Overview
Mission
Saint Paul City Ballet’s mission is to advance ballet as an art form, develop and celebrate local talent of the highest standard, and enrich the culture of our community. We accomplish this through performances of beloved ballets, contemporary choreography, and exploring collaborations which bring ballet to new audiences. We also develop and discover new artists through exemplary training and progressive outreach.
Company
The company of Saint Paul City Ballet is a collection of professional dancers and choreographers. The technical foundation of the Company is firmly rooted in classical ballet; paying homage by staging and performing excerpts from well-known and beloved ballets. But ballet is a living tradition and all of the classics were once ground-breaking artistic experiences. In that spirit the Company actively collaborates to produce new innovative works and explores new directions for this exquisite art form.School
SPCB is continuing the tradition of ballet instruction since 1952 at the historic Grand Avenue studios. SPCB offers classes for pre-professional dancers, adults, and young children including classical ballet, and sacred arts (Judeo-Christian). Saint Paul City Ballet currently provides ballet instruction to over 500 students annually, from ages 4 to 85.Outreach
SPCB partnership with St. Paul’s North End area schools began in 2005 and was renamed in 2007, the Bruce Larson Outreach Program in honor of its founding partner. This program continues to offer under served children ballet lessons after school in their own neighborhood. SPCB serves the broader population of St. Paul through the Saint Paul Public Schools Community Education program as well as providing tickets for inner city school children to SPCB ballet performances.
Georgia Finnegan Amdahl
Executive Director
Georgia founded Saint Paul City Ballet in 1997, and during her tenure she has held the positions of executive director along with producer, school director and artistic partner.
She has simultaneously built the school of Saint Paul City Ballet and spearheaded the development of the Saint Paul City Ballet Company. Georgia has overseen the production of new repertory and full-length ballets for SPCB. She has also organized engagements in St. Petersburg, Russia with Gabriela Komleva and in Ascoli Piceno, Italy with Anna Marie Holmes.
Georgia is a creative professional with experience ranging from teaching to nonprofit management to public speaking. She has a degree in education and has taught students, elementary age through adult for the past 35 years in both ballet and French. She possesses the qualities of calm determination and tenacity.
Board of Directors
Marla Murphy-Guddal, Chair: Executive Vice President, Lee F. Murphy Insurance Group
Vice-Chair and Treasurer: TBA
Marguerite Hattouni Spencer, Interim Secretary: Senior researcher – The Kirwan Institute for Race & Ethnicity
Patti DeMay, former Grand Avenue business owner
Merry Butikis, Merry Beckmann Butikis, Director of Membership, Visit Saint Paul
Elise Murphy, Senior Account Manager, FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters Business
Lori Gleason, owner Gleason Design and creative partner, DesignAhead
ADVISORY
Ana Freire
Rachel Koep
Gabriela Komleva
Bruce Larson
Patricia McDonald
Patrick Murry
Paul Quast
Linda VanderVliet
Former Board of Directors (Chair)
Dr. Robert Tranmer
Travelle Evans-Vann
Catherine Stoch
Michael Leimbach
Collaboration
SPCB partners creatively with music and visual arts organizations of the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota, realizing the collective power of live performance and bringing that power to a more diverse and wider audience. We create relationships with artists of other disciplines to exchange wisdom, innovation, and creative energy.
Recognition
In 2008, six Saint Paul City Ballet (SPCB) students traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia on special scholarship to study art and ballet.
In 2006, SPCB School students were invited to perform in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, under direction of Anna-Marie Holmes, Ballet Adriatico.
2005-2008, SPCB was selected by the German-American Heritage Foundation to be the beneficiary of The Emperor’s Ball.
In August 2003, Gabriela Komleva, professor of St. Petersburg Conservatory, ballet mistress and coach of the Maryinsky (Kirov) Theater, honored SPCB School by officially recognizing its superior classical ballet training in the Russian style. Ms. Komleva is an honorary SPCB Board member.
The Archdiocese of Minneapolis and Saint Paul call upon the Sacred Arts program at the Saint Paul City Ballet for movement during conferences, prayer services, and Masses.
Saint Paul City Ballet currently has over 100 student, parent, and community volunteers who generously give of their time.
History
2011-12 marks the 59th anniversary of the historic Grand Avenue studio and our tenth year as Saint Paul City Ballet.
Saint Paul City Ballet has a strong legacy from St. Anthony Park School of Dance begun by Sarah Linner Quie in 1982. Our Children’s and Sacred Arts programs developed from this partnership. Currently, SPCB is privileged to have a professional association with Gabriela Komleva, Professor, St. Petersburg Conservatory, coach and former prima ballerina of the Maryinsky Theatre(Kirov) in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ms. Komleva has traveled ten times from Russia to St. Paul to teach and coach students continuing a rich ballet lineage.