Support the School
Crooked tree arts center school of ballet
23 Years of Excellence
Founded in 2003, the CTAC School of Ballet trains young people for professional careers in dance. Through a long legacy of outstanding training in ballet as well as serious contemporary styles and the emerging field of dance film, graduates have danced professionally in major American companies, attended prestigious BFA and MFA programs and excelled in other dance-related careers.
Your Support Makes an Immediate Impact:
- Provide scholarships to ensure every aspiring dancer has access to training.
Student Scholarships: $25 and beyond
Annually, we provide thousands of dollars in scholarships to our dancers to attend classes at CTAC, in addition to subsidizing their summer intensive training across the country and internationally.
- Offer residencies with professional dance mentors, shaping our students to be future artists.
Choreographic Mentorship Residency: $5,000 supports one mentor
Dance luminaries in-residence spend the last week of August mentoring our students’ choreographic works. The student choreographers receive one-on-one composition and relate
d guidance that culminate in the formal showing of their works at Fall for Dance & RADFest in Kalamazoo.
2025 Mentors: Robin Pettersen & Richard Walters
- Celebrate the Martha Graham Centennial this spring with unique performances and community programming.
Martha Graham Centennial
Dance Legends: Little Traverse Bay Celebrates Graham100 is a major cultural and educational multidisciplinary celebration of the centennial of the Martha Graham Dance Company. SoB will connect this rich legacy with the Little Traverse Bay region through exhibitions, performances, and community collaborations throughout 2026.
- Bring in guest artists to cultivate a deep understanding of the art form in our students.
Guest Artists: $5,000-$10,000 supports one collaborative project
Due to our growing reputation over the past several years, we have enjoyed collaborations with numerous regional and national choreographers, composers, orchestras, visual artists, and writers. Collaborating and engaging with professional artists allows our students the opportunity to develop as versatile dance artists and curious thinkers.
2025 Guest Artists: Sam Epstein, Taylor Naturkas, Alexander Peters, Yali Rivlin, Peter Sparling
- Maintain affordable ticket prices so that our performances are accessible to our communities.
Performances: $20,000-$30,000 underwrites one performance
After theater rental, labor, costuming, licensing, etc. are covered, the remaining revenue from our performances directly supports our Dance Scholarship Fund. When a performance is underwritten, all ticket revenue may be dedicated to our dancers.
2026 Underwriting Opportunities:
- Queen Bee (June)
- Fall for Dance (November)
- The Nutcracker (already generously underwritten)
- Invest in the legacy of this world-class program through the School of Ballet Endowment.
School of Ballet Legacy
Invest in the legacy of this world-class program by donating to the CTAC School of Ballet endowment!
During the month of March, each gift you make to CTAC School of Ballet will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $20,000.
In other words, you’re able to make twice the impact with the same amount of funds! Read more about this special giving opportunity in this letter from founding Artistic Director, Heather Raue.
This transformative program thrives because of supporters like you. Will you helps us fuel the future of dance in Northern Michigan?