Ballet Memphis

Ballet Memphis is such a treasure!

When they moved to Overton Square, they truly became an anchor for our performing arts district.

I can't make it through the holidays without The Nutcracker and I really appreciate how they recorded the play and donated it to Memphis during the pandemic.

I'm at the point where I know the dancers on sight and know their special gifts.

I took a tour of the space before COVID-19 changed our lives. I love how you can see the dancers practicing from the street through the massive glass windows.

They have dance school, community dance classes and a studio for pilates classes.

I copied and pasted their class offerings:

-Classical Ballet Training
-Expanded Dance
-Youth Ballet Memphis
-Boys at Ballet Memphis
-Community Dance
-Summer Dance
-Ballet Memphis Pilates
-STOTT PILATES® Certification
-Adult Ballet
-Expanded Dance

They have group mat and equipment classes for all levels, Total Barre™, Active for Life, bodyART™, Total Body Conditioning, and specialty clinics. Also, private and semi-private training.

The costume shop is insanely amazing, you can also rent one of four studios and there's a business meeting rental space with high-speed fiber internet, teleconferencing and other features.

They'll bring in caterers, table rentals and valet parking.

I have thought long and hard about this post. We recently had a very negative situation involving the beginners ballet teacher where she stated to my spouse "does your child just do things purposely wrong as a coping mechanism." We addressed the matter with the CEO of Ballet Memphis. While I appreciated her professionalism she stated "not everyone is meant for our ballet classes." These two interactions struck me as "elitist" and truly missing the point of our complaint. We had been warned by several families about this elite thinking and attitude of Ballet Memphis.

My advice to parents, is to think long and hard about enrolling your child in the Ballet Memphis programs.

I was disappointed with the response and statement from the CEO. She said they will use this as a learning opportunity but will she?

I am a student of Ballet Memphis and l love their classes. My husband and l just wanted to go watch the show Fall Mix, a 2pm Sunday show at their inhouse venue. Tix are 15, which is fine, l would also have payed 25. But that they saidevery one of our little children, 2 years, 1 year and even our baby, 4 months, should have a full ticket, is outrageous and ridiculous. Shame on you for that un-familyfriendly attitude! We will not consider coming back to an event in the future.

How neat to have a serious ballet school nearby.

This school is home to talented professionals and instructors and the next performance will be 'Romeo & Juliet'. One of my favorites.

If you're interested in ballet as an adult, they offer supplemental classes, as well as childrens' classes and several grades of ballet study.

In addition, they offer STOTT Pilates classes, with introductory classes only $15.

Great school with very patient instructors for kids. Great environment for all ages. My 3 year old started here and loves it.

We recently relocated to Memphis from out of state. Our 8 year old daughter was taking classes at an excellent ballet school that taught classic ballet yet the instructors made it fun for young children as it should be :).

Unfortunately our daughter was placed with a very young serious teacher who had a very dry, borning personality. Our daughter loved going to ballet however recently complained that she didn't want to go. It became a chore to get her out of the house and she was less than enthusiastic. After speaking to the instructor and attending the rehearsal it all made sense.....the performance was so dull and there was such a lack of enthusiasm we made the connection of why she no longer wanted to attend.

The teacher makes the difference. While this may be a "gem" in Memphis, Ballet Memphis needs to evaluate instructors more effectively. We will lose young dancers if we don't show passion and enthusiasm with who we chose to work with our young children and future dancers.....very disappointed.

in my opinion If you start ballet there when you are 3 and/or donate lots of money you child will most likely enjoy their time there. They may even eventually put them in the company to keep the money coming. The students in the school all have VERY poor technique and are years behind what they should be for their age.
In my opinion this is most likely the fault of the school principal Janet Parke. She does not correct the students enough and lets them settle for being mediocrity instead of pushing them to do the steps correctly. She and the other teachers are NOT shy about showing favoritism and their favorites happen to be the kids whose parents donate money.
She does not seem to care about all her students only the few that grew up in the school. She once told her ballet 7 class that none of them should aspire to be dancers. A dance studio is a place where you want your child to be inspired to dance and she just tell them to give up. She does not place focus on technique instead she places it on things like artistry. It is good to focus on artistry but not when your students have no technique at all. Another reason the school is not good is that classes are crowded with between 30-40 students in a class.
In my opinion the students look like average people who just walked off the street and just put on a pair of pointe shoes. The upper levels are so crowded no one can get any attention. The ballet company is wonderful and full of very talented dancers but for some reason the school is not. I'm sure its fine for younger kids ,but I would look for a different studio if you have an older child. If your looking for a good ballet school i would not consider this studio.