The Rock School for Dance Education

The Rock School for Dance Education is a classical ballet school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is currently headed by Director and President Peter Stark, who formerly ran Boston Ballet School.



History
At the urging of George Balanchine, Barbara Weisberger founded the School of Pennsylvania Ballet in 1962.

The Pennsylvania Ballet School and Company maintained a close working relationship, but in 1992 they became independent non-profit entities. At that time the Company's Board decided that The School's mission and activities required the attention of an individual staff and Board of Trustees. It became evident that for further growth and increased contribution to the community, The School would need its own development department.

The School's independence was accompanied by the development of a Board of Trustees, led by Chairman Constance W. Benoliel. Expanding its funding base, The School was able to develop its outreach activities and scholarship program. In 2006, The School officially separated from the Pennsylvania Ballet and was renamed The Rock School for Dance Education. In 2011, the ballet documentary, First Position, followed Rock School Alum Michaela DePrince as she trained for and competed at Youth America Grand Prix.

After over thirty-years as a director of the Rock School for Dance Education, Bo Spassoff retired, and in February 2022, Peter Stark became the President and Director of the Rock School for Dance Education. Before joining the Rock School, Peter Stark was the associate director of Boston Ballet II and head of the Men’s Program for Boston Ballet School. He also served as Director of the Orlando Ballet School and founded of the Next Generation Ballet in Tampa, Florida.

Programs
Many students in the professional division move to Philadelphia to attend the Rock School as full-time students who live in dorms located across the street from the school all while training to become professional ballet dancers and completing their education through the Rock Academics program. The Rock School has had students from over twenty countries and twenty-four states enrolled in the Professional Division. For Students under the age of twelve, The Rock School offers ballet classes through its Pre-Ballet and Ballet Division; these programs focus on progressing students’ ballet training at their own pace while instilling strong foundations for continued classical ballet training. The Rock School students perform throughout the year in their annual Classic Nutcracker, Spring Showcase, and at various ballet competitions.

In the summer, The Rock School hosts about three hundred students for its annual Summer Intensive; summer intensive students train for one to six weeks with Rock School faculty, guest teaching artists, and alums.

