Santiam Ballet Academy

Santiam Ballet Academy offers a range of dance and movement classes, including Baby Ballet, Pre-Ballet, Ballet I–V, Pointe, Jazz I, Creative Movement, Mini Hip-Hoppers, Hip-hop, Youth Sports Agility, Musical Theater, Tumbling, Family Dance, and Adult Dance. Ballet classes teach classical ballet technique at the barre and center floor, focusing on body alignment, arm and head carriage, stretching and strengthening of the legs and feet, and ballet terminology. Baby Ballet and Pre-Ballet classes teach basic movement through imagination, rhythm, and body awareness, with attention to balance, arm and leg coordination, and counting skills, while Creative Movement uses storytelling through movement, stretching, strengthening, coordination work, and basic dance technique with music, rhythms, and patterns.

• Ages: 2–18 years old
• Price: Group tuition for Family Dance for up to 2 adults and 2 children is $90 per month, with each additional child $20, and a discounted rate of $60 for families with dancers enrolled in other Santiam Ballet Academy classes.

Hip-hop at Santiam Ballet Academy combines freestyle movements with elements of popping, locking, breaking, and jazz, and Jazz I includes a warm-up for core strengthening, balance, and extensions through isolations, rhythmic exercises, and floor stretches, with students studying jazz technique and learning to build complex combinations and routines set to fun and trendy music. Youth Sports Agility focuses on agility drills, balance, and core strength, with bi-weekly sessions that use ladder drills, cone work, reaction games, and bodyweight exercises, and students are sent home with a personalized workout plan and list of exercises to practice over the two weeks. Musical Theater class covers stage presence, public speaking, self confidence, memorization, song and dance improv, and is described as a great intro to Broadway and theater. Tumbling introduces stretching and tumbling skills such as handstands, forward and backward rolls, handstands to bridge, and cartwheels. Family Dance is a class for young dancers and their grown-ups that focuses on bonding through movement, partner work, and shared dance activities, and Adult Dance includes a ballet-inspired barre warm-up, a mix of jazz, hip hop, and lyrical styles, targeted stretching and conditioning, and a full-body workout with music.

The leadership team includes Academy Director and Instructor Charlene Vogel; Hip Hop, Tumbling, Jazz, and Youth Agility instructor Carl Massey; Ballet, Lyrical, and Tumbling instructor Anna Vogel; and Musical Theater instructor Aimee Hampton. Charlene earned a bachelor’s degree in Education with a minor in Art and Dance from the University of Oregon, has over 25 years of training in the Vaganova and Cecchetti ballet techniques, and has extensive training in athletics with collegiate track and field competition experience. Mr. Carl earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts, served as a professor of dance at Western Oregon University, and has taught younger children at the YMCA. The academy states that its instructors are highly trained and certified, with experience in teaching and performing various styles and disciplines, and that they have a passion for the art of dance and for helping others build strength and confidence. Aimee Hampton notes that she is excited to share theater with kids in the community and to watch as they find their confidence in being expressive. Santiam Ballet Academy identifies its history with the notation ©2019 by Santiam Ballet Academy.

Last updated June 12, 2026.