, a nonprofit dedicated to giving local unestablished artists professional opportunities to show their original works in the Utah community.
The cooperative wanted to move away from the hierarchy that is often found in professional companies so it could focus on creating a welcoming atmosphere that gives dancers a sense of belonging. The cooperative offers affordable technique classes each week and pays the dancers for each performance. The dancers in the cooperative are always changing, but typically there's around 10 dancers in each performance. Many of the dancers are out of college, have full-time jobs or have other responsibilities, so they love that the cooperative gives them the opportunity to perform without having to commit all year long to a company.
"The dancers are paid for performances, which is wonderful. They are paid a really nice wage for performances, but they're not quite paid for rehearsals yet, so most of the dancers are working in the evening or have other jobs," she said. Chrysalis shows range from classical works to "innovative, cutting edge contemporary works," she said. When you see a small company like Chrysalis perform, you'll see a wide range of styles, not just "classical ballet tutus," Creer-King said.Former BYU ballet professor Shani Robison will join Chrysalis this year as co-artistic director. She said Creer-King is a go-getter and she is excited to see how the company will grow.
Robison said there were dancers who graduated and were wanting to take the next step, but there wasn't anywhere for them to go. Dancers from the Salt Lake Ballet Cooperative perform in their show "Stay" in June 2022 in Salt Lake City.