TRAINING

Philadelphia Dance Theatre offers a comprehensive dance curriculum stressing quality of dance and is designed to meet the individual needs of the student. Although, not every student will pursue a professional career the discipline, strength, coordination, flexibility, appreciation of music and art gained from a dance education are invaluable assets. Our program is rooted in classical ballet as it is considered to be the first discipline of all dance forms. To build a strong and versatile dancer, there must be a consistent physiological development to form a solid technical foundation – through that technical foundation comes the freedom for individual expression.

We are proud that dancers who trained with PDT have been accepted into some of the country’s most elite dance programs, including: Chautauqua, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and School of American Ballet. Dancers from PDT have danced professionally with North Carolina Dance Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Hartford Ballet, Roxy Ballet, and Koresh Dance Company.

Philadelphia Dance Theatre’s ballet syllabus is taught in a Western format. This means that we pull the best from each of the major ballet schools to ensure versatility. Our primary syllabus is Cecchetti (Italian) and is supplemented with the Vagonova (Russian) school. Additionally, many elements from the Balanchine style, in terms of precision of feet and musicality are incorporated into our classes. American dance companies have a varied repertoire from classical to contemporary. PDT’s program is designed to ensure our dancers are prepared for the next step. Each level (1-6) takes two years to complete the entire syllabus, and dancers may advance only with the advice of the staff.