The George Balanchine Foundation (GBF) is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of the choreographer George Balanchine. Founded in 1983 by Barbara Horgan, Balanchine’s longtime assistant, the foundation works to document and disseminate Balanchine’s choreographic works, teachings, and artistic vision, primarily by licensing performances. ¹

Background

George Balanchine (originally known as George Balanchivadze) was a Russian-born choreographer who later became a naturalized American citizen and is one of the most influential figures in the history of dance. Born in 1904, Balanchine trained at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg before joining the Ballets Russes in the 1920s. He later co-founded the New York City Ballet in 1948, where he worked as artistic director until his death in 1983. Balanchine’s career produced over 400 choreographic works, ranging from classical ballets to abstract compositions. His innovative approach to dance, characterized by musicality, athleticism, and modernist aesthetics, revolutionized the art and earned him numerous accolades and honors throughout his lifetime. Balanchine died in 1983, and the George Balanchine Foundation was established soon after to manage his intellectual property. ²

In 1962 and 1972, Balanchine accompanied the New York City Ballet on tours of the Soviet Union. ³

Controversy

In 2004, the International Festival of Ballet in Havana, Cuba, hosted a performance of a dance set whose license was owned by the George Balanchine Foundation without the foundation’s permission. A spokesman for GBF criticized the performance, noting, “Cuba does not acknowledge the Geneva Conventions, so we have no control over what they might perform.” The event was also controversial because nine dancers from the New York City Ballet were barred from attending due to travel restrictions imposed by the American government. ⁴

Leadership

Peter Wolff is the board chair of the George Balanchine Foundation and the secretary of the board of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. Wolff is the former international vice president of Time Warner. ^{5 6}

Arlene Shuler is on the board of the GBF, and is a Pocantico Committee member at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Shuler previously worked as the president and chief executive officer of the New York City Center, as executive director of the Howard Gilman Foundation, as deputy director of the Wallace Funds, as president of General Atlantic Partners Foundation, and as vice president of Atlantic Philanthropic Service Company. ⁷

Randall Bourscheidt is the secretary of GBF and director of the Archive of New York City Cultural Policy of the New York Public Library. He previously worked as president of the Alliance for the Arts from 1989 to 2010. ⁸

Funding

The George Balanchine Foundation has received funding from the Brown Foundation, the Pettit Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Jerome Robbins Foundation. BGF has also received funding from government sources, including the National Endowment for the Arts, and
the New York State Council on the Arts. ⁹

Though GBF earns most of its revenues from charitable donations, it also earns some revenue from licensing George Balanchine’s choreography. In 2022, licensing and royalties earned the foundation $8,168. ¹⁰

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2. “The Life of George Balanchine.” Dance Magazine. Accessed March 5, 2024. https://www.dancemagazine.com/life-of-george-balanchine-2651965313.html.
3. Kisselgoff, Anna. Dance View; The Soviets Acknowledge Balanchine’s Place in Ballet.” The New York Times. July 22, 1984. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/22/arts/dance-view-the-soviets-acknowledge-balanchine-s-place-in-ballet.html.
4. Kinetz, Erika. “Balanchine in Cuba, Despite Barring of Americans and Authenticity Debate.” The New York Times. November 6, 2004. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/06/arts/dance/balanchine-in-cuba-despite-barring-of-americans-and-authenticity.html.
5. “About the Foundation.” George Balanchine Foundation. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://balanchine.org/about-the-foundation/.
6. “I. Peter Wolff, Secretary.” NCUSRC. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.ncuscr.org/people/i-peter-wolff/.
7. “Arlene Shuler.” Rockefeller Brothers Foundation. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.rbf.org/people/arlene-shuler.
8. “Randall Bourscheidt.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/randall-bourscheidt-7447973a/.
9. “About the Foundation.” George Balanchine Foundation. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://balanchine.org/about-the-foundation/.
10. “The George Balanchine Foundation Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/133180628/202342899349302539/full