History and Initiative

The Perform Orlando Arts Education Initiative is designed to offer a fully realized education plan to promote the arts in low-income and minority communities. Our focus is on diversity, community, and providing professional-level training at a cost that is inclusive to all students in the Orlando area. The Perform Orlando Arts purpose is to reach out to our community and bring the arts to them. Our program supports students from age 2 to adults (both beginner and professional level performers). 

Perform Orlando Arts was created for the community. Former Artistic Director Laurel Allen, a former principal dancer for the Cleveland San Jose Ballet, created Perform Orlando arts due to her continuous love for the world of arts. Her passion continues today in the form of hands-on, student-focused teaching. Her goals for her performers are not only to improve their dancing, but to give them confidence, poise, and a drive to succeed. In the creation of her own studio, she was determined to create a space that taught the arts in all its facets, allowing for the individuality of student interests, and creating a warm, welcoming environment where students could learn about dance, music, and performing arts of all kinds. Since the creation of her business in 2018, Director Allen has only taken one pay check for herself. Instead, she has put her time, energy, funds, and love into keeping Perform Orlando Arts running for the students. 

The educational opportunities at Perform Orlando Arts are specifically designed for inclusivity. Director Allen hopes to bring all of the benefits of an arts education to the diverse community of Orlando without the price tag of educational opportunities like the Orlando Ballet or Russian Ballet Orlando. Perform Orlando Arts is structured following the principles of conservatory education. Dance classes are separated into pre-ballet, ballet 1, ballet 2, ballet 3, ballet 4, and ballet 5, each with their own requirements for achievement and skill level. As the school focuses on diversity of style, Perform Orlando Arts also offers leveled courses in Musical Theater, Acting, Tap Dance, Lyrical Dance, Contemporary Dance, and Acrobatics with each class overseen by a teacher with specialized training in their particular style. The classes are spread out across the week beginning at 4:30pm to allow students time to travel from school. The upper level classes are scheduled to allow for workday traffic so teen and professional-age students are able to attend. The course schedule operates along the same timeline as the standard US School year, following school holidays, diversity observances, and all religious practices of our students. Perform Orlando Arts performs two complete productions each year, one at the culmination of the fall semester and one at the culmination of the spring semester. The school also offers optional educational opportunities through summer camps and intensive training during the summer months.

Perform Orlando Arts is not only a place of education, providing the building blocks for the students of the future, it is dedicated to creating a diverse space that recognizes individuality and love. Perform Orlando Arts is known for presenting unique shows with choreography designed and completed by the teachers and artistic director. Focused on inclusivity and forward-thinking performance, Laurel Allen ensures ample opportunities for students to showcase their skills by creating spaces for soloists and opening up shows to include new and unique dance styles. The most recent production of Cinderella offered ten soloist positions as well as a cast that was more than 50% minority students. The styles of dance included tap, contemporary, lyrical, and traditional ballet, which were blended together to create a seamless performance. We have also been honored to have made enough money to award scholarships to minority and low-income students. The heart of Perform Orlando Arts is to bring forth the benefits of arts education to everyone who wants to learn. There should be no limit to the outreach of dance, acting, music, film, or creative love. Help us extend our reach to as many students as possible, and give them the professional-level education they deserve.