The George Balanchine Trust

What The George Balanchine Trust does

The George Balanchine Trust is a private non-profit trust established in 1987 and headquartered at 20 Lincoln Center, New York, with the mission of preserving and protecting the choreographic works of George Balanchine. The organization is the exclusive global licensor of approximately 75 active Balanchine ballets (plus reconstructed and restorable works), enforcing copyright over all media and live performance rights worldwide. It is governed by a board of trustees including Kay Mazzo Bellas, Stuart H. Coleman, Carole Divet Harting, Barbara Horgan, and Susan Gluck Pappajohn, with day-to-day operations led by Director Nicole Cornell and General Manager Nicole Montano.

The Trust's core product is its Ballet Licensing Services, in which ballet companies, schools, universities, and presenters must submit written requests at least six months in advance of performance dates. License fees and royalties are negotiated based on each applicant's organizational structure and budget, and every licensed production requires a Trust-approved repetiteur to stage the work. Supporting services include Repetiteur coordination, Costume Rental Assistance via referrals, an online searchable Ballet Catalog (alphabetical and chronological), and a 'See Balanchine' global directory of performing companies. The BALANCHINE trademark and all underlying choreography copyrights are registered and actively enforced, including removal of unauthorized social media postings.

The go-to-market is a direct, sales-led licensing motion operating on a global footprint spanning North America, South & Central America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. The Trust distinguishes itself from the related but separate George Balanchine Foundation, which focuses on research, reconstructions, publications, and lectures. Revenue is generated primarily through licensing fees and royalties, with no public financial disclosure.

Name

The George Balanchine Trust

Legal name

The George Balanchine Trust

Website

https://balanchine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The George Balanchine Trust is a New York-based non-profit trust established in 1987 that exclusively licenses approximately 75 active George Balanchine ballets to ballet companies, schools, universities, and presenters worldwide, enforcing copyright and requiring Trust-approved repetiteurs for all staged productions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Choreographic Licensing / Performing Arts IP Management

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223)

SIC

Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Contracting, Licensing & Rights Management (Music/Performance Releases) (HSACAHAM)

Keywords

• Choreographic licensing
• Ballet performance rights
• Intellectual property management
• Performing arts licensing
• Copyright royalty administration

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Ballet Licensing Fees and Royalties: The Trust generates revenue through licensing fees and royalties charged to ballet companies, schools, universities, and presenters for staging George Balanchine's ballets. Fees are structured based on each organization's structure and budget. This is the primary revenue stream for the Trust.
2. Repetiteur Coordination Services: The Trust organizes the engagement of repetiteurs to teach classes at schools and companies, coordinating the staging of ballets worldwide. Repetiteurs are contracted separately from the Trust's license.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The George Balanchine Trust licenses the choreographic works of George Balanchine to professional ballet companies, dance schools, universities, and event presenters worldwide. All licensing requires a Trust-approved repetiteur to stage the work, with fees and royalties negotiated based on the requesting organization's structure and budget. The Trust also enforces the BALANCHINE trademark and protects all copyrights including media rights and live performance rights.

