Join RIbt

Rhode Island's ballet theatre welcomes talented dancers who have a passion for ballet. We audition new dancers twice a year. At the audition, a jury of dance professionals evaluates each candidate's technical ability, artistry, musicality, stage presence and ability to quickly learn new choreography. Dancers age 9 to 18 with at least three years of classical training are eligible to audition.

Our dancers join RIbt for many reasons. Most common is a love of performing and a drive to improve as artists. Many of our dancers have gone on to succeed at leading programs like Boston Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, Hartford Ballet and the Walnut Hill School. Others have received generous college scholarships for their dance ability.

Yet, whatever the reason for joining, the benefits of company membership are great:

"I love the stage"
If you love to perform, Rhode Island's ballet theatre is for you. Our entire focus is on training gifted dancers to be true performers…dancers with a "presence" who light up the stage and "connect" with their audience. We do this through rigorous pre-professional performance training and regular company performances wherein members of RIbt are the stars.

Bringing Out the Best
By training and performing with other talented dancers, company members learn from each other and push each other to be the best dancer they can be. The energy and support of other gifted young dancers helps every dancer in the company excel.

Master Class
We have a series of Master Classes wherein accomplished ballet professionals, most all former soloists and principal dancers at significant ballet companies, meet with company dancers to provide expert instruction on everything from Vaganova Technique to Balanchine.

Professional Evaluation
Twice each year company dancers receive written evaluations on their progress. The Evaluation is one very similar to that used by the National Ballet of Canada and other renowned training programs.

Learning Opportunities
The company partially underwrites site visits to the world's best ballet companies such as New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet and National Ballet of Canada. These field trips, at least one per season, include special behind the scenes tours and discussions.