Ballet Hawaii was established in 1976 as “Friends of the Ballet.” Initially it served as the support group to the Honolulu City Ballet whose first Artistic Director was Jim Hutchison. Salaries for the eighteen company dancers and the administrative and technical staff were covered by Federal C.E.T.A. funding. “The Friends” raised money for sets, costumes and production costs to fulfill their mission, which was “to provide performances, demonstrations and programs to educate the public to the art of the Ballet.” The company productions included classics such as Nutcracker and Coppelia. In 1979, the Federal C.E.T.A. funding ran out and with no alternative funding, the Honolulu City Ballet was forced out of existence. “The Friends of the Ballet” remained active, still committed to supporting ballet in Hawaii and found itself taking on the role of implementer and producer of ballet, rather than just being a support group.
