About Charlottesville Ballet Academy

“Excellence in Dance Education”

Charlottesville Ballet Academy (CBA) is a center for dance education for ages 2 through adult. CBA is the official training school of Charlottesville Ballet. Charlottesville Ballet is central Virginia’s nonprofit professional ballet company with a mission to elevate the art of dance through wellness, performance, education, and community outreach.

History of CBA:

Charlottesville Ballet Academy was created in 2011 by Co-Directors Sara Clayborne and Emily Hartka. After three years of leading the professional company, the Co-Directors realized that many of the professional artists were not able to fully grasp the mission of wellness. This is because they had trained for many years in unhealthy environments where eating disorders and injuries were standard. In order to truly fulfill the mission of health and wellness, Charlottesville Ballet needed to create a training school with excellent training and an emphasis on wellness starting young.

CBA first opened in Greene County in the Summer of 2011. The Academy was located in the town of Stanardsville, VA in the former home of The Dance Barn. The Dance Barn was a school owned by then CB board member Kelly Silliman. Kelly played an integral role in Charlottesville Ballet’s professional company since its inception in 2007.

In July 2013, Charlottesville Ballet relocated both the professional company and the Academy to a new Charlottesville facility at 1885 Seminole Trail. The Ballet began with just one large studio (now the Studio Theatre – Studio 3) and continued to hold fundraising events to create a total of three studios in the upstairs space.

In Summer 2015, the Charlottesville Ballet took on another expansion through its “Building The Future” campaign. This campaign added an additional 2,500 square feet in a new first floor facility.

In 2022, Charlottesville Ballet added a second location downtown at the IX Art Park and in Summer 2023 Charlottesville Ballet Academy is partnering with Charlottesville Parks & Recreation to offer dance classes and camps at Carver Recreation Center. We are thrilled to offer accessible dance education to more members of the community and for all ages.

We look forward to continuing the pursuit of our mission as we grow and hope that you continue to join us on this wonderful journey!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions and thank you for your support!