Ballet Classes for Kids Near Me (you)

Ballet classes for kids near me (you): Children's ballet I & II. American Dance Institute is well known for excellence in dance instruction. 

Class Schedules

Fall Session

September 18, 2023 - February 11, 2024

  • Greenwood

  • Shoreline

  • Wedgwood

  • Magnolia

Winter Session: Registration Opening Soon!

January 2, 2024- March 24, 2024

  • Greenwood

  • Shoreline

  • Wedgwood

  • Magnolia

About Our Children's Ballet Dance Classes

Continuous learning

All of our Ballet Lessons for Kids ages 8-10 include barre, center, stretching, adagio, and allegro work. We focus on the physical and intellectual understanding of how and why each movement is executed. With our structured teaching methods,  your child will progress further, quickly and safely. Whether you are experimenting to see where your child's interests lie are or have an aspiring dancer, our ballet classes will be non intimidating for your child.

Ballet Class levels

Ballet I: Starts at the very beginning. It is designed for students who have never had ballet before or have studied ballet so long ago that they want a complete refresher course.

Ballet I.5 : For student who have had 4 -6 months of recent lessons

Ballet II : For student who have had at least on year of recent lessons

Ballet III: For student who have had at least two years of recent lessons

American Dance Institute's 34th Annual Dance Recital
kid's ballet, kids ballet, children's ballet classes,

Ballet Dance Attire

Girls wear short sleeve cotton leotard (Bloch style #CL5402) in pastel blue, pink tights and pink Ballet slippers. No skirts/tutus please except for special skirt days. 

Boys wear dance belt, black tights, white t-shirt and black or white Ballet slippers.

 All long hair should be secured in a bun. Shorter hair should be pulled back off the face and in a ponytail if it fits.

Elizabeth Chayer, American Dance Institute Seattle, Greenwood, Magnolia, American Dance Institute-Magnolia, dance classes

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Why Our Classes Are Non-Competitive

"Young children have yet to develop a healthy perspective with which to frame ballet's competitiveness. Bad experiences can damage a child's self image and dampen their enthusiasm for ballet. To protect fragile self-images, we encourage young students to first discover their 'own best self', not to compare themselves to others who may have more or less natural ability." 


Elizabeth Chayer Founder, Director of The American Dance Institute

Meet Your Children's Ballet Teachers

Dakota Crist is an assistant Director at The American Dance Institute and teaches ballet and more.teaches

Dakota Crist

Assistant Director & office manager

BALLET, MOMMY & ME & CREATIVE DANCE

Dakota Crist had her earlier, training in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, and Modern Dance at Diane’s Dance Works in Helena, Montana, then went on to study at Creative Arts Center in Helena, Ballet Montana Academy and Sacramento Ballet. Dakota relocated to Seattle in 2013 and holds a BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts.

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As a young dancer, she attended Joffrey South, American Academy of Ballet, and Ballet West's summer intensives. Her love of dance drove her train pre-professionally with Ballet Montana and as a company trainee with Sacramento Ballet.  

After graduating from Cornish, Dakota shifted her focus to dance education. She has been teaching dance since 2009 and has taught for ADI since 2018. 

Ainsleigh Orwin Instructor The American Dance Institute

Ainsleigh Orwin

Office Manager,

Ballet, hip-hop, mommy & me & creative Dance

Ainsleigh Orwin began dancing at the age of 5 at Village Dance Arts in Claremont, CA where she was trained in RAD curriculum ballet, as well as modern, jazz, hip-hop, and tap. In 2017, Ainsleigh moved to Seattle to continue her education at the University of Washington. She currently holds a B.A. in Dance and B.S. in Biology (Physiology) from UW.

Ainsleigh has been teaching since she was 17, starting at her home studio and branching out to teach summer camps and outreach classes in elementary schools. Her passion for teaching and dance led her to American Dance Institute after graduating from UW in 2021.

Elana Skeers, Dance Teacher, The American Dance Institute

Elana Skeers

ballet, tap & creative Dance

Since she started dancing at 2 years old, Elana has had many opportunities to follow her passion and grow as a dancer through her home studio and the Joffrey Ballet School.

She has attended many dance intensives, conventions, and competitions over the years to expand her dance training.

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She loves sharing her education and passion for dance with young dancers. Elana is continuing her dance education as a dance major at the UW; taking classes and participating in many performance opportunities.

On top of dancing, Elana enjoys camping with friends, family, and her dog, spending time at the beach, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.

What Are Children's Ballet Classes Like at

American Dance Institute?

This video is a performance from the May 2018 Greenwood-Phinney ArtWalk event. These little ballerinas, ages 9-12, performed beautifully and touched every heart in the audience. 

A performance from the American Dance Institute's 33 Annual Spring Recital 2022 Seattle's Magnolia Children's Ballet 1.5 & II perform Ballet Suite No. 3

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