Oakland Ballet School

How Oakland Ballet School comes across

Oakland Ballet School comes across as a small, lineage-conscious classical studio that wears its history openly. It describes itself as offering training "from pre-ballet to the pre-professional level" in "a welcoming environment and an encouraging atmosphere," emphasizing musicality and artistic expression over competition language. What distinguishes its self-presentation is a candid directors' note from Joral and Denise Schmalle, who recount the 2018 move from the long-held MacArthur Boulevard studio — recalling that the school, founded in 1968 as the official school of the Oakland Ballet Company under Ronn Guidi, once hosted the setting of repertory works like Billy the Kid, Les Noces, and The Green Table. That sense of carrying a company's heritage into a modest Piedmont Avenue space gives it an air of stewardship rather than ambition. The impression is of a personally run, history-anchored school where the directors have "spent more than two-thirds of our lives" in the work, now offering everything from young-dancer camps to adult open and contemporary classes.

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.