The alarm buzzes at 6:30 a.m. on a Tuesday. For the next two hours, Sarah will drive her daughter, Lily, through the winding coulees of Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, past fields of sleeping cows and silent farmhouses, to a ballet class that starts at 9. This isn’t a casual trip to a neighborhood studio. It’s a pilgrimage to the barre, one made by a growing number of families in the tiny village of Mount Sterling and its surrounding rural communities.
Here, in a region of just 200 people, you won’t find a dance studio on Main Street. What you will find is a quiet, determined network of parents, teachers, and young dancers who believe that world-class training isn’t confined to big cities. It just might require a tank of gas and a serious commitment to the commute.
The Converted Warehouse Where Dreams Take Shape
Tucked away in Prairie du Chien, about 18 miles from Mount Sterling, is a historic warehouse that hums with a different kind of industry. This is the home of the Academy of Dance Arts, and stepping inside feels like entering a secret dedicated to precision and art. The director, Margaret Ellingson, is a hometown hero who danced with Milwaukee Ballet before returning to teach.
What makes this place special isn’t just its sprung floors or the sight of young dancers practicing pliés in the morning light. It’s the certificate on the wall: the Academy is one of fewer than 100 studios in the country certified in the American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum. Margaret brought that rigor back to rural Wisconsin in 2015.
“It’s not a casual recreation,” she tells me, watching a group of teenagers work on pirouettes. “The families driving from Gays Mills or Wauzeka—they’re raising serious young artists.” The proof is in the performances, from annual spring shows to collaborations with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. They’ve even built a scholarship fund to ensure that a long drive isn’t the only barrier a talented child might face.
Pre-Professional Training, No City Zip Code Required
For those ready to go all-in, the 35-minute drive north to La Crosse opens another door. The La Crosse Dance Centre isn’t just a studio; it’s a launchpad. Under the direction of former Pennsylvania Ballet soloist James Miller, this is where casual interest transforms into pre-professional ambition.
The facility itself tells a story of seriousness—three studios with specialized floors designed to protect young joints during the dozens of hours students train each week. But the real magic is in the opportunities. Here, students take master classes from dancers with the Joffrey Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet. Here, a dedicated boys’ scholarship program actively works to change the gender imbalance you often see in dance. And here, the curriculum demands more than just ballet; students also study modern and character dance, building versatile artists.
The results speak volumes. Recent alumni have gone on to dance at Butler University and the University of Arizona, proving that top-tier training can indeed start in a Wisconsin river town.
A Community Launching Pad in Viroqua
Not every family is ready for that level of intensity from the start. That’s where the community education program in Viroqua, about 22 miles away, plays a vital role. Led by Sarah Chen-Williams, a New York City-trained educator, these classes are the perfect testing ground.
In a bright school gymnasium, tiny tots learn musicality through creative movement, while older kids begin to grasp the foundational steps of ballet. Sarah’s approach is unique because she’s completely transparent. She builds relationships with the more intensive studios in Prairie du Chien and La Crosse, and when a student shows promise and passion, she gives the family an honest roadmap for what comes next.
Several of Margaret’s top students today started right here, dipping their toes into dance in Sarah’s welcoming Saturday morning classes before making the bigger commitment.
The dance community in Wisconsin’s heartland is built on this kind of collaboration, not competition. It’s a web of teachers who refer students to the program that best fits their goals, and parents who view the long drive not as a chore, but as part of their child’s education. In these rolling hills, excellence isn’t measured by proximity, but by passion and the miles you’re willing to travel to nurture it.
As Margaret Ellingson puts it, watching her students cool down after class, “Talent is everywhere. Our job is to make sure geography doesn’t stop it.”
