Pacific Ballet Conservatory

Pacific Ballet Conservatory offers classes in ballet, pointe, pas de deux, modern, jazz, tap, musical theater, pilates, contemporary dance, and hip hop. The program also includes Week-long Summer Dance Camps for younger dancers, Intensive Summer Studies, and a Spring Performance Series with formal dance concerts that feature imaginative choreography, classical ballets, attractive costumes, special effects, and theatrical lighting and sets. Week-long Summer Dance Camps for younger dancers end with an informal, in-studio performance on the final day for the whole family.

• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Week-long Summer Dance Camps for younger dancers; Intensive Summer Studies; annual Spring Performance Series; 2026 PBC Spring Gala Performance on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 3:00pm and 7:00pm, and Friday, June 19, 2026 at 12:00pm, 3:00pm and 7:00pm; 2026–2027 schedule and Summer 2026 schedule are available now

Established in 1982, Pacific Ballet Conservatory is celebrating 40 years as the premier ballet school in South Orange County. It is a professional dance school devoted to providing dance instruction of the highest caliber and serves students of all ages, children to adults, with schedules that work for many, including home-school and charter school students. Each student is evaluated on an individual basis at six-month intervals.

The school presents a highly applauded Spring Performance Series each year in a nearby theater setting. Students have become professional dancers in major ballet companies such as the San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Nevada Ballet, as well as other professional dance organizations such as Universal Studios and Disneyland. Intensive Summer Studies bring in master teachers and current principal dancers to offer an intense dance experience in the students’ home dance school.

The Pacific Ballet Conservatory has a staff of professional dance instructors with national and international résumés. Maryann Bayless, the owner and Artistic Director, has been teaching for 35 years and was a professional ballerina with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. The program’s mission is to provide students with personal care, guidance, and training to help them become consummate dancers and young adults of exceptional caliber, and to give each student the tools and skills needed to accomplish their dance-related goals in a nurturing environment.

Pacific Ballet Conservatory has been recognized as “Best Ballet School for Children” by Orange Coast Magazine in September 2011 and 2012. One parent notes that the teachers at this school are fantastic, work with each dancer’s needs individually, and truly care about each dancer. Another parent comments that the school offers a number of classes at each level and many styles of dance throughout the week, and that the flexible schedule of superb ballet technique is a tremendous bonus. A long-time parent shares that their daughters just finished their 12th year at PBC and that their learning was not limited to dance technique and choreography.

Last updated June 28, 2026.