SINCE 1950
Creating performance opportunities for young dancers in the community.
WBC’s founder, Iris Merrick, pictured here at a performance at Marymount College in 1970.
Jean Logrea and Beth Fritz-Logrea have served as WBC’s Artistic Directors since 1986.
Westchester Ballet Company was founded by Iris Merrick in Ossining, New York, in 1950. A former student of Michel Fokine, she led WBC for its first 30 years, firmly establishing it as the leading regional company in Westchester for its high level of classical ballet training and professional productions.
From 1981-1986 the company was led by Gabriela Ionita, a political refugee from Romania, former principal of the Bucharest Opera Ballet Company, and graduate of the Vaganova (Kirov) Academy in Leningrad.
The classical European underpinnings of the company were further strengthened when Beth Fritz-Logrea and Jean Logrea, both principal dancers with the Graz Opernhaus Ballet, became artistic directors in 1986.
Over the decades WBC has had a sizable impact on many people in Westchester. Many hundreds of young people have benefited from the experience of training and performing with the company in its professionally produced productions. WBC scholarships have helped hundreds of young people afford and continue their dance training. And hundreds of thousands of individuals have enjoyed WBC’s performances for over seven decades.