Burbank · Los Angeles, California
Burbank Dance Academy
Vaganova-based ballet academy in Burbank, ranked in the top 5 percent of US ballet schools by a 2024 Northwestern University study on ballet prestige.
- Ballet
- Contemporary
- Jazz
- Hip Hop
- Children's Dance
How Burbank Dance Academy comes across
Burbank Dance Academy comes across as a classically anchored studio that has chosen rigor and plain-spoken honesty as its identity. Under director Jason Coosner, its own copy places "classical ballet at its core" and frames a tiered structure: a Pre-Ballet preparatory division from age three, a broader academy program layering jazz, tap, acro and hip-hop onto Vaganova-based ballet, and the audition-only "Étoile" track for serious students from age eight aimed at producing "employable" professionals. The school leans on external validation rather than adjectives — it cites a 2024 academic study ranking it "in the top 5% of ballet schools in the U.S." and lists students admitted to ABT, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet and John Cranko summer intensives. Notably, the tone is blunt: "clear, to-the-point, honest communication" and "we teach it right the first time." The impression is of a results-focused, ballet-first academy that wants parents to know it is serious and unsentimental about training.
An editor's impression, drawn from the school's own website and public materials, 13 June 2026. Not a review — if it misses the mark, the school or a parent can tell us via the form below.
About the school
Burbank Dance Academy runs a Vaganova-based classical ballet curriculum supplemented by contemporary, jazz, acrobatics, tap, hip-hop and a competitive performance company. In 2024 the academy was ranked in the top 5% of US ballet schools by a peer-reviewed study (Quantifying Hierarchy and Prestige in U.S. Ballet Academies as Social Predictors of Career Success) led by researchers from Northwestern, Northeastern, Harvard and the University of Virginia. The academy's Etoile students have been admitted to summer intensive programs at American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ellison Ballet and the John Cranko School.
At a glance
- Address
- 2518 W Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505
- Suburb
- Burbank
- City
- Los Angeles
- State
- California
- Age range
- 3+ years
- Disciplines
- Vaganova Ballet, Classical Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Acrobatics
- Approach
- Both
What stands out
- i.Vaganova-based classical ballet pathway
- ii.Top 5% US ballet schools (Northwestern study 2024)
- iii.Student admissions to ABT, SF Ballet, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet summer intensives