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ROCHESTER CITY BALLET INC
Rochester, NY · EIN 161328541 · Form 990 · FY2023 · Small ($100K-$1M) · rochestercityballet.org
revenue
$585K
expenses
$502K
net assets
$-22K
employees
21
volunteers
16
program ratio
89%
mission · from form 990

Nurture, promote, and demonstrate the art of dance through education and performances.

profile · synthesized from sources

Rochester City Ballet is a professional ballet company and cultural institution in Rochester, NY, founded in 1987. It produces classical and contemporary dance performances, including annual productions of The Nutcracker, while advancing access through educational programs and community outreach. The organization emphasizes artistic excellence and inclusivity, offering sensory-friendly performances and scholarships to ensure broad participation in the arts.

named programs · 5 · from sources

What they call their work

Adult Dance Program
Drop-in dance classes for adults aged 14 and older, ranging from beginner to professional levels, offered at a fee of $20 per class.
Community Outreach Performances
Free performances brought to schools and community organizations such as the Mary Cariola Center, Hillside Family of Agencies, and Golisano Children's Hospital.
Nutcracker Scholarship Fund
Provides financial assistance to cover performance fees, shoes, tights, meals, and family tickets for children participating in The Nutcracker, with specific support for deaf and special needs students.
Sensory-Friendly Productions
Adapted ballet performances designed for individuals with autism and their families, featuring accommodations to ensure a comfortable theater experience. Offered for The Nutcracker and spring storybook ballets, free of charge.
The School of Rochester City Ballet
Dance education program offering training for students of all levels, featuring faculty who are current professional dancers with the company.
activities · 5 groups

What they do

  • Ballet and Dance Education Programs 2 activities
    • Apprenticeship and training programs for emerging dancers
      Offers structured apprenticeship and junior apprentice programs that provide training and performance opportunities to prepare emerging dancers for professional careers.
    • Dance education programs for youth and adults
      Offers comprehensive dance instruction through The School of Rochester City Ballet, including a Summer Intensive Program for youth, adult classes for ages 14 and older, and drop-in class options with tiered pricing and class cards. Instruction is delivered by professional dancers and includes level assessments.
  • Annual Ballet Performances with Community Engagement 1 activity
    • Annual Nutcracker and storybook ballet productions
      Produces and performs an annual Nutcracker holiday tradition and a spring storybook ballet, featuring free auditions for dancers aged 5–18, with scholarships available for performance fees and full production support including costumes, shoes, and family tickets.
  • Dance Performance and Community Engagement 1 activity
    • Community outreach and school engagement programs
      Conducts outreach through annual school-day performances for thousands of Rochester City School District students, lecture demonstrations, school visits, and mini-performances with book readings at schools and local businesses to expand access to dance education.
  • Original Dance Performance Production 1 activity
    • Professional dance company performances and new choreography
      Employs a company of professional dancers and presents full-length classical and contemporary ballets each season, including works by Balanchine, Aiello, and Arpino, as well as commissions from emerging and distinguished choreographers. The company has performed in New York City and at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
  • Sensory-Inclusive Programming and Support 1 activity
    • Sensory-friendly and inclusive ballet performances
      Hosts free sensory-friendly performances of The Nutcracker and spring storybook ballets for individuals with autism and their families, a program offered since 2015. The organization also provides ASL interpreters for rehearsals and performances and has integrated Deaf students into its productions.
financials · form 990 · fy2023
revenue
Total revenue$585K
Contributions & grants$304K52%
Program service revenue$233K40%
Investment income$4020%
Other revenue$47K
expenses
Total expenses$502K
Program expenses89%
Admin / overhead6%
Fundraising5%
Salaries & benefits$215K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineFacilities
balance sheet
Total assets$404K
Cash$128K
Investments$0
Liabilities$427K
Net assets$-22K
Liquid reserves3.1 mo
4 years on record · 2019–2023 · YoY revenue -5.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2023

Who runs it

board members · 9
  • Daniel Barney — Director
  • Jennifer Juncosa — Director
  • Jill Zabinski-Berne — Director
  • Katherine Phelps — Director
  • Katherine Rogala — Chair
  • Renee Segina Moore — Treasurer
  • Stephanie Knittel Rynkowski — Chair - Resigned 2024
  • Thomas Rhett Pinckney — Secretary
  • Thomas Rodriguez — Vice-Chair
relationships · 15

Who they work with

  • Arabesque Winds Partner — Artistic collaborator on special projects.
  • Golisano Children's Hospital Partner — Recipient of free professional dance performances by Rochester City Ballet.
  • Hillside Family of Agencies Partner — Recipient of free professional dance performances by Rochester City Ballet.
  • Mary Cariola Center Partner — Recipient of free professional dance performances by Rochester City Ballet.
  • Nazareth College Partner — Collaborates on performances and likely educational programming.
  • Nutcracker Scholarship donors Partner — Supports scholarship programming through donations that fund student participation and accessibility accommodations.
  • Rochester City School District Partner — Collaborates with Rochester City Ballet to bring students to school-day performances and support educational outreach.
  • Rochester City School District Partner — Partner in educational initiatives to expand access to dance.
  • Rochester Institute of Technology Partner — Hosts performances and potentially collaborates on arts programming.
  • Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Partner — Historic artistic partner for The Nutcracker productions.
  • Season Sponsors Funder — Provides sponsorship support for the 2026/2027 performance season.
  • Society for Chamber Music in Rochester Partner — Artistic collaborator on special projects.
  • The Cello Divas Partner — Artistic collaborator on special projects.
  • info@rochestercityballet.org Partner — Point of contact for information, questions, and volunteer opportunities related to Sensory-Friendly productions.
  • info@rochestercityballet.org Partner — Primary contact for corporate sponsorship inquiries and partnership development.
strategies · 5

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.

  • Arts-for-Development: Ballet as a Vehicle for Personal Growth
    methodology: arts-for-development
    By engaging individuals in ballet, the organization promotes critical thinking, peer connection, and community engagement, because structured creative expression provides a unique context for developing cognitive, social, and emotional skills beyond technical dance ability.
  • Immersive Training for Holistic Dancer Development
    methodology: immersive_training
    By placing dancers in immersive training environments, the organization develops technical proficiency, self-confidence, and artistic expression simultaneously, because integrated experiential learning fosters deeper personal and artistic growth than technical instruction alone.
  • Inclusive Access Through Barrier Reduction
    methodology: inclusive_access
    By removing financial, sensory, and experiential barriers, the organization enables participation in ballet regardless of socioeconomic status, ability, or background, because equitable access to high-quality arts experiences fosters broader community engagement and personal development through dance.
  • Professional-Practitioner Faculty Model
    methodology: professional-practitioner faculty
    By employing current professional dancers as faculty, the organization ensures that teaching is informed by active performance experience, because real-time engagement with the art form enhances instructional relevance and inspires students through authentic role modeling.
  • Tiered Progression Pathway to Professional Dance
    methodology: tiered_training_progression
    By structuring training and performance opportunities along a tiered pathway—from junior apprentices to company dancers—the organization cultivates long-term artistic development, because incremental, performance-integrated advancement builds competence, commitment, and career readiness in dancers.