Founded in 1989, Von Heidecke Chicago Festival Ballet (CFB) has steadily grown since its inception at Scotland’s prestigious Edinburgh Festival when Mr. von Heidecke received full funding from a grant from Chicago Artists Abroad. In December 1990, under the sponsorship of Discover Card and the Gaylord Donnelley Foundation, the DuPage Arts Center presented the VHB in its first full-length Nutcracker. Simultaneously, Mr. von Heidecke founded the Von Heidecke School of the VHB in order to offer the highest level of training in classical ballet with a faculty of renowned international artists of the ballet world.