Growing Nonprofit Ballet Studio Acquires Nutcracker Costumes

Ballet Etude Academy is a non-profit dance studio dedicated to providing high-quality ballet education with professional-level performance opportunities in rural Madison county. And their organization is growing: When they opened their doors in Fall of 2023, 39 students were enrolled in the studio. In Fall of 2026, they had more than quadrupled that number. 

The studio wanted to invest in high-quality Nutcracker costumes that could be professionally stored and used again and again in their annual production. CHC Foundation provided a grant to make this possible. 

"This grant has made a huge impact on Ballet Etude and will help make this year's Nutcracker our best production yet," shared Operations Director Madissen Fujimoto. "Because of this support, we are able to comfortably cover our theater rental, add a third performance after selling out our two shows last year, and bring in a professional guest artist. The grant has given us the flexibility to invest in the production itself while keeping it affordable for our dancers and our community. It has also helped us continue building the resources we need to create a beautiful, high-quality Nutcracker that we can grow and improve year after year."