Best Online Ballet Classes

Ballet dancers looking to maintain a daily practice on their terms will like the flexibility and affordability of Dancio’s streaming service. Classes are prerecorded, which means students can access them at whatever time works best for their schedule. At only $30 per month, the price is difficult to beat.

Focused primarily on ballet, Dancio also offers contemporary and modern classes. The popularity of the platform comes from the instructor’s ability to cue and demonstrate combinations while also teaching them to the student assistants in the class.

Our pick for best overall online class goes to Ballet with Lauren King—a 56-minute class taught by the New York City Ballet soloist and demonstrated by her two assistants. King takes dancers through a challenging sequence of exercises at the barre and center floor. The classical combinations are intricately choreographed and set to upbeat music with King cueing every step of the way. This structured class is aimed at intermediate to advanced levels.

Dancio subscribers also learn from other expert ballet instructors including Julie Kent, Craig Hall, and Carlos Lopez. If you’re not ready to commit to a monthly subscription, you can try an a la carte rental for about $10, or a video bundle to try four to five curated classes with one month's access for $20.

As a professional ballet dancer and soloist formerly with Miami City Ballet, Kathryn Morgan is one of the top online ballet instructors.

Her YouTube channel features over 600 free videos, covering everything from ballet tips and technique to workouts, targeted exercises, and more. She is known for her detailed instructions, on-point cues, and full-out demonstrations.

One of her most viewed classes is also our top pick for beginners. In this 34-minute introductory class, you will learn technique, footwork, and exercises to build strength, skill, and confidence at the barre. Although the class is geared toward beginners, all levels of pointe will enjoy this workout. And since you never leave the barre, this is an excellent course for anyone with limited space at home. If you like this one, you’ll want to check out Morgan's beginner pointe lessons too.

Morgan’s classes are free on YouTube, but she also offers private lessons and live online classes through her website that are perfect for home study. Check out the schedule on her website to learn more about class times and fees.

GVO Kids is a kids’ fitness YouTube channel with video collections in several categories. The ballet category includes a collection of engaging and interactive videos that teach technique, build ballet-specific strength, and keep kids engaged through themed costumes, props, graphics, and music. 

GVO Kids adds classes to its ballet playlist semi-regularly, with a different themed class each time. You may need to look through the playlist to find a class for your child’s age range, but most are suitable for kids aged three to eight. The class is taught by an adult instructor but typically includes a child participant as well.

Our pick from GVO Kids is the Pas De Chat Tutorial, which is a bite-sized technique-based instructional video that teaches a specific ballet step that kids can follow along with and practice at home. The instructor is clear and engaging, and repeats the demonstration in easy-to-follow steps.

Other classes are longer and involve basic movements to work on skills and techniques. If your child is a brand-new dancer, you may need to try out a few videos before landing on one suitable for their skill level.

The Ballet Spot offers weekly interactive livestream classes. The lessons range from cardio ballet and barre to stretch, dance sculpt, movement meditation ballet, and more. All courses are taught by professional dancers.

Dancers looking to add some variety to their training can try the Cardio Ballet series. This class, taught by studio owner Eliza Tollett or one of the other pros, will take you through a sequence of traditional ballet footwork for precision, followed by a series of jumps to increase your heart rate and boost calorie burn.

New students can try their first month of on-demand classes for $12. No prior dance experience is needed for any of their classes. All you need for class is a little bit of space and the free Zoom app.

Purchase options include $75 for 5 live classes or $17 a la carte; $120 for unlimited livestream and on-demand classes; or $12 per class for five- or 10-class monthly packages. The Ballet Spot also offers unlimited one day access to class recordings for about $10 each with a 24-hour rental agreement, or a one-month auto-renew membership for $29 for unlimited on-demand access. Check out the website for a full schedule of classes.

Designed for dancers of all backgrounds, Dance Plug offers easy-to-follow tutorials and classes appropriate for all skill levels. In addition to ballet classes, you’ll get access to over 800 videos for styles like contemporary, lyrical, hip-hop, jazz-funk, tap, and more.

Flying in Rio, taught by choreographer and dancer Kelby Brown, requires precision, mastery of challenging footwork, and the ability to move quickly on your toes. Plus, the music is upbeat and moves at a faster tempo, which makes this class challenging and suitable for intermediate-level dancers.

