About
Ballet Austin Academy offers ballet classes, dance classes, and movement and ballet classes for young children, youth, pre-teens, and teens. The program also offers summer ballet programs, a Summer Intensive Program, and Summer Classes & Camps that include dance and fitness classes for adults and Reformer Pilates.
• Ages: 15 months–18 years old
• Schedule: Classes for new and returning Academy students for the 2026/27 school year begin September 8, 2026, and Summer Classes & Camps 2026 run June 22–August 2, 2026
• Price: Parking at the Google Building parking garage while taking classes is available at a reduced rate of $3 cash or $3.25 credit card for up to two hours using a chaser parking voucher, and members of the Dell Jewish Community Center receive a 20% discount on all Ballet Austin classes offered at the Dell JCC
Ballet Austin Academy is the official ballet school of Ballet Austin and is one of the largest ballet academies in the United States. It was founded in 1956 by Barbara Carson and is endowed in part by Sarah & Ernest Butler through the Ballet Austin Foundation. The Academy follows a comprehensive curriculum with four divisions that guide students from the Young Children’s Division (ages 15 months–5 years) to the Advanced Division (ages 14–18), and once a student enters the Elementary Division, rigorous ballet technique training begins. Each area has a codified syllabus that is structured for the age and physical ability of each student, and the Academy’s focus is to provide what is necessary for a professional career in dance.
Instructors are experienced professionals, many of whom are current or former Ballet Austin Company dancers, and many classes feature live musical accompaniment. Students may be selected by Ballet Austin’s artistic staff to perform with the company in full-length productions, and only Academy students are eligible to audition for roles in Ballet Austin’s productions, including the annual production of The Nutcracker, where over 150 Academy students complement Ballet Austin’s 20 professional dancers and 10 apprentices. Performance opportunities include the annual Academy Spring Presentation and auditions for Ballet Austin’s production of The Nutcracker.
Ballet Austin Academy has four divisions and two Austin locations for enrollment, and summer ballet programs are available at two locations in Austin. A carpool network is available to help dancers carpool to class, and free and discounted parking options are available for students and guests, including free parking at Austin City Hall Garage for up to 1.5 hours with validation and reduced-rate parking at the Google Building parking garage using a chaser voucher that is good for two hours. Parking users at Austin City Hall Garage must bring their garage ticket to the front desk for validation, customers exiting the Google Building parking garage must submit their parking ticket followed by the chaser voucher, and handicapped parking in the east parking lot requires a proper permit. There is also a protected bike lane on 3rd Street separated from the street by a curb, and CapMetro Park & Ride facilities have direct routes to Ballet Austin.
The Academy Registrar is Siobhan O’Donnell, and office hours for the Academy Registrar are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ballet Austin is supported in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts and offers performance ticket donation requests through a community donation program that is currently on hold. The organization states that it is deeply committed to providing the highest quality dance instruction to more than 700 students and that believing art belongs to everyone is at the heart of everything it does.
Last updated July 17, 2026.
• Ages: 15 months–18 years old
• Schedule: Classes for new and returning Academy students for the 2026/27 school year begin September 8, 2026, and Summer Classes & Camps 2026 run June 22–August 2, 2026
• Price: Parking at the Google Building parking garage while taking classes is available at a reduced rate of $3 cash or $3.25 credit card for up to two hours using a chaser parking voucher, and members of the Dell Jewish Community Center receive a 20% discount on all Ballet Austin classes offered at the Dell JCC
Ballet Austin Academy is the official ballet school of Ballet Austin and is one of the largest ballet academies in the United States. It was founded in 1956 by Barbara Carson and is endowed in part by Sarah & Ernest Butler through the Ballet Austin Foundation. The Academy follows a comprehensive curriculum with four divisions that guide students from the Young Children’s Division (ages 15 months–5 years) to the Advanced Division (ages 14–18), and once a student enters the Elementary Division, rigorous ballet technique training begins. Each area has a codified syllabus that is structured for the age and physical ability of each student, and the Academy’s focus is to provide what is necessary for a professional career in dance.
Instructors are experienced professionals, many of whom are current or former Ballet Austin Company dancers, and many classes feature live musical accompaniment. Students may be selected by Ballet Austin’s artistic staff to perform with the company in full-length productions, and only Academy students are eligible to audition for roles in Ballet Austin’s productions, including the annual production of The Nutcracker, where over 150 Academy students complement Ballet Austin’s 20 professional dancers and 10 apprentices. Performance opportunities include the annual Academy Spring Presentation and auditions for Ballet Austin’s production of The Nutcracker.
Ballet Austin Academy has four divisions and two Austin locations for enrollment, and summer ballet programs are available at two locations in Austin. A carpool network is available to help dancers carpool to class, and free and discounted parking options are available for students and guests, including free parking at Austin City Hall Garage for up to 1.5 hours with validation and reduced-rate parking at the Google Building parking garage using a chaser voucher that is good for two hours. Parking users at Austin City Hall Garage must bring their garage ticket to the front desk for validation, customers exiting the Google Building parking garage must submit their parking ticket followed by the chaser voucher, and handicapped parking in the east parking lot requires a proper permit. There is also a protected bike lane on 3rd Street separated from the street by a curb, and CapMetro Park & Ride facilities have direct routes to Ballet Austin.
The Academy Registrar is Siobhan O’Donnell, and office hours for the Academy Registrar are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ballet Austin is supported in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts and offers performance ticket donation requests through a community donation program that is currently on hold. The organization states that it is deeply committed to providing the highest quality dance instruction to more than 700 students and that believing art belongs to everyone is at the heart of everything it does.
Last updated July 17, 2026.
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