Auditions for Summer 2024 and 2024–25 Dance Academy

The Dance Academy is part of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, which also includes Youth Dance programs. Led by Dean Margaret Tracey, the Dance Academy is a rigorous pre-professional ballet training program that honors the great traditions of classical ballet, embraces the new and contemporary, and includes the exploration of diverse dance genres to train well-rounded artists.

Our holistic artistic education shapes dancers as thinkers, artists, and performers as they experience life in the cultural heart of a global city. The small class size allows for each dancer to develop in their own way, through mentorship and personalized guidance that nurtures their unique gifts and prepares them for a professional career in dance. Attending the Colburn Dance Academy requires a high level of commitment and passion. We suggest applicants to have studied ballet for a minimum of four years. We train students ages 14–17 in the summer and year-round program

Student in-person and video audition submissions may be for one or both of the following:

Colburn Dance Academy for the 2024–25 school year (Aug 2024–June 2025)
and the 2024 Dance Academy Summer Intensive (June 17–22, 2024).

Register for Auditions

In-person audition dates:
  • Los Angeles
    The Colburn School
    200 S Grand Avenue
    Sunday, January 28, 11:30 am to 2 pm Registration begins at 11:30 am
  • New York
    The Ailey School
    405 W 55th Street
    Sunday, March 10, 1 to 3:30 pm Registration begins at 1 pm
  • Email dance@colburnschool.edu to preregister for these in-person auditions. A $35 registration fee will be required for both in-person auditions and video submissions.

Audition Process

At the in-person audition, Dance Academy artistic staff will give and observe a full ballet technique class. The class is taught in the Balanchine style and may be two hours in length.

All dancers will be assessed on the following:

  • General presentation
  • Use of rotation and placement
  • Articulation of footwork
  • Flexibility and coordination
  • Advanced combinations of pirouettes, petit and grand allegro
  • Ability to learn and responsiveness to instructor

Dancers who train en pointe will be asked to wear pointe shoes for the audition class.

Video auditions for the 2024 Dance Academy Summer Intensive will be accepted from December 15, 2023 until April 15, 2024.

Video auditions for the 2024–25 Colburn Dance Academy will be accepted from January 1 until June 15, 2024.

Please note that students are encouraged to send in their videos as early as possible to be considered for the limited number of spots in both the 2024 Dance Academy Summer Intensive and the 2024–25 Colburn Dance Academy.

Videos should be uploaded to a privacy-enabled video sharing service including YouTube, Vimeo, Dropbox or other similar platforms, and emailed to dance@colburnschool.edu with the password. Videos should include the following content with a preferred limit of 15 minutes in length.

Video Audition Requirements

All students must include the following:

  • Barre – the following combinations to one side:
    • Plié
    • Tendu
    • Rond de Jambe
    • Adagio
    • Grand Battement
  • Center floor work- the following elements to one side:
    • Adagio
    • Priouettes both en dehors and en dedans
    • Petit allegro
    • Grand allegro (include tour en l’air if applicable)

*Dancers who train en pointe should wear pointe shoes and include a diagonal turning combination

Video Audition Dress Code

  • Female identifying students: solid color leotard (optional skirt), pink or skin tone tights, pointe shoes
  • Male identifying students: black or grey tights and white t-shirt

Residential Dorms

Contact Gavin Kelley at gkelley@colburnschool.edu or 213-621-1085 to inquire about residential availability.