About
The Jacobs Academy Ballet Program offers ballet training that includes ballet technique classes, pre-pointe and pointe classes, variations class, contemporary class, open ballet classes, and creative movement classes for young children with a pre-ballet focus. The program also offers elective courses in classical and contemporary ballet, yoga, Pilates classes, Adult Ballet Classes, a Twilight Turnout Contemporary Mini-Session, a Summer Camp & Performance Workshop, and a Spring Performance and Summer Camp Performance.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Spring 2026 includes Bridge Classes from Monday, January 5 to Friday, January 30; the main spring semester for all levels begins Monday, February 2 and continues through Sunday, May 17, with specific dates for no classes, costume fittings, parent observation, and a Spring Performance; Summer 2026 includes a Twilight Turnout Contemporary Mini-Session from Tuesday, May 26 to Friday, May 29 and a Summer Camp & Performance Workshop from Monday, June 1 to Friday, June 5.
The Jacobs Academy Ballet Program is led by Co-Directors Robin Hoover Allen and Rebecca Janes, with Glenda Lucena serving as Artistic Advisor and Senior Faculty. Robin Hoover Allen specializes in creative movement classes for young children with a pre-ballet focus and teaches elective courses in classical and contemporary ballet as well as yoga as a visiting lecturer with the ballet department; she holds a Bachelor of Science in ballet and human biology and a Master of Science in ballet from Indiana University. Rebecca Janes has performed principal roles in ballets by choreographers including George Balanchine, Alonzo King, Dwight Rhoden, Nacho Duato, Gerald Arpino, Marius Petipa, and Sasha Janes, and she is fully certified in Romana Pilates. Glenda Lucena is a professional ballet teacher and repetiteur who has served as Ballet Master at Miami City Ballet, taught for the Chautauqua Institution, and served as both faculty and repetiteur for the Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department.
The program’s mission states that it provides training, education, and mentorship to dancers who want to study the art of ballet and include it in their lives, serving both children and young adults who wish to train at the pre-professional level and those who seek to dance as a recreational extra-curricular experience. The mission also states that the program shares its devotion and commitment to the art and practice of dance and builds supportive and joyful connections among dancers, their families, faculty, and the Jacobs School. The program identifies core values that include the belief that ballet training can build confidence, creativity, intelligence, discipline, and a positive self-image in every student, and it states a commitment to a positive learning environment where every dancer feels welcome, supported, safe, nurtured, and inspired. It also states that it aspires to motivate dancers to feel the thrill of their own hard work and to move with grace, confidence, and fearlessness, and that it recognizes the importance of live musical accompaniment and regular performance activities, with class content tailored to the developmental needs of each level.
The Jacobs Academy notes that it is embedded in the community of the Jacobs School of Music and Bloomington and that it connects local, regional, and global creative communities. It states that participants experience teaching and learning with respected teaching artists who have trained with Jacobs School of Music faculty, guests, and alumni. The Jacobs Academy also states that it offers pre-college and adult students a chance to be part of communities that value and promote artful learning, and that its pre-college program has been a robust and growing network of music teachers and learners for decades. In 2020, pre-college programs, adult non-curricular programs, and community engagement projects were consolidated under the umbrella of the Jacobs Academy, which offers music and dance learning to people of all ages across a spectrum from pre-professional to avocational learners.
The program offers open ballet classes on Saturday afternoons that are described as challenging all levels, ages, and abilities in a fun and welcoming environment, and an Open Class on Saturday for dancers ages 13–Adult that offers a lighter schedule option. Merit-based financial aid is awarded each fall semester for levels 1–6, and need-based financial aid decisions are made by a committee separate from the Jacobs Academy Ballet faculty. Levels are determined at the discretion of the Program Director, with possible adjustments according to ability, skill, and work ethic.
The dress code allows dancers to wear either a leotard in the color of their designated level with flesh-toned or ballet pink tights, or thick black fitted tights with a fitted white t-shirt, with shoe color matching tights whenever possible. Masking while attending classes is optional and follows the university’s health and safety directives.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Spring 2026 includes Bridge Classes from Monday, January 5 to Friday, January 30; the main spring semester for all levels begins Monday, February 2 and continues through Sunday, May 17, with specific dates for no classes, costume fittings, parent observation, and a Spring Performance; Summer 2026 includes a Twilight Turnout Contemporary Mini-Session from Tuesday, May 26 to Friday, May 29 and a Summer Camp & Performance Workshop from Monday, June 1 to Friday, June 5.
The Jacobs Academy Ballet Program is led by Co-Directors Robin Hoover Allen and Rebecca Janes, with Glenda Lucena serving as Artistic Advisor and Senior Faculty. Robin Hoover Allen specializes in creative movement classes for young children with a pre-ballet focus and teaches elective courses in classical and contemporary ballet as well as yoga as a visiting lecturer with the ballet department; she holds a Bachelor of Science in ballet and human biology and a Master of Science in ballet from Indiana University. Rebecca Janes has performed principal roles in ballets by choreographers including George Balanchine, Alonzo King, Dwight Rhoden, Nacho Duato, Gerald Arpino, Marius Petipa, and Sasha Janes, and she is fully certified in Romana Pilates. Glenda Lucena is a professional ballet teacher and repetiteur who has served as Ballet Master at Miami City Ballet, taught for the Chautauqua Institution, and served as both faculty and repetiteur for the Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department.
The program’s mission states that it provides training, education, and mentorship to dancers who want to study the art of ballet and include it in their lives, serving both children and young adults who wish to train at the pre-professional level and those who seek to dance as a recreational extra-curricular experience. The mission also states that the program shares its devotion and commitment to the art and practice of dance and builds supportive and joyful connections among dancers, their families, faculty, and the Jacobs School. The program identifies core values that include the belief that ballet training can build confidence, creativity, intelligence, discipline, and a positive self-image in every student, and it states a commitment to a positive learning environment where every dancer feels welcome, supported, safe, nurtured, and inspired. It also states that it aspires to motivate dancers to feel the thrill of their own hard work and to move with grace, confidence, and fearlessness, and that it recognizes the importance of live musical accompaniment and regular performance activities, with class content tailored to the developmental needs of each level.
The Jacobs Academy notes that it is embedded in the community of the Jacobs School of Music and Bloomington and that it connects local, regional, and global creative communities. It states that participants experience teaching and learning with respected teaching artists who have trained with Jacobs School of Music faculty, guests, and alumni. The Jacobs Academy also states that it offers pre-college and adult students a chance to be part of communities that value and promote artful learning, and that its pre-college program has been a robust and growing network of music teachers and learners for decades. In 2020, pre-college programs, adult non-curricular programs, and community engagement projects were consolidated under the umbrella of the Jacobs Academy, which offers music and dance learning to people of all ages across a spectrum from pre-professional to avocational learners.
The program offers open ballet classes on Saturday afternoons that are described as challenging all levels, ages, and abilities in a fun and welcoming environment, and an Open Class on Saturday for dancers ages 13–Adult that offers a lighter schedule option. Merit-based financial aid is awarded each fall semester for levels 1–6, and need-based financial aid decisions are made by a committee separate from the Jacobs Academy Ballet faculty. Levels are determined at the discretion of the Program Director, with possible adjustments according to ability, skill, and work ethic.
The dress code allows dancers to wear either a leotard in the color of their designated level with flesh-toned or ballet pink tights, or thick black fitted tights with a fitted white t-shirt, with shoe color matching tights whenever possible. Masking while attending classes is optional and follows the university’s health and safety directives.
Last updated May 14, 2026.
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