Product overview

The George Balanchine Trust offers a centralized licensing service for approximately 75 active George Balanchine ballets, with additional reconstructed and rarely performed works available for staging. The core product is the Ballet Licensing Services, supported by an online Ballet Catalog organized alphabetically and chronologically. Additional services include organizing Repetiteur Services to stage ballets and providing Costume Rental Assistance through a network of previously licensed companies. The See Balanchine resource provides a global directory of companies performing Balanchine's works across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South & Central America, and Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ballet Licensing Services The primary service of The George Balanchine Trust, granting licenses to professional ballet companies, dance schools, universities, and presenters to stage George Balanchine's choreographic works. Written requests are required at least six months before performance dates, including ballet name, performance dates, venue, ticket prices, rehearsal period, dancer counts, and a video showing the company's performance quality. License fees and royalties are negotiated based on each applicant's organizational structure and budget, and all licensed productions require a Trust-approved repetiteur for staging.
• Ballet Catalog An online searchable database of George Balanchine's ballets, available in both alphabetical and chronological order, providing details for each work such as composer, duration, and number of dancers. Used by prospective licensees to identify and research the approximately 75 active ballets in the Trust's catalog.
• Repetiteur Services The Trust organizes the engagement of Trust-approved repetiteurs to teach classes at schools and companies and to stage Balanchine ballets in rehearsals through to premiere. All licensed ballets require a Balanchine Trust-approved repetiteur; repetiteurs are contracted separately from the Trust's license.
• See Balanchine (Company Network Directory) A directory on the Trust's website listing ballet companies worldwide that regularly perform Balanchine ballets, organized by region including North America, South & Central America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Africa. Serves as a reference for audiences and prospective licensees.
• Costume Rental Assistance The Trust connects prospective licensees with companies that have previously licensed a given ballet and may have costumes available for rent, reducing the cost burden of building costumes from scratch for new productions.

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• The George Balanchine FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhile distinct from The George Balanchine Trust, the Foundation pursues related goals utilizing the Balanchine legacy to advance dance development worldwide through research, ballet reconstructions, publications, lectures, and videos. The Foundation maintains an extensive catalogue of companies that have performed ballets, which can serve as a guide for costume rental options for licensees.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Pina Bausch Foundation: Manages the artistic legacy and licensing of Pina Bausch's dance-theater works to performing ensembles worldwide. A direct functional peer in single-choreographer IP stewardship, applied to dance-theater rather than classical ballet.
• The George Balanchine Foundation: Sister organization to the Balanchine Trust; while it focuses on research, reconstructions, and educational programs rather than licensing, it shares the same rights holder, catalog, and costume-rental network — a closely related, partially overlapping counterpart in the Balanchine IP ecosystem.
• William Forsythe Company: Administrates and licenses the choreographic works of William Forsythe to ballet companies globally. A living-choreographer analog to the Balanchine Trust — same exclusive-licensing business model for a major modern ballet catalog.

Direct peers

• The Frederick Ashton Foundation: Trust body that protects and licenses the choreographic works of Frederick Ashton to ballet companies and schools internationally. Same single-choreographer IP-and-licensing model as the Balanchine Trust, but for a British choreographer.
• Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance: Licenses and stages the choreographic works of Martha Graham under a similar trust/foundation stewardship model; operates as the exclusive rights holder for Graham's catalog with repertory licensing to companies and schools worldwide — directly comparable rights-management and licensing business to the Balanchine Trust.
• Merce Cunningham Trust: Administrates and licenses the choreographic works of Merce Cunningham, including staging rights and media licensing, under a trust structure. Functionally the closest 1:1 analog to the Balanchine Trust in managing a single iconic 20th-century choreographer's body of work.
• The Jerome Robbins Foundation: Administrates the choreographic legacy of Jerome Robbins, including licensing his ballets and theatrical works for restaging. Closely mirrors the Balanchine Trust's exclusive-licensing model for a major American choreographer with an active repertory.
• Antony Tudor Ballet Trust: Administers the choreographic works of Antony Tudor, overseeing stagings and licensing of his ballets to performing companies. Another small, single-choreographer licensing trust — directly comparable in mission and operating scale to the Balanchine Trust.

Broad incumbents

• New York City Ballet: Balanchine's 'home company' and largest single licensee, also a major producer and licensor in its own right of staging and media content. Comparable as a ballet institution that interacts with — and partially substitutes for — Trust licensing in the highest-prestige segment.
• Boosey & Hawkes (Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers): Major classical music publisher that administers rights and licenses scores used in many Balanchine ballets and similar repertoires. Functionally comparable as an established rights-administration and licensing organization in the performing-arts rights stack, even though it is music- rather than choreography-focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The George Balanchine Trust