Founded in 1986, José Mateo Ballet Theatre is one of America’s leading producers of new ballets, one of the area’s most reputable ballet schools, and the originator of Dance for World Community (DWC), a project created in 2008 to expand the organization’s mission that has always focused on equity and diversity in dance performance, training, and community programs. Over the past 30 years, Cuban-born Artistic Director and Founder José Mateo has developed his unique vision of using the power of dance to inspire and engage today’s diverse audiences in creative, non-traditional ways. In 2018, Mateo received the state’s highest award, the Commonwealth Award for Achievement from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Hailed by Boston Magazine as “Best of Boston 2020 - Best Family-Friendly Show”, The Nutcracker has become an anticipated annual tradition since 1988. Until 2019, the Company regularly presented Mateo’s highly acclaimed concerts at its own Sanctuary Theatre in its Harvard Square home at Old Cambridge Baptist Church, and today it continues to present The Nutcracker at Dorchester’s Strand Theatre. The School offers an innovative model for a high-quality academy with a humanistic approach to ballet training that fosters diversity and inclusion at both its Cambridge campus and Dorchester satellite program.