Charlottesville Ballet Academy

Charlottesville Ballet Academy offers Adaptive Dance for children with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, or other developmental and intellectual disabilities. Classes are adapted to match each dancer’s strengths and abilities, and caregivers may observe and/or participate. The academy also offers First Steps, Children’s, and Student Division classes, and children with disabilities may join those classes if they feel comfortable in a more academic dance class setting without an assistant or caregiver.

Programs

• Adaptive Dance — children with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, or any other developmental and intellectual disabilities · Classes are adapted to match the strengths and abilities of each dancer; caregivers may observe and/or participate. Intake forms are requested upon enrollment.
• First Steps — Children with disabilities may join in any First Steps classes if they feel comfortable in a more academic dance class setting, without an assistant or caregiver.
• Children’s — Children with disabilities may join in any Children’s classes if they feel comfortable in a more academic dance class setting, without an assistant or caregiver.
• Student Division — Children with disabilities may join in any Student Division classes if they feel comfortable in a more academic dance class setting, without an assistant or caregiver.
• Chance To Dance (C2D) — grades K-5 · Outreach program for grades K-5 that partners with local public schools; students are selected to receive lifetime scholarships.
• Movement For Parkinson’s — weekly · Open to anyone without cost and focuses on creating community for people with movement disorders and their care partners.
• Silver Swans — seniors age 50 and better · A collaborative program with The Center at Belvedere.
• Once Upon A Ballet — Free programming for schools, libraries, and the community.

At a glance

• Ages: 1–18 years old
• General schedule: Academic Year 2026-27; classes begin September 8; Thanksgiving & Winter Break November 24-January 3; classes resume January 4; Martin Luther King Jr. Day no classes January 18; Spring Break April 5-10; last day of academic year classes May 28.

About the provider

Charlottesville Ballet Academy was founded in 2007. Charlottesville Ballet Academy and Lynchburg Ballet Academy are the official training schools of Charlottesville Ballet and nonprofit centers for dance education serving over 1,000 students ages 1.5 through adult in all dance genres. The mission is to elevate the art of dance through wellness, performance, education, and community outreach.

Charlottesville Ballet commits to high quality dance education regardless of age, gender, physical ability, or economic privilege; it acknowledges it still has many areas of improvement to be more inclusive to those with disabilities and is actively learning and striving to make changes.

What families say

“Charlottesville Ballet Academy’s Adaptive Dance class fosters both acceptance and independence. The wonderful teachers make the class challenging and fun, and devote caring attention to each student. My daughter has greatly enjoyed learning skills, meeting new friends, and expressing herself through dance! This unique program is of tremendous value to the Charlottesville area.” — Dawn, mother of participant age 7 diagnosed with Autism

Last updated October 27, 2026.