Youth Dance Ensemble & School

Youth Dance Ensemble & School includes activities such as the Modern Dance Project, The Onstage Project, The Community Nutcracker Event, Winterfest, Spring Recital, and Outreach Performances. Dancers also take part in Breakfast with the Sugar Plum Fairy, The Nutcracker Ballet, and senior recognition activities such as senior solos with guest choreographers and a senior trip to New York.

• Ages: 10–18 years old
• Schedule: Academic year office hours Monday–Thursday 3:30–9:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.; summer office hours Monday–Thursday 3:00–9:00 p.m. and Wednesday 9:00 a.m.–noon

The Youth Dance Ensemble Repertoire Program was created in 1991 to fulfill community requests for a performing youth dance company in the south metro area. The mission of the Youth Dance Ensemble is to enrich residents of the south metro area by providing an environment of dance training and performance with emphasis on artistic, technical, and creative content, and to stimulate and nurture creative thinking and positive self-image. The mission also states that the program will inspire understanding and appreciation of dance in its many forms and will preserve and promote the art of ballet and related cultural traditions.

Youth Dance Ensemble & School is a non-profit dance center that will never turn away a student due to financial hardship and provides scholarships for those students. The program offers competition quality dance in a non-competitive environment and uses age appropriate costumes, music, and choreography. It serves students from Burnsville, Eagan, Apple Valley, Savage, Eden Prairie, Prior Lake, Lakeville, and beyond. Performance opportunities include events throughout the Twin Cities and out state tours of the yearly production of The Nutcracker Ballet, as well as additional performances at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Midtown Global Market, The Walker Art Center, Dances at the Lakes with Christopher Watson, and other community events.

The Youth Dance Ensemble Repertoire Program includes performances, lecture-demonstrations, and dance-related special events. YDE depends on funds to support outreach programs such as the Modern Dance Project and OnStage, which afford all youth the opportunity to receive instruction in dance and musical theater. Modern Dance Project and OnStage outreach programs are part of the program’s community involvement. Senior recognition includes senior solos with guest choreographers, the senior trip to New York, and special performances.

Dixie Rairamo has been teaching young dancers for 35 years. The Board of Directors includes Katie Blando (President), Haley Jensen (Secretary), Molly Schaffer (Treasurer), Keith Andersen, Kristin Blatzheim, Kelli Foster Warder, Nancy J Gove, Maddie Hunt, Leeanne “Dixie” Rairamo, Chad Stambaugh, and Darrius Strong. Instructors and guest choreographers are described as nationally recognized. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Student comments about the Modern Dance Project include: “My favorite part of Modern Dance is that we all get to express ourselves,” and “Something I’ve gained from this experience is not getting embarrassed about learning new things,” from Aileen, a seventh grader at Nicollet Middle School. Another student, Joanna, a sixth grader at Eagle Ridge Middle School, states, “The Modern Dance Project has made me a little bit more confident now.” Families can find auditions, performances, masterclasses, and more at DANCEMN.ORG and can shop YDE gear.

Last updated February 21, 2026.