National Ballet of Washington, D.C.

The National Ballet of Washington, D.C. was an American national ballet company founded in 1962 by Jean Riddell granddaughter of the founder of PET Evaporated Milk and artistic director Frederic Franklin, with financial support from the Ford Foundation. Its studios were located at 2801 Connecticut Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC.

The company premiered on January 3, 1963 at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium, changed residency upon the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1972, and officially ended on June 13, 1974.

The National Ballet brought ballet to every state in the United States but two, and also performed in Canada and Mexico.

Ben Stevenson OBE was co-artistic director from 1971 to 1974.

In 1958, Frederic Franklin was appointed co-director of the Washington Ballet by its founder, Mary Day. Franklin choreographed two original works – Etalage to music by Franz Liszt and Homage au Ballet with music by Charles-François Gounod – for the Washington Ballet. In 1960, Franklin said in an interview, "We are working towards a resident company in the nation's capital." He resigned in April 1961 after a dispute over the future direction of the company.

The National Ballet of Washington, DC was co-founded in 1962 by Jean Riddell, chairman of the board of the Washington Ballet Guild and a committed patron of the arts, and Frederic Franklin, artistic director, with financial assistance from the Ford Foundation. Mrs. Riddell was named president of its sustaining organization, the National Ballet Society. Franklin and Riddell also created the National Ballet School with an enrollment of 250 girls and boys with class size limited to 15 students.

Franklin said: "The school and the company are for America and for all the good dancers that we can find and develop. Our intention is to establish a national company in the nation's capital based on artistic policies similar to those of the New York City Ballet and the original policy of the Sadler's Wells Ballet." Riddell said, "The National Ballet is the only logical name for this company – it's designed not only for Washington, but also for growth."

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