ABOUT BALLET KALAMAZOO® · EST. 2016
Ten years of serious, joyful classical ballet.
Ballet Kalamazoo® is a pre-professional classical ballet school in the heart of Downtown Kalamazoo, built on the belief that excellence and kindness belong in the same studio.
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OUR STORY
Founded on a simple conviction.
Ballet Kalamazoo was founded in 2016 by Amy Russell, who has called downtown Kalamazoo home for nearly twenty years. The conviction behind it was simple: children in Kalamazoo deserved the same caliber of classical training found at the nation's leading schools, delivered with genuine warmth, in a studio where every child is known by name.
Ten years later, that studio trains dancers from age three through the pre-professional level. We teach the American Ballet Theatre® National Training Curriculum alongside Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet's proven teaching syllabus©, two of the most respected training systems in American ballet delivered by four ABT® Certified Teachers. And the syllabus we teach is one we keep studying: Amy returns to CPYB to train every year, and our faculty bring training lineages from Pacific Northwest Ballet and beyond.
The results have followed: national gold medals, placements at Joffrey NYC, Royal Danish Ballet's summer intensive, Interlochen, and University of Michigan Dance and, every June, a stage full of dancers who love this art form.
But what we're proudest of isn't on a résumé. It's the culture: high standards held with patience, corrections given with care, and a studio where children become both accomplished dancers and the kind of people others want beside them in the studio, on the stage, and throughout their lives.
2016
Founded in Downtown Kalamazoo.
Ten years on the Kalamazoo Mall
Ages 3–17
A complete course of study, from first plié to pre-professional
ABT® Certified Teachers
Uniting the ABT® National Training Curriculum with CPYB's proven teaching syllabus©
2 Stages
A showcase where every dancer performs, and auditioned full-length productions
WHAT WE STAND FOR
Four commitments, kept daily.
Preserve the classical tradition
We uphold the rich tradition of classical ballet, its discipline, its beauty, and its standards and pass it to the next generation intact.
Train the whole dancer
Versatile technique and real artistry, alongside the values that outlast any career: kindness, respect, perseverance, and teamwork.
Open the door wide
We welcome families of every background, and our Diversity On Pointe Scholarships reach dancers who might not believe ballet is an option for them.
Build what comes next
We mentor emerging artists in teaching and choreography, and set every student on a path toward success in dance or wherever life leads them.
Ballet belongs to every child.
Our scholarship program creates opportunity and access for dancers and families who might not believe classical training is within reach. Every program we run is family-friendly and age-appropriate in music, costuming, and content because trust is part of training.