About this Project

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For a twelve years I have been the man behind A Ballet Education— Whether that was behind the camera, in front of the classroom, behind the words, or behind the mediums, it has always been me: David King. Some would say I am a polarizing figure in ballet, some would say I have no pedigree— but one thing I know I am is critical. Since the beginning of A Ballet Education, I have been critical of almost everything inside of ballet. And while I have titles and positions like executive director, editor, writer, dean of a school, entrepreneur, and owner of my own school— I have actually never fully run a ballet company or built one from scratch.

Why another ballet company when there are many established companies struggling to survive?

The business model that most established companies have fallen into isn’t the best. While the arts in America is constantly trying to find ways to survive in a capitalist society, it still relies heavily on major donors and grants. Most dancers across the country are underpaid, undervalued, and the system doesn’t really allow for dancers to move on. While the major companies thrive, the reality is— most don’t. Basic things are neglected like healthcare, physical therapy, paid-time-off, and a livable wage. 

In the midst of the Chamalet versus the arts, I took a pretty hard stance— and while I appreciate the engagement, and the fact that I make money off it— I realized, maybe I should be doing more. I thought about applying to companies for a marketing position, or development position, but that doesn’t really fix the whole problem. 

Then I had another thought— what if there was a company that was really designed for everyone, where the audience had a say in programming, in hiring, and endorsing dancers. 

While most aren’t privileged to board meetings, season planning, the financial goings on— I thought why not make it completely transparent. 

Clearly, I don’t have millions of dollars lying around, but then I thought, I do have a platform. I have a platform that isn’t big, but it isn’t small. With a little over 64K followers— I would just need an angel seed funding round from my social media capital to make this happen. The gist of it— If each follower donated $100, I would seed fund $6.4 million dollars. With season contracts being renewed, and audition season coming to a close— I would need to seed fund rather quickly- and move quickly to build a season. But no one should blindly give me $100, like I said earlier, this is about transparency and building something together as a community. 

Follow along as I raise capital to make a ballet company happen.

Note: Photos are stock images courtesy of go daddy, and while I have tons of photos, most feature students-- and that is not what I am trying to do here. Photos will be replaced.