Southern California Ballet Academy

Several years ago when our daughter showed an interest in dance at the age of 6 I began to panic. The thought of young girls dressed in barely anything with faces full of makeup shimmying around in competition dance contests came to mind. We tried softball but she just danced in left field. We tried soccer but she twirled while she was suppose to be running the ball. So began my quest to find a professional dance studio for our darling dancer that would not shimmy her innocence away! I asked an old high school friend who I knew had classical ballet training if she could recommend a studio and she sent us here. That was 4 years ago… And ever since we have been so pleased with the professionalism applied to teaching proper ballet technique. This is the only studio in San Diego that teaches the cecchetti method which sets the bar pretty high no pun intended. Each spring students are able to take cecchetti exams and advance to the next grade level. If your son or daughter is serious about ballet then this is the studio to set their foundation.
Apart from ballet they offer lyrical, character dance, jazz, adult ballet, and now hip hop!
Not to mention they produce one of the best Nutcracker performances in Southern California every winter that My grandmother use to take me to watch and now my daughter performs in them and we in turn take my grandmother to watch her great granddaughter.
If your looking for a professional dance studio then look no further, this is the best.

Formerly Black Mountain Dance, this is simply THE BEST dance studio in San Diego. I’ve had my four kids taking classes here for nearly four years now and we love Southern California Ballet! There are a variety of dance classes offered, not only ballet. Along with classical ballet they offer Character, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Creative Dance for littles, and adult Barre classes. Their teachers are very educated (most of them having Masters degrees) and professional but also very kind. As a Mom I love that when I pick up my kids from the studio they are always happy. They love and respect their teachers and have fun while learning excellent technique. And there are really good kids attending. This studio has attracted such talented, awesome teachers to teach and great, wholesome families to learn there.
Southern California Ballet also has they best balance of teaching technique and performing on stage. The kids are given 1 – 3 opportunities (depending on their age) to be part of spectacular on stage performances at The Poway Center for the Performing Arts every year. They put on an awesome Nutcracker that’s been going for 25 years. The kids have SO much fun during Nutcracker season.
Southern California Ballet has educated dancers that are performing all over the world now. There are Prima ballerinas and Broadway stars that got there start here. And they come back and give back to the studio that first taught them by teaching master classes to the current students and dancing in The Nutcracker. That’s how much they still love this studio and their former teachers.
You would think that given how amazing this studio is they’d be really expensive, but they’re not. It’s very reasonable and even a steal for the quality offered.
As a kid, I grew up learning from Patsy Swayze (Patrick’s mom). Needless to say I had high expectations when looking for a place for my kids to learn. I wanted them to have the great experience I had growing up. Southern California Ballet has totally exceeded my expectations.

I am taking adult ballet lessons and I absolutely love it here. Susan Stone is wonderful and makes the classes fun. Also, my daughter had a private ballet lesson with Susan before her gymnastics meet season and she felt as though it helped her very much. Great place, I highly recommend!

We love Black Mountain Dance. They are a non-​competition ballet only program starting at the age of 3. They take their ballet seriously and are excellent at teaching little girls about proper poise and posture.
Ms. Katie is a wonderful teacher with the right mix of stern and playful in working with 3 & 4 year old kids.

Black Mountain dance is incredible. They have classes that are filled with 3 year olds to 93 year olds. It is the Cechetti method of ballet so it is an all around great way for your first timer to begin training and enjoy the experience of dance. They offer private sessions and lots of different types of classes including musical theatre, jazz, modern and tap. My daughter is doing great and will be auditioning next week for nutcracker. And I love the fact that I can get whatever I need right there in their little store.

This is our second year at Black Mountain Dance, and so far we have been very very happy. Sylvia evaluated my daughters and put them in the right level. Even though they had Vaganova training before, she made the switch to Cecchetti very pleasant. Not only do the teachers care about the students, but they also are certified Checchetti teachers. I am just so impressed with the Cecchetti method and how all the advanced girls dance so beautifully. Before anyone goes on pointe, she is evaluated by a physical therapist ballet teacher who determines if she can go on pointe or not. The student is then given some exercises to help with the pointe work. My daughters are very happy with all the teaching and how they’re improving. The communication is excellent. I am very grateful to Sylvia for all her effort and all her care.