About Florida Ballet Arts Academy

FBA HISTORY
In 1962, Jean Spear founded Sarasota's first professional ballet troupe, the Florida Ballet Company and its official school, Florida Ballet Arts.  The company enchanted Florida audiences for two glorious decades, while the school continued to train the area's most accomplished dancers long after. 

Determined to keep FBA's fire burning, Artistic Director  MaryElizabeth Mock resurrected the historic school and has not only carried on the traditions of the company and school that first introduced the art of ballet to Sarasota, but has taken the school to a higher level of training and performing for the enrichment of all its students. 

As a catalyst to the arts in Sarasota, we proudly produce dancers of the highest caliber!

OUR MISSION
To train our students to their full potential while building self esteem.

FBA PHILOSOPHY
It is our belief that any activity worth doing, is worth doing well.  Whether a student is training for a professional career in dance or just dances for the love of the art, we believe in giving the very best training and preparation to each student.  FBA students are taught discipline, proper technique, terminology and theory, classroom etiquette, backstage theater etiquette, and develop artistic abilities for performing in addition to their physical conditioning. 

The rewards of proper training are priceless.  Through our committment to excellence, we supply our students with the discipline, focus, and life skills needed to pursue any career or academic path.

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THE FBA ADVANTAGE

• The area's most experienced and qualified instructors
• Personalized training and placement for each student
• Small classes and low student/teacher ratio for individualized attention
• Age appropriate programs, choreography & costumes 
• Caring teachers and staff
• Recreational classes offered
• The most effective training methods used to train the world's top level
  professional dancers
• Professional grade performance opportunities extended to all of our students
• The opportunity to share the stage with professional dancers in every performance
• Master Classes with guest teachers from abroad
• Summer camps and summer intensive programs offered for every level
• Programs offered for all ages & levels
• Adult classes offered
• Boys classes offered
• Sprung wood flooring and Marley surfacing in classrooms  
• Nutritional coaching and education / Injury Prevention
• College / Career / Audition preparation
• Student success rates higher than that of any area dance academy
• The only area dance academy responsible for consistently producing professional level dancers
• Sarasota's longest standing dance academy (since 1962)

The only answer for quality dance training in Sarasota, Bradenton, and Venice is Florida Ballet Arts Academy.

TRYING TO DECIDE BETWEEN A FEW DIFFERENT STUDIOS?
Choosing the right studio for your child is important.  This decision should never be based on convenience of location or where your child's friends attend dance.  Improper training and flooring can cause serious injuries to students that last a lifetime.  We invite you to download our Studio Comparison Guide to see why parents still choose us who live as far north as Parrish and as far south as Englewood.  Come and see why FBA is Sarasota's longest standing dance academy.

Register Today for Fall Classes &
Perform in The Nutcracker at the Sarasota Opera House!

FBA students before performing Chapitre Suivant at Arts Day

FBA students performing Swan Lake at the Sarasota Opera House

SYLLABUS

BALLET
Our training is by the pedagogy of the Vaganova Syllabus. Vaganova (The Russian Method), has been the preferred and only accepted method in Russia, Cuba, many European countries, and in America's top schools and companies. Vaganova training creates not only a product, but a polished, finished product.

MODERN
Our training is Graham-based.  The Graham technique was created by the world renowned Modern Dance pioneer, Martha Graham.  The Graham technique is one of the most challenging techniques in Modern Dance.  The Graham dancer is strong in technical ability, and explosive with feeling.

JAZZ & LYRICAL  
Our training is a fusion of New York styles and L.A. styles.  By combining the two, the students get a much more diverse approach, so that they may easily handle the varying, evolving, and ever-changing styles and movements of Jazz and Lyrical.
                                                                                                     
YOUNG CHILDREN'S DIVISION
Includes classes such as Creative Movement (ages 3-5), Pre-Ballet (ages 5-6), Interpretive Dance (ages 6-10), and the Boys Only dance class (ages 6-12).  The Creative Movement and Pre-Ballet classes encourage and develop the child's rhythm, coordination, and skills needed to continue in dance as well as teach the basic positions, steps, and movements that they will build on in future classes.  Interpretive Dance is a class for students who desire a more playful and expressive environment rather than the structured curriculum offered in our leveled ballet classes. 
 
BOYS ONLY CLASSES
Our Boys Only classes are specially designed for boys by focusing on stretching, strengthening, and jumping.  Creative play is used to develop artistry.
 
HIP HOP
Classes are open to everyone, regardless of dance experience.  Hip Hop fuses Jazz and street styles.  While it is somewhat a form of Jazz, Hip Hop is now recognized as its own form of dance.  With the increasing popularity of Hip Hop in the music industry, it is one of the fastest growing forms of dance of the 21st Century.
 
