If you want your kid to be a professional dancer there's no question, this is the best studio out there. No other WA studio can compare. That said, if you're looking for a fun extracurricular for your kid, or even a more serious one, but still one you don't expect them to make a career out of, I'd advise staying away. I attended for ~7yrs and suffer nightmares years later. It's a cutthroat environment. There are some good instructors (ex. Ms. Hiromi), but also some very unkind ones. The culture between dancers is not very good either, I suspect because of the students mirroring what is said to them by certain instructors. Bullying runs rampant and was, in some circumstances, pretty extreme. Outside of comments about technique and jealousy over roles, there were also a lot of damaging things said regarding weight, both by students and, rarely (but still enough to leave scars), instructors. read more

Take the negative reviews with a grain of salt! My daughter is 14 now and has been going to IBA since she was 3 or 4 years old. It is one of the premier dance academies in the area with amazing dance teachers! My daughter started in the little girls class, progressed to intermediate, went on pointe when she was 11, and has been enrolled in the pre-professional program. Not only has she learned a beautiful art form, but the classes also keep her in great physical shape, giving her a drive and a goal to strive towards. She's also made some amazing friendships along the way. Even in the young 4/5/6 year old classes, she was learning ballet but in a fun way. IBA encourages even the youngest dancers to have good technique and a good foundation, but also making dance fun and enjoyable. IBA even has a children's production every year to ensure even the youngest dancers have a chance to get on stage and experience that magic under the stage lights. Yes, IBA does have expectations for ALL their girls including the younger ones - simple expectations of having a neat bun, appropriate attire and a good attitude. Expectations that are something the girls will need to be prepared for later on as they get older whether in dance (at any academy!) or simply in life. Some expectations also include volunteering in the shows if your child is in it, even the older girls, us parents are required to put in our time. The expectations for both the children and adults are laid out explicitly ahead of time and its not the fault of IBA should someone not adhere to those. I highly recommend IBA - smaller class size so more individualized attention and teaching, solid foundation for classical Vaganova style dance with emphasis on encouraging a well-rounded dance background so they offer classes in other dance disciplines like jazz, contemporary, character, flamenco, modern. read more

Do NOT send your kids to this place. The staff are abusive and they care more about maxing your payments than nourishing your kids. I realize this after 1.5 year and I deeply regret it. My 6yr old daughter was talented but no longer willing to go to any dance class. The school makes the money for sure. The school and teachers repeatedly pressured kids directly during classes about how their hair buns are badly done. I only found it out later after my daughter said afraid going to class because of stress and low confidence about her appearance! This is toxic at the next level. The front office manager Shannon is worse and she threatened that they could send kids out of the classroom if they don't do perfect hair and dress. To confess, I'm a single dad trying my best with hairs, but they obviously don't give a crap about kids or parents but their authority and your payments. Yes, the school still keeps my full payment despite my daughter dropping out mid year because of stress caused by them. I can't do nothing more about it. Don't let your kid and yourself go through this. Try another school. I can share a lot more, like forcing us to buy expensive dress from their store only good for a single use in performance, making up facts to defend their problems, and blaming us for missing practice knowing because of my daughter's birthday. read more

Very nice people, I've been always treated with respect and Miss Vera is a wonderful teacher. I'm grateful to have found it.

It used to be a ok school until on one of the class my kid was bullied by another girl. The teacher has done nothing with that. Very disappointed. I highly recommend to avoid this school unless you want an emotional abuse or trauma to your child. read more

