Chicago · Illinois
6 verified schools across Chicago offer children's dance — in Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, South Loop and The Loop.
Dance programs for children, including creative movement, pre-ballet, and junior classes.
Browse by age
Lincoln Park
Ages 3+
Founded 1998. Vaganova-method ballet school running from the Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture on Southport Avenue plus a second location at DePaul's Ray Meyer Fitness Center. From 'Small Steps' for young children through teen/adult Vaganova syllabus.
The Loop
Ages 3+
Official school of The Joffrey Ballet, founded as the Joffrey Academy in 2010, renamed Grainger Academy in 2024 after a $5M gift. Joffrey Tower studios (3rd floor) in The Loop, with a second campus at 1920 S Wabash in the South Loop.
South Loop
Ages 3+
South Loop second campus of Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet. 5,314 sqft of studios with sprung floors and harlequin surfaces on the first floor at 1920 S Wabash. Largest Joffrey studio expansion since Joffrey Tower opened in 2008.
Lincoln Park
Ages 3+
Lincoln Park campus of the 70-year-old Old Town School of Folk Music (founded 1957). Long-running Armitage Avenue facility since 1968 offering dance and movement classes from world dance traditions for all ages.
Gold Coast
Ages 3+
Gold Coast performing-arts center in a historic 1926 building, founded 1971 by Chicago dance icon Ruth Page (1899-1991) and Larry Long. The Ruth Page School of Dance runs graded classical ballet ladders for children plus adult drop-in programming.
Lincoln Park
Ages up to 8
Armitage Avenue storybook ballet studio for children 6 months to 8 years. Lincoln Park location of the established Tutu School franchise (Mill Valley flagship founded 2008 by Genevieve Custer Weeks).
No children's dance schools in Chicago match this age band.