HISTORY

Mission Statement:  The Sun Valley Ballet School strives to provide high-level dance instruction and performance opportunities with affordable tuition, retain small class sizes and make available financial assistance and scholarships. 

The Sun Valley Ballet Foundation, Inc was established in 1978.  At that time it was simply, The Ballet Foundation, Inc.  Through the years the Foundation has supported The Sun Valley Ballet School, it too having a few varied names; The Ballet School, The Clara Spiegel School of Performing Arts, The Sun Valley Performing Arts School and now the well established, The Sun Valley Ballet School.  The Sun Valley Ballet School is a non-profit school.  School Directors are non-paid volunteers.  
  • Each December the school, produces and performs a full-length ballet.  All the ballet students from age 4 and up perform in the ballet.  On even years the school performs the holiday classic “the Nutcracker”. On odd years the school performs another fun, full-length ballet from our expanding repertoire including; Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, The Wizard of Oz, and The Little Mermaid. 
  • On even years we also abbreviate and narrate a version of the ballet and perform it in February free of charge for all of the elementary school children in Blaine County.  This is our Biennial Children Series and is the SVBS’s gift back to the community.
  • Every spring in the middle of May the entire school performs in our annual “Spring Showcase” which is a fun, fast paced show.  The Spring Showcase gives all the dancers an opportunity to step outside the traditional ballet box and perform jazz, modern, and lyrical ballet.  The HipHoppers have their first opportunity to perform on stage for the public.  And best of all, the 3 year old Creative Movement dancers don their tutus for the very first time and invariably steal the show. 

In January 2008 the north valley studio was moved into the new YMCA.  The YMCA built a state of the art dance floor in their main studio and our Ketchum dancers have enjoyed this fine studio and facility.

In 2016 the SVBS moved their Hailey studio into a newly renovated space downtown Hailey at the Meriwether Building 111 N 1st Ave, # 1A, just off Main Street and Bullion.  This facility also has a state of the art dance floor and easy access for all middle school, high school and south valley elementary and preschool dancers.
Visionary

Ms. Caputo moved to Sun Valley in 1984 and guest taught at the Sun Valley Ballet Foundation.  Prior to her move to the Wood River Valley, Ms. Caputo danced with the New York City Center Opera Ballet Company and Charles Weidman Dance Company. In 1948 she joined the New York City Ballet and danced under George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. In 1985 she became the director of the Sun Valley Ballet School, re-energizing it and creating a true ballet school for serious students. In 1988, she founded the Sun Valley Summer Dance, an annual festival that graced the valley with world-class dancers from the Joffrey Ballet for five years.  Additionally she choreographed many wonderful musicals presented by the Laughing Stock Theatre Group.

In honor of Ms. Paula Caputo and her invaluable contributions, the “Paula Caputo Scholarship Award”, a full tuition scholarship, was made available to all students in the studio ages three years old through the fifth grade.
Since 1978, at the SVBS there has always been a continuing vision and passion for dance, in particular ballet.  Ballet is more than just dance.  It teaches self esteem, confidence and body awareness.  These skills transfer to all the activities that the children of the Wood River Valley enjoy.  We at SVBS embrace the outside activities of our dancers.  We encourage our dancers to lead a full and happy life.  We hope that the skills we give them in the dance studio transfer into all aspects of their flourishing lives.