We started our daughter at The Portland Ballet seven years ago when she was four. We left for two years for a more convenient studio, then realized what we were missing and returned to TPB. I know several other families that have transferred in for the special place that is The Portland Ballet. The nurturing atmosphere and many opportunities to grow and perform are wonderful. But where they go above and beyond is in their outreach to the community. Their programs to introduce ballet to underserved communities and kids (like the cancer patients) who might not be otherwise able to meet a real ballerina.
The Portland Ballet is a wonderful ballet school. It offers a pre-professional company and excellent training! The teachers and staff are very caring, hard working and professional. I have been a student at TPB for five years now and I am a much improved dancer because of it!
There are so many schools for ballet training available to the general public and so few offer the quality and care The Portland Ballet provides. This is truly a school where a child can develop a life-long love of movement and the arts, train to become a professional dancer or an educated ballet patron, or have their lives enriched through the self-discipline and careful guidance TPB teachers provide. It is a pleasure watching TPB dancers grow and develop as students, as performers, as people.
Under the leadership of Nancy Davis and Jim Lane, each with Balanchine training and extensive, accomplished careers as ballet dancers, The Portland Ballet sets a high barre of excellence for its students. The young dancers respond well to this expectation of excellence, set in an environment that is disciplined yet caring and compassionate. TPB dancers are motivated by multiple opportunities each year to perform in professionally-produced, public productions. Inspired by the beauty and athleticism of ballet, they strive to do their best on stage. The habits learned in studio and on stage translate into achievement, confidence and a sense of community in every aspect of their lives.