PILATES
Classes are taught by a Nationally Certified Pilates Instructor who also holds her Masters Degree in Dance.  Pilates is an excellent form of body conditioning, and an ideal way to build core muscle strength and increase flexibility.  To schedule a private session on the reformer or for a pilates mat class, contact Denise Lose at (941) 704-7864.

ZUMBA
Classes are open to teens and adults.  Experience is not necessary to join.  Zumba is dance fitness based on international rhythms and incorporates steps from Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Samba, Soca, and Reggaton.  It is the hottest and most fun cardiovascular workout sweeping the globe.
 
STRETCH
Classes are open to everyone, regardless of dance experience.  Stretch class incorporates techniques from Yoga, Pilates, and the Active-Isolated Stretch (A.I.S.) technique.  The A.I.S. technique was developed by kinesiotherapist Aaron Mattes, who is highly sought after by the biggest names in the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA, PGA & LPGA, ATP & WTA, and has worked with some of the most famous ballet dancers of all time including the late, great Rudolph Nureyev and legendary ballerina Margot Fonteyn.

PERFORMING OPPORTUNITIES
In December, we perform The Nutcracker. All ballet students have the opportunity to participate in this production.  Florida Ballet Arts Academy is the only ballet school in Sarasota that performs The Nutcracker in its entirety!
  
At the end of the spring term, we put on our extraordinary spring concert Imaginique. This performance begins with a student ballet demonstration of material learned throughout the year in order of class levels.  The second half of the performance is the concert segment, performed by the Intermediate and Advanced level students in the Florida Ballet Arts Ensemble as well as professional guest artists. The dancers display original Ballet, Modern, and Jazz choreography by our esteemed staff, as well as classical repertoire from 19th Century ballets.  
 
Florida Ballet Arts Academy's performances are always an impressive display of
professionalism!  Students in Levels IV, V, VI, & VII have the opportunity to join the Florida Ballet Arts Ensemble, the Academy's pre-professional performing group.

Our students' acceptances to Summer Intensive programs include American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, School of American Ballet, Kirov Academy, Harid Conservatory, Princeton Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Atlanta Ballet, and Nutmeg Conservatory.  One of our students is currently attending School of American Ballet in New York year round while finishing high school.
 
FBA graduates who have chosen to continue in academia have attended Duke University, Vassar, Johns Hopkins University,
Cal Tech, NYU, SMU, UF, UCF, USF, FSU, Syracuse, Fordham, Ringling School of Art & Design, Pratt, and Hartwick just to name a few.

RECENT ALUMNI

SHELBY ELSBREE - 2008
SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BALLET IN NYC

KAYLA DIDONNA - 2008
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA  (MATH MAJOR)

KATHERINE SCHEPPEGRELL - 2007
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA  (MICROBIOLOGY MAJOR / DANCE MINOR)
 
RACHEL McGANNON - 2006
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY (DANCE MAJOR)
 
ELIZABETH PICCHIETTI - 2006
HARTWICK COLLEGE  (ENGLISH MAJOR)
  
CHRISTINE GUTIERREZ - 2006
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA (MATH MAJOR) 
  
TINA FORRISTALL - 2006
MANATEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE / (ASST. COACH) ST. STEPHEN'S DANCE TEAM / EXECUTIVE ASST. AT FBA

TIFFANY BLEVINS - 2006
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA (PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR / DANCE MINOR) / USF SUN DOLLS DANCE TEAM /
(COACH) LAKEWOOD RANCH HIGH SCHOOL DANCE TEAM / (CHOREOGRAPHER) NATIONAL CHAMPION DANCE TEAM AT DYNASTY ELITE GYM
  
AMANDA ELSBREE - 2005
PRATT UNIVERSITY (DESIGN MAJOR)

JASON "MAX" PRESSMAN - 2005
RINGLING SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN (ANIMATION MAJOR)
  
LAURA NOGARD - 2005
FASHION FOCUS ACADEMY GRADUATE 
  
MARISA SWAN - 2005
FLORIDA GULF COAST UNIVERSITY / MEMBER OF DANCE TEAM   
   
AMANDA MEANS - 2003
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY GRADUATE (DANCE MAJOR)
 
KATE RICHMOND - 2003
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY GRADUATE (JOURNALISM MAJOR)
  
CRYSTAL HOLLOBAUGH - 2002
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA GRADUATE / TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS CHEERLEADER
 
COURTNEY MARTIN - 2002
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE

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