Vancouver City Ballet / DanceWorks Performing Arts

Vancouver City Ballet / DanceWorks Performing Arts offers ballet lessons, ballet classes, dance classes, and tap. The program includes ballet training from toddler to professional levels, with both Vancouver City Ballet and DanceWorks Performing Arts operating under one roof. Classes use studios with sprung floors, a dedicated tap room with a floating floor subsystem and hardwood, and access to a boutique for dance wear and program merchandise.

• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Studio hours Monday–Thursday 2pm–9pm, Friday 3pm–8pm, and Saturday 10am–2pm

Vancouver City Ballet has provided classical ballet training in the region since 1993 and is described as Vancouver's biggest school for ballet and pointe. The Vancouver City Ballet mission focuses on excellence in dance class lesson training and in nurturing children and young people. Vancouver City Ballet has developed a reputation as one of the area’s top pre-professional ballet training programs and was voted #1 (context not further specified in the provided text). Vancouver City Ballet’s faculty, individual attention, and the success of its alumni attract dancers from around the Northwest.

The DanceWorks ballet curriculum provides students from ages 3 to pre-professional with lessons in strong technical foundation and produces dancers described as well-rounded in strength, stamina, and flexibility. DWPA has six spacious, professionally designed studios, and Vancouver City Ballet houses six fully equipped state-of-the-art sprung-floor studios, a student homework lounge, multiple viewing windows, and a boutique. Both Vancouver City Ballet and DanceWorks Performing Arts are fully merged, with training and programs remaining the same and now run through DanceWorks.

Classes for ages 6–12 are limited to a maximum of 12 students per class, and younger classes for ages 3–5 are limited to a maximum of 10 students per class. There is an assistant program in which senior students demonstrate and assist in classes. Office staff is on site during all class times to answer questions, and information is posted on a notice board and on the websites www.vancouvercityballet.com and www.danceworksperformingarts.com.

Vancouver City Ballet dancers travel to Seattle each year to compete at Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), and VCB and DanceWorks students attend Youth America Grand Prix, described as the largest ballet competition in the world. Graduates of the DanceWorks ballet program have gone on to attend universities including The Juilliard School, Point Park University, Oklahoma City University, Pace University in NYC, Cornish College of the Arts, and the University of Arizona. Students have attended summer intensives and apprenticeships at ABT, The Joffrey Ballet School, The Rock School, Steps on Broadway, Rockette Summer at Radio City, River North Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, OBT, and NW Dance Project. The program notes that its dancers consistently attend Youth America Grand Prix, the largest ballet competition in the world.

For dress code, Princess Ballerina students wear a DW-approved pink skirt, pale pink leotard, pink tights, with hair tied back. Princess Pirouette and Prima Ballerina students wear a DW-approved pink skirt, pink leotard, pink tights, with hair in a bun. Level 1A and up wear a black leotard in any style without rhinestones, zippers, or embellishments, pink tights, and hair in a bun. VCB male attire consists of a white tank with capri pants or black men’s dance tights. At DanceWorks/VCB, costumes for the May ballet show are ordered ready-made, and five tickets and a DVD are included in the showcase fee, with extra tickets available for a nominal fee.

Last updated July 5, 2026.