A Note to Carolina Ballet guests from our CEO Zalman Raffael

To our valued Carolina Ballet community,

In light of emerging events and for the health and well-being of our staff and community, we have made the difficult decision to postpone Macbeth and Cinderella into the 2020-2021 season and cancel the remaining performances of A Celebration of Female Choreographers featuring Boléro. Communication regarding these changes has been sent to ticket holders via email; however, you can use this form to indicate how you would like the Box Office to handle your unused tickets and they will process your request as soon as possible. We expect to be assisting a lot of patrons so your patience is appreciated.

The most helpful things you can do are to convert any unused 2019-2020 tickets into a donation to Carolina Ballet, buy a subscription to next season and, if you are in a position to do so, make a gift in support of our annual fund. You can find out about ways to give here. Non-profits have no contingency budgets for the kind of emergency we are facing, so your gift goes directly to support the artists and staff of Carolina Ballet.

I know this time is presenting its hurdles. With it comes feelings of discomfort and uncertainty. The options we have to choose from present two paths, either succumb to fear without hope or to cultivate faith with action.

As leaders of the future, we must stay hopeful. Encourage one another to stay healthy and make good choices. Take this opportunity to look inward and find gratitude in the things we tend to overlook daily. Let this remind us how beautiful life is, and that this moment is all there ever was and all there ever will be. Nothing ever happened next.

I suspect the reason art has survived the test of time is because of its ability to transcend, tranquilize, evoke and offer illusion. Permitting some sense of meaning beyond our daily struggles. Art shows up subliminally in all our lives. So much so, that we often do not realize its impact in developing the people we are. How sensitive we are. How aware we are. It seems apparent to me how necessary it is for all art to thrive in communities that are growing. Communities that are looking to elevate the minds and spirits of its tenants. Or during times such as these.

At the moment, we are the stewards of a specific art form which is ballet. It is our responsibility to maintain and preserve its history and future. All of Carolina Ballet’s employees and patrons are the vessels of ballet today.

If we can unite during this time to avoid fear, we will see the future together, no doubt. We all play a vital role in lifting one another up.

With gratitude,

Zalman Raffael, Artistic Director/CEO

Virtual classes at The School of Carolina Ballet begin on Monday, March 23, 2020. Please email Shelley Jacobsson at sjacobsson@carolinaballet.com for more information.

We invite everyone to follow all CDC guidelines for staying healthy and visit Wake County’s information page regarding further local COVID-19 developments here.