Designed to reflect Boston Ballet’s repertory, a carefully crafted curriculum trains well-rounded, versatile dancers to prepare them for the demands of today’s dance world—from Petipa, to Balanchine, to Kylián. Curriculum requirements include Technique, Pointe, Men’s Class, Pas de Deux, Variations and Repertoire, Modern, Character, Pilates, Men’s Conditioning, and workshops, such as Forsythe technique.

All faculty and staff are committed to nurturing the whole student. We partner with health care providers from Boston Children's Hospital to educate and develop healthy habits in students. Our team of wellness consultants provide on-site physical therapy, doctor consultations, nutrition education, and injury prevention. Wellness partners have been carefully chosen because of their specialized skills in working with young developing dance students.

Our students are evaluated for acceptance into Boston Ballet II, Boston Ballet's second company and progress to some of the world's leading companies, conservatories, and colleges. Our career preparation process provides individualized mentoring to help students in the next step of their professional career.

Classroom training is enhanced by various performance opportunities for students throughout the school year. Each school year ends with the annual Next Generation performance featuring Professional Division students with Boston Ballet II and a live orchestra at Boston Ballet's home stage, Citizens Bank Opera House. Past repertoire includes works by George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Christopher Wheeldon, and world premieres by Jill Johnson and Lia Cirio. Students may also be selected to participate in annual performances of Mikko Nissinen's The Nutcracker and other Boston Ballet company performances. 

In addition to community performance opportunities, students may participate in the Student Choreographic Project which aims to cultivate and identify future choreographers for the field of dance. Our goal is to inspire a student’s unexplored creativity by providing a choreographic experience through a structured process to enhance their education.

Select students are invited to participate in one of our exchange programs with other prestigious ballet schools including Palucca University of Dance in Dresden, Germany, Canada's National Ballet School, the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, and the Paris Opera Ballet School.

Boston Ballet School's Professional Division at Walnut Hill is an official partner school of the prestigious Prix de Lausanne international competition. We are also participants of the Assemblée Internationale, an unparalleled global ballet event, established by Canada’s National Ballet School. Assemblée Internationale is an Olympic-caliber gathering of the world’s top pre-professional dancers and artistic directors from leading ballet schools that takes place in Toronto every 4 years. 

Walnut Hill Dance students and Boston Ballet School Pre-Professional Program students have progressed to some of the world’s leading companies, conservatories, and colleges including:

Alberta Ballet • Alvin Ailey Dance Theater • American Ballet Theatre • Arizona Ballet • Atlanta Ballet • Barnard College • Ballet Austin • Ballet West • Boston Ballet • The Boston Conservatory • Boston University • Ballet Hispanico • Ballet San Antonio • Butler University • California Ballet • Charlotte Ballet • Cincinnati Ballet • Colorado Ballet • Complexions Contemporary Ballet • Duke University • English National Ballet • Fordham University • The Forsythe Company • Grand Rapids Ballet • Houston Ballet • Hubbard Street Dance Chicago • Indiana University • Joffrey Ballet • The Juilliard School • Kansas City Ballet • Los Angeles Ballet • Miami Ballet • Minnesota Ballet • Nashville Ballet • National Ballet of Canada • Nevada Ballet Theatre • New York City Ballet • Orlando Ballet • Pacific Northwest Ballet • Pennsylvania Ballet • Princeton University • Richmond Ballet • Royal Ballet of Flanders • Royal Birmingham Ballet • Royal Danish Ballet • San Diego Ballet • San Francisco Ballet • Sarasota Ballet • Scottish Ballet • Smith College • Stanford University • St. Louis Ballet • SUNY Purchase • Stuttgart Ballet • Texas Ballet Theatre • University of Southern California • Vanderbilt University • Vassar College

Dance alumni have found success in a variety of pursuits including teaching, dancing, and choreographing as well as in non-dance fields. Here is a sampling of some of the exciting things our alumni have gone on to do, for more news from our alumni, visit our Class Notes page.