City Ballet School's academic year is from the beginning of September to the end of July. Prospective students should contact the school administrator, Ken Patsel, to schedule a placement class to determine the proper class level for the student. A fee will be charged that can be applied toward the tuition.

Class levels consist of Pre-Ballet, Ballet Levels I through V, and Pre-Professional.

Pre-Ballet

Our Pre-Ballet program is for young, beginning dancers between the ages of four and six. Taught by professional dancers, our program is designed to offer a fun, inventive, and creative introduction to the discipline of ballet. Done with a live pianist, and accompanied by music they will very often recognize, students are encouraged to use their imagination, and are given a nurturing environment within which to learn. From this basic instruction, they will acquire a beginning ballet vocabulary, and the basic knowledge they will need to succeed in the more structured classes that follow, beginning at age six.

Ballet Levels I through V

Ballet Levels I through V provide the core of ballet training for all students learning to dance. Each level is staged to provide an increase in a dancer's challenges, and represents the progression in a dancer's achievements and commitment to dance.

City Ballet School's Pre-Professional program offers year-round training to dancers with professional potential. Hand picked students are given the skills and training required to compete in an ever increasingly competitive job market. Here, students will work personally under the guidance of Galina Alexandrova, as well as other teachers such as Cuban Master teacher Lupe Calzadilla, former Kirov and San Francisco Ballet principle dancer Yuri Zhukov, and former Bolshoi and San Francisco Ballet principle, and world-class choreographer Yuri Possokhov in order to recieve the most well rounded training possible.

Students are encouraged to fully realize their potential in a daily curriculum that includes technique, pointe, and repertoire in an environment that promotes individualized attention to detail for each dancer within the program. Students are also given performance opportunities in a professional theater environment periodically throughout the year - an element which is crucial to the development of the young dancer.

Auditions for the Pre-Professional program must be arranged by contacting the school administrator, Ken Patsel. A fee is required to audition for the program. For sucessful applicants, the fee will be applied toward tuition.

TOP