This school and Mrs. Vera the art director are only interested to make $. 1. for their spring show of 2018 in the 3 year old category, they told all parents they would have qualified care takers of their children for 4 hours. instead they had the 15 girls in a 10ft x 8 ft open space next to a door that opened to the Meydenbauer center's garage. Had I not fought to get in with my daughter I'm not sure what would have append, given I was stopping the other little girls from running into the garage. Also, the 2 care takers I saw were teenage girls and boys 12-14 yrs old who would stop by once every hour and walk away. 2. Summer camp 2018 they had Ms. Anna Marie who is barely 18 yrs old, without any experience dealing with 14, 3-4 yr olds teaching without a helper. I had to complain that state regulations are no more than 8 3-4 yrs olds per adult. Also no one was designated to take girls to the bathroom or help in the class. After asking to speak with Mrs. Vera for 4 months, I had to finally threaten that I would tell all the parents about #1 & 2 before Mrs. Vera made time for me. But things didn't improve. 3. Mrs. Alison was a great teacher for the 3-4 yr old range, but when Ms. Anna Marie took over Sep 2018, the class was a mess. The girls would push each other on the way out, my little one got hurt. When I said I would like to find out what's going on, Ms Vera complained that I was interrupting class. 4. Finally, there is a little girl in my daughters class who on the day of observation proceeded to throw a fit, not just screaming and unhappy but throwing tap the whole bin of tap shoes at her mom. When I told the girl to stop, she is interrupting the class, Mrs Vera didn't like it. The girls dad threatened me outside of the school, and Mrs Vera proceeded to tell me that I am no longer welcome, because I don't value their experienced teachers. Mrs. Alison has moved on to teach older children, the 3-5 year old group is being taught by Ms. Anna Marie who is 18 and can't control a class nor make sure our children don't get hurt. On top of it she has a 15 yr old helper for a 18 4-5 year old class. there are other ballet schools out there who care about more than just making $, they make sure all the children are safe and having a good time. I stayed because I have personally danced with Mrs. Alison's husband who is a Latin ballroom teacher, who I very much admire and I admire Mrs. Alison the same. But now with Mrs Alison changed to older children, there's no one qualified to teach young children. read more

Worse Ballet School in Seattle Area! Stay away! My 6 years' old daughter went to this place. In one class, she was hurt and bleeding a lot. The teacher brought her outside of classroom and gave her to a random parent. The teacher wasn't willing to spend 10 more second to walk to the front desk/waiting area to find either my wife or the office manager. When we asked the teacher what happened, she first said that "I didn't see and I don't know." Then she said it must be your kid's fault. Come on. You are the only adult in the room! My daughter had a trauma both physical and psychological. The teacher did more bad things in the past such as ignoring my daughter when my daughter told her another kid kept hitting her/bully her. My daughter didn't want to return the class to face this horrible teacher. So we tried to talk with the director Vera Altunina to get refund for unfinished classes. After ignoring us for 10 days, Vera (the owner) finally sent us an email and said that she will not give us refund. Because we signed a waiver when we paid, which means if our kid gets hurt in the class, it's our own problem. We tried to solve this peacefully, and asked whether we can get credit and use it in future when they have new teachers. The answer is still no. Things happen. The way IBA how handled it is outrageous and unacceptable. If you love your kids, please stay away and try other Ballet place. read more

This school has been an incredible experience for my entire family. We have been coming to IBA for 4 years. The instructors are top notch, even for the young dancers (2 to 10 YO). Ms. Anna Marie connects with her students and truly cares about their experience and success. She is passionate, supportive and intuitive. It is truly incredible to observe her leading a class of young dancers with compassion and consistency. She has a gentle and supportive way of instructing. Ms. Allison is a polished and massively experienced instructor. If your children get a chance to be instructed by Ms. Allison or Ms. Anna Marie, take it. As the IBA dancers evolve there are even more opportunities to be taught by world class instructors. The proof is in the outcomes of PD and pre-PD students. Time and time again IBA graduates spread around the world teaching, receiving scholarships, employed by companies, etc. The tools they learn at IBA not only prepare them for a successful career but also prepare them for life's hard challenges. read more

The worst experience I and my 5-years old daughter ever had. I would not recommend this school to any little girl. The teacher, Ms.Alison, who teaches 5 & 6 years old kids is not friendly to parents and she doesn't enjoy working with kids. How can the Ballet teacher tell the mom that her daughter can't follow the simplest directions, she is complaining and so on...?? Does that mean that my girl is stupid??? My girl has been attended "All-that-dance" Ballet Studio (Seattle) for the whole year and she enjoyed it because Ms.Emily was a gifted teacher, but here...speechless... After attending ONLY 3 classes in September and having conversation with Ms.Alison we decided to stop taking ballet classes. By the way, I paid tuition for 2 months+ registration fee= $265 and didn't get any refund... The admin staff doesn't care about the reputation of The International Ballet Academy. I checked the reviews about their school in different sources and unfortunately people got the same experience as we did. read more

