Back Bay · Boston, Massachusetts
Boston Conservatory at Berklee — Dance Division
Conservatory-level BFA dance program of Boston Conservatory at Berklee — 4-year Contemporary Dance BFA and 3-year Commercial Dance BFA serving 270 majors and 250 additional dance students. New 699 Boylston St studios complement main campus at 31 Hemenway St.
- Contemporary
- Ballet
How Boston Conservatory at Berklee — Dance Division comes across
The Dance Division at Boston Conservatory at Berklee reads unmistakably as what it is — a college-level conservatory, not a community studio, addressing prospective degree candidates through "How to Apply," auditions, and BFA pathways in Contemporary and Commercial Dance. Its self-presentation is ambitious and faintly evangelical: "Be moved. Move others," promising to shape dancers into "whole artists" who are "well-rounded, culturally aware, and fully engaged in mind, body, and spirit." The institutional claims are specific and load-bearing — it states it was "the first conservatory to integrate ballet and modern dance into a unified program," cites repeated inclusion on "Best College Dance Programs" lists, and points to professional partnerships with "the Verdon Fosse Legacy and the Rockettes." Leadership is named (Dean Tommy Neblett, Chair Mila Thigpen), and emphases on dance pedagogy and composition deepen the scholarly tone. The impression is of a rigorous, conservatory-grade training ground for aspiring professional and commercial dancers — a destination for serious teenagers and young adults, not children.
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
The Dance Division of Boston Conservatory at Berklee offers conservatory-level dance training including a four-year BFA in Contemporary Dance and a three-year BFA in Commercial Dance. The program serves 270 dance majors plus an additional 250 non-major students. The Division's primary studios opened in 2023 at 699 Boylston Street in Back Bay — three large movement studios with locker rooms, showers, common space and ice station — augmenting the main Dance Division office at 31 Hemenway Street in the Fenway. Boston Conservatory was founded in 1867 and merged with Berklee College of Music in 2016 as Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
At a glance
- Address
- 699 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116
- Suburb
- Back Bay
- City
- Boston
- State
- Massachusetts
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Disciplines
- Contemporary, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Commercial Dance
- Approach
- Competitive
- Price band
- Premium
What stands out
- i.Conservatory-level BFA programs (Contemporary, Commercial)
- ii.Boston Conservatory founded 1867, merged with Berklee 2016
- iii.New Back Bay dance studios at 699 Boylston since 2023
Teachers listed on the school's site
- Tommy Neblett — Dean of Dance
- Mila Thigpen — Chair of Dance
Plus around 30 additional teaching faculty across Commercial Dance, Contemporary Dance and Musical Theater — see the school's full Faculty page.
Sourced from the school's Dance Faculty page (bostonconservatory.berklee.edu/faculty/dance). Teachers can request removal or correction via the listing-edit form below.
Also in Back Bay
Boston Ballet School — Boston Studio
Ages 3+
Official school of Boston Ballet, founded by E. Virginia Williams in 1963 — first professional ballet company in New England. Back Bay flagship at 19 Clarendon St offers the full Children's, Pre-Professional and Adult ladders. Sibling studios in Brookline and Newton.