Top Ballet Classes and Lessons for Kids on Long Island

So many families move to Long Island for the amenities the Island has to offer: parks, great schools, a backyard! It shouldn't be a surprise that there is a growing crop of terrific resources for our kids sprouting up either.  Rare outside of large cultural meccas like NYC, there are several ballet studios on Long Island and many of the schools have been founded or are being run by professional dancers who too retreated from New York City to Long Island with their own families, and their programs and studios reflect their love of the profession and the student. Here are a few of the most notable:

The Lynch School of Ballet-Just opening in Huntington and being run by a professional ballet dancer, The Lynch School is perfect if you are looking for a thoroughbred education in ballet for your child.  Plus, the studio is gorgeous and they're presenting a new full length Nutcracker this season. For the youngest dancers, they offer pre-school programs and pre-ballet programs designed to prepare students for Academy levels. Check out their website by clicking here. 

Out East in St. James is Seiskaya Ballet. Seiskaya offers two programs: one for children who love ballet as an activity and one for children who love ballet as a lifestyle. I've heard Seiskaya is one of the most prestigious programs available and boasts several professionals as graduates. So if you've got career caliber ballet talent and interest in your child, this is the place for you. Luckily, they also offer many classes for those who simply enjoy classical dance and performance. You can find more information on their website. 

Mid and Center Island offers The Frank Ohman School of Ballet, located in Commack. Rooted in the teachings of famous choreographer and Ballet great George Balanchine, Ohman is a non competing and non-recital program (the one exception is the annual performance of the Nutcracker). So if you are a parent that lives to see your child perform on stage at the end of a season, you'll need to keep that in mind. Rather, as with Seiskaya, Ohman is regarded as a training ground for promising professionals and boasts a large and impressive list of acceptances of it's pupils into summer training programs across the country. For the youngest dancers, Ohman also offers Creative Movement and Pre-Ballet classes. For more information, visit their website. 

 In New Hyde Park, the American Dance Theater Workshop is home to The Eglevsky Ballet Company. Like Ohman, Eglevsky was a student of Balanchine, and today his company is the only remaining professional ballet company on Long Island. The American Dance Theater Workshop offers ballet classes and programs in correlation with Eglevsky and students are offered auditions and opportunities as part of the Company. Unique to this school is live musical accompaniment to most classes. For more information visit the American Dance Theater website or click here for information about The Eglevsky Ballet Company.