History of North Pointe Ballet

North Pointe Ballet was founded in 2016 by Artistic Director Janet Dziak with the mission to make classical ballet accessible to everyone in the community.

After retiring as a professional ballerina with the Saint Louis Ballet, Ms. Dziak returned to her hometown in Lorain County to teach and choreograph for other arts organizations. During this time, she developed a passion for making the arts accessible to under-served populations. She was particularly inspired to begin her mission with the special needs community as a result of her personal encounters with Autism within her own family. Mrs. Dziak decided to use her experiences as a professional dancer and her passion for serving those with special needs to start a non-profit. She dedicated her focus to developing programming that served the community.

North Pointe Ballet first contracted professional dancers in 2016 and gained non-profit status in January of 2017. The company is entering its fifth year fulfilling its mission to make classical ballet accessible to everyone, and continues to expand the types of individuals it serves. NPB is currently providing programming such as Sensory-Friendly theatrical performances, arts education workshops in local elementary schools, scholarships for Black and Latinx dancers, opportunities for children with special needs to learn and perform ballet, and community outreach events as hospice centers, hospitals, nursing homes and libraries in addition to full-length classical works onstage.

Entering its fifth season, NPB continues to make advancing the arts in Lorain and Cuyahoga Counties a priority. The company contracts 10-15 professional dancers for approximately 30 weeks per year and stages four full-length artistic productions for 15 public performances and 20 community engagements performances each season.