The Movement Ballet is a Youth Ballet Ensemble: a study and performance opportunity which is in addition to your child’s ballet studies. Learn more about this program

The Movement Ballet is a Youth Ballet Ensemble: a study and performance opportunity which is, in addition to your child’s current ballet studies. Is it right for your young performing artist?

With their local performance just around the corner you have probably been hearing about The Movement Ballet. It’s Grit & Grace performances are on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at 11am, 1:30 pm and 4 pm at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre. But did you know that this is a training program that has dancers from several other dance programs in town? And, did you know that this youth ballet ensemble is an “in addition to” young ballet dancers’ regular ballet classes and performances at their local dance schools? We sat down with Amy Haley, TMB Director (see her bio at the bottom of this post) for a Q&A to help parents learn more about youth ballet ensemble TMB and to see if it is right for their child.

1. What is The Movement Ballet (TMB)?
TMB is a youth ballet ensemble. Youth ballet ensembles train serious students in the classical ballet tradition. It’s students gain valuable experience by participating in a rigorous rehearsal, production, and the performance process.

2. Does my child have to be enrolled at iDance to be accepted as a TMB member?
No. While TMB is a program of Institute for Dance, TMB supports iDance’s non-profit mission of fostering a love of dance and performance in our community by being open to all dancers by audition regardless of where they train in ballet. If a dancer auditions and is offered a place in TMB, they may continue to train during the week and perform with their current dance studio/ballet program. As long as a dancer meets the weekly training requirements for their TMB level and regularly attends TMB company class/rehearsals on Sundays, 2-5 PM, TMB respects a dancer’s commitment to their instructors and to their studio. Currently, TMB has company members from three different dance studios/ballet programs.

3. What level dancer does my child need to be?
– Company level members are advanced intermediate ballet students who have more than 1 year of pointe experience.
– Apprentice level members are intermediate ballet students who have beginning pointe or pre pointe experience.
– Trainee level members are advanced beginning ballet students.
Annual auditions for TMB Company and Apprentice are open to all aspiring dancers in the community, ages 12 to 18. Dancers, ages 8 to 11, may audition for TMB Trainee. Dancers who are offered a place in the Company, Apprentice, or Trainee programs commit to an annual rehearsal/performance season of September through mid June.

4. What do you say to parents who have the following scenario, “My child is always in the Nutcracker at another studio, since it will conflict with your schedule, can they still join TMB?”
TMB respects all the performing opportunities of its dancers. The TMB Director is happy to make arrangements to accommodate a dancer’s Fall/Winter commitment to Nutcracker rehearsals and performances. TMB productions are scheduled with care to avoid conflict with both holiday productions, school musicals, and end of year showcases. 

5. Do they have to take ballet class at iDance or another school to be in TMB or can they just do TMB.
Serious ballet training requires a regular and frequent attendance at technique and pointe classes, throughout the week and year-long. Each TMB level must attend a required amount of weekly ballet training that is appropriate for their age and development. TMB is undertaken in addition to an active and regular study of ballet.

6. Do you help them apply for summer intensives?
TMB encourages its dancers to seek opportunities to understand and learn from the wider ballet world, and TMB dancers are actively aided to consider professional ballet company summer intensive auditions to attend and, if successful, which intensive is best to attend for their training goals.

7. How many hours a week is The Movement Ballet?
From September-mid June, we regularly meet on Sundays from 2-5 PM. In the weeks immediately before a production, two Saturday rehearsals are also required. During production week, there is an evening dress rehearsal at the theatre and the next day is performances at the theatre.

8. How many performances a year does the company do?
One full scale theatre production and one workshop production in a less formal space.

9. What is the time commitment from parents?
Parents are encouraged to attend twice-a-year open rehearsals, informational family meetings with the Director 3-4 times a year, and must fulfill a volunteer commitment of at least one project/shift per production. TMB wants to include and encourage dancers and dance families to enjoy all aspects of the process of classical ballet production. Parents may also join one of the standing committees that assist the Director throughout the TMB season.

10. How many years has TMB been around and how are your dancers doing outside of the program?
TMB is in its second year as an ensemble, but there were six months of careful preparation and planning before the first auditions were held. While TMB is very proud of its dancers who attended prestigious summer intensives and have gone on to elite pre professional training programs, its success is in the development of a supportive community of dancers that raise each other up each week, through the hard work, repetition, and grit that is required in ballet, and in coming together to celebrate the art form they are dedicated to.

11. Is this an expensive program?
Monthly tuition and annual production fee are kept reasonable in order to encourage as many dancers and families to participate as possible.

12. Where does The Movement Ballet rehearse?
Our large and beautiful rehearsal space is generously provided by Institute for Dance, 3356 Ironbound, #501, Williamsburg, VA 23188.

13. Is there a drop in/ auditing day?
We will have a “Get to Know TMB” open house and a chance to take a drop-in class with the company for interested dancers on a Sunday in early June, stay tuned for more details.

