What We Do

The Northwest Michigan Ballet Theatre (NMBT) was founded in September of 1997 by director Thomas Morrell and is housed at the studios of Ballet Etc. Dance Institute.

The Company

Members are selected by open audition, regardless of studio affiliation, and range in age from 9 to 18. The purpose of the company is to offer education, technical training and performance opportunities to talented young dancers and to introduce the community to original ballet productions, formal and informal concerts and elementary school touring programs. It is also the intent of the director to introduce new, lesser-known fairy tales and folk legends to encourage young people to broaden their reading resources. The company has collaborated with the Encore Society of Music’s holiday concerts presenting The Reluctant Dragon, The Hans Christian Andersen Suite and Peter and the Wolf. They have also appeared with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra in their Family Series Concerts and have collaborated with the Traverse City Central Philharmonic in presenting Hansel & Gretel. Their other full-length ballets include A Midsummer Night’s Faerie Tale, Song of Wyoming, The Princess Peony, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Deirdre: A Celtic Tale, The Legend of Knockgrafton, Whither Thou Goest: The Story of Ruth, and The Nutcracker.

We strive for each of our talented students to feel comfortable and at home with us at all times. We want each student to have the choice to grow in whichever way they choose to, and be proud of their efforts and progress. Along with these goals, we want the students that decide to build a career to have a great foundation behind them, and for us to be a part of that foundation. If what we do as a company, team, and family is an interest to you or a passion of yours, we welcome you to come join us!