Carolina Ballet in the Triangle region was not only needed but desired as well. Robert Weiss, former principal dancer with New York City Ballet and past artistic director of Pennsylvania Ballet, was selected in April 1997 as the founding artistic director of the new professional company, known as Carolina Ballet, Inc. Dancers of the Carolina Ballet, as of April 2016: Carolina Ballet Carolina Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1997 which performs primarily in Raleigh, North Carolina and throughout the state. It has toured to New York City, Hungary and China. Robert Weiss, the artistic director, danced for George Balanchine for
Colonial Theatre (New York City) and classic drama. In 1932, as the RKO Colonial Theatre, it became a movie house. After 1951 the theater was owned by NBC who used it to develop color television equipment (the TK-40 color television camera) and studio techniques, and functioned as a television studio until 1971. Rebekah Harkness subsequently purchased the theater, renovated it, and reopened it in 1974 as the Harkness Theatre. After presenting a sporadic schedule of ballet and legitimate theater, it closed in 1977, and the building was razed later that year. Colonial Theatre (New York City) The Colonial Theatre in New York City was at