The Largest Ballet & Classically Based Companies

This is Dance Data Project’s^® sixth annual study of the Largest U.S. Ballet and Classically Based Companies. Following the precedent of previous reports, this report examines the financial scope of the Largest 150 U.S. ballet and classically based professional companies. These companies are divided into three categories: the Largest 50 (#1-50), the Next 50 (#51-100), and the Additional 50 (#101-150) companies for further analysis. This report is based on companies’ total expenditures from 990 filings from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the fiscal year ending 2022, includes preliminary data from FY 2023, and provides information on aggregate expenditures, each category’s contribution to the ballet economy, as well as changes from the previous years.

In Fiscal Year 2022, the Largest 150 ballet and classically inspired companies operated with a total aggregate expenditure of $719,228,871, a significant 62.76% increase from the $441,886,534 total for FY 2021. The Largest 50 companies operated with a total of $640,960,698, accounting for 89.12% of the total expenditures in FY 2022. The Largest 10 (#1-10) accounted for 59.30% of expenditures within the Largest 50 with $380,115,421 in FY 2022.

The Largest 50 companies remain relatively stable in their ranks compared to the Next 50 and Additional 50, when comparing the rank changes from FY21 – FY23. There are only three companies that have moved into the Largest 50 since FY21 (Cleveland Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, and Los Angeles Ballet), and all companies within this grouping have only shifted by a few positions.

“The lack of movement within the Largest 50 shows that these companies consistently produce budgets that remain relatively similar to each other, even when the ballet sector as a whole is in financial decline (as showcased in FY21 aggregate expenditures),” said DDP Senior Research Consultant Junyla Silmon. “This finding also demonstrates that ‘it’s good to be big,’ as the Largest 50 continue to garner an overwhelming percentage of available funding and resources. This has immense implications for the national arts & culture scene in the United States and should be one of the most urgent topics of discussion at arts convenings.”

For the first time ever, this year’s Report expands DDP’s investigation to include rankings based on revenue, fiscal year surplus/deficits, and company size based on the number of dancers.

Among the Largest 50 companies, each company’s revenue in FY 2022 exceeded revenue in FY 2021, with total revenue for the Largest 50 rising from $626,504,139 in FY 2021 to $738,667,545 in FY 2022. Similar to expenditures, company revenues in FY 2022 have risen to levels comparable to or slightly exceeding those of pre-pandemic, FY 2019.

For FY 2023, among the 145 companies with available FY 2023 returns, 69 (47.6%) finished with a surplus, whereas 76 (52.4%) finished in a deficit. For FY22, among the 150 companies examined, 122 (81.3%) finished with a surplus, whereas 29 (18.7%) finished in a deficit.

“Examining both revenue and expenditures, as well as the difference between the two, offers a more comprehensive view of a company’s financial status and the overall scope of the ballet industry’s economic landscape” said DDP Chief External Affairs Officer Isabelle Ramey. “Company size defined by the number of dancers further informs the scale at which different companies operate, providing deeper insights into their financials, and how companies with similar financial resources support varying staffing levels of dancers.”

Within the Largest 50, the number of dancers within these companies ranges from 9 to 104, with the median number of dancers at 40.5. Within the Largest 10, the number of dancers within these companies ranges from 55 to 104, with the median number of dancers at 61.

In another step of notable expansion for this Report, DDP captured yearly budgets for companies that fall outside of the Largest 150 companies, giving a more in-depth picture of this sector of the U.S. dance economy and highlighting organizations doing good work on limited resources. This deepening in analysis was carried out with multiple data verification protocols. Over the past three months, the DDP team has initiated rounds of data verification and outreach with the national ballet community.

“In a monumental step forward, the DDP team has personally contacted 205 companies nationwide to gather the most current information possible, cutting through IRS lag times and engaging in important conversations with staff regarding their company structure, filing extensions, and salary benchmarking,” said DDP Founder & President Elizabeth Yntema. “The feedback received underscores the importance of this information, highlighting its critical role in shaping industry standards. It is imperative that dance companies understand the necessity of providing this data to ensure continued progress and transparency in the field, as discussed in my recent op-ed with Dance Magazine: Why Transparency is Vital for the Dance Field’s Health.”

“This Report will serve as the foundation for subsequent comparative analyses throughout the year. With these companies’ participation, we are encouraged to see how many organizations rely on DDP reporting to inform their decision-making,” said DDP Research Lead Jenna Magrath. “Dancers, journalists, grant writers, artistic and executive staff, and audience members alike can stand to benefit from having this information at their fingertips, without a paywall.”

DDP utilized proprietary software to source information directly from publicly available Form 990s on the IRS website for the purposes of this Report. This innovative tool was supplemented by direct verification from companies to account for organizational accounting discrepancies or amended tax returns that were not publicly available at the time of data collection.

To inquire about sources, operational definitions, or further classifications for the Largest 150, or to learn more about DDP’s research in general, please contact Research Lead Jenna Magrath at jmagrath@dancedataproject.com.