SLO Movement Arts Center
SLO Movement Arts Center, 2074 Parker St, Suite 100, Suite 100, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
About
SLO Movement Arts Center offers classes in ballet, modern dance, contemporary dance, jazz, jazz/lyrical, and creative movement. Classes follow a curriculum that includes ballet, modern, and contemporary dance, with beginner classes focusing on creative movement, basic ballet, and classroom etiquette with an emphasis on fun. The Conservatory program is designed to be taken as a whole, with each level acting as a cohort and placement based on age and ability.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
The program includes a Pre-Conservatory Program for children ages 4–8 and Conservatory programs for dancers age 8–18. Placement level is determined using a combination of age, maturity, and ability, with selection done on an individual basis. Level Two dancers are typically between the ages of 8 and 10 and have had some ballet experience, while Level Three is for dedicated dancers age 9–12 who may be invited to join, and select dancers at this level may earn their first pair of pointe shoes. Level Four is for experienced middle or high school dancers, who may be invited to audition for the Movement Arts Collective for additional performance experience, and Level Five is the highest level of the conservatory program, designed to complete pre-professional training, with dancers proficient en pointe and taking many ballet classes in pointe shoes.
The Movement Arts Center was created in 2015. The program’s mission is to inspire a lifelong interest in the performing arts, create ballet dancers of a recognized caliber, and develop model young individuals by encouraging commitment, dedication, and the sustained pursuit of excellence in the art of dance. Founders Maartje Lawrence and Ryan Lawrence lead a faculty that includes Micaela Anderson, Catherine Russel Barnickel, and Emily Schwartz. All instructors have professional experience and/or higher education degrees in dance, including degrees in dance from The Juilliard School and Het National Ballet Academy of the Netherlands, professional performance experience with companies such as Ballet West and the Kansas City Ballet, and training with organizations such as The Pennsylvania Ballet, School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and San Francisco Ballet School.
SLO Movement Arts Center describes its training as one-of-a-kind on the Central Coast and offers professional instruction in leveled programs geared to help children discover, learn, and grow, with placement based on age and ability. SLOMAC dancers perform at the Cuesta College CPAC. Parent feedback includes comments such as, “The care they give their dancers to succeed is wonderful. The directors are extremely knowledgeable and the technique they teach is very strong. I would highly recommend this studio,” and, “The training at Movement Arts Center is the best we have found anywhere!”
Dancers in the conservatory program are required to wear a black leotard and pink tights for ballet class, leggings and a form-fitting top for modern, and shorts or leggings and an appropriate top for lyrical/jazz, with hair in a bun for ballet and out of the face for other classes.
Last updated March 26, 2026.
• Ages: 4–18 years old
The program includes a Pre-Conservatory Program for children ages 4–8 and Conservatory programs for dancers age 8–18. Placement level is determined using a combination of age, maturity, and ability, with selection done on an individual basis. Level Two dancers are typically between the ages of 8 and 10 and have had some ballet experience, while Level Three is for dedicated dancers age 9–12 who may be invited to join, and select dancers at this level may earn their first pair of pointe shoes. Level Four is for experienced middle or high school dancers, who may be invited to audition for the Movement Arts Collective for additional performance experience, and Level Five is the highest level of the conservatory program, designed to complete pre-professional training, with dancers proficient en pointe and taking many ballet classes in pointe shoes.
The Movement Arts Center was created in 2015. The program’s mission is to inspire a lifelong interest in the performing arts, create ballet dancers of a recognized caliber, and develop model young individuals by encouraging commitment, dedication, and the sustained pursuit of excellence in the art of dance. Founders Maartje Lawrence and Ryan Lawrence lead a faculty that includes Micaela Anderson, Catherine Russel Barnickel, and Emily Schwartz. All instructors have professional experience and/or higher education degrees in dance, including degrees in dance from The Juilliard School and Het National Ballet Academy of the Netherlands, professional performance experience with companies such as Ballet West and the Kansas City Ballet, and training with organizations such as The Pennsylvania Ballet, School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and San Francisco Ballet School.
SLO Movement Arts Center describes its training as one-of-a-kind on the Central Coast and offers professional instruction in leveled programs geared to help children discover, learn, and grow, with placement based on age and ability. SLOMAC dancers perform at the Cuesta College CPAC. Parent feedback includes comments such as, “The care they give their dancers to succeed is wonderful. The directors are extremely knowledgeable and the technique they teach is very strong. I would highly recommend this studio,” and, “The training at Movement Arts Center is the best we have found anywhere!”
Dancers in the conservatory program are required to wear a black leotard and pink tights for ballet class, leggings and a form-fitting top for modern, and shorts or leggings and an appropriate top for lyrical/jazz, with hair in a bun for ballet and out of the face for other classes.
Last updated March 26, 2026.
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