A little girl extends her feet into relevé on a waiting room chair. Her tiny fingers curl over the lobby’s observation window ledge. Wide-eyed and intent, she watches her big sister’s ballet class. Pink slippers and pirouettes, a vision that sparks a little girl’s dream.
Ashley Burkland’s dreams have come true. Last year, she opened Ashley Ballet Arts Academy (ABAA) in Edina where she helps other young dreamers develop a love for the arts and build a dance foundation in performance-based ballet.
Burkland hasn’t stopped dancing since that day 28 years ago when she begged her mother to enroll her in ballet. Years of training and performances led Burkland to a dance scholarship at the University of Arizona and a bachelor of arts in dance from the University of Minnesota. Burkland has danced professionally with Kanopy Dance Company, Jazzworks Dance Company, Brewers Diamond Dancers, Madison Contemporary Vision Dance Company and Continental Ballet Company. She currently dances with Cities Classical Dance Ensemble. But her heart belongs to teaching.
“I’m trained and experienced in all styles of dance,” says Burkland. “But ballet is my first love.” That love led to a professional partnership with Platinum Dance Studio in Edina. “Platinum wanted to affiliate with a strong ballet program. I was their ballet director. So when the opportunity arose for me to open my own studio, it made sense to locate Ashley Ballet Arts Academy right next door to Platinum Dance Studio.”
Burkland’s facility includes two large studios with high ceilings and Dura Spring floors for optimal buoyancy while learning new leaps. Many of Burkland’s ballet students are dancers from Platinum Dance who hope to augment their training. But classes at ABAA are open to all dancers and dreamers alike.
“Dancers get a whole different side of dance here,” says Burkland. “We offer everything from classical to contemporary ballet and modern dance.” She adds that in today’s dance world, very few studios focus strictly on classical ballet. “Ballet is the foundation of a dancer’s training and will help them further their dance career.”
In addition to ballet, pointe, modern and contemporary ballet classes, ABAA offers conditioning classes for dancers. There is also a boy’s ballet class taught by an accomplished male dancer. “I’m hoping the boy’s class will catch on,” Burkland says, “because professional male dancers are in high demand.”
Burkland emphasizes that ABAA provides an alternative for dancers who want to dance a lot but don’t necessarily want to compete. “My studio focuses on stage performance,” says Burkland. “Seeing the Nutcracker as a child clinched my love for ballet. That’s why my studio will present an annual performance of the Nutcracker. Auditions are open to dancers from all studios in the area, and participation and tickets will remain affordable. The goal is to support the arts community, not to compete.”
Ashley Ballet Arts Academy performs an annual spring ballet in March. This season’s performance will be La Fille Mal Gardée, a comic ballet whose title translates to “the poorly supervised daughter.” Auditions on Jan. 12 are open to all area dancers; the performance date is set for March 23 at Hopkins High School Auditorium.
A semiformal recital is also presented each May to showcase what ABAA students have learned throughout the season. The Ballet Arts Youth Ensemble is another opportunity exists for students who are at least 11 years old and have reached the pre-professional level. “This is a free opportunity for serious dancers to gain more performance experience,” says Burkland. “They perform at art fairs, nursing homes and community events. They’ll attend the National Ballet Forum in Chicago and participate in workshops with Cities Classical Ensemble. I view the Ballet Arts Ensemble as a great way for dancers to gain experience working with professionals and broadening their performance repertoire.”
“There are other wonderful ballet programs,” says Burkland. “What makes Ashley Ballet Arts Academy different is that we offer classes at every level that are taught by instructors with professional levels of training. I believe every student deserves that. Even if they don’t pursue dance as a career, our goal is to develop in them a love for the arts in general and ballet in particular.”
