The Atlanta Ballet was established in 1929 by dancer and choreographer Dorothy Moses Alexander (1904-1986). Founded as the Dorothy Alexander Dance Concert Group, the company became the Atlanta Civic Ballet in 1940, and was subsequently named the Atlanta Ballet, Inc. in 1967. In 1946 the Atlanta Civic Ballet helped to found what would eventually become the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Robert Barnett and Virginia Rich Barnett, dancers from the New York City Ballet, joined the Atlanta Company as principal dancers in 1958. They brought ballets previously unseen in the South, such as George Balanchine's Serenade and The Nutcracker, as well as Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. Alexander retired in 1963, and Barnett was named permanent artistic director and held that position until John McFall replaced him in 1994. In 1973, Governor Jimmy Carter awarded the Atlanta Ballet the title of state ballet company of Georgia.

In 1996, the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education (ABCDE) opened, with Sharon Story as the first dean; it offered children the opportunities to learn ballet and to perform with the professional dance company. During the same year, the Atlanta Ballet Company performed at the Olympics Art Festival and the Cultural Olympiad. The Centre collaborated with several other dance groups to create The Teacher Training Institute (TTI) in 2002 to teach children with learning disabilities. The National Association of Schools of Dance fully accredited the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education in 2003.

Since it's inception, the Atlanta Ballet has performed at local events such as the first Arts Festival in Piedmont Park, the first Regional Dance Festival, as well at nationally and internationally. Other notable ballets performed at the Atlanta Ballet include Shed your Skin: The Indigo Girls Project (premiered 2001), The Great Gatsby (premiered 2007), big (premiered 2008), and The Princess & the Goblin (premiered 2012). The Atlanta Ballet is the oldest professional dance company in America and the largest self-supported arts organization in Georgia.