International Ballet Academy has been my home since I was 8 years old. I started out in the school then moved on to the professional division program. I grew not only as a dancer but as a person throughout my years here. The training here for me was incredible! You become such a versatile dancer throughout the professional division program. Not many schools have the variety that IBA has. I consider my classmates to be some of my closest friends! With the training at IBA I am now dancing as a Trainee with State Street Ballet Company in Santa Barbara, CA. This school is a very special place to me! read more

My daughter did a summer intensive here a few years ago and is now venturing in to their pre-pro program. They have welcomed her with open arms, remembered her personally, even though it's been a few years, and have such an amazing professional program. My daughter has danced for over 10 years but has just now decided to focus 100% of her time on ballet and IBA was where she wanted to go. The teachers and facility are amazing and we are so thrilled with Vera and everything she and her staff have to offer. As she goes in to highschool next year, we are sooo excited about the academic program IBA has to offer as well. Such an amazing place to send your child for an all around experience. read more

A close family friend has been with this school for the past 4 years. I heard so many wonderful things about the school, the programs that they offer, and the amazing staff. What they produce is amazing dancers and beautiful people that are pure of heart and soul. The love of the arts clearly shows. Ms. Anna Marie is amazing teacher. You can see her students love her as much as she loves them. She is definitely and old soul that teaches from her heart. Thank you for all you do. We all enjoy watching you with children. read more

Our children have taken classes at IBA for 10 years. The instruction for both the younger students and the more experienced students is exceptional. Ms. Anna-Marie and Ms. Alison introduce ballet and tap to the younger students with warmth and fun imagery that help the students learn proper body placement. Our little dancer likes that Ms. Allison challenges her in class and we have observed that Ms. Anna-Marie has taken the time to help improve her technique and her confidence. Ms. Anna-Marie's kindheartedness and knowledge of dance technique and language are clearly evident. Our little dancer loves both teachers dearly. Our older dancer has benefited from instruction from most of the IBA teachers (e.g. Ms. Vera, Ms. Alison, Ms. Anna-Marie, Ms. Hiromi, Mr. Francois, Mr. Jerry, Mr. Le, Ms. Jacquelina, Ms. Christin) all of them contributing to her growth as a dancer and as an individual. We have found all of the IBA staff to be talented, accomplished, caring, professional, and well trained. The school strives to develop a family atmosphere and it is nice to observe the older dancers supporting the younger ones. The peers and teachers at the school have become like a second family to our dancers. read more

IBA is the finest school on the east side, and honestly the best school in Washington state. Vera, and all the wonderful teachers at IBA, work extremely hard to get you where you want to be professionally in the dance world. If you give them your time, they won't waste it. They not only train your body, but also your mind, which is needed when you want to take your training to the next level. All classes from pre-ballet to advanced are taught in the Vaganova method, and IBA is the only school in WA that teaches the Vaganova method. You will love the classes at this studio if you are first trying out ballet, or pursuing a career in dance. Do you love a ballet class that is challenging, musical, and makes you sweat? This is the place for you. I promise you'll be smiling from ear to ear after class is over:) read more

I would not be the dancer that I am today if I did not dance at international ballet academy for three years. The teachers are very caring and every one of them taught me so much information of every aspect of life. But especially I dance. The versatility of dancing that they teach at this school is so important to any dance career and it has been so helpful to me wherever I have gone. I am now at the Joffrey ballet in Chicago but I could not have made it to the Joffrey without the amazing faculty and wonderful instruction at international ballet academy. read more

My daughter started at the academy last year and we all love it. I love it too (even though I'm not dancing) seeing the all the girls and some boys :) all dressed up and working hard on their craft. It was a little intense for her at the beginning (not the teacher or staff - simply that there are a lot of classes going on at one and it is bustling). She had a moment, where she realized that this is serious dance (that is also fun). This really helped her engage more and she just loves it! read more

My daughter has danced at IBA for the past 10 years. She started with Miss Alison at 3 years old, and at this time, she is receiving instruction from every faculty member. The instruction is precise, professional, and positive. The expectations are high, and because of that, the students excel. Beyond ballet, the school also provides excellent instruction in jazz, modern, tap, flamenco, character, and theatre. IBA also supports an academic program which allows students in the PreProfessional and Professional Divisions to attend school at the academy. On-site academic instructors ensure the students are receiving an excellent education. This program accommodates the training and production schedule which lessens the stress of the dancers. I cannot say enough about IBA. It is my daughter's home away from home, and the kids she dances with are her second family. I highly recommend IBA! read more