When Tom West stepped in as executive director of Atlanta Ballet two years ago, he faced two major challenges — financial losses due to the pandemic and pressure for the organization to become more racially diverse.
In his affable and thoughtful way, West has made significant strides on both fronts, largely through a culture of transparent communication.
Ticket sales fell off during the pandemic, with the biggest losses incurred by “The Nutcracker,” which was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and permanently relocated in 2021 from the Fox Theatre to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Atlanta Ballet lost some audiences to the Fox Theatre’s touring show of “The Nutcracker” that year. This year West is stepping up marketing efforts for its annual production of the holiday classic to bring new audiences to the Cobb Energy Centre.
Meanwhile, West strives to give both audiences and dancers more of what they want while working to support the vision of artistic director Gennadi Nedvigin.
Because shows with name recognition like “Don Quixote” and the family-friendly “Beauty and the Beast” had record ticket sales last season, expect more shows that build young audiences like the new “Cinderella” that debuts in the spring.
And based on input from staffers and dancers, expect more new ballets and longer performance runs. Future programming will focus on world premieres, and the company will bring back a two-week run for “Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon” in February.
Part of the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts involve pay equity.
Classically trained dancers from underrepresented communities often choose more lucrative career paths over ballet, because most ballet companies require new dancers to serve in low-paid apprenticeships before they can earn a living. So West eliminated Atlanta Ballet’s apprentice level last year. First-year company members now earn a living wage.
In addition, four students from Atlanta Ballet 2, a training company at the school’s top level, have since been promoted into the professional company.
For all the accomplishments, West credits his team.
“This is in no way a one-person turnaround,” West said. “Everybody’s in it together, and we debate decisions, and everyone brings their opinions and challenges new ideas,” he said. “I think that’s how we get to better ideas.”
About the Author
