Silicon Valley Ballet

I am very saddened to hear that they have closed. I was looking so forward to taking my daughter to see Alice in Wonderland at the end of April. My main concern is how they closed. They did not refund any money from the tickets that I had purchased. They did not send a letter or give any contact by email/​phone etc regarding the closure. The only «notice» I received was a letter stating that they were filing bankruptcy, had no assets to pay any creditors, but creditors could attend a court hearing in April just in case the court later finds funds. This is an incredibly unprofessional way of contacting people. I understand that they likely had many people to contact, but priority should have been notification to employees/​students/​families, etc and then notice to those who had already paid for tickets and would not be reimbursed. $ 147.50 down the drain.

My daughter started here in January of 2015. She was just shy of 5yo and joined in the youngest group (white uniforms). We were in the Saturday morning at 11am class with Miss Hutter. It was a great experience for her! Sometimes I would catch her practicing her moves at home and was impressed at how graceful she was. Classes are typically closed to parents but they have two parent observation weeks and they are so great to see what the kids are doing. Plus the annual performance is top notch in quality as well. The tuition is a bit pricy but I think it’s worth it. This is the real deal for aspiring ballerinas.

This is a review for the adult OPEN BALLET CLASS. Wednesday nights are supposedly a beginner class, luckily i have had quite a bit of ballet training because this was NOT for beginners. The class was VERY unwelcoming. Everyone was more interested in their own ego than the actual class. The teacher unfortunately didnt relieve any of this tension. She just relayed combinations with no actual teaching and gave no technical corrections. I really got the feeling that she was having a very bad day or maybe she hated her job. I’m sure SVB is a wonderful ballet school, but the open class was probably the worst i have ever been to. If you are looking to really learn ballet foundations and technical skill i would go somewhere else.

I’ve been to several Ballet San Jose Nutcracker concerts in the past, which I’ve enjoyed very much. I understand they’ve made some changes, the including the «Silicon Valley Ballet» name. I was however extremely appalled when I found out that they no longer use a live orchestra! All of their Nutcracker performances are set to a recording! Speaking as a struggling orchestra musicing, I am deeply personally offended by this. This is a total insult to orchestra musicians. The only thing this budget saving measure does to hurt the arts scene in the area. Silicon Valley Ballet, you should be ashamed of yourself. I refuse to support any kind of organization that doesn’t respect musicians.

I’ve been to several Ballet San Jose Nutcracker concerts in the past, which I’ve enjoyed very much. I understand they’ve made some changes, the including the «Silicon Valley Ballet» name. I was however extremely appalled when I found out that they no longer use a live orchestra! All of their Nutcracker performances are set to a recording! Speaking as a struggling orchestra musician, I am deeply personally offended by this. This is a total insult to orchestra musicians. The only thing this budget saving measure does to hurt the arts scene in the area. Silicon Valley Ballet, you should be ashamed of yourself. I refuse to support any kind of organization that doesn’t respect musicians.

Amazing all around! I have a daughter in the young children’s class and she absolutely loves it. The teachers couldn’t be better: they are ballet dancers themselves and are excellent with children. There is a person playing piano live throughout the class, even for these 3 and 4 year olds. I live in Santa Clara and there are several places locally that I could go to for ballet but I happily drive 3 times as far for the wonderful experience of Silicon Valley Ballet. Oh and the building itself is incredible — it feels like you’re in New York City!

Most of you will drive a long way, endure traffic, pay parking fees, and sidestep weirdos on the sidewalk to come here but let me tell you this place is WORTH it. It is the most professional ballet school in the South Bay. The dancers look like ballet dancers, unlike other schools. I was so impressed with a recital I attended. The music was beautiful and the curriculum is so advanced. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Once she attends a class here, every other school will pale in comparison.
Note: do not confuse this with the other San Jose Ballet school which has no affiliation with this school. Also they recently changed their name to Silicon Valley Ballet!

