Tutus for Artsakh: How $25,000 Worth of Ballet Gear Came to Be on Its Way to Stepanakert

FALMOUTH, Maine (A.W.)—When girls or boys finish their end-of-year recital at the Maine State Ballet Dance Company—whether it’s a ballet, tap, or jazz class—their costumes, which range in price from $65 to $100, are used only once. Costumes change annually from class to class, and the parents of kids in many of these classes often find themselves collecting and storing gorgeous and professionally made ballet costumes in their closets for years.

Maine State Ballet has been a dancing school in Maine for nearly a century. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, its mission is to uplift the community through the medium of dance. When one of the parents—author, lecturer, and Maine resident Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte—approached School Director and Principal Dancer Glenn Davis with an idea, he realized her proposed project fit perfectly with the dance company’s mission.