine.org
revenue
$561K
expenses
$324K
net assets
$1.1M
employees
0
volunteers
8
program ratio
86%
mission · from form 990

TO UTILIZE THE BALANCHINE LEGACY TO ADVANCE THE HIGHEST STANDARD IN DANCE AND ITS ALLIED ARTS

profile · synthesized from sources

The George Balanchine Foundation preserves and promotes the artistic legacy of choreographer George Balanchine, focusing on dance education and training through the documentation and dissemination of classical ballet techniques. The organization highlights the teaching methods of influential ballet instructors associated with Balanchine’s tradition. It operates in New York and serves the global dance community through archival and educational resources.

named programs · 2 · from sources

What they call their work

Class Documentation Project
Records, analyzes, and publishes detailed notations of ballet classes taught by key figures in the Balanchine tradition, including Oboukhoff, Vladimiroff, Doubrovska, and Williams
Teacher Legacy Archive
Preserves biographical and pedagogical materials from influential ballet instructors associated with the School of American Ballet and the Balanchine method
activities · 4 groups

What they do

  • Performing Arts Archival Preservation 4 activities
    • Capacity Building in Dance Education
      Supports the preservation and transmission of Balanchine’s artistic legacy through archival preservation, research, reconstructions, publications, lectures, and educational programming. Includes founding the School of American Ballet in 1934, which teaches a refined classical ballet technique central to Balanchine’s aesthetic.
    • Preservation of Ballet Pedagogy
      Documents, transcribes, and reconstructs historical ballet classes from the School of American Ballet, including those taught by Felia Doubrovska, Anatole Oboukhoff, Pierre Vladimiroff, and Stanley Williams. Collaborates with former dancers and teachers to preserve foundational teaching methods through notation and archival formatting.
    • Public Access to Performance Information
      Provides a searchable database and map interface for global performances of Balanchine’s works, enabling access by ballet, month, company, or performer. Supports researchers, companies, and audiences in tracking the ongoing performance legacy of Balanchine’s choreography.
    • Video Archive Coaching and Choreographic Preservation
      Records and maintains video archive coaching sessions that document the transmission of choreographic knowledge from original Balanchine dancers to current performers, including over 100 recorded sessions and the reconstruction of sixteen lost dances from six ballets. These sessions are part of an ongoing project initiated in 1995 to preserve Balanchine’s choreographic intent.
  • Artist Legacy Preservation and Documentation 1 activity
    • Archival Research Collection Management
      Assembles and maintains a comprehensive research collection on Balanchine’s work, including original essays, documents, photographs, audio and video recordings, and interview transcripts, serving as a central repository for scholarly and artistic inquiry.
  • Musicological Research and Scholarly Editions 1 activity
    • Research-Based Publications and Educational Materials
      Produces scholarly books, essays, and educational videos that analyze and disseminate knowledge about Balanchine’s choreography and teaching methods. Includes the publication of 'In Balanchine’s Steps', 'Balanchine the Teacher', and video lectures on choreomusical relationships for cross-disciplinary audiences.
  • Uncategorized 3 activities
    • Choreomusical Analysis and Notation
      Develops and applies choreomusical notation and digital video analysis tools to study the relationship between music and movement in Balanchine’s ballets, producing video analyses and accessible discussions for dancers, musicians, scholars, and the public.
    • Comprehensive Cataloging of Balanchine's Works
      Compiles and maintains a detailed, searchable catalog of George Balanchine’s choreographic output, including premiere casts, production details, music information, revisions, stagings by other companies, and televised performances. Also includes a chronology of his professional life and roles he danced.
    • Oral History and Artistic Documentation
      Conducts and archives interviews with original Balanchine dancers and collaborators following coaching sessions to capture artistic themes, historical context, and personal insights into the creation and performance of Balanchine’s ballets. Includes over sixty edited video interviews and 41 oral history transcripts related to associated dance figures.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$561K
Contributions & grants$211K38%
Program service revenue$28K5%
Investment income$29K5%
Other revenue$292K
expenses
Total expenses$324K
Program expenses86%
Admin / overhead14%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineOther
balance sheet
Total assets$1.08M
Cash$139K
Investments$938K
Liabilities$133
Net assets$1.08M
Liquid reserves39.9 mo
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +29.8%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 11
  • ALEXEI RATMANSKY — DIRECTOR
  • CAROLINE CRONSON — TREASURER/DIRECTOR
  • HAL J WITT — DIRECTOR
  • I PETER WOLFF — CHAIR
  • JOAN BAEKELAND — DIRECTOR
  • LESLIE TONNER CURTIS — DIRECTOR
  • MAX R SHULMAN — DIRECTOR
  • MERYL ROSOFSKY — VICE CHAIR
  • NANCY REYNOLDS — DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
  • RANDALL BOURSCHEIDT — SECRETARY/DIRECTOR
  • SILAS FARLEY — DIRECTOR
relationships · 27

