Yale Undergraduate Ballet Company (YBC)

image of Yale Undergraduate Ballet Company (YBC) team

Yale Undergraduate Ballet Company is Yale’s only dance group devoted solely to ballet technique and performance. Despite our name, we welcome students from all graduate and professional schools as well.

The company offers a space for ballet dancers at Yale to work seriously on technique and enjoy performance opportunities each year. We would love to see you at auditions no matter your level—some of our dancers have trained and performed professionally, while others are just returning to dance in college.

Unique amongst Yale’s dance groups, YBC stages annual full-length story ballets; past productions include Don Quixote, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Legend of King Arthur. These sellout performances offer opportunities to grow as a dancer, actor, and choreographer. Since 2023, we have begun the tradition of performing with live music, collaborating with the likes of Berkeley College Orchestra to further enhance our dancers’ and audiences’ experiences. 

We prioritize regular technique classes to keep our dancers healthy and strong. We offer student-taught company classes once a week, and professionally-taught classes through our partnership with the Yale Dance Lab. Additional class options include the Payne-Whitney’s ballet program as well as the New Haven Ballet’s Open and Student divisions, which we attend in groups at a discounted rate. We also organize special events, including field trips, master classes, and film screenings. 

We offer a straightforward audition consisting of a full ballet barre and center. We hope to see you there!

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