Since its meager beginnings, City Ballet of Los Angeles has built itself into a ballet company that represents what Los Angeles is made of: diversity.

The school opened its doors in 2000. A space was donated from the First Baptist Church of Los Angeles on West Moorland and 8th Street. It was housed in a small room with no bars or mirrors and a concrete floor. The school enrolled children from the area that where from a variety of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. By spring of 2001 Irene Lewis, the Executive Director of the Red Shield Youth and Community Center, heard of our program and offered to donate their 4000 sq. foot state-of-the-art ballet studio to our program. This partnership was instrumental as it also provided the students with computer classes, library, and a host of other activities. Furthermore, the facility is in the Pico Union District, one of the most economically depressed areas in Los Angeles and a location critical to meeting the needs of our target students.

With the successful launch of the school we were able to focus on the company. Working with local artist we have steadily been building a repertoire from purely abstract pieces inspired by George Balanchine to interpretive classical pieces exploring relationships and contemporary issues. The music is also diverse: from J. S. Bach to John Coltrane. The premiere performance was in 2003 at the Bing Theater. The company performed original works by Artistic Director, Robyn Gardenhire, choreographer.