Marin Dance Theatre

What Marin Dance Theatre does

Marin Dance Theatre (MDT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dance school founded in 1996 and headquartered on the St. Vincent's campus in San Rafael, California, with a secondary studio in Corte Madera. The organization provides classical ballet and contemporary dance training across a four-tier curriculum: the Young Dancer Division (ages 18 months to 9), the Junior Division (Levels 1-5, ages 9+), the Senior Division (pre-professional, requiring 5 days/week of training), and the Open Division (teens and adults). Specialized programs include an Adaptive Dance offering for students with autism spectrum disorders and sensory sensitivities, a Parkinson's Dance Project modeled after the Mark Morris Dance Group's Dance for PD program, and a Pilates & Injury Prevention conditioning module. Annual performance productions include Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop (running 25+ years), Springfest, and Summer Showcase.

The school's primary revenue comes from tuition and class fees (billed per semester), supplemented by a $70 annual registration fee, $75/hour private lessons, $24 drop-in / $200 10-class bundle pricing for the Open Division, and $380 birthday party packages. As a non-profit, MDT supplements tuition with donations processed via PayPal and an annual "Raise the Barre" Danceathon fundraiser (17th year, raising $97k+). The organization states explicitly that tuition does not cover the full cost of operations, making donor and fundraising support structurally important. Operations are supported by third-party SaaS integrations: Studio Director for enrollment, MindBody for Open Division registration, PayPal for donations, and 99pledges for fundraising. Marketing is community-led, relying on parent testimonials, word-of-mouth, and performance visibility rather than paid acquisition.

The leadership team combines former professional dancers with deep institutional tenure: Lynn Cox (Artistic Director, former Atlanta Ballet dancer), Erica Allen (Executive Director, 25 years at MDT, originally a student), and Margaret Swarthout (Founding Director, former Royal Ballet soloist and Artistic Director Emeritus). Artistic Advisor Joanna Berman is a former San Francisco Ballet principal. MDT reports 60+ alumni working in professional dance companies, with named placements at the San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Louisville Ballet, and Oregon Ballet Theatre. Geographic reach is regional (Marin County and broader San Francisco Bay Area), with no current evidence of geographic expansion, institutional funding, or material headcount growth.

Name

Marin Dance Theatre

Legal name

Marin Dance Theatre

Website

https://mdt.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Marin Dance Theatre is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dance school in San Rafael, California, founded in 1996, that provides classical ballet and contemporary dance training across age and ability levels, with specialized programs for adaptive and Parkinson's populations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dance Education

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161), Fine Arts Schools (611610), Dance Companies (71112)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Dance Education (Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Cultural Dance) (EDAMAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dance & Movement (Ballroom, Contemporary, Social Dance) (EDAAAGAD), Classical Ballet (Full-Length & Repertoire) (MPAGADAA), Contemporary & Modern Dance (MPAGADAB)

Keywords

• Ballet training programs
• Contemporary dance education
• Pre-professional ballet
• Adaptive dance classes
• Youth dance school

Headquarters

HQ city

San Rafael

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Class Fees: Primary revenue stream from tuition for dance classes across all divisions (Young Dancer, Junior, Senior, Open Division). Tuition is paid per semester with rates varying by level and program requirements.
2. Registration Fees: Annual $70 registration fee required for all students at time of initial enrollment.
3. Performance Fees: Fees charged for participation in performances including Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop, Springfest, and Summer Showcase. Students must pay performance fees in full by designated due dates.
4. Private Lessons: Hourly lessons at $75/hour, scheduled directly with instructors. Billed monthly to credit card on file.
5. Ballet Birthday Parties: $380 package for birthday child and up to 10 guests, additional guests $20 each. Includes 30-minute ballet class, visit from ballerina in costume, keepsake photo, and craft.
6. Donations and Fundraising: Marin Dance Theatre is a non-profit (501.c.3) organization that relies on donations for financial stability. Donations support operating costs, scholarships, and endowment fund.
7. Sibling Discounts: 20-25% discount for families with multiple enrolled students, applied to lower-level siblings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Marin Dance Theatre is a non-profit dance school that provides classical ballet and contemporary dance training to students from 18 months through adults across four divisions (Young Dancer, Junior, Senior, Open). It supplements regular classes with specialized programs such as Adaptive Dance for individuals with autism or sensory sensitivities, the Parkinson's Dance Project, and a Pilates-based injury prevention curriculum, all delivered at its Marin County studios.