Alumni
Since its founding, The Rock School for Dance Education has produced world class ballet dancers including brothers Isaac Hernández and Esteban Hernández, now both at San Francisco Ballet, as well as Christine Shevchenko (American Ballet Theatre), Michaela DePrince (Boston Ballet), Beckanne Sisk (Houston Ballet), Derek Dunn (Boston Ballet), and Gabe Stone Shayer (American Ballet Theatre).
 * James Ady, Instructor Ballet Conservatory West, American Ballet Theatre, Principal Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Rocio Aguero, Teatro Colon Ballet
 * Devin Alberda, New York City Ballet
 * Justin Allen, Co-Artistic Director at The Rock School for Dance Education, Dayton Ballet
 * Joshua Allenback, Colorado Ballet
 * Tamara Allison, Child Lead NY Radio City Christmas
 * Valerie Amiss, Academy of Ballet NJ, Soloist Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Alexandra Ansenelli, Principal New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet
 * Robert Arold, Houston Ballet
 * Allyson Ashley, Dance Theatre of Harlem
 * Cameron Auble-Branigan, American Repertory Ballet
 * Eliza Barbic, Eugene Ballet, Ballet Idaho
 * Melissa Bartusch, City Ballet of San Diego
 * Allison Brasford, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet
 * Ashley Baszto, Orlando Ballet
 * Maximilien Baud, Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Alladson Barreto, Ballet West
 * Cato Berry, Pennsylvania Ballet Corps
 * Katie Berry, Child Lead NY Radio City Christmas Spectacular
 * Lucas Bilbro, Apprentice Ballet BC, North Carolina Dance Theatre
 * Gilbert Bolden III, Corps New York City Ballet
 * Laura Bowman, Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Laura Breckenridge, Broadway Shows, Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl
 * Bobbie Briscoe, Company C Contemporary Ballet, Joffrey Ballet
 * Samantha Bristow, San Francisco Ballet
 * Kacey Burke, Roxy Ballet
 * Allison Burbach, Columbia Classical Ballet
 * Rachel Butler, Director Huntsville Ballet School, Soloist Pennsylvania Ballet, Soloist Pacific Northwest Ballet
 * Fabrice Calmels, Principal Joffrey Ballet
 * Tim Cannon, Dance Alive!
 * Nick Carter, Louisville Ballet
 * Angel Ramirez Castellano, Atlanta Ballet
 * Cesar Ramirez Castellano, Los Angeles Ballet
 * Marcos Ramirez Castellano, Los Angeles Ballet
 * Martha Chamberlain, Principal and Instructor Pennsylvania Ballet, Senior Lecturer at the UARTS
 * Elizabeth Chapman, Georgia Ballet
 * Taylor Ciampi, First State Ballet, Atlanta Ballet
 * Emily Corney, Lead in Fame
 * Christine Cox, Artistic Director BalletX, former Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Karel Cruz, Principal Pacific Northwest Ballet
 * Kyle Davis, Principal Pacific Northwest Ballet
 * Michael Davis, Kansas City Ballet
 * Madeline Deavenport, North Carolina Dance Theatre, New Chamber Ballet
 * Yosbel Delgado, Rock School Faculty Member, Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Elena Deguzman, First State Ballet
 * Michaela De Prince, Soloist Boston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Author of “Taking Flight”
 * Megan Dillon, Colorado Ballet
 * Gregory Dominiak, Paris Opera Ballet
 * Matthew Donnell, Program Director UNCSA, Kansas City Ballet
 * Teresa D’Ortone, Trainee American Ballet Theatre
 * Derek Dunn, Principal Boston Ballet
 * Tina Egan, American Repertory Ballet
 * Damir Emeric, Soloist Ballet San Jose, Royal New Zealand Ballet
 * Shaelynn Estrada, National Ballet of Canada
 * Katchiri Feys, Ballet Arkansas
 * Molly Flippen, Los Angeles Ballet
 * James Floyd, Dayton Ballet
 * Nick Fonseca, Orlando Ballet
 * Mako Fujita, Joffrey Ballet Trainee
 * Jessica Gatinella, Instructor Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Joseph Gatti, Principal Cincinnati Ballet, Soloist Boston Ballet, Corella Ballet, Principal Guest Artist Orlando Ballet
 * Kenna Gold, Orlando Ballet
 * Tonatiah Gomez, Principal San Diego Ballet
 * Ellen Green, Guest Artist and Faculty Ballet Chicago, New York City Ballet
 * JinChang Gu, Texas Ballet Theatre, Columbia Classical Ballet
 * Christian Gutierrez, Carolina Ballet
 * Kara Hanretty, Formerly Ballet Arizona
 * Maddie Harpole, Cincinnati Ballet
 * Reggie Harris, Austin Ballet
 * Alexandra Hartnett, Ballet Arizona, Opera and Ballet of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
 * Jessica He, Atlanta Ballet
 * Arnaldo Hernandez, Ballet Austin
 * Isaac Hernandez, Principal San Francisco Ballet
 * Esteban Hernandez, Principal San Francisco Ballet
 * Kyra Homeres, M.J.M Dance Inc., Dancer and Instructor Miami City Ballet
 * Patrick Howell, Milwaukee Ballet
 * Ian Hussey, Principal Pennsylvania Ballet
 * James Ihde, Soloist Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Victoria Jaenson, Charlotte Ballet II
 * Russell Janzen, Soloist New York City Ballet
 * Damian Johnson, New York City Ballet
 * Erik Johnson, Milwaukee Ballet
 * Rachael Jones, Nashville Ballet, The Washington Ballet
 * Robert Jummonville, Carnival Cruises
 * Jeanette Kakareka, Bayerisches Staatsballett, formerly English National Ballet
 * Masayoshi Katori, Saarlandisches Straatstheater
 * Elizabeth Keller, formerly Trey McIntyre Project, Miami City Ballet, Ballet Idaho
