Festival Ballet Theatre & Southland Ballet Academy

This was my ballet school when I was little; I can’t believe it’s still here! Also took classes at ocdc in hb (teachers were great but the girls there were very snobbish) and one other school in Newport that is no longer in business. Went on to dance in college and was asked to join a company, but didn’t. Bottom line– my foundation was here, at the time just called Southland Ballet academy. Met many of my childhood friends here, they put on a beautiful nutcracker every year (watching on on tv right now which reminded me). Salwa was a great teacher, on par with my college instructor who is well known and respected in the ballet world. Very traditional classical ballet (black and pink only) but I love that I had that foundation and old fashioned training makes all the difference and stays with you for years.

Southland Ballet Academy is the quintessential ballet repertory. There may be others around Los Angeles and Orange County with self proclaimed accolades but what they don’t have, is Southland’s biggest asset. Salwa Rizcalla. She is the founder and Artistic director of the Festival Ballet Theater and Southland Ballet. They have two locations. One in Fountain valley and one in Irvine. The instructors are all very accomplished and technical in their training. Unlike other ballet schools (one in particular of which I will not mention) that only look for the naturally gifted then coddle them while neglecting the others. Salwa mentors her students and nurtures them to rise to the best of their abilities. If your son or daughter is serious about ballet then look no further. You will not be disappointed.

My son Loves dancing at this academy. The boys program is the best in the OC. They offer four boys only classes taught by a man who is an expert in the Vaganova method. He is very patient with the boys and takes the time to give detailed corrections.
All of the teachers at SBA are fabulous. We love that the ballet method taught is consistent among the teachers.
The staff is also very helpful and polite. Cynthia goes above and beyond — knowing the names of all of the students and even calling us if we leave something behind at the studio. It is great to have someone so helpful and nice at the front desk.

This studio is out of step with the times. The director has a bad attitude, classes are too crowded and there is little positive feedback on an individual basis to young dancers. The training is great but the rest of the studio is not keeping up with what parents and dancers need today.

When my little girl wanted to try ballet at the age of 3, I looked into many different ballet academies around Orange County. She tried classes at each of them. We were not interested in a dance studio that emphasized on flashy dance skills/​costumes. We were really looking for classical, Russian style ballet technique. When we stumbled across Southland Ballet Academy, we were so thrilled!
My daughter has been dancing at SBA for about 9 years now & has performed in a beautiful ballet recital each of those years. She has also performed for 8 years now in the beautiful & lavish production of «The Nutcracker», through the academy’s non-​profit affiliate Festival Ballet Theatre, at The Irvine Barclay Theatre. She has had amazing opportunities to dance in other classical ballet performances as well, such as «Sleeping Beauty», through Festival Ballet Theatre. The artistic director, Salwa Rizkalla, has given her dance students the extraordinary opportunity to dance alongside world-​renowned guest artists in each of her productions. The sets and costumes are always gorgeous and the dancers are amazing.
Many of her students go on to professional ballet careers, either with companies around the U.S. or in Europe. On occasion, they will come back & perform in a show for Festival Ballet & it is such an inspiration to the younger dancers, to see that it truly is possible to achieve a career in the wonderful world of dance.
Even if my daughter never makes it as a professional dancer, she has had such amazing experiences… it’s as if she has already had a taste of what a professional career in dance would feel like. We feel so fortunate that we found Southland Ballet & Festival Ballet Theatre… I really feel no other ballet academy can compare!

My daughters have trained at Southland a Ballet for over 8 years now. We discovered this school after seeing their professional dance accomplishments at YAGP. Even though we have an hour round-​trip drive, I want my girls to train at the top level of classical, Russian ballet.
Southland continually provides dancers a studio to grow and develop in ballet under highly experienced teachers (many Russian). We have had countless opportunities to train and dance on stage with today’s leading principle dancers from ABT, San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet and numerous others.
My daughter-​along with many others-​even had the surprise opportunity to dance on pointe in a professional music video.
Dancers come from all over the world to study with ballet masters during our summer intensives. We are so spoiled.
Even after being offered a trainee position with the Joeffrey Ballet this year, we have overwhelmingly decided to stay here at Southland. We are so thankful for their dedication to continue promoting excellence in the ballet tradition.