Who they work with

  • Alla Resnik Partner — Consulted with Alla Resnik, class and rehearsal accompanist at SAB, on historical use of time signatures and musical styles in ballet instruction.
  • Barbara Walczak Partner — Collaborates in describing, introducing, and notating ballet classes.
  • Brian Rushton Partner — Dance photographer who contributed images to the Foundation's published book 'In Balanchine’s Steps'.
  • Costas Partner — Dance photographer who contributed images to the Foundation's published book 'In Balanchine’s Steps'.
  • Dirk Hartog Partner — Built the application for the "Balanchine Around the World" map.
  • George Balanchine Trust Partner — Collaborates to make the "Balanchine Around the World" map possible.
  • Jerome Robbins Dance Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Partner — Cosponsored the Frederic Franklin oral history project and holds the resulting collection of transcripts.
  • Kara Yoo Leaman Partner — Music theorist who provides musical analyses of Balanchine's choreography for the Foundation's resources.
  • Lincoln Kirstein Partner — Collaborated with Balanchine to co-found the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet.
  • Marina Eglevsky Partner — Received assistance from Marina Eglevsky in reconstructing historical ballet class content.
  • Nancy Reynolds Partner — Editorial Director of the Balanchine Catalogue
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Funder — Provides financial support for the creation of video analyses on Balanchine's choreography in collaboration with the Foundation.
  • New York City Ballet Network — Founded by Balanchine and served as its ballet master and chief choreographer until his death.
  • New York City Ballet Partner — Collaborates with and references the New York City Ballet in sharing historical content and artistic legacy.
  • New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Partner — Hosts master tapes of recordings from the Interpreters Archive and Archive of Lost Choreography
  • New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Partner — Houses the complete Video Archives in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division.
  • Paul Boos Partner — Received assistance from Paul Boos in reconstructing historical ballet class content.
  • Peter Stark Partner — Used memories from Peter Stark’s student days to help reconstruct historical ballet class content.
  • School of American Ballet Network — Co-founded by Balanchine as the training institution for New York City Ballet and other companies.
  • School of American Ballet Partner — Collaborates with the School of American Ballet to preserve and disseminate historical teaching practices of its faculty.
  • School of American Ballet Partner — Founded by George Balanchine as the training institution for his ballet company and style.
  • Serge Diaghilev Partner — Hired Balanchine as principal choreographer for Ballets Russes after his arrival in Western Europe.
  • Suki Schorer Partner — Consulted with Suki Schorer, Senior Teacher at SAB, for historical accuracy in reconstructing class structures and musicality.
  • The Balanchine Trust Partner — Collaborates with The Balanchine Trust, which handles performance rights and licensing.
  • The George Balanchine Foundation Network — Hosts and supports the Dancing Notes project as part of its mission to study Balanchine's choreographic and musical legacy.
  • University Press of Florida Partner — Publishes and distributes the book Balanchine the Teacher co-authored by Barbara Walczak and Una Kai.
  • Vicki Simon Partner — Received advice from Vicki Simon in reconstructing historical ballet class content.
strategies · 8

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Choreomusical Integration as Artistic Principle
    methodology: music-dance_integration
    By analyzing and teaching Balanchine’s choreography as intrinsically shaped by musical structure, the Foundation ensures authentic performance because movement is believed to emerge from and express musical composition, not merely accompany it.
  • Cultural Preservation for Artistic Evolution
    methodology: cultural_preservation_for_artistic_inspiration
    By preserving Balanchine’s legacy through archival and educational resources, the Foundation inspires future innovation in dance because authentic historical grounding enables meaningful artistic progression and national identity in ballet.
  • Direct Transmission Archiving
    methodology: direct transmission archiving
    By filming coaching sessions between original Balanchine collaborators and current dancers, the Foundation preserves authentic choreographic interpretation and artistic intent because firsthand, embodied knowledge transfer maintains fidelity to the original style and context.
  • Living Archive with Multi-Access Design
    methodology: multi-axis archival access
    By organizing archival materials through multiple access points—including digital platforms, scholarly research, and reconstructed works—the Foundation enables diverse users to engage with Balanchine’s legacy because varied entry points support research, education, and artistic revival.
  • Systematic Pedagogical Documentation
    methodology: pedagogy-documentation
    By translating Balanchine’s choreographic principles into structured, film-based teaching methods and accessible notation, the Foundation makes his style teachable and scalable because codification enables consistent transmission beyond personal mentorship.
  • Systematic Reconstruction of Lost Works
    methodology: choreographic_retrieval
    By reconstructing Balanchine choreographies no longer in active repertoire using scholarly research and collaboration with original sources, the Foundation restores culturally significant works to the canon because comprehensive documentation enables historically accurate revival.
  • Teachable Codification of Balanchine Style
    methodology: pedagogy-documentation
    By translating Balanchine’s choreographic principles into structured pedagogy—emphasizing timing, precision, meter, and physiology-informed training—the Foundation makes his style accessible and reproducible because technical clarity and scientific adaptation enhance learning and performance fidelity.
  • Training-First Institution Building
    methodology: training-first approach
    By establishing formal training institutions grounded in Balanchine’s aesthetic and physiological principles, the Foundation cultivates an independent American ballet tradition because technical and artistic standardization enables national artistic identity and sustainability.