Why do they change name? Yeah, they open a studio in Paulo Alto. But deeper reason is the current ballet school director TRASHED the reputation of «Ballet San Jose School». Being here for 2 years. My daughter earn the honor to be always promoted. But, my suspicious started with the parental observation class when I was quite disturbed by the instructor’s sloppiness. Then, showcase quality made me further wonder what they actually learning was bare minimum. Choreography for that level of students was imprresively out of sync. In other words, they are very babyish. With doubt, I took my girl to a different studio, without telling them which current level is, and received a detailed level placement evaluation. The result proved my doubt. Staffs at the new studio told me that my daughter has very good potential. But she needs to be taught with higher level stuff. When they gave me examples, I am totally convinced Ballet San Jose curriculum is a fraud. Do not send your daughters there. If they are already students there, ask them how they were taught if not already (unless your daughter happen to be one of the three star students there). You may end up making decision to withdraw your daughter.
Now, they wiped clean by changing school name to Silicon Valley Ballet School. I sincerely wish parents and daughters are smart enough to find out this fraud school. DO NOT GO TO THIS SCHOOL. Imagine there are so many levels on their curriculum. With only 4 non-​compnon faculties onthe payroll, how would they have bandwidth to open new classes in new studios? Only possible explanation is current campus is way under-​enrolled! They are looking for revenue.

Review is for the ballet school — primary boys program:
By sons have been attending the boys only class on Saturdays with Mr. Erickson and I am so pleased with their experience. The live piano accompanying them is so nice and I feel they are learning «real» dance here. They love showing off their new skills and making up some new ones at home after class. Downside is the location and lack of parking but that’s downtown SJ for you.

Review for the school.
I had my two daughters, ages 3 and 4 ½ here for «movement» class (I think that is what they call the pre-​ballet class.
They loved it! Their teacher, Mrs. Hutter, is (or was) a professional ballerina so they are getting some real hard-​core fundamentals from someone who walks the walk and talks the talk (she speaks fluent French!)
The quality of the instruction and office staff is great. I love the ambience of the building and the fact that the actual San Jose Ballet company practices in the is same building! You run into guys and gals taking their higher level classes and that is just so cool.
Why are we not going there at this point? It is a bit inconvenient to park downtown– you have to remember your quarters and then walk past some unsavory characters occasionally. Not really what I want to do with 2 little girls in tow. Also, the times they had available for my daughters to continue just didn’t work for us.
At the end of the day, it was a great experience for them both and they really loved it. I loved the ambience and fact that they were instructed by a professional and surrounded by yet more professionals. If your kid is serious about ballet, this is definitely the place for them!

My son is not a big ballet fan (there’s no talking just music that makes me sleepy) but the company comes to the elementary school and gives classes in the fall. They picked him for free (scholarship maybe the better word) once a week classes the remainder of the school year (2014). He has been going each Saturday. He really enjoys his teacher, I confess I don’t remember his name but he is a regular in the professional company, and has thoroughly enjoyed the classes. We have learned for better enjoyment no sleep overs on Fridays but he has none the less enjoyed himself. He even thinks he’d like to continue in ballet as time goes on.
The enrollment process was easy and everyone has been wonderful. Because he had the «scholarship» the kids got their shoes and uniform for free. The «First Steps» program is a great community outreach program that opens new avenues to people and communities that probably would never have the opportunity. I know I never would have thought of it. We’ve just gone through local rec centers. The regular class fees are quite reasonable for the year as well so we will be continuing after the year is over.
After watching a class, on parent observation day, it is easy to see why he enjoys the classes. A great piano player to play music, no pre-​recorded music, like we experienced at the rec centers and his teacher seems to make all the «exercises» fun.

This is for the 2013 Nutcracker only. I have been to BSJ many times but this past experience was horrific.
First of all, I understand that this is probably the most kid-​friendly ballet, but the fact that I had to try and enjoy myself while listening to a baby who was clearly not yet a year old scream for most of the time was unacceptable. Most places say «no babes in arm» so as not to disturb the other viewers who pay BIG MONEY to see the ballet, but apparently not hiring a sitter is more important than me watching the ballet. The family was not asked to leave despite someone else complaining. Complete BS.
Next was the ballet itself. the dancers were fine, but this new production was awful. As another Unilocaler said, the play seemed thrown together. The choreography was messy, and at times boring. I HATED the arabian variation, it just looked like an awkward threesome, and that was always my favorite variation. The Chinese variation barely involved dancing, it was just posing and culturally insensitive (I’m Chinese and we do not bow and run!)
I also hated the blatant advertising for the ballet school by the overuse of kids from the school. This ballet had so many inexperienced kids performing I felt I was watching a recital, NOT a professional production. It was obvious that their parents made up the majority of the audience since they got the most applause and screams. Glad for the kids, not happy for me.
Overall, I will not come back, which is sad given I came here a few years before with the old choreography and I loved it. Oh well.

