Frequently Asked Questions

Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre (BRBT) is a non-profit organization that has served the arts in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas for well over 50 years. Bringing decades of our famous holiday tradition, The Nutcracker – A Tale from the Bayou, BRBT has also brought guest artists to the Baton Rouge area from all over the world. Other outreach programs include BRBT’s Youth Ballet and Ballet for Every Body.
 

The Dancers’ Workshop was established in 1973 and is the official training school of Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre. The Dancers’ Workshop offers dance classes for students ages 3 and up. While classical ballet is our primary focus, current class offerings also include modern, jazz, and yoga.

Nutcracker auditions are held annually at the end of summer/start of fall. Children ages 8 and up may audition for The Nutcracker – A Tale from the Bayou.

Company auditions are held separately and are the more advanced roles that you typically see en pointe. Company members perform in a fall show, The Nutcracker, and a spring show. Company members are expected to take 4-6 ballet classes per week, including through the summer, in order to advance and maintain their technique.

Children ages 10-14 may audition for BRBT’s Youth Ballet in the spring. Youth Ballet members are required to take 3 ballet classes per week.

Until the end of 4th grade, dancers are promoted based on their grade in school. From rising 5th graders on, dancers are promoted based on the development of their skill and technique. Younger dancers begin with just one class per week, however, by the time they are in 3rd or 4th grade, dancers should begin taking twice a week, including in the summer.

We use a combination of curricular standards from American Ballet Theatre of New York and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.

Each dancer’s development is different. However, those who start ballet technique at a young age and take consistently for several years are often considered starting en pointe at around age 11-12. This is different for every dancer, but any dancer who is invited to start training en pointe at The Dancers’ Workshop must also take 3 ballet classes each week. This is to insure proper muscle development and strength, which lowers the risk of injury.

Advanced ballet dancers at The Dancers’ Workshop take 4-6 ballet classes each week, including throughout the summer. The more training and repetition, the more advanced roles the dancer can handle.  

The answer to this depends on what the dancer’s goal is for his/her ballet training. Dancers who want to just enjoy the physical fitness aspect of dance can simply take ballet once or twice a week to maintain enjoyment and technique. Those wishing to advance into higher levels and performance roles, however, must develop a consistency of training just as any other skill would require (music, art, academics, sports, etc). The more you study something, the better you become at it.

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Due to the distraction of having observers, we do not allow observers on a regular basis. Parents wanting to observe their dancer(s) will be given an opportunity during the year to come in for Parent Watch Weeks (usually held in November).

Adult students may take single classes at $25 each to try them out.

Our Informance is not a recital with all of the expensive costumes, ads to sell, portraits to purchase, etc. It is an informal performance on the stage at Baton Rouge Magnet High School in May. To help us defer some of our costs for this event, we do charge a fee (this year: $125/dancer), but there are no tickets. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

Not necessarily. Placement in Levels V-VIII is by audition with one of our instructors and is not determined by prior study. Placement decisions are based on where students are in their understanding of classical ballet technique, not by how many years they’ve been dancing or what classes they were taking at their previous studio.