Academy of American Ballet

Information may not be reliable

Located near Woodside Road and El Camino in Redwood City, The Academy of American Ballet ("AAB") distinguishes itself among most other dance schools that merely instruct students on how to master steps. AAB firmly believes that the development of the dancer should include a mastery of sound technique based on anatomical principles to prevent injury and insure a full dance career, as well as the opportunity to explore dance as an art form by providing opportunities for each dancer to explore individual expression. We uniquely accomplish this goal by:
Providing a nurturing and supportive environment

Each student is received with reverence regardless of ultimate dance goals.
We believe every student regardless of innate ability or physical body type has the capacity to thrive and grow through dance.
Our culture is to motivate students to advance through love, inspiration, and mutual respect.

Director of AAB, Julia Ball-Dugan is trained in techniques such as Pilates and Feldenkrais, and has taken coursework in Biomechanics. She stays abreast of new information regarding sound training methods, mentors the teachers, and provides opportunities for teachers to take workshop classes which focus on healthy biomechanics. She understands that dance training is an ever-growing body of knowledge, and that good teachers as well as students, are on a continual path of growth. She provides extensive feedback to teachers on an ongoing basis to encourage them on their journey.
Basic 2 level students and above are formally assessed at the beginning of the academic year. The focus of this assessment is to capture physical tendencies of students that we know will need to be addressed in order for a student to achieve their full potential. These evaluations are optional and non-judgmental. They are used merely to inform us and to help us to address issues, as well as to see if we are making progress from year-to-year. We are proud to be the only school we are aware of that does this, and we are finding it extremely helpful to both students and teachers.
Our corrections or cueing is often very specific and rooted in anatomical terms which allows students to quickly address problems.
We are very fortunate to have an onsite Pilates studio, Motio with exceptional trainers who are working with both the teachers and the students (from the Intermediate level through advanced) to help us build on our knowledge of biomechanics.

Results: Our students have successfully auditioned for competitive summer programs with prestigious companies like American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet (Elite status), Joffrey Ballet, and Lines. Our students have performed professional-level roles like Rose and Snow Queen in Nutcracker with complete artistic and technical mastery. We are also very proud of the accomplishments of our students for whom dance has always been recreational, but have still gained so much inner strength, and self-esteem through our program.
I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself. --Mikhail Baryshnikov