ArtsReach Education Program Brings
The Beauty of Ballet to Young People

Few things are more refreshing than a child straight from one of Ballet Oklahoma's award-winning ArtsReach programs. They tell it like it is. “It was a wonderful and entertaining experience to have gone to the ballet. With your donation, you made it possible for me to finally see a live performance of a ballet production. The ballet was actually enjoyable, unlike what TV has made me to believe as something boring.”

Each year sponsors of the ArtsReach program receive hundreds of letters that are filled with just such comments from students, thanking them for the opportunity to experience the ballet firsthand.

ArtsReach has been recognized as an innovative education program by the Business Committee for the Arts in New York City. It has been featured on the national Film and Arts Network and Bravo, and in 1997 received a prestigious Governor's Arts Award.

Now in our seventeenth year, ArtsReach is designed to bring the beauty of ballet into the lives of students across the state. The ArtsReach program began with only 1,500 students. In the past 17 years more than 120,000 students and educators have participated in ArtsReach.

ArtsReach begins eight weeks before the live performance. Educators from the participating schools spend a day at the ballet studios, where they are immersed in ballet technique, history, management and background on the creative contributions of the ballet. The educators also are given an eight-week curriculum to use in the classroom, complete with videos and other materials.

Last year, support from Allied Arts Foundation; Kirkpatrick Foundation; McCasland Foundation; Oklahoma Arts Council; National Endowment for the Arts and Target Stores enabled Ballet Oklahoma to continue offering the program to all students free of charge. Their generosity spoke of these organizations' commitment to the arts and the role it plays in the lives of our children.

For more information on how your school and students can become involved in the ArtsReach Program call Viktoria Paige at 405/843-9898.