History and Purpose of Youth Ballet WA
While YBWA was established in 2004, its history dates back to 1960 when Artistic Advisor Terri Charlesworth established the Terri Charlesworth Ballet Centre. A team of valued teachers, dancers and administrative staff have developed over the years instilling in YBWA a strong foundation from which to foster the development and promote the work of young dance artists from all over Australia and the world. YBWA now attracts in excess of 20,000 people to its many events every year and is committed to developing this audience base further. YBWA is recognised throughout artistic circles and has earned a fine reputation for excellence and quality.
The Objectives of Youth Ballet WA are to:
- provide opportunities for gifted young dancers to promote the joy of dance to the wider community and promote dance as an art form for everyone to enjoy;
- protect the integrity of classical ballet; provide an atmosphere to foster young people’s creativity in dance;
- provide opportunities for emerging and established artists to create and present new works;
- provide opportunities for the dancers to work with international guest artists and teachers;
- train young dancers to the highest calibre so that they may have the best opportunities for scholarships to international schools and employment in the future; and
- introduce an orchestra component.
