San Diego Civic Youth Ballet Summer Programs
Casa del Prado, 1650 El Prado, Suite 209, San Diego, CA 92101
About
San Diego Civic Youth Ballet Summer Programs include classical ballet classes, summer camps, summer intensives, and artist enrichment opportunities that feature daily ballet technique classes, pointe, variations, modern, jazz, Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), Pilates, injury prevention, music, and choreography. The programs also include options specifically for boys, a homeschool program, and ballet classes for children with disabilities or unique physical needs.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Schedule: 4-day and 5-day summer camps, plus two-week and three-week full-day summer intensives
• Price: 2026 Summer Camps tuition is $150 for a 4-day camp and $190 for a 5-day camp with a 10% sibling discount; the 2026 Advanced Intensive is $1,200 or $1,100 if paid in full by April 1; the 2026 Intermediate Intensive is $700 or $650 if paid in full by April 1
San Diego Civic Youth Ballet was founded in 1945 and has been the resident classical ballet school in Balboa Park for almost 80 years. Its mission is to provide the youth of San Diego with an opportunity to study, understand and appreciate, through education and participation, the art of ballet, and to enrich the cultural life of the community. San Diego Civic Youth Ballet is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and offers affordable, year-round, high-quality classes and productions, including four major productions each year: a full-length spring ballet, an annual school-wide Spring Showcase, Fairy Tales in the Park, and The Nutcracker.
The leadership and administrative team includes Artistic Director Danika Pramik-Holdaway, Interim Executive Director Margie Tlapa, and staff members Denise Dabrowski, Jess Carr, Jessica Reed, Leila Gardner, Lisette Morris, Lucia Padilla, Marissa Shoten, Gaby Mendoza, Justin Flores, Samantha Price, and Ira Bauer-Spector. Past years’ intensives have featured guest faculty such as John Lam, Kai Davis, Laura Dunlop, Ahita Ardalan Bergman, Jennifer Curry Wingrove, and Tiffany Case Singlar, along with instructors Jared Brouillette, Graciela Acedo, John Lam, and Laura Dunlop Sowa, whose backgrounds include training and professional experience with organizations such as Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Kansas City Ballet II, BalletMet 2, City Ballet of San Diego, Ballet Teresa Carreño, Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, Berkeley Ballet, Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, Marin Ballet, and multiple university and conservatory programs.
San Diego Civic Youth Ballet’s community involvement includes an Educational Outreach Program established in 2003 that brings ballet instruction into San Diego public school classrooms and teaches over 500 students offsite. The organization offers discounted performances of The Nutcracker to school groups and scout troops, and Fairy Tales in the Park benefits the scholarship program. An Alumni Program allows former dancers to reconnect and participate in networking events, and relationships with school groups and scout troops continue through discounted tickets to ballet performances. The Ballet for Me! program is a 10-week, tuition-waived classical ballet class for children ages 7 to 18 with disabilities or unique physical needs, and the Boys Program focuses on strength, conditioning, and athleticism required by male ballet dancers in a supportive environment. The homeschool program offers cultural enrichment and is described as an affordable option for charter school families seeking arts and physical education, and the Ballet for Everyone initiative is committed to providing the children of San Diego a chance to experience ballet and arts education.
Parent and alumni testimonials describe instruction that includes rigor, precision, etiquette, and the joy of dance, a warm and welcoming environment, and long-term involvement from early childhood through the teen years. Testimonials from a current parent and alumni reference experiences starting as young as age five and continuing into adulthood, including preparation for a collegiate dance career and participation in both youth and adult classes.
Last updated March 31, 2026.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
• Schedule: 4-day and 5-day summer camps, plus two-week and three-week full-day summer intensives
• Price: 2026 Summer Camps tuition is $150 for a 4-day camp and $190 for a 5-day camp with a 10% sibling discount; the 2026 Advanced Intensive is $1,200 or $1,100 if paid in full by April 1; the 2026 Intermediate Intensive is $700 or $650 if paid in full by April 1
San Diego Civic Youth Ballet was founded in 1945 and has been the resident classical ballet school in Balboa Park for almost 80 years. Its mission is to provide the youth of San Diego with an opportunity to study, understand and appreciate, through education and participation, the art of ballet, and to enrich the cultural life of the community. San Diego Civic Youth Ballet is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and offers affordable, year-round, high-quality classes and productions, including four major productions each year: a full-length spring ballet, an annual school-wide Spring Showcase, Fairy Tales in the Park, and The Nutcracker.
The leadership and administrative team includes Artistic Director Danika Pramik-Holdaway, Interim Executive Director Margie Tlapa, and staff members Denise Dabrowski, Jess Carr, Jessica Reed, Leila Gardner, Lisette Morris, Lucia Padilla, Marissa Shoten, Gaby Mendoza, Justin Flores, Samantha Price, and Ira Bauer-Spector. Past years’ intensives have featured guest faculty such as John Lam, Kai Davis, Laura Dunlop, Ahita Ardalan Bergman, Jennifer Curry Wingrove, and Tiffany Case Singlar, along with instructors Jared Brouillette, Graciela Acedo, John Lam, and Laura Dunlop Sowa, whose backgrounds include training and professional experience with organizations such as Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Kansas City Ballet II, BalletMet 2, City Ballet of San Diego, Ballet Teresa Carreño, Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, Berkeley Ballet, Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, Marin Ballet, and multiple university and conservatory programs.
San Diego Civic Youth Ballet’s community involvement includes an Educational Outreach Program established in 2003 that brings ballet instruction into San Diego public school classrooms and teaches over 500 students offsite. The organization offers discounted performances of The Nutcracker to school groups and scout troops, and Fairy Tales in the Park benefits the scholarship program. An Alumni Program allows former dancers to reconnect and participate in networking events, and relationships with school groups and scout troops continue through discounted tickets to ballet performances. The Ballet for Me! program is a 10-week, tuition-waived classical ballet class for children ages 7 to 18 with disabilities or unique physical needs, and the Boys Program focuses on strength, conditioning, and athleticism required by male ballet dancers in a supportive environment. The homeschool program offers cultural enrichment and is described as an affordable option for charter school families seeking arts and physical education, and the Ballet for Everyone initiative is committed to providing the children of San Diego a chance to experience ballet and arts education.
Parent and alumni testimonials describe instruction that includes rigor, precision, etiquette, and the joy of dance, a warm and welcoming environment, and long-term involvement from early childhood through the teen years. Testimonials from a current parent and alumni reference experiences starting as young as age five and continuing into adulthood, including preparation for a collegiate dance career and participation in both youth and adult classes.
Last updated March 31, 2026.
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