The School

Ballet Tech, the NYC Public School for Dance, provides its students with a high quality academic education and intensive, rigorous classical dance training.

Ballet Tech – a collaboration between the NYC Department of Education and the Ballet Tech Foundation – combines the best of public education and professional arts instruction. Students in the Elementary and Middle Schools (grades 4-8) study both academics and dance on-site at 890 Broadway. High School students attend the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) in Midtown for their academic classes and BT for their dance training.

At a Glance

Enrollment: 158 Students
Academic Faculty: 11 (Grades 4 – 8)
Dance Faculty: 12
Average Class Size: 22
Ballet Tech has been designated a “Rewards School” by the New York State Education Department – Ballet Tech students’ test scores rank in the top 20% in the state.

The Elementary School

Grades 4 & 5

Ballet Tech’s Elementary School welcomes students into a learning environment that promotes student engagement, fosters strong work habits, and facilitates high-level critical thinking. During their first two years of dance training, students are introduced to the fundamental principles of classical ballet.

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The Middle School

Grades 6 - 8

Ballet Tech’s Middle School builds on the academic foundation established in the 4th and 5th grades, raising the level of intellectual rigor while also addressing the social and emotional needs unique to middle school students. At the same time, dance training increases to 5 days a week. In addition to daily ballet technique classes, students take pointe and modern dance, and have the opportunity to learn repertory and perform.

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Kids Dance

“A New York City Treasure.”
— The New York Times

Kids Dance is Ballet Tech’s student performance troupe. It performs annually at The Joyce Theater, presenting past dances by BT founder Eliot Feld as well as new choreography.

In 2016 Ballet Tech launched a commissioning project to build a library of new choreography imagined for and designed on emerging dancers. Julia Eichten’s Monsieur and Brian Brooks’s Panorama were the first additions to this library.

Kids Dance will be back at The Joyce in June 2023.

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Ballet Tech was a place of discovery and growth. I was introduced to the importance of professionalism at a young age, and I learned a great deal of what it meant to be a dancer in daily ballet classes and rehearsals.

Lucy Postell

Dancer, Martha Graham Dance Company

No, [I’m not dancing] but I continue to move as a soccer player and think it’s fair to say that any occasional grace I show on the field I owe to BT training. I also feel, immodestly, that I might be more perceptive than the average “So You Think You Can Dance” viewer.

Devin Morgan

Cornell University, Class of 2015; Professional Soccer Player, Tulsa Roughnecks

Ballet Tech to me was more than just a school. Although I received a great education and made lifelong friendships, I also learned discipline, determination, creativity and respect.

Irene Zouroudis

BS, St. John’s University, 2008; MA, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 2010; Legal Assistant, Wigdor LLP

Ballet Tech offered me an extremely rare opportunity that others only dream about. The foundation of my young brain was strengthened and grew immensely in a way that conventional learning would never allow.

Peter Cirolia

Design and Marketing Degree, Katherine Gibbs School; Kinesiology Degree, International Sports Sciences Association; Teacher, Personal Trainer, Former Dancer

Ballet Tech was my home for 13 years. I loved my time there as a dancer and learned that one of the most important things in life is to love what you do.

Patricia Tuthill Pazner

BA, St. Francis College, 2008; JD, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, 2011; Public Defender, Appellate Advocates; Ballet Tech Foundation Board Member

A New York City Treasure.

The New York Times

Faculty and Staff

A full listing of our board, faculty and staff is available here:

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Alumni

Since 1978, Ballet Tech has auditioned 898,218 public school children and enrolled 25,430.

In addition to performing with Ballet Tech, alumni have joined such preeminent companies as Abraham.In.Motion, Alvin Ailey, Cedar Lake Dance Ensemble, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Martha Graham Dance Company, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and on Broadway, and have pursued higher education at colleges and universities including Brandeis, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Juilliard, NYU and Yale.

Are you a Ballet Tech alum? Keep in touch with Ballet Tech by filling out the questionnaire below!

BT Alumni Questionnaire

Email us at: alumni@ballettech.org

Photos and Videos

Explore Ballet Tech’s photo and video galleries.

The physical and mental foundation that years of intense ballet training imparted is invaluable. The quick thinking, the discipline, and the motivation to push on even when you feel like giving up goes beyond the dance studio.

Dagny Miller

Student, Hunter College, Pre-Med Class of 2017; Ovarian Cancer Researcher, Mt. Sinai Medical School; Volunteer, Metropolitan Museum of Art

I honestly feel that I owe everything I am and everything I have to Ballet Tech. This program gives children an opportunity to study classical ballet and possibly make a career out of it, which I did.

Jacquelyn Scafidi Allsopp

Teacher, Dancer, Choreographer

I don’t believe there are any words to describe how much Ballet Tech means to me. It was there where I began my dance career. My Ballet Tech teachers gave me the intangible gifts of love, support, ballet technique, and artistry, which I continue to cherish to this day.

Raven Barkley

SUNY Purchase, BFA in Dance; Professional Dancer, Charlotte Ballet

Ballet Tech will always mean family, unity, and pride. Ballet Tech remains the unique and significant experience of my past that built my character and gave me the foundation of discipline and commitment that I have applied to every aspect of my life.

Codi-Ann Dyer

BS, NYU College of Nursing, 2010; MS, NYU College of Nursing, 2014; RN, NY Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center

Ballet Tech taught me discipline, hard work and how to move my body through space with intent. I still rely on those lessons learned in my work every day as an architect, although instead of moving through space with intent, I create it.

Jesse Walton

B.Arch, Rhode Island School of Design, 2001; Project Architect, Mahlum Architects

Ballet Tech was a new beginning for me, a stepping stone to my dance career. It molded me into the dancer I am today. BT taught me discipline, responsibility, leadership, and influenced my character at a very young age.

Nickemil Concepcion

Dancer, Cedar Lake Dance Company

Frequently Asked Questions

Click below for a list of common questions about Ballet Tech.

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