 * Rebecca King Ferraro, Soloist Miami City Ballet
 * Mine Kusano, Corps Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Ashley Knapp, formerly New York City Ballet
 * Lucas Labrador, Indianapolis Ballet, Atlanta Ballet II
 * Sara Lapointe, Charlotte Ballet
 * Kristie Latham, formerly Ballet Memphis, Ballet Met
 * Tim Leonard, Koblenz Ballett, Germany
 * Andrea Long, Principal Dance Theater of Harlem
 * Skyler Lubin, Ballet X, Miami City Ballet
 * Veronica Lynn, former Soloist American Ballet Theatre
 * Alston Macgill, Corps New York City Ballet
 * Callie Manning, Principal Miami City Ballet
 * Abdul Manzano, Dance Theater of Harlem, Charlotte Ballet
 * Skyler Martin, Dutch National Ballet
 * Janey McGeary, formerly Pennsylvania Ballet, New York City Ballet
 * Katie Meeusen, Ballet West, Ballet San Jose, Ballet Met
 * Juliana Missano, Atlanta Ballet
 * Regina Montgomery, Demi-Soloist Tulsa Ballet
 * Miguel Angel Montoya, Atlanta Ballet
 * Alana Morgenstern, Chevalier Ballet NYC
 * Sara Michelle Murawski, Dresden Semper Opera Ballet, Soloist Slovak National Ballet
 * Elizabeth Murphy, Principal Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet West
 * Jackie Nash, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet
 * Oliver Oguma, Opera Durhin, Ballet West
 * Taryn Oliveri, Ballet Memphis
 * Tempe Ostergren, Boston Ballet, Kansas City Ballet
 * Eric Otto, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Movin’ Out, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Ballet X, Faculty Central Park Dance
 * Nikkia Parrish, Washington Ballet
 * Colby Parsons, Alberta Ballet, American Ballet Theatre
 * Luciano Perotto, Principal Ballet de Monterrey
 * Jaimi Polovcak, formerly Orlando Ballet
 * Jillian Price, Orlando Ballet Company Member
 * Marina Profy, First State Ballet
 * Claire Rathbun-Solis, Syracuse City Ballet, The Washington Ballet, CATS on Broadway
 * Giovanni Ravelo, Roxy Ballet
 * Joshua Reynolds, Atlanta Ballet, Smuin Ballet
 * Rachel Richardson, American Ballet Theatre
 * Lawrence Rines, Soloist Boston Ballet
 * Shayna Rudd, PHILADANCO
 * Ashley Ruhl, formerly Ballet West
 * Catherine Russell, Kansas City Ballet
 * Jennita Russo, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Choreographer for Celine Dion, Jay-Z & Beyonce
 * Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan, Principal Pacific Northwest Ballet
 * Erica Sabatini, Carolina Ballet, Dresden Ballet
 * Taylor Sambola, Orlando Ballet
 * Ayami Sato, Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida
 * Jennifer Savelli, Pennsylvania Ballet, Fosse, Boy from Oz, Chicago the Movie, Anything Goes
 * Tyler Savoie, Pennsylvania Ballet, Kansas City Ballet
 * Jimmy Shughart, Alabama Ballet
 * Andrew Scordato, New York City Ballet
 * Christie Sciturro, Miami City Ballet
 * Kristen Segin, New York City Ballet
 * Christopher Sellers, 1st Soloist Ballet West
 * Jose Serrano, Principal Columbia City Ballet
 * Gabe Stone Shayer, Soloist American Ballet Theatre
 * Julia-Rose Sherrill, Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Christine Shevchenko, Principal American Ballet Theatre
 * Rammaru Shindo, Carolina Ballet
 * Ilir Shtylla, formerly Ballet Arizona
 * Beckanne Sisk, Principal Houston Ballet, Principal Ballet West, Breaking Pointe Reality TV series
 * Jennifer Smith, Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Promise Smith, Atlantic City Ballet, Charlottesville Ballet
 * Nicole Stalker, Miami City Ballet
 * Abigail Stewart, Corps Columbia Classical Ballet
 * Isaiah Sumler, Ballet Tucson
 * Taylor Stanley, Principal New York City Ballet
 * Nick Stuccio, Director Fringe Arts
 * Abe Takahashi, Reiko Matsuoka Ballet, Japan
 * Yukihiro Tamura, Columbia Classical Ballet, Asami Maki Ballet, Tokyo
 * May Tanigaito, Royal New Zealand Ballet
 * Margaret Tappan, Berlin Ballet, Dutch National Ballet
 * Lindsey Tatum, Tulsa Ballet
 * Tomoha Terada, Soloist Ekaterinburg Ballet, Russia
 * Michelle Thieme, Ballet West
 * Mariah Thomas, Austin Ballet
 * Lisl Vaillant-McDonald, Director Ballet Southwestern Academy, LLC, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, The Phantom of the Opera
 * Luis Valdez, Cincinnati Ballet
 * Amparo Vasquez, Ballet de la Provincia de Salta, Teatro Colon
 * Andrew Veyette, Principal New York City Ballet
 * Francis Veyette, Director Pennsylvania Ballet II, Principal Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Yueh Erica Wang, Hong Kong Ballet Corps
 * Kaeli Ware, Trainee Ballet West
 * Michael Wardlow, Soloist Cincinnati Ballet
 * Jodie Weiner, Georgia Ballet
 * Maya Wheeler, SF Ballet School Choreographic Fellow, Royal Swedish Ballet
 * Alison Whitaker, Louisville Ballet
 * Katherine Whitlock, Washington Ballet
 * Latef Williams, Kansas City Ballet
 * Brooke Wilson, Boston Ballet II
 * Lori Wilson, St. Louis Ballet
 * Gabriella Yudenich, Pennsylvania Ballet
 * Kyohei Yoshida, Grand Rapids Ballet
 * Joan Sebastian-Zamora, English National Ballet, Joffrey Ballet
 * Roman Zavarov, Soloist Ballet Arizona, Boston Ballet
 * Jin Zhang, Corps American Ballet Theatre
 * Mocen Zhao, Liaoning Ballet of China
 * Wan Ting Zhao, Principal San Francisco Ballet
 * Andres Zuniga, Corps New York City Ballet