Beyond the Ballet

Beyond the Ballet

At the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet, we believe it is our responsibility to not only focus on the ballet education of our dancers, but also to prioritize leading through example within our larger community. In recent years, SDCYB has made the conscious choice to play a more active role in various efforts that showcase to our dancers the importance of going “beyond the ballet,” using our community’s shared love of dance to make a difference in the world.

Learn more about our these efforts below.

Advocacy for the Arts

At SDCYB, we understand the need to actively seek support for the arts from all levels. We are outspoken about our belief in the vital necessity of arts education in the lives of our youth, and the importance of advocating for the arts in both funding measures and legislation. We have hosted many elected local and national officials at our performances - including Todd Gloria, Susan Davis and Chris Ward, among others - where they have introduced our productions from the stage.

We are proud members of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, and we played a vocal role in the #Rise4Arts campaign in 2017. At an important rally on May 7th, speakers included both our President & CEO Molly Terbovich-Ridenhour (WATCH HERE) and a young student, Renata (WATCH HERE).

We encourage you to stay engaged and help secure a future of arts education for all of us!

Sustainability

Operating with sustainable practices is extremely important to SDCYB, and we have prioritized those efforts in recent years. We focus on being eco-conscious with our office purchases, as well as our productions, which utilize countless reused costumes. We were active in the process of certifying the Casa del Prado as LEED Silver in 2015, and its re-certification in 2020. Since 2015, SDCYB has had a representative on the Balboa Park Green Team, Marketing Manager Ira Bauer-Spector, who was also named a Balboa Park Eco-Champion in 2019 by the Balboa Park Sustainability Program.

In Summer 2018, SDCYB solidified these commitments with a sustainability theme for our annual Fairy Tale Village. At the time, we stated the project was “an opportunity for SDCYB to demonstrate through example to our constituents, and the community, that every individual/organization – sustainability-focused or not, large or small, nonprofit or for-profit – can make a difference through sustainable practices.” We were very honored when later that year, we received a 2018 Balboa Park Sustainability Award from the Balboa Park Sustainability Program. To read more about the event, CLICK HERE.

Charitable Giving

Giving back to our community, especially those in need, is a value that we treasure here at SDCYB. For the last few years, we have partnered with local organizations such as Father Joe’s Villages and the San Diego Food Bank to host drives in conjunction with our annual performances of the beloved holiday family tradition, The Nutcracker.

We have hosted toy drives, as well as drives for much-needed household items. In 2020, we even went virtual with a food drive! We are all so grateful for the opportunities we have to dance together, and giving the SDCYB community a chance to give back to those less fortunate just enhances the pride we feel in the classroom, on the stage, and in the office.