About
Mission: We enrich lives, captivate emotions, and strengthen the community through the art of dance.
Vision: To infuse our community with the highest quality and diversity of dance in America.
About US
Founded in 1987
The Sarasota Ballet was founded in 1987 by Jean Weidner Goldstein as a presenting organization with the goal of becoming a full resident ballet company. This dream was fully realized in 1990 with the appointment of the Company’s first Director, Montreal-based choreographer Eddy Toussaint, and the launch of the Company’s first true Season. Under Toussaint, The Sarasota Ballet repertoire would feature mostly his own choreographic work over the next few Seasons. In 1994, following a year under the leadership of Jean Weidner Goldstein as Interim Director, Robert de Warren, former Director of Ballet at Teatro alla Scala Milan and Northern Ballet, took on the mantle of Artistic Director. During his thirteen years with the Company, de Warren likewise focused on bringing his own choreographic creations to the stage.
IAIN Webb Becomes Director 2007
In January 2007, The Sarasota Ballet announced the appointment of Iain Webb as Director. His first Season revolutionized the Company and set it on a path to national and international recognition. Drawing on his career with The Royal Ballet and his close relationships with leading choreographers, Webb introduced Sarasota audiences to extraordinary works by the great masters of the 20th century. In 2012, former Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet Principal Margaret Barbieri joined full-time as Assistant Director, after staging numerous ballets for the Company. Together, Webb and Barbieri launched the acclaimed 2014 Ashton Festival, which brought dance luminaries from around the world to Sarasota to witness fourteen ballets and divertissements by Sir Frederick Ashton. During this period, the Company also received invitations to perform at prestigious venues across the United States, including The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., New York City Center, and the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.
JOSEPH VOLPE BECOMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 2016
The next evolution of The Sarasota Ballet began in 2016 with the appointment of Joseph Volpe, former General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, as Executive Director. Volpe strengthened the Company’s economic and administrative foundations, restructuring and expanding staff, reinforcing its financial base, and growing the Board of Directors — bringing The Sarasota Ballet to new heights. Together with Director Iain Webb and Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri, Volpe expanded the Company’s national profile, leading tours to The Joyce Theater in New York City and the National Choreographic Festival in Salt Lake City. During this time, the repertoire also deepened with works such as Ashton’s The Dream, Balanchine’s Jewels, and Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café, alongside two major Ashton revivals, Apparitions and Varii Capricci.
In 2020, with the onset of the global pandemic, The Sarasota Ballet pivoted to digital streaming, producing seven specially staged programs that reached thousands of audience members in 30 countries.
The Present
Under the leadership of Director Iain Webb, Executive Director Joseph Volpe, and Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri, The Sarasota Ballet has become one of America’s leading ballet companies. Webb and Barbieri have introduced more than 190 ballets and divertissements, including 63 world premieres and 12 American Company premieres, by many of the most important choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Company has built a reputation for reviving rarely seen ballets while also commissioning new works, including premieres by Jessica Lang, Gemma Bond, and Ashley Page. In 2023–2024, The Sarasota Ballet announced a three-year collaboration with Lang as Virginia B. Toulmin & Muriel O’Neil Artist in Residence, further affirming its role in shaping ballet’s future. Acclaimed nationally and internationally, the Company embarked on its first international tour in June 2024, performing at London’s Royal Opera House for the Ashton Worldwide Festival, with additional appearances at Jacob’s Pillow, The Kennedy Center, New York City Center, and The Joyce Theater.
