Academy Performing Ensemble

Founded in 1994 by Cathleen Cronin Dunlap, the Academy Performing Ensemble is a 501-c3 non-profit organization committed to furthering dance education through providing performance and training opportunities to our community. Members of the Academy Performing Ensemble are offered master classes, professional choreographers, showcases, competitions, conventions, intensives, travel and the ability to perform lead roles in our two annual productions.

Ballet Ensemble

Ages 8+

Audition Required

Junior Apprentice Ballet Ensemble (Pre-Pointe)
Tuesdays 5:00-6:30pm
Thursdays 5:45-7:15pm

Junior Ballet Ensemble
Tuesdays 5:00-7:00pm
Thursdays 5:45-7:15pm

Senior Ballet Ensemble/Senior Principals
Mondays 5:45-8:15pm
Tuesdays 6:30-8:30pm
Thursdays 7:15-8:45pm

Ballet Ensemble is the largest group of dancers we have. The Ballet Ensemble has Apprentice, Junior Apprentice, Junior, Senior Apprentice, Senior and Principals. At each level the requirements for ballet class hours vary.

The Ballet Ensemble is offered a greater opportunity to dance roles normally held by professionals. We have danced to sold out crowds who have continued to support us for many years. The Ensemble presents two full ballet productions annually. The Children's Nutcracker delights families and young audiences each December. In the spring, we have performed different ballets including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Alice In Wonderland and many more.

The Ballet Ensemble also participates in Balletfest in Atlanta each year. Balletfest is a festival bringing together some of the best teachers and dancers from all over the Southeast for a festival of master classes and performances. We are honored to be one of the founding companies for Balletfest.

The Ballet Ensemble has competed in the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix in 2014, 2015 and 2022. Members of the Ballet Ensemble have been accepted into national summer training programs including the Joffrey Ballet, Nashville Ballet, American Academy of Ballet and Dance Canvas: DC Next.

The Ballet Ensemble gives the dancers more performance opportunities, discipline, and confidence. The Ensemble dancers learn to give back to their community. They feel proud to be apart of this elite group of dancers, they make life long friends, and they learn valuable life lessons working together

Competition Team

Ages 5+

Audition Required

Mini Team
Saturdays 11:15am-12:15pm

+ 2 Hours Technique Minimum

Junior Team
Thursdays 3:15pm-4:15pm

+ 4 Hours Technique Minimum

Teen Team

Mondays 5:45-6:45pm

Thursdays 7:15-8:45pm

+ 4 Hours Technique Minimum

Senior Team

Wednesdays 7:00-9:00pm

+ 6.5 Hours Technique Minimum

Production & Specialty

Select Weekends

+ 3 Hours Technique Minimum

The nationally ranked Academy of Ballet Competition Team is comprised of dedicated dancers ages 5 and up. While many of our dancers participate in other extracurriculars, dance is top priority. In additional to regional and national top scores and titles, our dancers have been recognized for their Outstanding Choreography, Sportsmanship, Technical Excellence and Excellence in Entertainment. In 2019 our team was featured on the NBC special Holidays with the Houghs and in 2024 received 7 bids to the World Dance Championships.

On the convention circuit, our dancers have been recognized with scholarships from Streetz, Titans of Dance, Wild, Open Call, KAR, The World Dance Pageant, PowerPak, DancerPalooza and Radix - Tyce Diorio's 2023 Choice Artist. We have also had dancers previously travel as assistants with Motiv8 Dance Convention and currently have a dancer traveling with Open Call as their 2024-2025 Preteen Principal Lead Role.

While the awards are fun, we are a training first, growth mindset oriented team. We are proud to bring industry leaders in house to work with our dancers on a regular basis with regular master classes and our annual Ensemble Intensive. Our in house competition teachers/choreographers are all competition judges, convention teachers and working professional dancers. We strive for versatility, artistry and performance quality in addition to the strong technique developed in our ballet based program. Many of our alumni have continued on to collegiate dance teams, dance majors/minors and their own teaching careers.

As a full team, we attend one mandatory convention and three mandatory regionals in the metro Atlanta and/or Athens areas. Our team is offered several additional, optional performance and training opportunities including Nationals and Worlds. We have traveled to Myrtle Beach, Orlando, Montgomery, Savannah, Texas and New Jersey.

We offer many tiers of commitment to provide as many opportunities as possible. Whether you want to dance 2 or 6 days a week, we have a team for you! Don't let our studio name fool you, we do it all at AOB. We compete in jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, tap and musical theatre. Dancers who are eager to perform and hungry to invest in their craft can email academy4ballet@gmail.com to learn more.