Ballet Petit Nutcracker 2000		Ballet Petit had its earliest beginnings back in 1977 at the Happy Time Nursery School in Fremont. Then in 1983, Ballet Petit first appeared in Newark as its own entity. Today, at the turn of the century, Ballet Petit now enjoys a roster of over 200 students, of all ages and abilities. Artistic Director, Peggy Peabody having recently ended her studies at the San Francisco Ballet School, Peggy decided to create her own place where local dancers could also learn as she had. In 1977 Peggy began teaching ballet as a nursery school activity which eventually evolved into what is now known as Ballet Petit. The younger version of the current school first performed its mini-version of The Nutcracker in 1979. The production grew as the dancers developed and matured. Recently, in December of 1998, a very different and more sophisticated production, celebrated its 20th anniversary, hosting Claras from almost every year back to 1979 and featuring past dancers in the festive production.
Ballet Petit Nutcracker 2003

Committed to retaining the integrity of ballet as a classical art form, rather than sport, Ballet Petit has chosen to focus its school not on competition, but on the development of dancers from an artistic perspective. From this viewpoint, the program at Ballet Petit has been able to stand apart from other local dancing schools of other persuasions.

Over the years Ballet Petit has been a place for both recreational and serious dancers to train. Dancers have attended classes as part of a rigorous program of serious classical ballet study. Some dancers come just for fun. Many train with more serious aspirations in mind. Many of those Ballet Petit students have been accepted into major professional school ballet programs.

Some of those include The Royal Ballet of London, Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Pacific Northwest Ballet, Cleveland San Jose Ballet and more. From there, Ballet Petit dancers have been given special opportunities to dance coveted roles such as Marie in the Nutcracker and many other company roles.

Ballet Petit is proud of its own repertoire. In addition to the annual staging of a full-length Nutcracker featuring a cast of over 300 dancers, Ballet Petit also has created other fun programs for its dancers. Spring Concerts have included child-focused pieces such as The Ant and the Grasshopper, Rumpelstiltsken, and Peter and the Wolf. It is also important for Intermediate and Advanced dancers to experience the classics. For this reason Ballet Petit has also staged Act Two Swan Lake, as well as full-length productions of Coppelia, Paquita, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and others.

Ballet Petit is open year round to allow dancers to train properly. It also hosts a summer program, Master Pieces, to explore ballet in other ways.

We thank you for your interest in our school and hope to have you join us either in class or at the theatre.