It’s All About Dance at Columbia Ballet Collaborative

Extracurriculars is a new series within Columbia News dedicated to showcasing the many clubs and organizations that exist at Columbia University.

Columbia Ballet Collaborative (CBC), founded in 2007 by five professional dancers enrolled at Columbia, is comprised of students from all of the University’s undergraduate colleges and affiliates, some of whom are current or former professional dancers. CBC is student-run and directed, and its members have danced professionally with such companies as Ballet West, Boston Ballet, New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and Zurich Opera Ballet. 

CBC’s Mission

CBC is committed to enriching the arts in the Columbia community, and providing a platform for collaboration between professionals in the New York dance community and Columbia students. The group encourages interdepartmental partnerships, cultivates performances of new works, participates in outreach programs, offers free weekly ballet classes to the Columbia community (anyone can join, from beginners to advanced dancers), and provides affordable tickets to CBC performances. Regarding CBC's focus on developing new works, a New York Times article said, "New choreographic voices are rare in ballet, and the collaborative's contributions in this respect have been vast already."

Who Can Join

CBC holds auditions at the beginning of every semester for the fall and spring performances, which include works by both leading professional and student choreographers. CBC usually casts 30 to 50 dancers in these productions.

“Most of our dancers are highly trained in dance, and are either current or former professional dancers,” said JiaLi Deck, Columbia Ballet Collaborative’s public relations director and a Barnard sophomore double-majoring in dance and sociology. “Works are not limited to classical ballet, and our programs often include opportunities for contemporary dancers.”

Club Activities

In addition to its fall and spring performances, CBC supports student choreographic voices through its Student Choreographic Fellowship: Every semester, one student is selected to choreograph an original work on CBC dancers. Another project, the Outreach Program, was founded in 2011, and provides students with dance pedagogy training and sends them to teach ballet at local public schools. An event hosted by CBC is the Ivy Ballet Exchange (IBE), which began in 2014 and has grown to include dancers from five Ivy League institutions.

“IBE is a coveted experience among Ivy League dancers that builds community and brings artists in academia together,” said Deck.

Rehearsals

Dancers in each performance piece rehearse once a week on Saturday or Sunday for two hours. Dancers may be in up to two pieces. Most rehearsals and the free, 90-minute-long open classes take place at Bridge for Dance, a studio within walking distance from campus. Certain rehearsals may take place at other studios downtown, although dancers in need can request OMNY cards to cover the cost of transportation. 

Columbia Ballet Collaborative’s 2026 Spring Gala is on April 25th at 7:30 pm in the Ailey Citigroup Theater. 

“The Spring Gala is for anyone interested in dance,” said Deck. “This semester, we have an exciting line-up of contemporary choreographers, each presenting an original work. We are also thrilled to be the first Ivy League institution to present George Balanchine’s classic work Concerto Barocco.”

“We are about to celebrate our 20th anniversary, highlighting the profound role of CBC in Columbia’s and New York City’s art spaces,” added Deck.

For more information, visit: https://www.columbiaballetcollaborative.com