I agree with many of the previous reviews about the money issue. Having attended SB since 2009, I have seen a steady decline in attendance which I would attribute to the tanked economy. Ballet 4 and 5 classes that used to regularly average 15 students for every session have steadily dwindled to 10 or less.
But as others have pointed out, SB owners seem to be out-​of-​touch with reality, by raising their tuition rates; this only led to us students to either drop out completely or significantly reduce the number of classes we’re taking to keep our costs relatively the same. And yet, with lesser number of students to the class, one would think that the ones in attendance would receive more hands-​on correction. Well, this is entirely dependent on the teacher’s mood. I find that the higher-​performing students generally and regularly received more corrections, whether verbally or hands-​on, than the average and below-​average performers. So in that sense, there is a mood of subtle favoritism in class.
Also, not all of the teachers are at par with a ballet academy that once was highly reputed for its quality, Russian-​school training. Some of the teachers just do not physically demonstrate the grace of the older, foreign-​trained (Russian school) teachers when they teach steps or combinations. My experience is that the teachers who danced professionally with foreign or US professional companies are still able to embody the complete art of the port-​de-​bras.
Time was, there were two levels of Intermediate and two levels of Advanced classes; these are no more. With the dwarfed attendance, not helped by increased tuition, classes have been combined, such that Ballet 4, 5 and Intermediate students are in the same combined class. The net effect was that the class size was bigger, but at an individual level, the average and below-​average students were not receiving the attention they need, deserve, and paid for, compared to the above-​average students.

I have been doing a variety of dance, with an emphasis on ballet and modern dance. I’ve studied at many different studios and have even learned from ballet masters Paul Moore and Victor Morino and from a woman from the Rocket’s, Jett Sally. I have to say that many of the best ballet dancers come from Southland Ballet Academy. However, the atmosphere is not for people who just want to have fun and learn how to dance. You pretty much have to have been dancing there since a very young age to actually enjoy this studio.
After many years of dancing at other studios, I had gone back to Southland and felt completely out of place and like an outsider. The instructors just shout out terminology and don’t actually show you what they mean. I felt totally embarrassed and ran out crying. After that class, they put me with the 7 year-​olds. As a 17 year-​old (at the time), this was completely embarrassing, so I quit.
This scenario didn’t happen because I’m a bad dancer; i’m just a different type of dancer and a different type of learner. Girls from this studio can especially snobbish, especially the ones who have been going there for years and whose mother’s push and control them. There are so many unwelcoming things about this studio, coming from an outsider.
If your daughters or sons are older than 10 or 11, you might feel welcome somewhere else. If your children are in high school, I highly recommend the Academy of Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High School. Marie Hoffman is the best. She is tough, but she is hands-​on, dances with you, and will shape you into the best dancer you can be. She teaches ballet, modern, jazz, and repertory classes and is an extremely unique teacher. She even teaches at Cypress College, for those who are in college.

I went here as a child. The instruction was the best I have ever seen, none of my classmates or myself were ever injured, and I was there for 7 years so that really says something. Now that I am older, and go to gyms (can’t afford studio fees!), I really see the value I learned… I thought the teachers were being mean, but they were strict for a reason!
We danced in a yearly performance, and several other places. The costumes were always so beautiful.

This school is AMAZING if you are serious about pursuing ballet.
Dancers get to perform and take classes with professionals, an experience VERY few ballet schools can offer.
Students get the opportunity to perform at least once a year (with costumes and everything) and all of the teachers, office staff, and volunteers are incredibly committed to helping the dancers. This studio becomes a second home.
Because this studio is very serious dancers are required to take classes daily but in return you will get the best technique any studio can offer in southern california.

My two daughters have taken ballet, modern, and tap dance classes at Southland Ballet Academy from age 4 to 18. They have each danced in seasonal productions at the Barclay, OCPAC, and Carpenter Center.