Curriculum & Class Levels

The Academy, Montana Ballet Company’s official educational facility, provides the finest classical ballet instruction for students age 3 to pre-professional. With a humanistic approach, The Academy's professional faculty introduces children and adults alike to the art, discipline and beauty of classical ballet, enriching the minds and spirits of those who aspire to learn the art form and establish a profound and life-long relationship with dance.

Lower Division
(Pre-Ballet Ages 3-4, Beginning Ballet Ages 4 - 5 & Level A Ages 5-6)
The primary focus in this Division is capturing children's innate joy of moving and instilling a love of dance. Goals are to foster creativity and dancing in rhythm to diverse styles of music. Props are used to enhance creative movement and understanding of spatial relations. Rudimentary Ballet vocabulary and technique are progressively introduced to prepare dancers for more advanced training.

Middle Division
(Level B Ages 7-8 & Level C Ages 9-10)
The primary focus in this Division is to expand upon the young dancer's love of dance and basic knowledge of ballet vocabulary. Attention is placed on increasing the dancer's ability to execute proper ballet technique - working on proper body alignment, the ability to sequence steps and move through space with agility and grace. Each level builds upon the one prior to ensure proper progression and acquisition of ballet technique necessary for the Upper Division.

Upper Division
(Elementary Ages 11-13 & Intermediate/Advanced by Placement)
The primary focus in this Division is to further solidify and strengthen the dancer’s classical ballet technique attained in the previous Divisions. Attention is focused on epaulement and increasing full-body flexibility, leg extensions, core strength, ability to execute multiple repetitions of steps, and overall ability to execute classical ballet in a proper, graceful, and self-assured manner. Historical aspects of dance are included during class time, providing dancers with important contextual frameworks. Pre-Pointe and Pointe classes are introduced at the Elementary Level and carried through the Advanced for those dancers aspiring to dance on a pre-professional level. Classes in other disciplines, such as Broadway-style Jazz, may be offered at the Intermediate/Advanced levels. Dancers in this Division may wish to audition for local performing opportunities, audition for/enroll in Summer Dance Intensives around the country, etc. These dancers may also be seeking pre-professional ballet training that will lead to professional careers in dance.