The Carolina Ballet was founded 20 years ago to fill a void in Raleigh's arts scene

Two decades ago, Ward Purrington knew little, if anything about ballet. His daughter, Lindsay Purrington, was still a young, fledgling dancer.

But Raleigh didn't have a professional ballet, and Ward Purrington had a vision that the city needed one.

“We had a wonderful symphony, a wonderful theater, a wonderful art museum," said Ward Purrington in an interview where he reflected on the Carolina Ballet's early beginnings — and its future.

Purrington, a lawyer who had served as Secretary of Department of Revenue in Gov. James Martin’s administration, set to work on raising funds for such a company.

“My thought was I had five months. I should be able to raise enough money, and it would take off on its own," he said.

Today, his daughter is a professional ballerina with the Carolina Ballet, the company he helped found. She is a company soloist who will perform in "Serenade" this month and will retire at the end of the season.

Ward Purrington still sits on the Carolina Ballet’s board. “I started the board,” he laughed.

Purrington and the board hired Robert Weiss as artistic director, a position he still holds.

“We found he was just want we needed," Purrington said. "Mainly, he had a lot of experience in running a ballet company. He thought it was worth a shot.”

Today, the company needs more funding, Purrington said. The North Carolina State Legislature provides monies for the North Carolina Symphony and the North Carolina Museum of Art, but not the Carolina Ballet, he said.

The Carolina Ballet is operating on about a $5 million annual budget. By comparison, the New York City Ballet, for instance, has an annual budget of about $50 million, Purrington said, not including an enormous endowment.

Purrington said the company most likely needs another $2 million in operating expenses a year to accomplish his goals, which include competing on the level of bigger ballet companies.

“The real problem with the company has been the ability to raise enough money to do it right," he said.

Still, he added, “We’re grateful for everything we get.”

“I think it’s been a wonderful thing for the community," he said. "It’s been gratifying for me. It’s been a big part of my life.”

Lindsay Purrington, meanwhile, said she often can hear her father in the crowd whenever she performs, and her mother, Charlotte, too.

“He’s always been to me an example of hard work,” she said. “He’s always been very persistent. He has a lot of integrity. I feel I learned a lot by watching him. No matter what it takes, he does it.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2018 at 2:05 PM with the headline "The Carolina Ballet was founded 20 years ago to fill a void in Raleigh's arts scene."