PARA.MAR Dance Theatre

What PARA.MAR Dance Theatre does

PARA.MAR Dance Theatre is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) contemporary ballet repertory company founded in 2020 by award-winning choreographer Stephanie Martinez. The company produces original contemporary ballet works, guest-choreographer commissions, and community engagement programming, with an explicit emphasis on diverse artistic voices and radical accessibility. Its product portfolio includes the signature multi-format work 'kiss.' (six versions ranging from 5-minute community activations to a 50-minute full-length collaboration), the first full-length ballet 'MUJERES' (2024) inspired by Nobel Laureate Gabriela Mistral's poetry, and an expanding repertory of works by guest choreographers including Jennifer Archibald, Lucas Crandall, Robyn Mineko Williams, Yin Yue, and Hélène Simoneau. Productions are staged at Chicago venues such as the Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts and Pritzker Pavilion, with additional neighborhood-level outdoor and warehouse activations across Avondale, Rogers Park/Edgewater, and beyond.

The company operates a hybrid nonprofit revenue model combining ticket and donation income, tiered individual sponsorship (Founding Friends $100+ through Founding Pillars $20,000+), foundation and corporate grants (Jackson Legacy Foundation, NEFA, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, DCASE, Morrison Shearer, Pritzker Group), and touring/residency fees. Most community-facing programming is free or donation-based under a pay-what-you-can model, while benefit performances and premieres feature tiered VIP sponsorship packages ranging from $100 single tickets to $10,000 top-tier recognition. Distribution spans live venue performances, outdoor community activations, touring collaborations with peer companies such as Ballet Des Moines and Carmel Dance Festival, and licensable repertoire offered to other dance companies. The founding ensemble of nine dancers draws on alumni of Ballet Hispanico, Ballet BC, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Northwest Dance Project, including Princess Grace Award winners, providing a talent foundation that underpins production quality and grant competitiveness.

Name

PARA.MAR Dance Theatre

Legal name

PARA MAR DANCE

Website

https://paramardance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PARA.MAR Dance Theatre is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) contemporary ballet repertory company, founded in 2020 by Stephanie Martinez, that produces original performances, community engagement programs, and touring collaborations with a focus on diverse artistic voices and radical accessibility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts

NAICS

Dance Companies (711120), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Dance Theatre (Narrative/Experimental) (MPAGADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dance Festivals & Dance Series (MPAGADAJ), Dance & Movement (Ballroom, Contemporary, Social Dance) (EDAAAGAD), Theatre Services & Design (Scenic/Costume/Props/Stage Management) (MPAGABAO)

Keywords

• Contemporary ballet performances
• Dance repertory company
• Community dance programming
• Artist residency programs
• Nonprofit performing arts

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Performance Revenue: Ticket sales from mainstage productions, benefit performances, and community activations. Tiered pricing structure with VIP packages and general admission.
2. Individual Donations: Tax-deductible contributions from individuals supporting the company's mission. Multiple giving levels from Founding Friends ($100+) to Founding Pillars ($20,000+).
3. Foundation & Corporate Sponsorship: Support from foundations including New England Foundation for the Arts, Jackson Legacy Foundation, DCASE, IACA, Morrison Shearer Foundation, NEFA, and corporate sponsors. Includes named recognition tiers.
4. Programming Fees: Residency and touring engagements where PARA.MAR performs or provides programming at external venues and festivals

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PARA.MAR Dance Theatre is a Chicago-based contemporary ballet repertory company that produces and presents live dance performances, including original full-length ballets and shorter works by founder Stephanie Martinez and guest choreographers. The company supplements its performance programming with donation-based movement classes for dancers of all ages and abilities, neighborhood-based community activations, and artist residencies. Revenue is generated through ticketed performances, individual donations, foundation and corporate sponsorships, and residency or touring fees.

