Ballet

For their first plié, and each one after….The Center Dance.

Where friendships blossom.
Where grace grows wild.
Where strength is a quality of body and mind.
Where fancy takes flight, and the landing is kind.
Where Ballet is magic unfolding…

Since 2015, The Center has offered outstanding ballet programming to the Valley’s youth. Our holistic, student-centered approach nurtures children’s enthusiasm for ballet and celebrates the creative spark inside all of us. 

Fall 2026 Classes

Story Ballet (45 minutes, ages 3-6)invites young dancers to explore the world of ballet through an imaginative lens. Using imagery and stories as inspiration, students will engage with the vocabulary and principles of classical ballet. Saturdays, 10:30-11:15 and Sundays, 10:30-11:15 AM REGISTER

Ballet Studio (90 minutes, ages 4-7) If your child loves to dance and to make dances; if your child loves listening to stories and telling them; if your child loves taking crayon to paper and letting their creativity run wild, then Ballet Studio is the place for them! Each 1.5 hour long class features simple ballet instruction (no experience necessary), story time and an art project inspired by the picture book of the day. Fridays, 1-2:30 PM. REGISTER

Story Ballet – Act 2 (1 hour, grades 1-2) All the magic of our original Story Ballet class, reimagined for slightly older dancers (grades 1-2). Students can expect developmentally appropriate technical instruction (including some work at the barre!), and a more sophisticated set of movement stories. Toward the end of the fall session, students will select one movement story to refine and perform for family members; winter/spring session will afford students the opportunity to collaboratively write their own movement story (and perform it, as well!). Thursdays, 4:30-5:30 PM REGISTER

Counterpoint Ballet
Pre-Ballet (45 minutes, kindergarten-grade 1), Ballet 1 (1 hour, grades 1-2) Ballet 2 (1 hour, grades 3-4) Intermediate Ballet 1 (75 minutes, grades 4-6), Intermediate Ballet 2 (1 hour and 30 minutes, grades 6-8) and Advanced Ballet (1 hour and 45 minutes, grades 9-12) are rigorous but joyful technique classes for the ballet enthusiast, the ballet-curious, even the ballet skeptic. In Counterpoint Ballet, we embrace the powerful beauty of this iconic dance form, investigate the conventions that puzzle us, and respectfully release that which no longer serves us. We know that ANY body is a “ballet body,” that the language of movement need not be gendered, and that pointe shoes are optional. We care for our bodies and nurture our minds. We challenge ourselves and we encourage one another. In our weekly classes, students will be supported at their level, gaining strength, flexibility, artistic agility and musicality. Students are not required to take multiple weekly ballet classes; however, students studying en pointe (or interested in working towards pointe) must be enrolled in at least 3 weekly ballet classes. As in previous years, upper level dancers enrolled in at least three weekly BALLET classes are welcome to attend additional ballet classes in the level below their own at no additional cost, provided there is space available.

Intermediate Ballet classes integrate “pre-pointe” work: exercises that strengthen the feet, ankles and core muscles to prepare students for the OPTION of dancing en pointe), with Intermediate Ballet 2 classes including 15 minutes of pointe work for students who have been cleared to begin this training, and Advanced Ballet classes include 20-30 minutes of pointe work. Dancers not yet in pointe shoes will perform the same pointe exercises in pre-pointe shoes, or in ballet slippers.

  • Ballet 1 – REGISTER
    • Mondays, 3:30-4:30 PM
    • Saturdays, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM (mixed level)
  • Ballet 2 – REGISTER
    • Thursdays, 4:30-5:45 PM
    • Fridays, 3:30-4:45 PM
    • Saturdays, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM (mixed level)
  • Intermediate Ballet 1 – REGISTER
    • Wednesdays, 3:30-4:45 PM
    • Fridays, 4:45-6PM
    • Saturdays, 12:30-2PM (mixed level)
  • Intermediate Ballet 2 – REGISTER
    • Mondays, 4:30-6PM
    • Thursdays, 5:45-7:30 PM
    • Saturdays, 12:30-2PM (mixed level)
  • Advanced Ballet – REGISTER
    • Mondays, 6-7:45 PM
    • Wednesdays, 7:15-9PM
    • Thursdays, 7:30-9:15 PM
    • Saturdays, 12:30-2PM (mixed level)