Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is a community based and internationally recognized professional ballet company that performs traditional and contemporary ballets and develops innovative works. It seeks to perpetuate excellence in the art of ballet through performances, superior training of student dancers and community engagement initiatives.

In the coming season, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will celebrate 47 years as both a cultural and educational asset to the region. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre was founded in 1969 as a small professional ballet company on a very basic principle- ballet is for everyone. In 1970, PBT presented its first subscription season and experienced tremendous growth in community support. By the early 1980s, PBT was among the nation's largest Companies. In 1982, Patricia Wilde, celebrated prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet, became Artistic Director. Her influence carried the Company through fifteen successful years. In 1997, new Artistic Director Terrence S. Orr, formerly Ballet Master of American Ballet Theatre, led PBT to renew its commitment to the creation of new works. Harris N. Ferris was appointed Executive Director in February 2006 and PBT completed its tenth consecutive year with an operating surplus in June 2016. Our strategic plan, approved by the PBT board this past June, reflects our organization wide values that ballet be accessible for everyone. Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Artistic Director, Mr. Terrence S. Orr, is the effervescent heart of PBT. As the stage is his second home, Mr. Orr inspires fresh dramatic motivation, choreographic accuracy, and theatrical vividness. His leadership enables our dancers' profound aspirations to become reality. He will draw more out of a dancer than they even thought possible. In June 2013, The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Board of Trustees renewed Mr. Orr's contract for another four years. Mr. Orr and the PBT organization's professionalism transcend any one dancer to create Company performances of stylistic versatility. Our talented dancers perform with appreciation for tradition, discipline, patience and inexhaustible energy. Across communities, states, and countries, PBT is known for classical ballet excellence.

Testimonials

"I just want to personally thank the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for giving my daughter an experience of a lifetime! I have taken my daughter to see several musicals and plays but never the ballet. I always thought that she would never be able to experience a ballet due to her visual impairment. Your idea of a touch tour allowed her to feel some of the props and even meet a ballerina. She was able to experience something that is usually lost to a visually impaired person. She was able to walk across the stage to get an idea of how big it is. She got to feel fabric that is used to make the dancers costumes. She even got to feel the foot of a ballerina when she was on point. I cannot express enough, how these experiences are so valuable to Reagan. Thank you to you and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for making this possible!"

"I'm so thankful to the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for offering an Adaptive Dance class. I have wanted to enroll my daughter in dance for years, but she is easily overstimulated and a regular class was not an option. You did a fantastic job anticipating the sensory needs of our children. The class size was small with a nice teacher-to-student ratio. The staff was very sweet and accommodating, and I can tell they took the time to learn about the sensory issues our children face. We LOVED our experience and hope to continue in the summer and fall."