I am updating my review since my child is now older and is enrolled in the pre-​professional training program. This review applies to the school and not the ballet company. The company is excellent of high caliber. Many students in the mid to upper levels supplement the BSJ ballet curriculum with other ballet and core strengthening classes elsewhere to better round out their training. The performing opportunities are excellent at this ballet school.

This review is of the ballet school and not the professional company. The company is a top company and I had hoped that the school would be of the same caliber. However, in my experience I have found the school to be below average compared to other top ballet schools across the country. I have had multiple children attend this ballet school over the years.
Compared to other schools, I have found the rate of progression to be very slow. For example, my child was on pointe for 3 years before she was taught to do a pirouette on pointe.
There is a new ABT program that the school follows that started a couple of years ago.
I have observed teachers teaching classes and have found some of them to not give critique to the students or very little feedback at times. Many of the classes in the primary, junior and senior divisions are quite large; many with 20 kids per class. Some teachers are great in my personal opinion, while others are not as good or consistent. I did not feel that my child received the close, personal and consistent attention to detail in her training that is needed for a dedicated, serious pre-​professional student.
The program is lacking a weekly pilates/​core strengthening/​stretching class in my personal opinion. I personally believe that this would help the serious students to get stronger and more flexible.
My child was bored at this ballet school due to a lack of challenge and not learning new things on a regular and consistent basis.
Having danced (including training) for ~15 years I understand I have a bit of a biased opinion. I have high hopes for the school and hope that over the long term that they will turn it around into a top caliber program.
I highly recommend this ballet school for those looking to stay in shape, for fun, or to learn the basics of ballet.

I took my friend to see Ballet San Jose’s The Nutcracker yesterday as a belated birthday present. We both enjoyed the ballet and I thought the production value was very high. The dancers were very talented, the choreography was beautiful, and the sets & costumes were absolutely amazing. However, be aware that this is not a traditional Nutcracker. I’ve seen the Nutcracker many times and this version was dramatically different. The biggest change is that there is no Sugar Plum Fairy! Marie (also known as Clara in some versions) and the prince dance a lovely pas de deux at the end of act two, but it was not to the traditional Sugar Plum Fairy music (or so my friend tells me, I can’t recognize music). This also means that Marie is a role for a principal dancer, rather than a ballet school student, and as such is obviously an adult instead of a child, which looks a bit odd. There’s also a weird «play within a play» in the first act, when the mouse king appears at the party and does a skit, as opposed to appearing for the first time after the adults have gone to sleep. I don’t think anyone understood what that skit was supposed to be about. We still really enjoyed the show, however. I was especially impressed with the ballet school students. The kids that run out from under Mother Ginger’s dress were really cute. There are also advanced students that dance with the Snowflakes (they are called «Snowflurries») and truthfully I could not tell any difference between the students and the company dancers. I did not even realize half of them were students until I looked at the program — impressive! I would definitely like to see another ballet by Ballet San Jose. Know that this is not a traditional Nutcracker though.

As the daughter of an admired Bay Area music critic, I have been exposed to Ballet SJ since I was a little girl, even taking the opportunity to attend press galas and meet the dancers and choreographers. But special treatment has not colored my opinon. Although Ballet SJ is a remarkable institution behind the scenes, the ballet itself has never failed to delight and enchant me – the costumes, set design, dancers, and music are simply beautiful.
Experienced dancer and choreographer Karen Gabay is a family favorite – she is just incredible to watch, and I encourage you to attend the ballet to see her if for no other reason. A mother of a full grown daughter, she herself looks as though she could be nineteen. The rest of the company is very talented, as well. Ballet SJ is a demonstration of the true greatness mankind is capable of, in both art and athleticism; and I am very happy to see that once again they can afford to provide live music. Keep the ballet alive!

I cannot say enough good things about the children’s classes at Ballet San Jose! The teachers — especially Ms Hutter — are wonderful, the atmosphere is elegant and fun, and the facilities are top-​notch. The music for classes and performances is provided by a live pianist rather than recorded music. This adds so much to the effectiveness of the lessons — not to mention the charm — that you really have to experience it to appreciate it fully.
All three of our young daughters — ages 3, 4, and 5 — are in classes there and they L-​O-​V-​E it!
If you are looking for ballet classes for your child, jetez-​vous don’t walk to Ballet San Jose! A true class act!

