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ABOUT

The School

Durham School for Ballet &  the Performing Arts

We are currently staying up-to-date on all recommendations by the CDC and local health department regarding COVID-19. Learn more about our COVID response and protocols HERE. 

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Durham School for Ballet & the Performing Arts, LLC (DSBPA) offers classes for students age two through adult who enjoy dancing, as well as for those who wish to pursue a professional career in dance. We are proud that all the members of our faculty either currently hold or are actively studying for teaching certifications in their field of expertise.

 

Our instructors are currently certified or have received training from the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum and Escuela Nacional Cuba de Ballet, School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts, and New England Conservatory of Circus Arts. We encourage and support our staff in pursuing continuing education opportunities for the benefit of our students’ training. All the staff at DSBPA are hand-picked by the director for their skill in teaching, their commitment to best practices in dance education, and their love of teaching in the performing arts. DSBPA uses instructors that are both certified and love to teach.

 

Our location in Durham's Warehouse District features three beautiful, state-of-the-art studios, sprung floors, regulation-height barres, two spacious lobbies, three restroom/changing rooms and kitchen facilities. We also have ample parking for our customers in our well-lit parking lot.

Philosophy

Multiple studies show that dance is important work that provides lifelong values. Not only does dance develop physical fitness, it also teaches social skills, appreciation of the body, spatial awareness, self-discipline, concern for sound health practices, effective stress management approaches and fosters creativity.

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Early training is key to building the best foundation for dancers but dance training is not just about training for dance — most dance students will go onto careers in other fields, making the need for high-quality dance instruction seem extraneous.  Dance teaches students to visualize ideas creatively and collaboratively; businesses today have to innovate to survive. So we are not only training dancers, we are helping develop our future.

 

DSBPA constantly looks for opportunities to train students from communities traditionally underrepresented in classical ballet and aerial via national partnerships such as Project Plié and are seeking local partnerships with underrepresented groups.

Training

We do not consider each class at the School to be a separate entity -- rather each class is part of a larger training program.

 

Students interested in enrolling in Durham School for Ballet & the Performing Arts should be aware that they are enrolling in a program of study and will be asked to meet certain training requirements in order to be promoted. We are training elite athletes who must also be artists. In order to be physically and mentally prepared for the skills required in each discipline, students will have to cross-train in disciplines other than their primary focus, and will have co-requisites in order to complete their training.

Tenets

We at DSBPA believe the following 5 training tenets are critical to high-level training:

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  1. Everyone has a dance inside them. 

  2. Dance should be enjoyable.

  3. Respect is vital in every area of life.

  4. Creating dance is as important as learning proper technique.

  5. Even our littlest dancers need and deserve the best we have to offer!

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DSBPA welcomes students of any ethnicity, skin-tone, body shape or size, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or race to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities, generally accorded or made available to all students at the School. Our administration of education policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs or any other School administered programs are applied to all students equally.

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