Boston Ballet To Acquire Brookline Ballet School In 2025
The school, located at 1431 Beacon Street, currently serves a family-oriented community in the busy Brookline area.
Boston Ballet School (BBS) will acquire local dance studio Brookline Ballet School, adding to its reach throughout the Eastern Massachusetts region. The purchase process is set to conclude in early 2025, with a goal of opening programming at the new location in July. The school, located at 1431 Beacon Street, currently serves a family-oriented community in the busy Brookline area, and Boston Ballet School is excited to deliver its high-caliber training and philosophy to a new community.
“Boston Ballet School's mission goes beyond just the technical in-studio practice to helping develop engaged, collaborative, and confident artists, and we are thrilled to expand this mission to the Brookline community,” said Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. “The Brookline Ballet School has brought quality instruction and artistic integrity to the region for over 14 years, and we are eager to continue this work with our commitment to the highest level of training and inclusive, equitable spaces.”
“We are grateful to Brookline Ballet Schools founders Trinidad Vives and Parren Ballard for inviting us to carry their vision for the highest quality dance education forward. Boston Ballet School is most fortunate to be able to advance our commitment to young dance students in the already enthusiastic and vibrant community of Brookline,” Managing Director Dave Czesniuk said.
Given the longstanding relationship and camaraderie between both parties, and after surveying the offer's potential, the decision was made to acquire the studio. Directors Trinidad Vives and Parren Ballard, both former employees of Boston Ballet, initiated acquisition talks with BBS as they pursue career opportunities out of state. Both organizations are excited about the transition and the opportunity to continue to serve current and future Brookline-based students with high-quality dance education.
"We are proud to have served the Brookline community for 15 years and are thrilled about this new opportunity. There was no better choice than Boston Ballet School to acquire Brookline Ballet School. We are confident the transition process will go smoothly and that both new and current students will excel under the training of BBS,” said Vives and Ballard.
The expansion aligns with the demonstrated growth Boston Ballet School has seen post-pandemic, with enthusiastic enrollment and dance students from around the world attending the school's programs. This success has allowed BBS to expand its high-quality arts education programming to reach new students, which is a prime mission and focus for the organization. BBS continues to serve as an industry leader in creating accessibility to dance education.
After the purchase process, BBS will refresh the space, adapting the studio to Boston Ballet's operating systems and brand aesthetic. Brookline Ballet School will continue to operate its programming through June 15, 2025, turning over the space in late June to prepare for the studio's launch with BBS youth summer programming and adult dance classes in July. The full slate of BBS programming will begin with the start of the 2025–2026 school year, with faculty from Boston Ballet School and some existing Brookline faculty.
The Brookline location marks Boston Ballet School's fifth studio location. The organization's programming is based on a model of “one school, several campuses,” meaning all programming flows as one unit divided upon several locations. Brookline programming will thus be seamlessly incorporated into this structure. Students will be welcome to register for classes at the studio location of their choosing.
About Boston Ballet
Since 1963, Boston Ballet's internationally acclaimed performances of classical, neo-classical, and contemporary ballets, combined with a dedication to world-class dance education and community engagement, have made the institution a leader in its field, with a 61-year history of promoting excellence and access to dance.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen and Executive Director Ming Min Hui, the Company, made up of 67 dancers and 14 nationalities, performs a diverse and acclaimed repertoire ranging from full-length classical ballets to masterworks by George Balanchine, and new works and world premieres by today's finest contemporary choreographers.
Boston Ballet's repertoire combines timeless classics such as Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty, Sir Frederick Ashton's Cinderella, Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote, August Bournonville's La Sylphide, Mikko Nissinen's Swan Lake and Raymonda, John Cranko and John Neumeier ballets, with the imaginative visions of today's most innovative choreographers including Resident Choreographer Jorma Elo, as well as William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Crystal Pite, Akram Khan, Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon, and Helen Pickett. In 2016, Boston Ballet began a partnership with internationally renowned choreographer William Forsythe and presented his full-length Artifact in 2017, and the world premieres of his Playlist (EP) in 2019 and Blake Works III (The Barre Project) in 2022.
The Company performs its full Boston season of six programs at the historic, 2,500-seat Citizens Opera House. Under Mikko Nissinen's directorship, Boston Ballet's national and international touring engagements have included Paris, New York City's Lincoln Center, Washington DC's Kennedy Center, London Coliseum, Helsinki, Spain, Ottawa's National Arts Center, and Seoul, Korea.
Boston Ballet's Second Company, Boston Ballet II, gains experience performing with the Company and independently. Boston Ballet School provides exceptional dance training across three studios, reaching more than 5,000 students each year through its many core programs. Community education programs engage more than 4,000 individuals in Boston and surrounding regions.
For more information, please visit bostonballet.org.
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