Hi all,

My girlfriend, who currently lives in Europe and is an experienced dance teacher specializing in ballet, is planning on moving to the SF bay area with me. I'm not at all familiar with the ins and outs of the profession, so I am not much use to her in terms of putting her knowledge to use, but I was hoping that someone might be able to give us some advice on what kinds of opportunities existed for her. She would be interested in both teaching opportunities and/or continuing education, such as ballet classes intended to maintain or enhance her current knowledge. Any help of advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hello, nikesp23, and welcome to Critical Dance. The Bay Area has a wealth of dance schools. There are many excellent ballet schools in the North Bay, the South Bay, and the East Bay as well as in San Francisco. Many of them have websites. There are also some schools that have performing arts programs like San Domenico School in Marin County. Not sure if a strictly ballet background would work well here, but worth looking into. Probably googling by area will give you the basic information she needs and a feel for where she may like to send resumes. It depends on where you are living and how much time she wants to spend commuting! Sometimes it is difficult to get one's foot in the door because there are also many excellent teachers/former dancers who currently fill those coveted positions. There are many excellent adult classes offered in several schools. The Academy of Ballet in San Francisco and Marin Ballet Open Division are two great examples, but there are many more I am certain. Here, again, researching their websites will give information. Good luck and hope she finds teaching and dancing in the Bay Area a great experience!

Hi nikesp23, how's it going? Have your gf moved in with you? Hope she could find something good on the bay area.

Try both of them, you will be know how to choose