The Australian Ballet School is the premier

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

training facility in Australia, located in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

History

The Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur a ...

by Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE.

Location

It is part of the Primrose Potter Australian Ballet Centre, which is located in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, Southbank in

, Victoria.

Governance and funding

The school is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

, with about a third of its income provided by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

, about a third by tuition fees, and the rest via

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, corporate support and

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicket. ...

. It is one of eight "national elite training organisations" funded by the Office for the Arts as part of its or ARTS8 (Australian Roundtable for Arts Training Excellence) group of colleges.

Education

The Australian Ballet School is a registered training organisation. The Australian Ballet company draws 95% of its dancers from the school, and many graduates dance as principals and soloists around the world. Offered are: * an eight-year course for talented students. * After School Program (Levels 1–3), for students generally between 10 and 13 years of age. Classes take place after school hours and on Saturdays. * Interstate/International Training Program (Levels 1–4), for students generally between 8 and 14 years of age who are gifted in dance but live interstate or internationally. There are limited spots in Level four for talented students that are not yet ready to leave home. * Full-Time Program (Levels 4–8), for students generally between 13 and 19 years of age. Level 4 is taken in conjunction with academic year 9 at the nearby Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS). For the younger students, approximately half the day consists of dance classes and the other half consists of academic classes, Monday to Friday with half a day of dance classes on Saturday.

Audition process

Prospective students must audition for entry to the school.

Annual Tour with The Australian Ballet

Since 1980, students in the graduate year (Level 8) of the school can take part in

's national tours.

Boarding Program

Marilyn Rowe House is the school's boarding house for students aged 13-18.

Directors

* Dame Margaret Scott AC DBE (1964–1990) * Gailene Stock AM (1990–1998) * Marilyn Rowe AM OBE (1998–2014) * Lisa Pavane (2015–2024 * Megan Connelly (2024-present)(as of May 2025)

Notable alumni

References

External links

*
The Australian Ballet
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