Berkeley · San Francisco, California
Berkeley Ballet Theater
West Berkeley classical ballet school founded by Sally Streets (New York City Ballet alumna, Isadora Duncan Lifetime Achievement Award) offering full pre-professional training for children, youth and adults plus 30+ weekly adult drop-in classes.
- Ballet
- Children's Dance
How Berkeley Ballet Theater comes across
Berkeley Ballet Theater comes across as a classical studio trying to hold rigor and modern caution in the same hand — its Youth Division promises a curriculum "rooted in classical ballet and informed by a modern approach to movement with a healthy perspective on body image and physical well-being," which reads as a deliberate signal to wary parents. The structure appears unusually wide for a ballet school: a Pre-Ballet Division from age two, a pre-professional Studio Company that collaborates with the SF Girls Chorus and Berkeley Symphony, plus a free Boys' Class and a Dance for PD program offering no-cost sessions to community members with Parkinson's. The tagline "Building Ballet for Tomorrow" and a fundraising campaign suggest a nonprofit consciously positioning itself as civic rather than competitive. The overall impression is of a place that wants serious training without the harshness the field is known for — equally comfortable with a toddler, a professional, and an adult beginner.
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
Berkeley Ballet Theater operates from the Sally Streets Center for Dance on Tenth Street in West Berkeley, named for its founder. Streets danced with Mia Slavenska's Ballet Variante, New York City Ballet, and was a principal dancer with Pacific Ballet and Oakland Ballet. BBT runs a graded pre-professional syllabus for children and youth, an adult open division (ages 13+) with 30+ drop-in classes per week, most with live accompaniment, ranging from beginning ballet through professional level.
At a glance
- Address
- 1370 Tenth St, Berkeley, CA 94710
- Suburb
- Berkeley
- City
- San Francisco
- State
- California
- Age range
- 3+ years
- Disciplines
- Ballet, Contemporary
- Approach
- Both
- Price band
- Mid
What stands out
- i.Founded by Sally Streets (NYCB alumna, Isadora Duncan Lifetime Achievement Award 2003)
- ii.Sally Streets Center for Dance — purpose-built facility
- iii.30+ adult drop-in classes per week with live accompaniment
Also in Berkeley
Berkeley City Ballet
Ages 2+
Berkeley classical ballet school founded 1974, marked 50 years in 2024. Purpose-built Dwight Way studio designed by architect Jack Johannes for former Pacific Ballet Academy prima ballerina Grace Doty. Pre-professional training from age 2.5+.
Shawl-Anderson Dance Center
Ages 3+
Berkeley institution since 1958, founded by Frank Shawl and Victor Anderson (May O'Donnell lineage) as a community-focused modern dance center. Nonprofit offering classes for all ages, rehearsal space and performance programming.