Clarissa Zapata

Review of Greenwich Ballet Academy

GBA is an elite pre-professional ballet school wit...

GBA is an elite pre-professional ballet school with an incredible history of excellence. At GBA you will find outstanding and highly qualified instructors who all trained and danced with many of the most renowned ballet companies including the Bolshoi and American Ballet Theater. As a result, the instructors bring a global perspective to the studio which is often times absent in many other dance studios where the focus is solely to execute the choreography for a performance. At GBA the vision goes beyond the studio as dedicated teachers and passionate ballet students work together as a team not only to perfect the classical ballet technique, but also to become beautiful performers on a world stage such as YAGP.

Last year our daughter auditioned and was accepted into the Academy and we are so grateful to be part of this incredible school. From day one we have found every single staff member to be warm and welcoming (which quite honestly caught me by surprise at such an elite ballet school!). The dedicated staff has an unparalleled attention to detail. The classes are challenging, the schedule demanding but that is to be expected when you want the best. This means there are many more classes required at GBA than at other dance schools, and the teaching staff demand more time and commitment from the dancers, but the end result is equally stunning and dramatic. There are no short cuts to success, and at GBA the dancers learn these valuable life lessons early: hard work, determination, commitment and consistency.

GBA strives to help each dancer reach their highest potential. We drive nearly an hour (each way) so that our daughter can attend GBA, passing dozens of other ballet schools along the way. There are other girls in her class with commutes that are even longer, but the drive is 100% worth it so that our daughter can learn from the very best, in an environment designed to make her the best ballerina that she can be.