San Diego Ballet

I wish it was possible to review the school and the company separately, but I guess it’s 4 stars for the school and 2 for the company, so 3 overall.
The school has excellent adult ballet classes, but are frustratingly administered. Javier is a great teacher who gives feedback to all students. Some teachers only focus on the best or most promising students, but Javier helps everyone do their best, no matter how low their best is. For adult dancers, this is fabulous.
Unfortunately, the school is strict on attendance, which may work for children, but is difficult for adults. There’s an enrollment fee, you have to buy a set of classes for a set two-​month period, and forfeit any you don’t use in that session. This is definitely better than their old one-​month restriction, but is less than ideal if you have unexpected work trips or have to work late near the end of a session. I wish their policies were more flexible.
For the company, I don’t like to insult hard-​working artists, but as others have noted, this is not the best option if you’d like to see local dancers.

My husband Alex and I have for over 50 years, regularly gone to most live stage productions here in San Diego and elsewhere, and when it comes to judging Ballet; After taking everything into consideration, we rate the San Diego Ballet Company, as number one in San Diego.

There are so many excellent dancers in San Diego. I imagine none are auditioning for the San Diego ballet because of the terrible choreography and little respect or understanding of what high quality dance is. A junior high production quality with a set design akin to a dilapidated elementary school. The dancers aren’t even able to do anything in synch, and it’s probably the fault of the director or choreographer, not the dancers. It’s a shame that some of these aspiring dancers have to suffer through a stint with the San Diego ballet because I imagine they know nothing better. And the costumes look like they were purchased in a thrift store. I now understand why only a quarter of the seats were filled on a Friday night. Dear dancers, you can do better, and it’s not your fault.

Saw Nutcracker and was a little embarassed for the company. There were some bright moments. Would be nice with live orchestra… Or better sound anyway. The spanish solo was the absolute highlight of the evening. This girl clearly has strong technique and looks like she just loves what she’s doing. Don’t know if I’ve seen her dance with San Diego Ballet in previous years but they better hang on to that one! She’s the two stars here! The other dancers should be encouraged and become better dancers with her in the classes!

Came in for a drop-​in class ($ 20) and did not have cash on me. The lady at the desk still let me take the class and told me I could pay next time I come around since I take class upstairs at Malashock. I thought that was nice! This place is cash or check only so be prepared for that!
I came and took an adult beginning ballet class and it was fine.
I think it is slightly expensive and the member fee is high. I paid for a membership with Malashock and was under the impression that it covered all 3 resident companies at San Diego Dance Place. However, the Malashock membership apparently does not crossover to San Diego School of Ballet.
I will probably come again after I try other different ballet studios in the area.

This place has great teachers available, but not necessarily. It was hit and miss for me here, as some of the open classes were fantastic and others were very slow with lots of people who werent really aware of spacing. I wish the online schedule was more informative about who was teaching each class…

San Diego Ballet is an amazing dance facility. My daughter has been come for two years and she has performed in the Nutcracker and really enjoys her classes — she just can’t wait for the weekend to dance.
Gordon Jarratt | Owner JoLsalon Liberty Station

Went to watch The Nutcracker and representatives from SD Ballet were selling nutcrackers, ornaments and other items during the intermission. All proceeds benefit the ballet school. I purchased 2 nutcracker ornaments for $ 10. I kept one and gave the other as a present. They were too cute not to buy.

The San Diego Ballet Nutcracker is fantastic! Definitely my favorite company in the area and I’ve seen them all.

This is the place! It’s not too pricey, the kids love it, the instructors are great with the kids and very professional. We are here once a week and everyone is always happy. There are lots of fundraisers for the programs and the facility is clean and neat.
Ms. Karen is always a treat. I love that she is such an outgoing personality.

I’ve taken ballet classes here and there for 2 years as an adult and the adult classes at San Diego Ballet are well taught and affordable. I was intimidated at first by the professional dance company aura of this place, but once I started taking classes, I felt right at home.
You’d think a school that trains company dancers for the professional stage would be snooty and standoffish with their hobby-​oriented adult students. On the contrary, the staff at San Diego Ballet are approachable and kind. Ballet is hard work and takes years to master and it seems they appreciate adults who give it a try.
I’m pretty much a beginner’s beginner when it comes to dance. I’m completely lacking in coordination and I’m out of shape, which is why I need to take ballet classes. The dance school caters mainly to children and adolescent dancers who are training professionally but they do offer a good number of classes for adults who are interested in ballet as a hobby.
Classes are small to medium, ranging from 4 students to 10. There are several ballet barres in the studio, so there’s plenty of spaces for barre work. Students will range from absolute beginners to former professional dancers.
My adult beginner teacher Robin is great because she really tailors the class to the needs of the students. Sometimes she’ll have a class of absolute beginners who aren’t familiar with the ballet exercises and terms (they’re all in French) and she’ll keep it really simple but she’ll still work you hard. Alignment and using your core muscles are key in ballet and Robin will gently correct you if you’re not using your muscles like you should. She treats students with zero experience with the same kindness as the more classically trained students and she adjusts her correction and encouragement based on where you’re at. It’s important to have a teacher who will correct you. One who only gives encouragement and little correction will only foster sloppy form and deprive you of a great workout.
The Australian ladies in the front office are also fun and chatty. Tuition for adult classes starts at $ 12 per class for a series of 4 classes per month. There’s an upfront yearly enrollment fee of $ 30, but you are getting top notch instructors here. If you sign up for more than 4 classes a month, the rate goes incrementally down.

I love the school at San Diego Ballet. Located in a center that is the absolute culmination of art and dance, San Diego Ballet offers wonderful classes to children and adults alike.
There are gorgeous portraits all over the walls, capturing various dancers in even more varied movements. Elazar Harel, the photographer, offers each of these portraits for $ 100.00.
My daughter is currently enrolled in a beginning ballet class for kids. Her teacher, Miss Abby (Abby Avery), is actually one of the dancers for San Diego Ballet. I think it’s beyond fantastic that young dancers can learn from the best of the best. Miss Abby is extremely patient with the kids, and it is wonderful that experienced dancers take the time to teach the most inexperienced dancers.
I, on the other hand, accidentally enrolled in a beginning-​intermediate class. I have very little dance experience to speak of, so this was a HUGE mistake. I flubbed my way through an hour and a half of class, making an absolute dickhead of myself, but the teacher was very kind and made up simpler routines for me to do, while the rest of the class did the more complicated moves.
I have yet to reschedule myself in a beginner class (I’m being hella lazy), but I am looking forward to dancing with San Diego Ballet again. They are kind professionals who truly love dance.
They also perform breath-​taking shows. I highly recommend seeing one of their ballets if you haven’t already.