New Castle Regional Ballet, formerly New Castle Parou Ballet Company, was founded in 1987 through the guidance of its Artistic Director, Debbie Menichino Parou.  NCRB is the area's only ballet company which has been accepted as a full performing member of the nationally recognized Regional Dance America, an organization which promotes pre-professional dance throughout the entire United States.  This accomplishment, awarded in 1990, has exposed our area dancers to professional guest teachers and choreographers, as well as to the other pre-professional ballet companies.  Because of the training received through this connection, our dancers have been chosen to enroll in prestigious summer programs of major U.S. ballet companies such as the San Francisco, Boston, Pacific Northwest, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Joffrey ballets, American Ballet Theatre, and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, one of the country's major training schools for dancers interested in preparing for a professional career. The company's dancers have been offered scholarships to attend the Juilliard School, Butler University, Indiana University, West Virginia University, and the Dusquesne Tamburitzans.

    Artistic Director, Debbie Menichino Parou, began her formal dance training in New York and received additional training with Maggie Carlson (Cleveland Ballet), Gilbert Reed (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo), Van Curas (Chicago Ballet), the Pittsburgh Balalet Theatre, Enid Richardeau (Ballet Detroit), and Mansur Kamaletdinov (Bolshoi Ballet). In 1980, Ms. Parou was the only recipient in America of the Cecchetti Council of America Ballet Scholarship for the continued study of ballet.  Ms. Parou serves on the board of the Regional Dance America/Northeast, one duty being to serve as one of the judges who review other companies seeking membership status into the organization.

    When Ms. Parou decided to take her dancers forward to the regional level, a board of directors had to be established and non-profit status had to be acquired.  The company then auditioned for RDA.  The company's audition proved to the judges that NCRB had the qualities necessary to be honored with acceptance to RDA,