History

In 1987, Jean Weidner founded The Sarasota Ballet as a presenting organization. Ms. Weidner's dream of a full resident ballet company was realized in 1990 with the appointment of Eddie Toussaint as the first Artistic Director. In 1994, Robert de Warren was appointed as Artistic Director, which provided an important cultural enrichment to the Sarasota community. In January 2007, the Ballet announced the appointment of its third Director, Iain Webb. Mr. Webb's background, experience in the dance world and close, personal relationships with some of the biggest names in the dance world have taken The Sarasota Ballet to a higher level of national and international recognition.  The subsequent seasons have afforded the Sarasota Community the opportunity to see ballets created by some of the top choreographers of the 20th Century. Works that have rarely been seen in America, and never before in Florida, are receiving critical acclaim from the New York and European press.  Mr. Webb's vision for the company is to give The Sarasota Ballet its own unique identity and to carve a place in the history of the American dance world. 

Founder

Born in Africa, Jean Weidner has been a Principal Ballerina, a choreographer, the founder of ballet companies and ballet schools in Indiana and Florida, and a major supporter of the arts, and she has earned applause, appreciation and honors for each of her roles. In 1987, she founded the Sarasota Ballet as a presenting organization and only three years later her dream of a resident ballet company was realized with the appointment of the first Artistic Director, Eddie Toussaint.

Sarasota’s Designing Women Boutique is the most recent of her endeavors and the one to which she presently devotes most of her considerable talents and energies.Weidner co-founded it with Diane Roskamp and Margaret Wise in 2001. The business has been so successful that in early 2005, the shop acquired its own, expanded space in the Roskamp Center for the Arts and Humanity at 1226 North Tamiami Trail.

Weidner’s honors range from “Artist of the Year” (Noverre Choreographic Society, Germany) to “Women in Power” (National Council of Jewish Women, Sarasota, Florida.) She was elected to the Sarasota Community Video Archive Hall of Fame for her contributions to the community in 1997. In Sarasota, she has served on the board of the Sarasota Opera, The Asolo Theatre Company and the Sarasota County Arts Council.