Downtown Los Angeles · Los Angeles, California
American Contemporary Ballet (ACB)
Downtown LA ballet company with pre-professional Trainee and ACB Training Programs, the only LA ballet company performing exclusively to live music.
- Ballet
How American Contemporary Ballet (ACB) comes across
American Contemporary Ballet comes across, in its own materials, as a professional concert company first and a training body only secondarily — so a parent should read it as a performance institution with a "Dancing School" attached rather than a children's studio. Its self-presentation is artistically purist: founded by choreographer Lincoln Jones, it stages "original contemporary classical ballets" and masterworks by Balanchine and Fred Astaire, performing "over 60 shows each season." The signature is intimacy and integrity of form — the "only ballet company in Los Angeles to perform exclusively to live music," with audiences "seated at stage level" for "ballet unfiltered" (its quoted L.A. Times line). The framing is intellectual, citing its "Conversations" programs and KUSC's praise as "one of America's most adventurous" companies. The impression is of a high-art, downtown company built around a single choreographic vision; anyone seeking classes would find that offering real but clearly subordinate to the repertory.
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
American Contemporary Ballet was founded by choreographer Lincoln Jones and dancer Theresa Farrell to produce original contemporary classical ballets and present masterworks of the ballet tradition. Based in Bank of America Plaza on Hope Street in Downtown LA, ACB is the only ballet company in Los Angeles to perform exclusively to live music. Education programs include the Trainee Program (professional-track instruction with company class, rehearsal, and performance opportunity) and the ACB Training Program for ages 11-22 covering ballet, pointe, variations, partnering, contemporary, character, conditioning, artistry, and musicality. Guest teachers include former NYCB principal Suki Schorer and Balanchine repetiteur Zippora Karz.
At a glance
- Address
- 333 S Hope St, Suite C-150, Los Angeles, CA 90071
- Suburb
- Downtown Los Angeles
- City
- Los Angeles
- State
- California
- Age range
- 11–22 years
- Disciplines
- Classical Ballet, Contemporary Ballet, Pointe, Variations, Partnering, Character
- Approach
- Competitive
What stands out
- i.Founded by Lincoln Jones and Theresa Farrell
- ii.Only LA ballet company performing to live music
- iii.Pre-professional Trainee Program
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The Colburn School — Trudl Zipper Dance Institute
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