Ballet class with students at the barre, wearing blue leotards and guided by an instructor.

Frequently Asked Academy Questions

Location

Ballet Idaho is located between 8th and 9th Street off of Myrtle Street in downtown Boise.

  • If you are traveling from west Boise, you can take the connector downtown and turn right onto 9th Street and immediately left into our parking lot.
  • If you are traveling from east or south Boise, you can take 9th Street and turn left immediately into our parking lot after Myrtle Street.
  • If you are traveling from north Boise, you can approach downtown via Capitol Boulevard, turn left onto River Street, right onto 8th Street, and our parking lot will be on the left.

You can park in the Miller Lot at the corner of 9th Street and Miller. Enrolled students can register their license plate at the front desk or through our form for free parking. Temporary parking passes are available at the front desk for new students. There is also metered street parking and parking nearby lots for a fee.

If you park in one of our lots during class time and your vehicle is registered in our system, you do not need to pay for parking. Please allow ample time for parking as our lots can get quickly filled during peak hours. There are also other parking lots and garages as well as metered street parking downtown for a fee.

Students are encouraged to be dropped off at the main entrance 10-15 minutes prior to the start of their class or rehearsal. Please see BIA office hours. We open 15 minutes before the first class/rehearsal of the day and close 15 minutes after the final class/rehearsal of the day.

Contact

Front Desk hours are located in our Student Handbook. We are open Monday through Friday 4:45-8:15 p.m. and Saturday 9:30-2:00 p.m. Please be advised there are closures for holidays, productions, summer hours, and inclement weather.

You can reach us by phone at 208-343-0556 or info@balletidaho.org and we will forward your message to the appropriate department.

You can update your information by emailing Sada at sogburn@balletidaho.org.

Registration

Welcome to BIA! Please, reach out to our Academy Administrator Sada at sogburn@balletidaho.org to learn how to register your student through Jackrabbit. We are happy to answer all of your questions.

With BIA’s open enrollment policy, students can register at any point in the year.

Levels

We have classes suitable for dancers ages 3 years old and up. Our Adult classes start at 13 years old and up.

In our Lower and Upper Division, students will attend a placement class at the end of each Academic year where a panel of BIA Directors and Teachers will assess the student’s readiness for level progression. Students advance based on age, maturity, attendance, strength, flexibility, knowledge of vocabulary, etiquette, focus, and complete understanding of current level’s curriculum. Our Children’s Division is structured to have students move up a level each season. In our Lower and Upper Division classes, students may repeat a level for two or more years.

After studying pre-pointe in levels 3 and 4, students in Intermediate 1 will be evaluated to start pointe work. Based on bone structure, technical ability, and maturity, dancers who are ready may begin pointe work. BIA offers a beginner pointe workshop for dancers new to pointe. Students are fit in shoes, learn how to sew them and break them in, and start foundational pointe work during the week-long intensive.

Class Information

The class schedule is located at our front desk and posted here:

The tuition schedule is located in our Handbook at the front desk and posted here.

Please find our current Calendar here.  

Welcome to BIA! Please reach out to our Academy Administrator Sada at sogburn@balletidaho.org to learn how to register your student through Jackrabbit. We are happy to answer all of your questions.

We encourage new students to attend a free trial class for level placement before registering.

Find our dress code here. 

Our required curriculum leotards are available to purchase through BIA at the front desk. Tights, shoes, leotards, and other supplies are available at our Open House each season, but otherwise available to purchase at DiscountDance.com and other dance retailers.

BIA offers two Parent Observation Weeks during the course of the school year. Each season the dates are updated in the Academy Calendar. Parents and visitors are not permitted in the studios or in the hallways at any other time during the year. Students will perform in their year-end recital each season. We encourage parents, family members, and friends to support their dancers by attending their shows.

Specialty Classes are our unique class offerings taking place for a few weeks each fall, winter, and spring. This season, dancers in levels Intermediate 2 and up can participate in Pas De Deux (Partnering) and Choreography classes. These add-on classes are for an additional fee.

Each level has about 8 – 14 dancers. Some smaller classes are combined weekly.

At BIA, our philosophy is to teach, coach, and mentor the whole student by teaching physical, cognitive, and emotional development with a strong focus on classical technique. We teach a cohesive, age appropriate curriculum that fosters growth in each individual student. Our syllabus is a combination of ballet techniques to reflect the goals of the organization as a whole including the Academy, Trainee Program, and Company. BIA students will learn performance skills, artistry, musicality, dynamics, etiquette, maturity, grace, and discipline through ballet, contemporary, jazz, Pilates, and specialty classes.

Adult Class

Welcome to BIA! Please, reach out to our Academy Administrator Sada at sogburn@balletidaho.org to learn how to register through Jackrabbit. We are happy to answer all of your questions.

Our current adult schedule is listed here. 

Our adult unlimited membership pass is available for $115.00/month. Can’t make the commitment? Feel free to drop in for $25.00/class.

Acceptable clothing for female-identifying students includes athletic or dance attire that allows for easy movement such as leotard, tights, ballet skirt, warm-ups, yoga pants, t-shirt, etc. Hair should be neatly pulled back. Acceptable clothing for male-identifying students includes neat shirt or tank, tights or athletic pants or shorts, and dance belt. Please, wear appropriate footwear for the class you are in, such as ballet slippers for ballet class. No street clothes.

Our adult program is year-round with an additional summer intensive during the summer months.

Communication

If there are class changes or cancelations due to rehearsals, events, or holidays, you will be notified via email. If there is a closure due to inclement weather, we will notify you via email. We will also post on our social media account: instagram @balletidahoacademy

Students can not attend classes or rehearsals if they are feeling ill or showing symptoms of an illness. Please keep your student home until the illness has passed to allow the student to be healthy enough to take class fully and to avoid the spread of illness. You can contact Sada at sogburn@balletidaho.org if your student will miss class.

Payment

BIA offers refunds or credits only in extenuating circumstances. We are happy to credit your tuition payment to use toward a different class within the same academic year.

Performances

BIA registered students in levels Primary 2 through Advanced may audition for The Nutcracker. Auditions are held in early September each year and each role will be called by level. Youth Ballet dancers may also audition.

Each season the recitals take place at the end of our Academic season. Please check our BIA Calendar for specific dates. More information on schedules, requirements, ticketing, and parking will be available each spring. There is a recital fee for all participating dancers. Children’s Division students will get to keep their costume!

Yes, you can order tickets through Ballet Idaho each spring.