Product overview

Marin Dance Theatre is a non-profit dance training center offering a comprehensive suite of programs across multiple divisions: Senior Division (pre-professional training), Junior Division (Levels 1-5), Young Dancer Division (ages 18 months to 9 years), and Open Division (adults/teens). The organization provides specialized programs including Pilates & Injury Prevention, Parkinson's Dance Project, Adaptive Dance for individuals with disabilities, and Ballet Birthday Parties. Performance opportunities include annual productions of Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop, Springfest, Summer Showcase, and Young Dancer Year-End Demonstration. Summerdance provides summer intensive training programs. The organization integrates with MindBody for class registration and payment, Studio Director for enrollment, PayPal for donations, and 99pledges for fundraising events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Summerdance: MDT's Summer Training Program offering summer dance intensive and camps for dancers of various levels.
• Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop
• Springfest
• Parkinson's Dance Project
• Adaptive Dance Program

Products and services

• Senior Division
• Junior Division Ballet training program for young dancers ages 9+ across Lower Junior (Levels 1-3) and Upper Junior (Levels 4-5C), incorporating discipline, technique, inspiration, pre-pointe and pointe classes, contemporary, Pilates mat, and jazz.
• Young Dancer Division
• Open Division Adult and teen dance program offering morning and evening ballet classes at various experience levels. Single class sessions at $24 or 10-class card bundles at $200, with new students offered a free trial class.
• Parkinson's Dance Project Creative movement class for persons with Parkinson's Disease, their partners, caregivers and friends, integrating movement from multiple dance forms with live music and addressing balance, flexibility, coordination, gait, and social isolation. Modeled after the Dance for PD program developed by Mark Morris Dance Group.
• Adaptive Dance
• Pilates & Injury Prevention
• Ballet Birthday Parties
• Summerdance
• Performance Opportunities
• Private Lessons

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60 graduates placed in professional ballet and dance companies including San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and others
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• San Francisco Ballet School: Official school of San Francisco Ballet and the Bay Area's premier ballet training institution. Most directly comparable as a regional pre-professional ballet school with a structured division system and faculty drawn from professional company ranks.
• Marin Ballet: Predecessor ballet organization in Marin County where MDT's founding faculty previously served (Margaret Swarthout was Artistic Director before founding MDT; Lynn Cox served as Pre-Professional Division Head). Operates the same age-tiered ballet curriculum model in the same geography.
• ODC Dance / ODC Theater: Bay Area-rooted contemporary dance company with an attached school offering community and pre-professional training. Closely comparable as a San Francisco Bay Area dance school pairing classical training with contemporary performance.
• Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School: Regional ballet school affiliated with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre offering community and pre-professional divisions. Highly comparable structurally to MDT and explicitly referenced as the prior employer of MDT Young Dancer Director Julia Adams.

Broad incumbents

• Alonzo King LINES Ballet: San Francisco-based contemporary dance company with a BFA program and community classes. Comparable as a larger Bay Area institution offering rigorous training plus professional company affiliation, but at a different scale and with a contemporary-leaning focus.

Regional players

• Walnut Creek Ballet: East Bay community ballet school serving the Walnut Creek / Contra Costa corridor with classical training across youth and adult divisions. Comparable as a community-tier Bay Area ballet school but operating in a separate geography from MDT's Marin base.
• Berkeley City Ballet: East Bay community ballet school offering classical training for youth and adults. Comparable as a regional Bay Area ballet academy with similar age-divided programming but operating in Berkeley rather than Marin County.
• Smuin Contemporary Ballet: Bay Area contemporary ballet company with associated school and community programming. Comparable as a regional Bay Area dance organization pairing performance with training, though focused on contemporary rather than classical ballet.
• Menlowe Ballet: Peninsula-based professional ballet company offering community classes and performance programming. Comparable as a Bay Area ballet organization with educational programming but operating further south than MDT's Marin base.

Emerging players

• Dance for PD (Mark Morris Dance Group): Program of the Mark Morris Dance Group providing dance classes for people with Parkinson's disease — the explicit model after which MDT's Parkinson's Dance Project is built. Directly comparable for the Parkinson's program segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeinstagram.com/cristenwrightphotography
• Facebookfacebook.com/MarinDanceTheatre
• Xx.com/MarinTheatre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marin-dance-theatre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Marin Dance Theatre