History
Anderson Young Ballet Theatre, Inc.
Anderson Young Ballet Theatre, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization committed to bringing the art of dance to the community. Anderson Young Ballet Theatre, Inc. (AYBT) is an honor company.
Anderson Young Ballet Theatre is semi-professional dance company. Lou Ann Young founded Anderson Young Ballet in 1974. AYBT has utilized Anderson's dancing youth to produce such full length ballets as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Romeo & Juliet, Cinderella, Giselle, Red Shoes, Swan Lake, and several ballet excerpts. AYBT is also one of the forerunners in dance for modern and musical theater. Each season, in addition to the Nutcracker, AYBT performs two additional full-length productions.
Our dancers are trained first in the Cecchetti Syllabus and then Vaganova forms of ballet. Our Jazz technique is based in Luigi. AYBT dancers have won such awards as Butler University's Margaret Sear Rosenblith Award, Arts & Letters & the Carey Rose Winski Memorial Scholarship. They have been accepted to the National Ballet School, School of American Ballet, Interlochen Arts Academy, and The Joffrey Ballet School. Professionally, our dancers have danced with Indianapolis Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, Lexington Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Walt Disney Productions, Dance Kaleidoscope, Kings Productions and Beef & Boards.
AYBT employs several choreographers who have won the Mid-State Regional Dance Festival's Monticello Award, their highest choreographer's award.
The Big Four Arts Depot
The Depot served Anderson as a passenger Depot between 1887 and 1971. It was later renovated as a facility for the performing arts and has been a home to the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre since 1985.
The Depot was once the "hub" of the community, and in 1932, it was reported that the "Big Four" had sent 8,760 passenger trains to the Depot in that year alone. In 1932, the "Big Four" employed 1,500 persons in Madison County and was the county's largest taxpayer at $133,000 per year.
In 1971, the last passenger train left the former "Big Four" Depot. The building was boarded up and left to decay for ten years. In the early 1970's the 'new' "Panhandle" station at 9th and Fletcher burned to the ground and the "Big Four" became the only surviving Depot in Anderson.
In 1980, Anderson attorney, John Eisele rescued the dilapidated building and with extensive remodeling, it became the "Park Tudor" gift shop. The gift shop sold fine gifts, china and housewares. A new roof was added to the building the inside was painted and the floor was repaired. None of the interior walls were disturbed, but a display platform was added to the interior on the east end of the building. The elegant shop was closed for unknown reasons in 1982.
In 1983, Ms. Elsie Perdue purchased the building from Mr. Eisele on contract. It was Elsie's dream to open a center for the performing arts. For two years, the "Performing Arts Station" hosted competitions for artists and poets, a street fair, poetry readings and afternoon musicals. The center also offered music lessons and held art shows. The west end of the building housed a railroad museum which displayed model trains and early railroad trivia. Unfortunately, patronage alone could not sustain the costs of operating the center and it reverted back to its former owner, Mr. Eisele, in 1993.
In 1985, the Anderson Young Ballet Academy signed a lease agreement with the owner and in September, 1994, the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre's Board of Directors purchased the Depot as a permanent facility for the performing arts.
In 2002, the Depot underwent a 12-month $1.5 million historic renovation with the help of a historic preservation grant. In May 2011, Dillon Street in front of the Depot was renamed Young Drive after Lou Ann Young. The Depot still remains today, home of the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre & Academy.
Anderson Young Ballet Theatre, Inc.
Anderson Young Ballet Theatre, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization committed to bringing the art of dance to the community. Anderson Young Ballet Theatre, Inc. (AYBT) is an honor company.
Anderson Young Ballet Theatre is semi-professional dance company. Lou Ann Young founded Anderson Young Ballet in 1974. AYBT has utilized Anderson's dancing youth to produce such full length ballets as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Romeo & Juliet, Cinderella, Giselle, Red Shoes, Swan Lake, and several ballet excerpts. AYBT is also one of the forerunners in dance for modern and musical theater. Each season, in addition to the Nutcracker, AYBT performs two additional full-length productions.
Our dancers are trained first in the Cecchetti Syllabus and then Vaganova forms of ballet. Our Jazz technique is based in Luigi. AYBT dancers have won such awards as Butler University's Margaret Sear Rosenblith Award, Arts & Letters & the Carey Rose Winski Memorial Scholarship. They have been accepted to the National Ballet School, School of American Ballet, Interlochen Arts Academy, and The Joffrey Ballet School. Professionally, our dancers have danced with Indianapolis Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, Lexington Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Walt Disney Productions, Dance Kaleidoscope, Kings Productions and Beef & Boards.
AYBT employs several choreographers who have won the Mid-State Regional Dance Festival's Monticello Award, their highest choreographer's award.
The Big Four Arts Depot
The Depot served Anderson as a passenger Depot between 1887 and 1971. It was later renovated as a facility for the performing arts and has been a home to the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre since 1985.
The Depot was once the "hub" of the community, and in 1932, it was reported that the "Big Four" had sent 8,760 passenger trains to the Depot in that year alone. In 1932, the "Big Four" employed 1,500 persons in Madison County and was the county's largest taxpayer at $133,000 per year.
In 1971, the last passenger train left the former "Big Four" Depot. The building was boarded up and left to decay for ten years. In the early 1970's the 'new' "Panhandle" station at 9th and Fletcher burned to the ground and the "Big Four" became the only surviving Depot in Anderson.
In 1980, Anderson attorney, John Eisele rescued the dilapidated building and with extensive remodeling, it became the "Park Tudor" gift shop. The gift shop sold fine gifts, china and housewares. A new roof was added to the building the inside was painted and the floor was repaired. None of the interior walls were disturbed, but a display platform was added to the interior on the east end of the building. The elegant shop was closed for unknown reasons in 1982.
In 1983, Ms. Elsie Perdue purchased the building from Mr. Eisele on contract. It was Elsie's dream to open a center for the performing arts. For two years, the "Performing Arts Station" hosted competitions for artists and poets, a street fair, poetry readings and afternoon musicals. The center also offered music lessons and held art shows. The west end of the building housed a railroad museum which displayed model trains and early railroad trivia. Unfortunately, patronage alone could not sustain the costs of operating the center and it reverted back to its former owner, Mr. Eisele, in 1993.
In 1985, the Anderson Young Ballet Academy signed a lease agreement with the owner and in September, 1994, the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre's Board of Directors purchased the Depot as a permanent facility for the performing arts.
In 2002, the Depot underwent a 12-month $1.5 million historic renovation with the help of a historic preservation grant. In May 2011, Dillon Street in front of the Depot was renamed Young Drive after Lou Ann Young. The Depot still remains today, home of the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre & Academy.