Best Ballet Schools in Bergen

This week Bergen's Best takes a look at classical ballet schools around the county -- you don't need to travel to New York City to get professional level ballet training.

Ballet Arts

Looking for a classic ballet school? Look no further than Ballet Arts located above the Cool Beans coffee house on Kinderkamack Road in Oradell. For more than 25 years, Diana Turner Hauser has been turning out well trained dancers, many of whom have done on to professional careers. The Ballet Arts Company puts on an annual production of The Nutcracker each December as well as a spring ballet each year. Classes are offered from age five through adult. Yoga and pilates classes are also offered. The school has no website but you can reach them by phone at 201-265-8740.

Kozlov Dance Studio

Kozlov Dance Studio is led by Leonid Kozlov who danced with the Bolshoi Ballet for years before defecting from Russia nearly 20 years ago. This school  also presents an annual performance of The Nutcracker as well as a spring recital. The school is located on N. Maple Avenue in Ridgewood near the Ho-Ho-Kus border. They host the annual Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey each October and the company at Kozlov has traveled as far as Aruba to perform. Courses in jazz dance and stretching are also offered and students as young as three are welcomed into pre-ballet courses.

Nunnbetter Dance Theatre

Nunnbetter Dance Theatre (NDT) in Bergenfield on S. Washington Avenue is run by Leath Nunn who was a professional dancer for many years before opening his studios in Bergen County. The NDT Company puts on an annual performance of The Nutcracker at Montclair State University as well as a spring concert. For serious dancers, Nunn offers a pre-professional program which includes master classes in ballet. NDT also offers non-ballet classes such as creative movement, jazz, tap and hip-hop but they are best known for their ballet training.

Petrov Ballet School

Petrov Ballet School in Waldwick is relatively new but ballet dancers around the county have been flocking to his studios located in the same building as the Superdome Sports Complex. Eugene Petrov is the head of the school and formerly taught at the Irine Fokine School of Dance which closed in Ridgewood shortly before Ms. Fokine's death this past fall. Petrov's annual spring gala is where his students shine in their year-end performance. A new four-year-old preschool class has been added to the schedule which includes ballet training for students age five through adult.