Ballet Minnesota 

About

Andrew & Cheryl Rist established the Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota in 1987 in St Paul's artistic hub, Lowertown. The first year included a Nutcracker lecture/demonstration performed to about 150 people at St Paul's Galtier Plaza. Today, the Nutcracker is presented to an annual audience of over 10,000. The Nutcracker production was presented under the name Ballet Minnesota even though the name was not officially incorporated until 1990. In May 1988 the first Minnesota Dance Festival was produced at the St Paul Student Center Theater on the University of Minnesota St Paul Campus. Ballet Minnesota assumed full responsibility for the Festival in 1990. The first official performance by Ballet Minnesota was performed in the lobby area of the St Paul City Hall as a tribute to then mayor George Latimer. Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota is the official school of Ballet Minnesota.
1992 brought a significant event. Cynthia Betz began her association with Ballet Minnesota. She has been a board member, president of the board and is now the executive director. Cynthia has been a driving force in the estabishment of Ballet Minnesota as a major arts organization in Minnesota. She created the fundraiser Taste the Arts.
Cheryl Rist has been the driving force behind Ballet Minnesota's excellent reputation for presenting the classical ballets in Minnesota. She has restaged many of the major classics at the O'Shuahnessy and Fitzgerald Theaters. A few of the classics she has staged include Swan Lake (acts 1-4), La Bayadere (acts 1-3), Sleeping Beauty (acts 1-3), Don Quixote (acts 1-3), Coppelia, Giselle (acts 1-2), and Les Sylphides