Adaptive Dance
About Adaptive Dance
San Francisco Ballet strives to share the joy of dance with the widest audience possible. Launching in March 2026, SF Ballet’s 6-week Adaptive Dance Pilot Program will provide weekly dance classes for students ages 5-7 with down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and other developmental, physical, or cognitive disabilities.
Curriculum
Adaptive Dance classes are designed to provide a joyful and relaxed dance class experience for students with all disabilities. Drawing on the principles of creative dance, improvisation, and the basics of ballet technique, these classes will help students develop their balance, strength, and coordination, while building confidence and community.
Students in the SF Ballet School’s Adaptive Dance Pilot program will explore their creativity and artistic expression, through dynamic dance classes set in a supportive and safe environment. Adaptive Dance classes are capped at 8 students maximum and feature a student to teacher ratio of 2:1, to ensure that every student receives the support needed to participate safely and successfully. A trained lead teacher, teacher assistant, live musical accompanist, and licensed physical or occupational therapist will be present during each class. While a physical or occupational therapist will be present during classes, Adaptive Dance classes are designed to be purely recreational and do not provide physical intervention or therapy of any kind.
WHO
Children ages 5–7 with Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and/or other developmental, physical, or cognitive disabilities. The class capacity for our pilot program will be a maximum of 8 students.
We recognize that we may not be able to accommodate all interested students through our initial pilot program but intend to grow the program to accommodate more students in the future.
WHEN
The 6-week pilot program will take place on Saturday afternoons from 3:30pm–4:15pm on the following dates:
- March 14, 21, and 28
- April 4, 11, and 18
WHERE
All classes will take place in SF Ballet School studios located at 455 Franklin St., San Francisco, CA 94102.
COST
Tuition for the 6-week Adaptive Dance pilot program is $250, plus a $25 intake application fee. Financial Assistance may be available to families for which cost may be a barrier to entry.
Registration Process
All new Adaptive Dance families are required to sign up for an intake interview with an SF Ballet Administrator prior to enrolling in classes. The interview will help us learn about how to best support each student during dance class, determine shared objectives, and answer any relevant questions.
- Fill out interest form
- After completing the interest form you will be contacted by an SF Ballet Administrator to schedule a 30-minute intake interview
- Schedule intake interview & pay $25 application fee
- After completing the intake interview an SF Ballet Administrator will provide you with the enrollment form link
- Complete enrollment and payment
Questions?
Please reach out to education@sfballet.org or contact us at (415) 865-6675.
