Description

Ballet Austin II, established in 1999, is Ballet Austin’s second company, with dancers also serving as apprentices to the main company. Currently, more than half of Ballet Austin’s main company positions are filled with Ballet Austin II graduates. Ballet Austin II dancers are selected through a nationwide audition process and make Austin their home to participate in this unique training opportunity. With over 40 performances per season, they dance with the main company for larger productions and present their own extensive roster of work in Austin and on tour across the state. Dancers range in age from 18-23 and are employed for a 32-week season. They are contracted with Ballet Austin II for up to two years, during which time they receive artistic guidance, career management counseling, and job placement assistance. Each spring Ballet Austin brings artistic directors from across the nation to observe and audition Ballet Austin II dancers in class and rehearsal. Ballet Austin II members take company class, augmented by their own classes and rehearsals conducted by Ballet Austin’s artistic staff. To date, 109 graduates of Ballet Austin II and the Butler Fellowship Program have secured contracts with more than 42 companies across the nation, including Ballet Austin, Dayton Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Boston Ballet, Hubbard Street 2, Nevada Ballet Theater, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Pensacola, Nai-Ni Chen, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Spectrum/Donald Byrd, Wideman/Davis Dance, Alabama Ballet, Thang Dao Dance, Northwest Dance Project, DanceWorks Chicago, and Louisville Ballet. Ballet Austin provides rehearsal and performance shoes, onsite physical therapy, as well as the option to participate in a group health insurance plan. Additionally, through a partnership with PeletonU, Ballet Austin II dancers may pursue a college degree. The competency-based structure of this online program allows dancers to complete a two-year Associates Degree in as few as nine months and includes access to tutors and advisors at PeletonU’s local campuses.