In addition to the tricky footwork you’ll learn in Flying in Rio, Dance Plug classes cover combinations, basic steps, and technique exercises, such as pivots, grand jumps, basic tendu, passé, and more. The platform allows for speed control, slow motion, split screens, rewinds, section markers, captions, mirror view, and more. Dance Plug offers both barre and center floor work.

Dance Plug offers three subscription plans: a monthly one for about $20, a four-month one for roughly $49, and a 12-month offering for approximately $99.

The Lazy Dancer Studio offers classes for all levels, from beginners to professional dancers, on its app. Beginners will gain confidence and strength, while advanced ballet dancers will learn new ways to perfect their pointe, the correct way to do splits, and more.

Ballet instructor Alessia Lugoboni offers free classes on her YouTube channel, so you can try before you buy. If you decide to join, availability is limited, and you may need to join a waitlist. Advanced Ballet Barre is a 37-minute intense class designed for dancers at the intermediate level and above who want to improve their fitness and skills at the barre. The class combines upper and lower bodywork set to classical ballet music that flows through slow, precise movements and works up to a faster-paced sequence of steps.

When you join the online platform, you will have access to classical ballet classes, pre-pointe work, ballet-inspired workouts, ballet fitness, and a full library of videos specifically designed to help you perfect your technique. Classes range in length from about 45 minutes to over an hour.

The Lazy Dancer Studio offers several different programs to choose from—such as the Swan Lake program for $97 or a beginner ballet course for $27—that include workouts and step-by-step lessons. You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play.

Slightly different than the other classes included in this roundup, this almost two-hour master class features Misty Copeland, the first Black female principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre.

Copeland takes dancers through 17 mini-lessons that cover confidence as a ballet dancer, different ballet methods, how to work with choreographers, an alignment checklist, and how she prepares for a performance.

The video lessons also include instruction in barre techniques, partner dancing, and solo variations. Through honest and poignant conversations, Copeland gives dancers a glimpse into the life of a professional ballet dancer and the philosophy that’s helped her through challenges.

MasterClass is an online education- and subscription-based platform that offers classes on a variety of topics, including dance, arts, entertainment, food, music, and more. You will need to pay for an All-Access Pass (about $180 per year or $15 per month) to view Copeland’s MasterClass, as well as the other courses by over 100 experts.

Anyone interested in learning ballet and keeping up a consistent practice will enjoy the variety and skill-building found in Broche Ballet classes. The instructor, Julie, switched from in-person studio classes to an online-only format in 2020. Through Broche Ballet online, she runs adult-centered ballet classes that are designed to help those new to ballet achieve their goals of learning skills, techniques, and strength building. She has a kind and friendly approach, but pushes you to achieve the level of skill you strive for.

Our pick for a Broche Ballet budget class to try is the Pre-Pointe 20-minute lesson. It instructs you how to correctly perform a demi-pointe, starting from demi-plié and working in stages to learn the range of motion and strength required. It is beginner-friendly and part of nine other free classes you can try before committing to a monthly membership.

The site has two primary plans to choose from: One is a $15 monthly membership that includes over 4,000 on-demand videos with each new live class added a week after streaming. You’ll also gain access to several programs to guide you through your ballet journey from absolute beginner on up. Or, you can choose the $40 per month plan, which includes all livestream classes where you can get individual corrections and feedback from the instructor—an excellent value for individualized lessons.

If you enjoy the free classes and want to try even more before committing to a monthly plan, you can try seven days of unlimited live Zoom classes for $15, which won’t auto-renew.

If you are hoping for a quick ballet-style workout, Dansique Fitness has a few options to choose from, along with more involved, extended ballet lessons and other types of fitness classes, such as Pilates. While there are only 49 ballet style classes on the channel, they are all free and range in difficulty from beginner to advanced.

The instructor, Desiree, is a ballet teacher based in New York. Her YouTube channel showcases her skills as a professional by turning the art form into fun, follow-along workouts that help you build strength and skill. You can filter classes by type and length and most are helpfully labeled with the time they take to complete.

Our pick for a quick class from Dansique Fitness is a six- to 18-minute ballet cardio class that includes a circuit you can perform one to three times. Each circuit takes six minutes to complete and includes basic ballet movements. While it’s not a technique-focused class, Desiree still guides you through the movements with helpful reminders to keep your form correct.