Liv DanceArts
Liv DanceArts, Professional Ballet School, 425 Harbor Blvd., Suite 1 & 3, Belmont, CA 94002
About
Liv DanceArts offers classes in Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, HipHop, Contemporary, Technique, Pointe, and Acro. All LDA dancers are required to enroll in ballet, and the program is based in ballet while also including a range of classical and contemporary dance genres.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Registration periods in August, December, and June.
Liv DanceArts is a premier, technique-driven dance studio that specializes in high-quality dance education for students ages 3 and up. The curriculum supports dancers from beginner through pre-professional levels, with a focus on technical basics and mastery of foundational skills before advancing. Class offerings and class sizes are capped, and teachers collaborate and brainstorm on ways to help each individual student. The studio maintains a close-knit, nurturing environment where each student is individually known, guided, and inspired.
Liv DanceArts has a faculty of professional-level instructors with degrees in dance performance and pedagogy. Instructors have had substantial professional careers as dancers with major companies or as dance educators with large and well established dance programs. Junior Faculty and Teaching Assistants have all been trained directly under LDA Faculty members and in all genres of dance at LDA throughout their dancing years. All LDA dancers are required to enroll in ballet as part of their training.
The Artistic Director is Kristen Portner. Liv DanceArts was originally founded in 1987 as Professional Ballet School by Carmela Peter and Zoltan Peter. In 2010, Kristen Portner partnered with Professional Ballet School, and in 2017 she stepped in as the Artistic Director of the newly created Liv DanceArts, PBS collaboration.
The Liv DanceArts mission is “Quality over Quantity.” The program caps class offerings and class sizes and is 100% committed to maintaining a program that is quality driven. The studio does not believe that bigger is better and states that a smaller, more intimate dance community is more conducive to the growth and development of well-rounded artists.
Liv DanceArts is a National Dance Education Organization member (since 2018) and was inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts in 2019. The studio has received the ADCC Studio of Excellence Award in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. It has earned Technical Excellence Awards from every major competitive circuit in California, Grand Champion titles with the Epic Organization in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, and Highest Scoring Studio of the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 regional seasons. Liv DanceArts has also received the Star Dance Alliance Power Ranking Award as the top scoring studio in the state of California in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Parents describe Liv DanceArts as a small dance community with a strong focus on technique and development, and several note long-term involvement for their children and families. One parent reports that their child trained at LDA for ten years, participated in winter and spring performances and competitive seasons, and later was accepted into two highly competitive collegiate dance programs, ultimately attending Pace University’s BFA Commercial Dance program. Another parent reports that their child started at age 4, studied multiple styles including Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, and Contemporary by age 6, and later was accepted into a highly acclaimed year-round pre-professional ballet program in Los Angeles. A former student of Professional Ballet School, now Liv DanceArts, reports training there from age eight, dancing professionally, then returning as an instructor and board member, with their own two children now attending technique and competitive classes at the studio.
Last updated June 18, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Registration periods in August, December, and June.
Liv DanceArts is a premier, technique-driven dance studio that specializes in high-quality dance education for students ages 3 and up. The curriculum supports dancers from beginner through pre-professional levels, with a focus on technical basics and mastery of foundational skills before advancing. Class offerings and class sizes are capped, and teachers collaborate and brainstorm on ways to help each individual student. The studio maintains a close-knit, nurturing environment where each student is individually known, guided, and inspired.
Liv DanceArts has a faculty of professional-level instructors with degrees in dance performance and pedagogy. Instructors have had substantial professional careers as dancers with major companies or as dance educators with large and well established dance programs. Junior Faculty and Teaching Assistants have all been trained directly under LDA Faculty members and in all genres of dance at LDA throughout their dancing years. All LDA dancers are required to enroll in ballet as part of their training.
The Artistic Director is Kristen Portner. Liv DanceArts was originally founded in 1987 as Professional Ballet School by Carmela Peter and Zoltan Peter. In 2010, Kristen Portner partnered with Professional Ballet School, and in 2017 she stepped in as the Artistic Director of the newly created Liv DanceArts, PBS collaboration.
The Liv DanceArts mission is “Quality over Quantity.” The program caps class offerings and class sizes and is 100% committed to maintaining a program that is quality driven. The studio does not believe that bigger is better and states that a smaller, more intimate dance community is more conducive to the growth and development of well-rounded artists.
Liv DanceArts is a National Dance Education Organization member (since 2018) and was inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts in 2019. The studio has received the ADCC Studio of Excellence Award in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. It has earned Technical Excellence Awards from every major competitive circuit in California, Grand Champion titles with the Epic Organization in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, and Highest Scoring Studio of the 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 regional seasons. Liv DanceArts has also received the Star Dance Alliance Power Ranking Award as the top scoring studio in the state of California in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Parents describe Liv DanceArts as a small dance community with a strong focus on technique and development, and several note long-term involvement for their children and families. One parent reports that their child trained at LDA for ten years, participated in winter and spring performances and competitive seasons, and later was accepted into two highly competitive collegiate dance programs, ultimately attending Pace University’s BFA Commercial Dance program. Another parent reports that their child started at age 4, studied multiple styles including Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, and Contemporary by age 6, and later was accepted into a highly acclaimed year-round pre-professional ballet program in Los Angeles. A former student of Professional Ballet School, now Liv DanceArts, reports training there from age eight, dancing professionally, then returning as an instructor and board member, with their own two children now attending technique and competitive classes at the studio.
Last updated June 18, 2026.
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