The Academy of Florida Dance Theatre

Florida Dance Theatre offers dance training for professional and non-professional levels from pre-ballet through adult classes in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop. The Academy is dedicated to helping each student regardless of age, proficiency level, or aspiration to obtain the correct training and experience to fully enjoy dance as the living art that it is. Several of the professional company members are on faculty at the Academy, and the close affiliation with the professional company gives the students of the Academy, whether or not they intend to pursue dance as a career, the opportunity to interact with professional dancers and to fully experience the self enriching benefits of rigorous training, physical and mental discipline, and artistic expression. The faculty and staff share a commitment to make this journey enjoyable and fulfilling.

In the past eight years, five Academy of Florida Dance Theatre students have been awarded the prestigious Central Florida area Ruth Eckerd Scholarship Award for Dance. Other students have received scholarships to various summer workshops and colleges including Alvin Ailey, Princeton Ballet, Orlando Ballet, New World School of the Arts, University of Southern Florida, Southern Methodist University, and Gaucher College, and several students have gone on to pursue professional careers with companies including Hartford Ballet, Ballet Met, the Smuin Company, Trisha Brown, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Ballet Memphis, and Ballet Magnificat.

In the 2003-2004 season, FDT2, a second company to the professionals, was created as a training and performance outlet for talented young dancers. The student members, chosen through an open audition process, rehearse and perform repertory works from the professional company as well as works created exclusively for them to showcase their talents. It is the perfect training ground for students who wish to someday become members of a professional company either with Florida Dance Theatre or other companies.

An end of year Academy Spring Performance allows all students of the Academy, as well as FDT2, the opportunity to demonstrate all they have learned over the course of the year and show off their talents to friends and family.

Florida Dance Theatre’s Scholarship Programs

For the seven seasons, through the generosity of Publix Super Markets Charities, Florida Dance Theatre has been able to award either full or partial tuition scholarships to over 200 students to train at the Academy during the regular school season, August through May.

In 2003, a new scholarship opportunity entitled Leaps & Bounds was implemented. Select students chosen exclusively from the Summer Youth Dance Camp outreach program received dance training throughout the season, dancewear, and dance shoes in the form of a scholarship. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor from within the Community Foundation of Greater Lakeland, the Leaps & Bounds program was again available to students in 2004-2005 season.