Winner (#1)

Lauridsen Ballet Centre

Lauridsen Ballet Centre is a home for the serious student interest in celebrating the art of dance. Under the Direction of Artistic Director Diane Lauridsen and Assistant Artistic Director Candice Davis, Lauridsen Ballet Centre is the official school of South Bay Ballet.

South Bay Ballet's mission is to be Southern California's leading pre-professional ballet company providing the finest training to our youth as well as performances that inspire and enrich the community.

We are providing a curriculum that has its foundation in traditional classical techniques enhanced by thirty years of experience incorporating cutting-edge anatomical and kinesthetic principals. Our dancers experience a real company atmosphere and performance opportunities that mirror the professional world. Our proven success in consistently placing dancers in professional contracts has earned us the respect of the international ballet community. Our training instills self discipline, teamwork, perseverance, respect, self confidence and dedication to excellence. These values will help our students to succeed in all their future endeavors. At South Bay Ballet, our performances enrich and inspire the community, encouraging a life long love of the Arts.

South Bay Ballet is a non-profit organization and dancers who train exclusively at our official school, Lauridsen Ballet Centre, are eligible to join. The Company presents three sets of performances each season including The Nutcracker in December; Bravo! in March, featuring works by nationally prominent choreographers; and in June, Storybook Ballet. The Company is a member of Regional Dance America, the most prestigious group of ballet companies in the nation, and has placed many dancers into prominent ballet companies including American Ballet Theatre, Corella Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Ballet Austin, St. Louis Ballet, Ballet Nouveau Colorado, Boston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Sarasota Ballet of Florida, The Sacramento Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, and Kenneth Walker Dance Project.