May 2025
Congratulations to our Ballet 6 dancers who have been accepted to summer intensive programs at San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, and Ballet West!
March 2025
After 25 years of dedication to Berkeley City Ballet, our Artistic Director, Elizabeth Godfrey, is retiring. This is an expected part of our years-long transition that has been in place.
As we celebrate BCB’s 50th anniversary, we want to take a moment to honor Ms. Godfrey’s immense contributions. Through her leadership, commitment to artistic excellence and supporting young dancers, she has been instrumental in shaping BCB into the special place it is today.
Ms. Godfrey’s impact goes far beyond the studio. She has nurtured countless students as both dancers and individuals, inspiring them to develop an appreciation for this art form, guiding them to excel in their technical development, and encouraging them to perform with confidence onstage. Her influence has touched generations of dancers, and we are so grateful for everything she has given to BCB.
While we will miss her in this role, BCB is already in great hands with Tai Fukami Vogel as Director. Tai grew up as a dancer at BCB and has been a dedicated teacher here for over 10 years. She was appointed Assistant Director in 2022 and became Director in 2024, ensuring a smooth and thoughtful transition. She is well prepared to carry on the school’s legacy while bringing her own vision to the future of BCB.
Although stepping down as Artistic Director, Ms. Godfrey will remain close to the BCB community as a resource and advisor. Her guidance and wisdom will continue to enrich our dancers and the school for years to come.
We invite you to join us in celebrating Ms. Godfrey’s retirement!
We thank you, Elizabeth, for everything. BCB wouldn’t be what it is today without you!
January 2025
BCB celebrated our 50th annual Nutcracker with 2 sold-out performances and a 50th anniversary reception! Dancers had the wonderful opportunity to perform at the Alan Harvey Theater at Piedmont High School for the first time and have the experience of dancing on a professional stage.
BCB was excited to be featured in the December edition of Berkeley Hills Living to promote the Nutcracker performances and celebrate our 50th anniversary.
Click the image and go to page 18 to read the article!
July 26, 2024
We are thrilled to announce that BCB will be bringing our annual Nutcracker back to the theater this year for our 50th Anniversary! Performances will be held on Saturday, December 21 at 1pm and 5pm at the new, state of the art Alan Harvey Theater at Piedmont High School. After 3 years performing in the BCB studio theater, we’re excited to be able to provide this professional-caliber opportunity to our Pre-Professional Program students, and hope to make it a sustainable part of our future.
April 1, 2024
The BCB Board of Directors has appointed Tai Vogel as Director of Berkeley City Ballet beginning April 1.
Tai, who is currently BCB’s Assistant Director, begins her leadership with excellent qualifications both as a teacher and an administrator. Moreover, she has been devoted to ballet her entire life and is an alumnae of BCB.
Tai began her ballet training at Berkeley City Ballet at the age of 5. While she received most of her ballet training through BCB’s pre-professional program with Elizabeth Godfrey and Alexis Drabek, Tai also attended summer intensive programs at Walnut Hill School for the Arts and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She performed lead roles in BCB’s annual ‘Nutcracker,’ including Clara, Rose, and Sugar Plum Fairy. Tai continued her dance training at Butler University, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts Administration with a minor in Dance. At Butler, she was able to not only perform in Butler Ballet productions, but also coordinated the annual Nutcracker boutique and worked as the House Manager at the Schrott Center for the Arts. Tai worked at San Francisco Ballet School for several years, most recently as the School Registrar and Summer Session Coordinator. Tai has been teaching at BCB for over 10 years.
Elizabeth Godfrey will continue as Artistic Director, as she has for the past 25 years.
March 15, 2024
Congratulations to our Ballet 5-6 students who have been accepted to summer intensive programs at Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Ballet West!