School of Ballet 5:8
Train with Purpose. Dance with Excellence.
The Pre-Professional Program at the School of Ballet 5:8 is designed for serious young dancers ready to take the next step. Students receive rigorous classical ballet training in a supportive environment that develops technique, artistry, confidence, and character.
Placement is required so every dancer enters the level that best supports their growth, safety, and long-term development.
Why choose the Pre-Professional Track?
Serious training in a school that still sees the whole person.
Ballet training requires discipline, repetition, resilience, and joy. Our Pre-Professional Program gives young dancers the structure they need to grow while surrounding them with mentorship, wellness support, and a culture that values excellence without losing sight of the dancer’s humanity.
Elite Classical Training
Students build clean technique, musicality, coordination, strength, and classical vocabulary through a carefully sequenced curriculum.
Holistic Development
We teach the whole dancer with attention to emotional resilience, focus, character, and healthy habits inside and outside the studio.
Performance Opportunities
Students gain stage experience through rehearsals, showcases, seasonal productions, and level-appropriate performance opportunities.
Supportive Environment
Dancers are mentored in discipline, teamwork, and personal responsibility while being encouraged to grow at the right pace.
Student Story
Hear what training at Ballet 5:8 feels like from the inside.
The Pre-Professional Program is about more than classes on a schedule. It is a place where young dancers are challenged, encouraged, mentored, and given room to grow as artists and people.
Program Overview
Placement-based levels for committed young dancers.
Each level builds on the previous stage of training. Class schedules, pointe readiness, and performance eligibility are determined by placement, technical development, consistency, and faculty recommendation.
Ages 8+ | Placement Required
Ballet 2A
Dancers step into the pre-professional track with two weekly classes. This level explores advanced beginner material while developing strength, coordination, musicality, and focus.
Placement Required
Ballet 2B
Students complete the advanced beginner syllabus and begin intermediate work, building confidence in classical vocabulary, musical responsiveness, and clean execution.
Placement Required
Ballet 3A
Dancers begin preparing for pointe work and attend three days of classes including ballet, pre-pointe, pointe when approved by exam, jazz, modern, and variations.
Placement Required
Ballet 3B
Students advance en pointe and deepen their technical foundation through ballet, PBT, pointe, jazz, modern, variations, and rehearsal.
Placement Required
Ballet 4A
Dancers train four days weekly in ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, men’s allegro, pas de deux, repertoire, PBT, variations, and rehearsal.
Placement Required
Ballet 4B
At the apex of the Pre-Professional Program, 4B dancers are polished, versatile, and stage-ready. This level prepares students for Conservatory training and includes advanced pointe or men’s work, pas de deux, variations, and rehearsal.
More than words
We put dancer wellness into action.
At Ballet 5:8, wellness is woven into the training experience. Our goal is not simply to produce strong dancers, but to help young artists build healthy tools for a demanding art form.
Heart of Wellness Seminars
Therapist-led conversations give dancers language and tools for emotional resilience, identity, stress, and healthy performance habits.
Nutrition Support
Personalized guidance from To The Pointe Nutrition helps dancers understand fueling, recovery, and long-term care for the body.
Injury Support
On-site support with Athletico Physical Therapy helps students learn how to care for their bodies and seek help early when needed.
Community & Wellness Leadership
Under the leadership of Lauren Rios, Director of Community and Wellness, students are supported as whole people—body, mind, and spirit.
Ready to begin?
Find the right fit for your dancer.
New students are welcomed each season through a structured placement process. Faculty evaluate each dancer’s current training, strength, musicality, technical readiness, and long-term goals so students can enter a level where they will be challenged and supported.
Audition or placement class required.
Boys Program
Strength, speed, confidence.
Our boys training is purpose-built to develop clean classical technique, athletic power, coordination, musicality, and confidence within a supportive, high-expectation studio culture.
Do boys need prior ballet experience?
No. Placement helps faculty determine the right starting point based on age, experience, strength, coordination, and technical readiness.
What should boys wear?
The school office can provide current dress code details for each level. Students should wear fitted dance attire that allows faculty to clearly see alignment and movement.
Are there performance opportunities?
Yes. Boys in the Pre-Professional Program have opportunities to perform through school productions and showcases as appropriate for their level.
Pre-Professional Program Faculty
Learn from Lead Artist Valerie Linsner, alongside many artists, educators, and mentors.
Ballet 5:8 faculty are often joined by guest artists and master teachers throughout the year. We believe creative exchange helps dancers grow technically, artistically, and personally.
Start your journey with us
Let your dancer’s ballet journey begin with joy, excellence, and purpose.
The School of Ballet 5:8 offers serious classical training in a spacious Orland Park facility with faculty who care deeply about each dancer’s long-term growth.
-
![Four ballet dancers on stage in a grand, chandelier-lit theater with candles, performing under moonlight backdrop, two wearing pink tutus and two in costumes with masks.]()
"Tristan loved playing with the other boys before and after class, he enjoyed challenging classes, and he appreciates the patience of all the teachers. Tristan has developed the same teamwork, responsibility, physical strength, and quest for excellence that kids get from sports but here artistry and character are enhanced. Four years later, Tristan feels like this is the best place for him!"
– Sonia Baity
-
![Ballet dancers performing on stage with a forest background, one dancer in a yellow tutu dancing en pointe in the foreground, and others seated behind her near a tree and a white cross.]()
"My daughters LOVE Ballet 5:8 and their classes! I love how caring the teacher is, always willing to provide feedback and tips on things to work on at home, and how encouraging they are every week. After every class my three girls come out with huge smiles on their faces!
– Amy Novotney
-
![Ballet dancers perform on stage with a forest backdrop, featuring one dancer in a tutu spinning on one leg, and others seated near a large tree prop.]()
"Both of my children take classes with Ballet 5:8. This organization has helped foster a passion for dance that will stick with the kids, not just be a part of a phase in their childhood. The instructors are friendly and compassionate. "
– Andrea Richart
