Andrew & Cheryl Rist established the Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota in 1987 in St Paul’s artistic hub, Lowertown. The first year included a Nutcracker lecture/demonstration performed to about 150 people at St Paul’s Galtier Plaza. Today, the Nutcracker is presented to an annual audience of over 10,000. The Nutcracker production was presented under the name Ballet Minnesota even though the name was not officially incorporated until 1990. In May 1988 the first Minnesota Dance Festival was produced at the St Paul Student Center Theater on the University of Minnesota St Paul Campus. Ballet Minnesota assumed full responsibility for the Festival in 1990. The first official performance by Ballet Minnesota was held in the lobby area of the St Paul City Hall as a tribute to then mayor George Latimer. Ballet Minnesota has developed four major pillars to their annual season: the FALL Concert, the Classic Nutcracker, the Minnesota Dance Festival including staging of the Spring Classic, and the summer River Songs. Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota is the official school of Ballet Minnesota.

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