*Slightly updated on 3/​19/​12* This review is for the adult ballet classes – highly recommend them. Another option for adults looking for a solid technique class, for exercise purposes. The classes had a few teens but adults as well.
I have been taking Linh’s class – the class is normally really small, but I got individualized instruction from the teacher who also teaches Ballet San Jose company class! A fantastic instructor with a teaching experience, and the most advanced class Ballet San Jose School offers for adults/​teens. The class is well thought out, with great corrections and choreography that is a joy to dance. For those looking for a challenge in a non-​stressful environment – I highly recommend Linh.
Eriksen is also popular, with a dance-​y class, the intermediate class was fun and I would say it’s more advanced beginning than a solid intermediate class. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that my first class is free! the studios are really big and lots of room to jump about, with not too crowded classes. If you’re a serious adult student, and are looking for an environment without pressure and nice teachers, I would say Ballet San Jose School is a good option.
A bonus: The class card has no expiration date, so the $ 130 for 10 classes is a great deal!

I’ve seen the Nutcracker by Ballet San Jose twice-​once as a little girl and the other this year. As a little tike, I remember being mystified by the gracefulness of the dancers and how I was able to escape reality for a bit with how captivating the story was.
Now, as a big kid (hehe), I can fully appreciate how detail-​oriented and magical the show really is. Being a dancer myself, I’ve experienced firsthand just how much effort, time and talent goes into every piece, let alone an entire show. These dancers, musicians, and other cast members must have an incredible amount of passion to do what they do, and do it so well! After this year, I’m hoping to make The Nutcracker by Ballet San Jose a Christmas tradition.

I just saw my very first ballet, The Nutcracker, at Ballet San Jose! What a beautiful show it was! This was perfect pre-​Christmas activity and highly recommended. The sets and costumes were beautiful and the dancing was simply amazing. As I have only seen The Nutcracker on a PBS station years ago and never been to a live ballet performance, there is nothing for me to compare it against. However, it was just as I expected, even better!
I believe this version of The Nutcracker is little less traditional than some ballet versions-​it seemed a little more geared towards younger children during some parts. It was still overall a magical experience and I was definitely impressed.
I went to a matinée that had the live orchestra and I paid fair prices for outer orchestra ring. It was excellent and I feel anywhere you sit, you are going to get a great experience.
The whole ballet was well done but I especially enjoyed the ballerina dancing the Sugar Plum fairy. She was a standout amongst the troupe and I wish I had my program with me to remember her name. Highly recommended that you check this out over the Christmas season. As a bonus you are right across from Christmas in the Park, so see a matinée here at the Performing Arts Center, then continue your family day at the festivities in the Park.
Yaaay Christmas!

I just watched Carmen, the last production for Ballet SJ’s 2010-​11 season, last Sat night and as expected it was awe-​inspiring. The performance was sexy, moving and passionate. It was sensual enough to make the little girl sitting next to me whisper to her mom, «are they really doing it?» Ai ya!
Alexsandra Meijer, who played Carmen as well as Odette in Swan Lake is a truly brilliant and talented dancer. She dances with such grace and passion and I’d purchase season tickets just to watch her dance.
Like I said. I’m a huge fan of Ballet SJ now and I can’t wait for the upcoming season.

Went to the Nutrcacker Suite performance. Wow! Amazing. Everything I had hoped it would be. Phenomenal performers, spectacular sets, very smooth transitions between scenes. I am a big fan now.
I went for the «family matinée» performance and was excited to see so many people there. It is so important to support these types of art and preserve some culture in our city! I can’t wait to see another performance.

Thanks to Groupon, I was able to watch the Giselle performance for a discounted price of $ 45. The story line was beautiful! Definitely loved the performance, but I did not appreciate the rudeness of the staff. I was screamed at for ACCIDENTALLY taking my coffee in the theater with me. A polite and simple «no food is allowed in theater» would have been nice.
I shall be back in December to watch either Swan Lake or The Nutcracker. I can’t wait! :)

I watched Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet and I was defs impressed. I’m thinking Ballet San Jose doesn’t get much love because everyone assumes the San Francisco Ballet is better.
Nuh uh. Romeo and Juliet was so good. The people there are really sweet. I got a call after the Nutcracker to become a subscriber and even as a poor recent college grad, I knew I had to help preserve the arts. They are getting hit pretty hard by the poor economy. So do what you can to help out these wonderful dancers. It’s worth it.