Academy Of Ballet Arts, Inc.

What Academy Of Ballet Arts, Inc. does

Academy of Ballet Arts, Inc. (ABA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dance school founded in 1969 in St. Petersburg, Florida, by Lester Jacobsen and Suzanne Pomerantzeff. It provides pre-professional ballet and dance training to children, teens, and adults through a curriculum built on the six-year Vaganova syllabus — a classical Russian training method — and is home to the St. Petersburg Ballet Company (in residence since 1971) and the St. Petersburg Folk Ensemble. Offerings span Creative Movement (ages 3-5), Pre-Ballet, Ballet Fundamentals, five progressive Ballet levels, Pointe, Character, Contemporary/Modern, Boys Class, an Adaptive Ballet program for students with disabilities, and adult Ballet and Jazz classes.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring monthly tuition subscriptions (tiers from $80 for one class/week up to $300 for unlimited, with a sibling bundle at $430), annual registration fees ($15 new / $10 returning), one-time summer intensive workshop fees ($225 to $1,000 across three age-based tiers), performance video sales, and a meaningful contribution from individual donations and institutional grants (NEA, Florida Cultural Arts Division, City of St. Petersburg, Creative Pinellas, Pruitt Foundation, Tampa Bay Foundation). Distribution is direct-to-consumer via a single in-person studio on the Warehouse Arts District / ArtsXchange Campus (relocated May 2023), online registration, performance-based community events, and a 2025-launched Studio Pro mobile app built on the DanceStudio-Pro platform for scheduling and tuition payment. Customer segments include children/youth, adults, and students with special needs, with a stated mission focus on serving the under-served Midtown St. Petersburg community.

Name

Academy Of Ballet Arts, Inc.

Legal name

Academy of Ballet Arts, Inc.

Website

https://academyofballetarts.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Academy of Ballet Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dance school founded in 1969 in St. Petersburg, FL, offering Vaganova-based ballet training, adaptive dance, and summer intensives to children, teens, and adults, and home to the St. Petersburg Ballet Company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dance Education

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Classical Ballet (Full-Length & Repertoire) (MPAGADAA), Youth/Student & Community Dance Recitals (MPAGADAI), Contemporary & Modern Dance (MPAGADAB), Dance & Movement (Ballroom, Contemporary, Social Dance) (EDAAAGAD)

Keywords

• Ballet instruction
• Dance education
• Pre-professional ballet training
• Adaptive dance programs
• Summer dance intensive

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Petersburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Class Fees: The primary revenue stream comes from monthly tuition payments for dance classes, with tiered pricing based on class frequency. Registration fees are charged annually for new and returning students. This is a recurring subscription model with monthly billing.
2. Summer Intensive Workshops: One-time fees for summer dance intensive programs ranging from $225 to $1,000 depending on program duration and intensity level.
3. Performance Video Sales: Videos of performances (such as The Nutcracker) are available for purchase, with options for individual performances or both performances.
4. Donations and Grants: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Academy receives donations from individuals and corporations, as well as grants from government arts agencies and foundations including the State of Florida, National Endowment for the Arts, and local arts organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Academy of Ballet Arts provides in-person pre-professional ballet and dance training for children, teens, and adults, organized around the Vaganova syllabus and including progressive level classes, pointe, character, contemporary, adaptive ballet, and adult classes, plus summer intensive workshops. The Academy also operates the St. Petersburg Ballet Company, producing The Nutcracker and annual Spring Showcase performances, and supports a St. Petersburg Folk Ensemble.

Product overview

Academy of Ballet Arts is a pre-professional dance academy offering a comprehensive curriculum of dance instruction for students of all ages and skill levels. The core offering is a Vaganova-based ballet training program with five progressive levels, supplemented by specialized classes including Pre-Ballet, Ballet Fundamentals, Pointe, Character Dance, Contemporary/Modern, Creative Movement (ages 3-5), Boys Class, and an Adaptive Ballet Program for children with disabilities. Adult programs include Ballet and Jazz instruction. The Academy also operates the St. Petersburg Ballet Company as its performance extension, producing The Nutcracker and annual Spring Shows. A Summer Intensive Workshop program offers immersive multi-week training. A companion Studio Pro mobile app enables class registration, schedule access, and tuition payment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ballet Training Program (Ballet I–V)
• Pre-Ballet
• Ballet Fundamentals
• Pointe Classes
• Creative Movement
• Boys Class
• Character Dance
• Contemporary/Modern Dance
• Adaptive Ballet Program
• Adult Ballet and Jazz Classes
• Summer Intensive Workshops
• St. Petersburg Ballet Company (Performance Company)

Quantifiable outcome

• Florida Cultural Arts Division Diversity and Inclusion Award (2018) for Adaptive Ballet program

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• St. Petersburg Arts AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal arts alliance providing funding through ArtBeat programs and supporting the Academy's community visibility and networking.
• Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization that invited the Academy to relocate to the Pruitt Education Center on the WADA ArtsXchange Campus, providing the new home for the dance school.
• St. Petersburg Ballet CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe official company-in-residence at the Academy, providing performance opportunities for students and community access to ballet productions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Creative Arts Theatre Company: St. Petersburg, FL theater and arts education organization offering classes in performing arts. While broader than dance, it competes for the same families seeking performing arts training in the St. Petersburg area and represents an adjacent arts education peer.
• Orlando Ballet School: School of Orlando Ballet offering classical ballet training at multiple levels with a year-round program. Comparable to ABA in pre-professional curriculum and Florida location, with greater scale and a larger professional company affiliation.
• Sarasota Ballet School: Sarasota, FL school affiliated with The Sarasota Ballet company, offering Vaganova-based training and pre-professional programming. Shares the Vaganova curriculum and Florida regional setting with Academy of Ballet Arts, serving as a comparable peer for the same talent pool.

Direct peers

• Patel Conservatory at the Straz Center: Located in Tampa, FL, the Patel Conservatory offers classical ballet, contemporary, and dance training across multiple levels for children and adults, directly competing with Academy of Ballet Arts for Tampa Bay area dance students. Operates as a similar nonprofit school within a performing arts complex.
• Next Generation Ballet: Tampa-based pre-professional ballet training program offering rigorous classical ballet instruction for serious young dancers, with analogous mission of developing dancers for professional careers. Competes directly with ABA's pre-professional ballet pipeline in the same geography.
• Harid Conservatory: Residential ballet conservatory in Boca Raton, FL providing intensive pre-professional ballet training with strong placement at major national companies. Shares the Vaganova-influenced, pre-professional training mission with Academy of Ballet Arts.

Emerging players

• Jacques d'Amboise's National Dance Institute: National nonprofit providing dance education programs to children, including those with disabilities, in underserved communities. Parallels ABA's community-focused, adaptive, and outreach-oriented dance education approach and comparable donor-driven nonprofit model.
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater School (Ailey Arts In Education): National dance education and training arm of the iconic Alvin Ailey organization, offering classical ballet, modern, and contemporary dance programs. Comparable in mission of training diverse dancers for professional careers, and an alumni placement destination for ABA graduates.

Broad incumbents

• Miami City Ballet School: Florida-based ballet school affiliated with Miami City Ballet, offering comprehensive classical ballet training. Direct Florida-based competitor with similar pre-professional curriculum structure and similar approach to community engagement.
• Boston Ballet School: One of the largest ballet training programs in the U.S., affiliated with Boston Ballet. Provides comparable Vaganova-based ballet curriculum and a clear pre-professional pathway, with substantially greater scale and geographic reach than Academy of Ballet Arts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/academy-of-ballet-arts

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Academy Of Ballet Arts, Inc.