The original Civic Ballet of Chattanooga was founded by Helen Jones in the 1950s. Miss Jones was a well known contributor to regional ballet in the Southeast. Mrs. Massari was an active member of this company from 1963 through 1970. The company became inactive in 1973 due to the death of Mrs. Jones. In 1974, to honor her memory, Mrs Massari and Mr Wood reinstated the charter and began the The NEW Civic Ballet.
The present Civic Ballet of Chattanooga is based at the Massari-Wood Dance Center in East Brainerd. Our Mission is to provide a semi professional Civic Ballet organization which will give talented area dancers the opportunity for performance which they might otherwise have to leave Chattanooga to experience. It also delivers a chance to educate the general public to the broad spectrum of ballet through, productions, out reach programs, and school shows.
The present Civic Ballet of Chattanooga has produced an annual production of The Nutcracker since 1983. The Senior ballet company, along with members of the Training company also participate in an annual spring production. Their repertory includes such works as Cinderella, La Fille Mal Gardee, Coppelia, Firebird, Swan Lake(Act 2), Gaite Parisienne, Graduation Ball, Giselle(Act2), Les Sylphides, Pas De Quatre, La Boutique Fantasque, Sleeping Beauty Variations, exerpts from Paquita Grand Pas Classic,excerpts from Esmerelda, and numerous original works. The company has performed for the Very Special Arts Festival at Orange Grove Center, Performing Arts League,Chattanooga Dances, and The Tennessee Association of Dance. They have also appeared with various companies including the Scottish-American Ballet, the Tennessee Festival Ballet, and the Allegro Dance Theater. With funding from the Allied Arts of Chattanooga and Project ABLE, the Civic Ballet has presented the educational program, ABC DANCE in past years for over 10,000 area children.