Performance Opportunities at Northwest Ballet Academy

Talent Showcases, Premiere Shows

At Northwest Ballet Academy, students have many opportunities to audition for performing companies and concerts. This is a great way to showcase what they have learned, as well as get recognized in a larger community. The following are performance opportunities available for Northwest Ballet Academy students.

Northwest Ballet Ensemble

Students may audition to become a member of Northwest Ballet Academy’s performing company, Northwest Ballet Ensemble. This ensemble performs original choreography at the annual Winter Festival of Dance, which is hosted every February. We invite other students and professional companies to join us in presenting original and, at times, familiar choreography to enthusiastic audiences. This company also performs in various other programs around Chicago.

Spring Dance Concert

All Northwest Ballet Academy students are invited to participate each May in our Spring Dance Concert series that centers on our year-end performance. We present excerpts from a historic, classical ballet, as well as a ballet set to a familiar story. We conduct three performances on stage at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Schaumburg Dance Ensemble

Students over the age of eight are encouraged to audition for the Schaumburg Dance Ensemble. Michele Holzman, director of Northwest Ballet Academy, also directs this. This is a community dance company that annually performs The Nutcracker for packed houses at the Prairie Center for the Arts. There are usually 13 performances that include over 100 student dancers and 10 to 12 professionals.

The Nutcracker

Students, eight years old and up, are encouraged to audition for the Schaumburg Dance Ensemble’s The Nutcracker, which is directed by Northwest Ballet Academy Director Michele Holzman.