14. What ages can audition?
Annual auditions for TMB Company and Apprentice are open to all aspiring dancers in the community, ages 12 to 18. Dancers, ages 8 to 11, may audition for TMB Trainee. Dancers who are offered a place in the Company, Apprentice, or Trainee programs commit to an annual rehearsal/performance season of September through mid June.

15. Are performances costumed and what are the costume fees?
Performances are costumed to a high and professional quality. There are no additional costume fees, and all costumes are the property of TMB and/or the Director.

16. Are there any scholarships or grants?
Not scholarships at this time, but the tuition and production fee are kept low to encourage the participation of all qualified dancers. But, TMB has a Dancer Support Fund with two rounds of applications each year for small grants: the Audition Grant, to assist with costs of attending professional company summer intensive auditions, and the Intensive Grant, to assist with the costs of attending a professional company summer intensive.

17. If parents have questions, can they contact you for more information on this program?

Yes, just email: themovementballet@gmail.com with questions!

Here is more on the program in their own words:

The Movement Ballet provides training and performance opportunities for the serious
ballet student. Their mission is to create versatile and healthy dancers, who strive towards confident technique and developing artistry. A TMB dancer who plans to enter the performing arts field is ready for opportunity and pre-professional study. TMB seeks to share the magic of classical ballet with the local community, presenting classical repertoire and new works in accessible, affordable productions.

TMB dancers experience the wider dance world through master classes with guest faculty, Q&As with dance professionals, and field trips to professional performances. TMB’s Dancer Support Fund provides small grants to enable dancers to attend auditions and intensive training with professional ballet companies. Values of teamwork and respect, and attention to the health, wellness, and longevity of young dancers, are at the heart of TMB’s company experience.

Annual auditions for TMB Company and Apprentice are open to all aspiring dancers in the community, ages 12 to 18. Dancers, ages 8 to 11, may audition for TMB Trainee. Dancers who are offered a place in the Company, Apprentice, or Trainee programs commit to an annual rehearsal/performance season of September through mid June. Fees include monthly tuition and an annual production fee.

The Movement Ballet is proud to include the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE® National Training Curriculum, a breakthrough 9 level program that combines high quality artistic training with the basics of dancer health and child development. The ABT® National Training. Curriculum consists of a comprehensive set of age-appropriate, outcome-based guidelines to provide the highest quality ballet training to dance students of all ages and skill levels. It will be taught by TMB Director and ABT® Certified Teacher, Amy Haley, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Dancers in TMB’s program have the opportunity to be presented for ABT® Student Examinations and Master Classes, a graded evaluation system that provides feedback for participating students regarding their technique and artistry

The Movement Ballet is a program of Institute for Dance, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Amy Haley, TMB Director
Ms. Haley grew up in Los Angeles, CA, studying with Rosemary Valaire and Stanley Holden (The Royal Ballet), Yvonne Mounsey and John Clifford (New York City Ballet), and Tatiana Riabouchinska and Irina Kosmovska (Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo). She continued her training with Toni Lander at Ballet West,
Francesca Corkle at The Joffrey Ballet, Gloria Govrin and Lupe Serrano at Pennsylvania Ballet, and master teacher David Howard in NYC. She has performed with Los Angeles Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, and The Princeton Atelier. She danced and choreographed for 4 seasons with Princeton University’s Expressions Dance and toured with Princeton University’s Triangle Club as a featured dancer. Most recently, she performed character artist roles with The American Youth Ballet. Ms. Haley began teaching dance at age 16 and has taught ballet and pointe technique, character dance, and dance conditioning in Williamsburg, VA for nine years. She is an American Ballet Theatre® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She regularly attends The Royal Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet teacher training programs. In her teaching, Ms. Haley emphasizes musicality, artistry, and the safe creation and maintenance of precise technique. She earned a distinction in Dance Kinesiology with the National Dance Education Organization and is a Flexistretcher® Conditioning Specialist. She has completed Level 1 of Lisa Howell’s Perfect Form Physiotherapy dance teacher training and studied dancers’ foot health with Andrea Zujko of NYC’s Westside Dance Physical Therapy. Ms. Haley has choreographed and directed full-length ballets of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Snow Queen for the Community Alliance for the Performing Arts.

In The Movement Ballet’s inaugural season, she staged Coppélia and created Fabric, a new work to the symphonic folk settings of Percy Grainger. Her students are accepted to train at American Ballet Theatre; Ballet West; Boston Ballet; Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet; Chautauqua Institution; Colorado Ballet; Dance Theatre of Harlem; The Joffrey Ballet; Kaatsbaan Ballet Intensive; Miami City Ballet; Sarasota Ballet. Her students have gone on to year-round pre professional training at Orlando Ballet School and UNCSA. She coaches and choreographs for dancers attending Youth America Grand Prix. Ms. Haley graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, has a 2nd B.A. from the University of Oxford, and earned her M.A. from Princeton University in 2004. The Movement Ballet’s Inaugural Season, 2021-2022

Photography by Kim Keily Photography

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