Contemporary Ballet Dallas ("CBD") is a unique dance company for a unique city. CBD was founded by SMU alumni looking to revitalize dance in Dallas. Our progressive, diverse style combines ballet with modern movement and music to bring dance to audiences like they’ve never seen it before. Since our debut in Addison on September 14, 2001, CBD has continued to gain recognition with audiences and critics alike, becoming a veritable force in the Dallas dance scene.

CBD is dedicated to promoting arts appreciation and cultivating local art by serving as a platform for emerging artists and choreographers.

Our company is comprised of dancers as extraordinary as the pieces we perform. Over 85% of our dancers have a college education, bringing an unmatched level of maturity to performance. Further, our dancers have professional lives beyond CBD, including an attorney, real estate agent, and manager of a fine wine division. With such real and diverse life experiences, our dancers bring a rich emotional and artistic intellect to the stage. CBD is a unique ballet company in this regard.

Community outreach is at the core of our mission and we’ve built a strong and extensive program. Our partnerships with Big Thought and the YMCA’s of Dallas are crucial to achieving our mission and allow us to bring arts to more children than before.

Through our partnership with Big Thought, CBD performs a program that walks area students through history – from the beginning of classical ballet in the courtly 1800’s; to the roots of jazz in America circa 1920; to the beginning of modern dance in Germany post-Depression. The program features a proactive component teaching the students to use the body to tell stories and convey emotions, and connect artistry with athleticism.

Our relationship with the YMCA has been deeply rooted from the beginning and through our studio at the YMCA Whiterock, we began offering low-cost dance training through our Community Dance! program. Beyond offering ballet, classes include modern, jazz and hip-hop, dance history, costume design, Mommy & Me, and summer-intensive dance camps. Community Dance! provides the students with opportunities to create and produce dances, develop skills in interpreting the works of others, critique and gain a lifelong appreciation for dance and other art forms.

Finally, our Arts for Everyone Concert Series brings the theatrical experience to many who have never had an opportunity to attend such events. While educational events at school provide an entree into arts education, we believe the live theatrical experience offers a much more powerful platform for demonstrating the true beauty, power, and expressiveness of the arts. Specifically designed to expose under-served communities to the performing arts in traditional performance settings, CBD donates over 1,000 tickets to children and adults through our community partners.

CBD is opening minds to new views on dance.  Through the vision and dedication of the artists, a polished, sophisticated look has developed.  Traditional, classical contemporary and dramatic ballets are being produced.