Teaching students from beginner to advanced pre-professional skill levels, Central Maryland Youth Ballet is a Columbia-based studio that also serves Baltimore, Ellicott City, Laurel, and the surrounding areas. Founded in 2005, they focus on providing individual attention to each student in a creative environment. Their ballet classes include boy’s ballet, beginner, professional divisions, and more.
Founded in 1981, County Ballet focuses on offering quality dance instruction for a lifetime of learning in a challenging, nurturing, and encouraging environment. The Part Two Dance Company is a nonprofit based in Bel Air, focuses on exposing students to the art of dance and enrich the community at the same time. The studio serves the Greater Baltimore, Harford County, and surrounding areas. The two disciplines of dance provide classes that include ballet, pre-ballet, music and movement, yoga, tap, jazz, modern, hip-hop, and more.
A family-oriented dance studio, Dance Connections specializes in modern, tap, pointe, and ballet with an emphasis on proper technique. Based in Ellicott City and founded in 2011, the studio focuses on fostering a love of dance in a nurturing, fun, and happy atmosphere that encourages students to grow, learn, and explore. Clients speak highly of their friendly and kind staff, fun environment, excellent restaurant and café in the surrounding area, reasonable prices, and party space.
A nonprofit dance program that specializes in working with inner city youth, Dance Happens, Inc. is based in Baltimore. Founded in 2010, the studio focuses on creating a positive learning environment that builds self-esteem, creativity, confidence, passion, and artistic development. Classes they offer include hip-hop, jazz, modern, African dance, tap, creative movement, and more.
Serving the Washington Metropolitan area, Dance Makers focuses on promoting physical and mental well-being in all students and disadvantaged youth throughout the community with creativity and the study of performing arts and dance. Based in Landham, Maryland, the studio was founded in 2001. Classes include contemporary, ballet and pointe, hip-hop, acrobatics and floor gymnastics, jazz, adult Zumba, and more.
A family-owned studio that is located in the heart of Severna Park, Maryland Performing Arts Center offers classes for girls and boys of all ages. They focus on dedicating their time and effort to each student by exposing them to various experiences and opportunities. Lessons include vocal training, acrobatics, conditioning, dance, and musical theatre. They are the only facility in the county that features a respected and well-rounded musical theatre program.
Located in Columbia, Patuxent Youth Ballet offers dance camps, tap, jazz, modern, pre-ballet to pointe, and more for both children and adult students. They feature a family-oriented atmosphere and focus on honesty, enjoyable and educational recitals, and providing experienced instructors with small class sizes. Centrally located with retail shopping services nearby, they also offer a waiting area and observation windows for family and parents. The studio’s philosophy is based on the structures of inspiration, discipline, and encouragement. They hold an affiliation with the American Ballet Theatre through Affiliate Teacher Kristin Mesa.
One of the first performing arts and musical theatre education studio serving the Millersville and surrounding areas since 2000, StageWorkz focuses on challenging students with professional and committed teachers in a nurturing and friendly atmosphere. Their professional staff holds credits from HBO specials, movies, music videos, national tours, Broadway, and more. Students that graduate from the studio have moved on and work on Broadway and in Hollywood, as well as having been accepted into performing arts schools, Carnegie Melon, and other top schools around the country.
Studio Dans is a Fulton-based dance studio that focuses on providing confidence, proper dance technique, social graces, discipline, respect, and performance skills in each student. Founded in 2006 and relocated to Maple Lawn in 2012, the studio was inspired by a documentary that showed the relationship between dance and instilling confidence, social graces, and coordination, and respect for the opposite gender. The studio’s multi-level classes include sports dans, classical ballet, jazz, contemporary, yoga, ballroom, and more. They hold the “Best of Howard” Honorable Mention in the Best Place for Dance Lessons category from 2011 to 2015.
Opened in 1982, The Dance Studio is based in White Marsh and focuses on teaching students to dance in a non-competitive and friendly environment. In each class, they emphasize technique, performance, and quality in a caring atmosphere. Classes they offer include ballet, pointe, pom and cheer, Zumba, yoga, ballroom, ballet technique, tap, and more for ages three to adult. Owner and Director Peggy Busey-Bourgeois has choreographed for several theatres, high schools, and semi-professional theatres as well as having taught at high schools and elementary schools in the Baltimore area.
Based in Cockeysville and founded in 2007, The Moving Company Dance Center focuses on building a lifelong love of dance by training technically proficient and well-prepared dancers in a nurturing and warm atmosphere. Every class is kept to a small number to allow for individual attention for each student and a dedication of each instructor to the class. Their classes include dance conditioning, boys only classes, ballet, pointe, babies and toddlers, adult hip-hop, and more.
