Louisiana Delta Ballet

09/02/2026

🌟LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE! You don’t want to miss out on this class! Register today at missycraindance.com 💕

09/02/2026

08/31/2026

✨ LIMITED PRESCHOOL OPENINGS! ✨

We have a LIMITED number of spots available in select PRESCHOOL classes for ages 3 & 4!

Our preschool classes are designed especially for little dancers- building confidence, coordination, musicality, and a love of dance in a fun, encouraging environment. And of course, making sweet new friends along the way!🩷

✨ Register today at missycraindance.com
We can’t wait to dance with your little one! 🩰💕

08/28/2026

The curtain is going up on our 2026-2027 season! Visit our website, louisianadeltaballet.com and see what exciting performances we have to offer. Join us and let us share our passion with you! 🩷🩰

08/23/2026

⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎉 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF THE 2026 BAYOU STAR SEARCH! 🎉

🥇 1st Place: Alyssa Freeman
🥈 2nd Place: Mark “Mr. Taylormade” Taylor
🥉 3rd Place: Heka the Magi
⭐ People’s Star Award: Eli Rogers

What an unforgettable night celebrating the incredible talent found throughout Louisiana! Every performer who stepped onto that stage brought something special, and we are so grateful to each of them for sharing their gifts with us.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made Bayou Star Search possible such as our sponsors, judges, volunteers, production team, Louisiana Tech University, Louisiana Delta Ballet leadership and board members, performers, families, donors, and every person who purchased a ticket, voted, attended, assisted, shared a post, or supported the event in any way.

You did more than attend a talent competition. You helped support the mission of Louisiana Delta Ballet and the future of the performing arts in our community.

Congratulations again to Alyssa Freeman, Mark Mrtaylormade Taylor, and Heka and thank you, Louisiana, for making the 2026 Bayou Star Search a night we will never forget! 🌟

08/22/2026

⭐️⭐️⭐️

**VOTING IS NOW OPEN FOR THE 2026 PEOPLE’S STAR!**

The judges will select our top three winners tonight, but **you** get to choose the contestant who will be named the **People’s Star**.

**$10 = 1 vote**, and you may vote as many times as you would like.

Don’t wait until the end of the show. Start supporting your favorite star now, and share the link with family, friends, and fans who want to help!

**Vote here:**
https://www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/ThePeoplesStar

You can vote from inside Howard Theatre or from home. Voting will close **three minutes after the final performance tonight**, and the winner will be announced at the end of the show.

Who will be your 2026 People’s Star?

08/22/2026

👏👏👏

08/22/2026

⭐️⭐️⭐️

MEET OUR JUDGES: DIANA THACHER

Meet Diana Thacher, an internationally experienced pianist, educator, and collaborative artist whose career spans solo, orchestral, chamber, and contemporary performance.

A native of Kazakhstan, Diana serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Louisiana Monroe. She has also been a member of the New Orleans-based chamber ensemble Musaica since 2015, where she champions new music and collaborations with living composers.

Diana has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Her appearances as a soloist have included performances with the Kazakh National Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Central Asia, the Shenzhen Chamber Orchestra, and the Moscow Rendezvous Music Festival Orchestra.

She also serves as Principal Keyboard with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.

Her recent projects include a six-concert solo piano Candlelight series devoted to Chopin, the international Tribute to Coldplay tour, and Reimagined Classics, an innovative program connecting the works of Scarlatti, Scriabin, and Ravel with contemporary influences.

Diana holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

With her depth of musical knowledge, international performance experience, and commitment to developing artists, Diana brings a distinguished perspective to the Bayou Star Search judging panel.

Join us as Diana helps determine who will become the 2026 Bayou Star and take home the $10,000 grand prize!

BAYOU STAR SEARCH 2026
Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM
Howard Theatre at Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, Louisiana

Tickets are available now:
https://www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/BayouStarSearch

08/22/2026

⭐️⭐️⭐️

MEET OUR JUDGES: GARY HALVORSON

Meet Gary Halvorson, an award-winning director whose remarkable career spans television, film, live performance, and opera.

Gary directed dozens of episodes of two of television’s most successful and beloved comedies, Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond. His extensive television credits also include Two and a Half Men, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Joey, and numerous other series.

The Metropolitan Opera credits Gary with 14 Emmy Awards and more than 150 episodes of hit television. He also received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on Everybody Loves Raymond.

Today, Gary is the longtime director of The Met: Live in HD, the Metropolitan Opera’s acclaimed series of live cinema transmissions. He has directed more than 100 Metropolitan Opera broadcasts shown in movie theatres around the world.

Throughout his career, Gary has guided celebrated actors, musicians, singers, and performers through productions seen by audiences across the globe.

His extraordinary understanding of stage presence, storytelling, live production, and connecting with an audience will bring an unmatched perspective to the Bayou Star Search judging panel.

Join us as Gary helps determine who will become the 2026 Bayou Star and take home the $10,000 grand prize!

BAYOU STAR SEARCH 2026
Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM
Howard Theatre at Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, Louisiana

Tickets are available now:
https://www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/BayouStarSearch