Ballet Academy opens in Hollywood
From David Volz
Adiarys Almeida and her husband Taras Domitro, both professional dancers wanted to teach their passion.
So, in between performing as international guest principal ballet artists with some of the most prestigious companies in the world, and taking care of their toddler son, they formed the Hollywood Ballet Academy at 1937 Harrison Street.
The Cuban-born couple, both past principal dancers and current guest artists in several major ballet companies throughout the world, have also always been educators, teaching master classes, and judging competitions, dance festivals, and more.
“Both of us have always had a huge passion for teaching, we just decided to do it a little sooner, not wait until we retired,” said Almeida, the Hollywood Ballet Academy’s assistant director. “So we’re running the school, running the business, teaching all day, still traveling and performing, being a family, and we’re very happy and really grateful.”
The Hollywood Ballet Academy is more than a typical ballet school. It is a training ground and springboard for future professional dancers, according to Almeida.
“Our program is mostly focused on teaching classical ballet to pre-professionals, and every single class is designed to enrich that; it’s a very complete, progressive technique,” she explained. “We are a school for the pre-professionals during the day, the kids who are home-schooled and really focused on dance. They come in and train and dance all day, then go home and do their regular schoolwork.”
The Hollywood Ballet Academy is open to students of all ages, starting with a Mommy & Me class for ages 1 to 3 ($50/month); and creative movement and Pre-Ballet for ages 3 to 5 ($100/month). Other afterschool ($300-500/month) and evening classes are also available. During the day, the focus is on the pre-professional program ($1000/month). At the end of each term, the students perform at a local theatre.
Throughout their dance training, students are also coached in auditioning and interviewing for dance companies and universities with good dance programs.
