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
New York International Ballet Competition Joffrey Ballet's Artistic Director, Ashley Wheater. The award was named the Arpino Award in honor of Mr. Gerald Arpino, acclaimed choreographer, dancer and co-founder of The Joffrey Ballet. The following is a list of notable participants, and where they are now: New York International Ballet Competition The New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC), was a program providing dance education and employment opportunities for young dancers ages 17 to 24. In 1983 Ilona Copen founded NYIBC, with Igor Youskevitch as first artistic director, in order to fill a void and satisfy a need in the global dance ecosystem. Other international ballet