Located in Hanover in Howard County, Turning Pointe Dance Academy teaches classes for all ages and skill levels, from preschool and beginner, to adult and professional. They focus on training teacher, pre-professional, and recreational dancers while also building a love of dance in each student. Their classes include pre-Cecchetti ballet, ballet, pre-professional dance, pointe, jazz, modern, creative movement, hip-hop, tap, competition teams, and more.
Ballet is an intense and beautiful sport. It can help people learn how to be more creative, as well as become physically stronger. And while most people who intend to become professional ballerinas start at a young age, people can take up ballet at any time. To learn ballet, you'll have to take professional lessons at a ballet studio, either privately or as part of a class. Of course, if you've never taken dance lessons before, you may be uncertain about how to decide which studio to choose. Keep reading for answers to the most common questions about ballet classes, so you can make an informed decision when selecting a studio.
Ballet is an artistic dance form characterized by light, fluid, graceful, and precise movements. Ballet dancers wear pointe shoes that allow them to stand on their toes and twirl. This type of performative dance can tell a story to an audience. Ballet is very technical, often taking people years to master.
Ballet originated in Italy in the early 1500s. In fact, the word ballet stems from the Italian word "ballare," which means "to dance." Although it originated in Italy, ballet was introduced to the French and Russian courts, where it was really transformed. By 1850, Russia had become the leader in creating and transforming ballet into what it is today.
The length of a ballet class depends on the student's age. Children aged three to eight will only take a 30-minute to one-hour class. From there, class length increases with age:
You can absolutely learn ballet as an adult. In fact, ballet is a great way to get physical exercise and increase your strength as an adult. Of course, starting as an adult means it's unlikely you’ll become a professional ballet dancer, but it does mean you can do it for fun!
There's a benefit to learning to dance ballet en pointe in your younger years. As your feet develop, dancing ballet helps ensure they gain the strength, flexibility, and shape to dance en pointe. However, it’s not impossible for adults to learn en pointe. It will just take a lot of time and dedication.
Ballet is all about dedication and practice. You should be committed to going to your classes every week (multiple times a week is ideal), warming up before classes, and wearing the right shoes. You can also improve your ballet by staying fit and taking part in other types of physical exercise.
Ballet is a form of physical exercise, and like any activity, it can come with an element of danger. Most notably, ballet can cause foot pain, foot injuries, and even permanent foot damage. Additionally, ballet dancers may be susceptible to falling and breaking bones in their arms, legs, ankles, and feet.
Yes, as ballet is incredibly intense, it’s a great form of exercise for adults. Ballet is a weight-bearing exercise, so it provides a workout for the entire body. Adults taking ballet classes will burn calories and fat, as well as strengthen their muscles.
Ballet is often about precise and graceful movements, so you don’t want loose clothing getting in the way. Women are encouraged to wear form-fitting leotards, tights, and ballet flats. Men should wear black footed or footless tights, a form-fitting white T-shirt, and ballet shoes.
Ballerinas often opt for a bun hairstyle, so their hair is up and out of their face and doesn't distract them. There are various styles of buns, including sock buns, high buns, low buns, etc. You can find tutorials on YouTube that will guide you through making a bun in a style you like.
Consider wearing ballet flats, a fitted shirt and leggings to your first class, Once you're sure you want to continue with the classes, you can invest in ballet tights and leotards.
Your body will need fuel for an intense ballet class, but you can't eat too heavy a meal, as you may be spinning and moving around a lot. Instead, opt for calorie-dense food that's not too filling. Some great examples are nuts and seeds, protein bars, granola bars, hummus and crackers, cheese and crackers, and fruit.
How many calories you burn during a ballet class depends on various factors, including your body mass index and metabolic rate. However, on average, an individual burns 462 calories during 30 minutes of a ballet class. More calories are burned during ballet classes than with many other types of dance, such as the waltz, samba, and Zumba.
You can try to learn basic ballet at home with video tutorials or virtual lessons from an instructor. However, nothing can replace in-person training where a teacher can adjust your form and show you how to improve. Consider starting with video tutorials and progressing to in-person classes.
Yes, you can make a ballet barre at home. You can purchase the supplies a home improvement store and watch a video on how to install the barre at the right height. This barre can help you practice and improve your ballet skills at home.
Ballet classes can vary in cost depending on the student's age, the school's location, the class size, whether it's beginner's or advanced instruction, the school's reputation, and other factors.
In general, you can expect to pay:
The price of ballet shoes will depend on the brand, quality, and other factors. Typically, a pair of ballet shoes can cost between $45 and $125. However, if you’re purchasing a popular brand, prices are likely on the higher side at $65 to $90, on average.
The ballet class is a famous painting by Edgar Degas. It’s estimated that Degas painted it between 1871 and 1874. The painting was commissioned by Jean-Baptiste Faure and showcased young dancers at the end of a ballet lesson with French master Jules Perrot.