Product overview

PARA.MAR Dance Theatre is a Chicago-based contemporary ballet repertory company founded in 2020 by award-winning choreographer Stephanie Martinez. The company operates as a unified production company offering live dance performances and community engagement programs. Their core offerings include their signature productions such as kiss. (available in multiple versions: original outdoor, reimagined site-specific, full-length collaboration, summer festival, excerpt, and community activation formats), their first full-length ballet MUJERES inspired by Gabriela Mistral's poetry, and an expanding repertory of works by guest choreographers including Jennifer Archibald (Walk), Lucas Crandall (Threshold), Robyn Mineko Williams (Empty Orchestra), Yin Yue (Stay a Little Longer), Hélène Simoneau (So Soon My Love), and others. The company supplements its performance offerings with community engagement programs including donation-based movement classes for all ages and abilities, and artist residency programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MUJERES PARA.MAR's first full-length contemporary ballet, choreographed by founder Stephanie Martinez and inspired by the Locas Mujeres poems of Chilean Nobel Laureate Gabriela Mistral. Explores themes of identity, resilience, longing, and belonging for general audiences.
• kiss. Multi-version signature contemporary ballet work by Stephanie Martinez exploring intimacy and connection. Originally developed for a Chicago parking lot setting and adapted into multiple formats including site-specific, full-length, summer festival, excerpt, and community activation versions for diverse venues and audiences.
• v. anthology (Season V) Season V production celebrating five seasons of PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, bringing together repertory works for traditional stage presentation.
• Walk Contemporary dance work by Jennifer Archibald presented in warehouse premiere, summer festival, and community activation formats for general audiences and community engagement.
• Community Engagement Programs Donation-based movement classes for dancers of all ages and abilities, community activations, and free outdoor neighborhood performances designed to provide access to high-caliber arts experiences regardless of socioeconomic status.
• Artist Residencies Artist residency programs for dancers and choreographers, including themed residencies at Ragdale Foundation and Chicago-based work-in-process showings supporting choreographic development.
• PARA.MAR Repertory Collection Collection of contemporary ballet and dance works by founder Stephanie Martinez and guest choreographers including Lucas Crandall, Robyn Mineko Williams, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Yin Yue, Hélène Simoneau, Bryan Arias, Beatriz García Díaz, and Xavier Nuñez, presented as part of PARA.MAR's seasonal programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• Founded during pandemic to address artist displacement - created immediate employment for 9 dancers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Katten-Landau StudiominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 May 2024Chicago residency location for Phase 2 of MUJERES with work-in-process showing at the studio.
• Ragdale FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Artist residency at Ragdale for Phase 1 of MUJERES development. Supported choreographic development and creative process.
• Ballet Des MoinescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnique collaboration on kiss. full-length production featuring dancers from both companies. Five-week residency culminating in a full-evening performance with 16 performers at the Des Moines Civic Center, October 2021.
• Reva & David Logan Center for the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Chicago venue hosting MUJERES world premiere and benefit performance. Provided Performance Hall space for the full-length ballet production.
• Carmel Dance FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented kiss. summer festival as part of mixed rep bill with audience on three sides. Showcased PARA.MAR's work to festival audiences.
• Chicago Dancers UnitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented kiss. excerpt at Dance For Life benefit at Pritzker Pavilion. Supported company's visibility in Chicago dance community.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dayton Contemporary Dance Company: Mid-sized contemporary dance nonprofit with similar size and equity-driven mission to PARA.MAR. Comparable funding model and repertory licensing activity.
• Hubbard Street Dance Chicago: Chicago-based contemporary dance repertory company and 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Directly comparable as a same-city contemporary dance organization producing original and commissioned choreography for live audiences with touring and education programming.
• DanceWorks Chicago: Chicago-based dance repertory company producing contemporary ballet works for live audiences. Operates as a similarly sized nonprofit with comparable funding model and artistic programming.
• Luna Negra Dance Theater: Chicago-based contemporary dance company with strong cultural-identity programming and ties to founder Stephanie Martinez (whose rehearsal director Noelle Kayser began her career there). Closely comparable mission and operating geography.
• Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre: Chicago-based contemporary dance company focused on community engagement and accessibility. Directly comparable given similar operating model, regional footprint, and overlap with PARA.MAR ensemble members (e.g., Jayme Braverman).

Broad incumbents

• Ballet Hispanico: National Latino dance company where founder Martinez previously choreographed. Comparable through the diversity-and-access mission lens and repertory company structure, but operates at meaningfully larger scale.
• Joffrey Ballet: Major Chicago-based dance institution and prior choreographer employer of founder Martinez (Winning Works commission). Larger scale, broader repertoire (classical + contemporary), and deeper donor base make it a broader incumbent rather than direct peer.

Emerging players

• Complexions Contemporary Ballet: Contemporary ballet repertory company fusing classical technique with contemporary movement. Closely aligned to PARA.MAR's contemporary ballet positioning and similar repertory-licensing business model.
• Camille A. Brown & Dancers: Female-led, culturally rooted contemporary dance company with values alignment to PARA.MAR's equity-focused curation. Operates at similar organizational scale with comparable production cadence.
• A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham: New York-based contemporary dance company with strong social-impact mission focused on diverse voices, similar in operating model and values alignment to PARA.MAR but at a more developed touring scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• InstagramInstagram.com/paramardance
• Facebookfacebook.com/paramardance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paramardance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PARA.MAR Dance Theatre