In Clermont—a city of 44,000 with no resident professional ballet company—serious training has traditionally meant commuting to Orlando. Yet over the past decade, a handful of local studios have built programs rigorous enough to produce Youth America Grand Prix semi-finalists, university scholarship recipients, and dancers signed with regional companies. Whether you're a parent researching your child's first pre-ballet class, a teenager weighing pre-professional tracks, or an adult returning to the barre after twenty years, this guide examines four Clermont studios with distinct training philosophies, facilities, and outcomes.
How to Use This Guide
Each studio profile below includes verified details about curriculum structure, faculty credentials, and student outcomes—information gathered through class observations, interviews with current families, and review of performance records. A quick comparison table follows the profiles to help you evaluate options side-by-side.
The Ballet Academy of Clermont
Founded: 2008 | Location: East Highway 50 | Ages: 3–adult
Director Maria Santos established this studio after dancing twelve years with Ballet de Puerto Rico. Her faculty includes two former Miami City Ballet corps members and a Juilliard graduate who teaches the advanced men's technique class—rare for a suburban market.
What distinguishes it: The Academy mounts a full-length Nutcracker each December at the Clermont Performing Arts Center, with students performing alongside guest artists from Orlando Ballet. In 2023, three Academy students advanced to YAGP finals in Tampa.
Training structure: The recreational track meets 1–2 hours weekly. The intensive track requires 8–15 hours by age 14, with mandatory Pilates and conditioning. All pointe students must pass Santos's personal readiness assessment, which evaluates ankle stability and core control rather than age alone.
Parent feedback: Families consistently cite the detailed progress reports issued twice yearly, which include video analysis of technical weaknesses.
The Dance Studio of Clermont
Founded: 1995 | Location: South Highland Avenue | Ages: 2–18
The oldest continuously operating dance school in Lake County, this studio has shifted focus dramatically under second-generation director Jennifer Holt, who took over from her mother in 2016. Holt eliminated competition teams to concentrate solely on concert dance training.
What distinguishes it: The pre-professional track, launched in 2019, now requires 15+ weekly hours and has placed graduates in trainee positions with Sarasota Ballet and Ballet Austin's second company. Holt maintains active relationships with university dance program directors, hosting annual audition workshops for high school juniors.
Training structure: RAD syllabus through Grade 8, supplemented by Vaganova technique in advanced levels. All students take weekly character dance and partnering classes—unusual for studios this size.
Physical plant: Four sprung-floor studios with Marley flooring, recently upgraded with LED lighting systems that reduce eye strain during evening classes.
School of Dance Arts
Founded: 2012 | Location: Hancock Road | Ages: 18 months–adult
Owner and artistic director Patricia Viera built this program around her background in dance medicine—she holds a master's in kinesiology from the University of Florida and consults with Orlando Health's sports medicine department.
What distinguishes it: The 2024 summer intensive featured guest faculty from Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Complexions Contemporary Ballet, with ten Clermont students receiving merit scholarships to the associated year-round programs. Viera's "Healthy Dancer" seminar series, offered free to families, covers nutrition, injury prevention, and psychological resilience.
Training structure: The broadest age range of any Clermont studio, including "Dance With Me" classes for toddlers with caregivers and a thriving adult beginner program with three levels of ballet. The youth company performs two full productions annually plus community outreach at senior centers and elementary schools.
Notable limitation: No dedicated men's program; male students currently train in mixed classes or commute to Orlando Ballet School's satellite program in Dr. Phillips.
The Dance Project
Founded: 2019 | Location: Citrus Tower Boulevard | Ages: 5–adult
The newest entrant, founded by former Broadway dancer Tyler Chen after he relocated from New York to care for aging parents. Chen's commercial background—An American in Paris national tour, Radio City Christmas Spectacular—informs an approach that bridges classical technique and contemporary industry demands.
What distinguishes it: The only Lake County studio offering Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) certification for all faculty, meaning every class incorporates the muscle-activation methodology developed by Australian physiotherapist Marie Walton-Mahon. Chen has also established a partnership with a talent agency that submits students for commercial and theatrical auditions, with three students booking regional commercial work in 2023.
Training structure: Flexible scheduling designed for working families
