Historic Kalamazoo Ballet Begins New Chapter Under New Leadership
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 28, 2026
Three former Kalamazoo Ballet dancers help guide the 1970 nonprofit into its next chapter
From left, Aimee Tye, Angi Polderman and August Tye, all former Kalamazoo Ballet dancers, are helping guide Kalamazoo Ballet into its next chapter under new leadership.
photographer: Violet Polderman
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo Ballet Company, a Michigan nonprofit arts organization incorporated in 1970, is beginning a new chapter under new board leadership, with a renewed focus on ballet education, performance, access, artistic opportunity, and community partnership.
At the center of that next chapter are President Angi Polderman and directors Aimee Tye and August Tye — three dancers with longstanding connections to dance in Kalamazoo. All three trained at Kalamazoo Ballet and remain actively involved in Kalamazoo’s dance community today.
In that sense, the organization’s next chapter is being shaped by dancers who were themselves part of its earlier ones.
“Kalamazoo Ballet is part of our own history as dancers — for all three of us, it’s our origin story,” said Polderman. “As we began looking more deeply into the organization’s past, we found decades of performances, collaborations, newspaper coverage, programs, photographs, and stories. There is an extraordinary legacy here. Our responsibility now is to care for it and make it meaningful for the next generation.”
Kalamazoo Ballet Company was incorporated in Michigan in 1970 and became part of a flourishing ballet community in Kalamazoo. Over the decades, the organization participated in performances, educational activities, and collaborations with other area arts organizations, bringing ballet to audiences and dancers throughout the community.
Today, Kalamazoo Ballet is actively assembling and preserving an extensive historical archive documenting that work. Surviving newspaper coverage, photographs, programs, and other materials trace generations of dancers, teachers, productions, partnerships, and community engagement.
Kalamazoo Ballet’s history is closely intertwined with an even earlier ballet tradition in the city — the school from which generations of its dancers emerged.
In 1960, Thérèse “Terry” Bullard founded the Bullard School of Ballet in Kalamazoo. The school became an important part of the city’s dance community and was closely connected with generations of Kalamazoo Ballet dancers and performances.
In 2016, Tye Chua Dance acquired the Bullard School of Ballet and its name from Bullard, continuing a teaching tradition that now spans more than six decades.
Kalamazoo Ballet today works in close collaboration with Tye Chua Dance while remaining a legally and financially independent organization. The relationship allows Kalamazoo Ballet to support charitable, educational, and artistic opportunities while maintaining independent governance and stewardship of charitable funds.
Kalamazoo Ballet’s current priorities include expanding financial assistance for dancers, supporting performances and production opportunities, bringing guest artists and educational experiences to Kalamazoo, developing community partnerships, and preserving the history of ballet in the city.
“For us, this is both a continuation and a beginning,” Polderman said. “We have the opportunity to honor the dancers, instructors, artists, families, and community partners who built ballet in Kalamazoo while creating opportunities that matter to dancers and families today. We want Kalamazoo Ballet to remain a meaningful part of this community for generations to come.”
Additional programs, partnerships, and opportunities to support Kalamazoo Ballet will be announced throughout the 2026–27 season.
About Kalamazoo Ballet
Kalamazoo Ballet Company is a Michigan nonprofit arts organization incorporated in 1970, carrying forward a tradition of ballet performance, education, and community engagement spanning generations in Kalamazoo.
Under new board leadership beginning in 2026, Kalamazoo Ballet supports opportunities that strengthen ballet in the community, including performance, financial assistance, guest artists, educational experiences, community partnerships, and initiatives that expand access to serious classical ballet training.
Kalamazoo Ballet works in close collaboration with Tye Chua Dance while remaining a legally and financially independent organization governed by its own Board of Directors.
Media Contact
Angi Polderman
President, Kalamazoo Ballet
kalamazooballet@gmail.com
Press materials, organizational information, and historical resources:
tyechuadance.com/kalamazoo-ballet/press-media