Draper Center for Dance Education

06/03/2026

✨We’re excited to welcome Brittany Shinay to the Draper Center Summer Intensive faculty!✨

Brittany Shinay is a distinguished dancer, choreographer, and educator with extensive professional experience in both performance and ballet pedagogy. A Juilliard-trained artist and former principal dancer with companies including Rochester City Ballet and The Georgia Ballet, she brings a strong foundation in classical ballet, musical theatre, and contemporary choreography.

She has taught and coached students across the U.S. for over a decade and is currently faculty at multiple respected institutions, including the ABT JKO School. Brittany is passionate about mentoring the next generation of dancers and is thrilled to join us this summer.

06/01/2026

🦢✨UGLY DUCKLING GIVEAWAY!✨🦢

Want to win 2 tickets to see The Ugly Duckling performed by the Draper Center Youth Ensemble?

Entering is easy:

💜 Follow us
💜 Like this post
💜 Repost this post
💜 Tag 2 friends in the comments

The Ugly Duckling is a heartwarming ballet about courage, kindness, and discovering where you truly belong. Join us for this beautiful production brought to life by our talented dancers! 🩰

🎟️ One lucky winner will receive 2 tickets!

📅 Performance Dates:
• Friday, June 5 at 6:30 PM
• Saturday, June 6 at 2:00 PM

📍 Mercy High School Auditorium
1437 Blossom Road, Rochester, NY

✨ Winner will be selected on Thursday, June 4 and announced in our story!

🎟️: https://thetimothymdrapercenterfordanceeducation.thundertix.com/events/257889

🦢💕

05/31/2026

🩷🦢🩷

Join our wonderful and talented friends at the Draper Center for their children's ballet on Friday June 5th at 6:30pm and Saturday June 6th at 2:00pm at the Mercy High School Auditorium, 1437 Blossom Road. Performed by nearly 70 Draper youth dancers! Tickets:
https://thetimothymdrapercenterfordanceeducation.thundertix.com/events/257889

05/31/2026

🦆🏹 The hunters may be on the chase, but they’re having just as much fun as everyone else!

From playful moments to lots of laughs, our dancers are having so much fun bringing this charming story to life. We love watching these scenes come together and can’t wait to share the full production with you!

Join us as these talented Draper dancers take the stage and bring The Ugly Duckling to life. You won’t want to miss it! 💛

Tickets 🎟️:

https://thetimothymdrapercenterfordanceeducation.thundertix.com/events/257889

05/30/2026

🦢 A special visit from our Ugly Duckling cast! 🦢

Our youngest dancers had so much fun welcoming members of the Ugly Duckling cast into class this week! The cast shared a sneak peek of the ballet, demonstrated a few movements, and spent time inspiring the next generation of dancers.

Moments like these remind us how powerful the arts can be—sparking imagination, building connections, and creating memories that last a lifetime.

Come support these incredible Draper Center dancers as they bring The Ugly Duckling to life on stage! We can’t wait to share this beautiful production with our community.

Ticket 🎟️:
https://thetimothymdrapercenterfordanceeducation.thundertix.com/events/257889

Rochester Area Community Foundation 🦢🩷

05/29/2026

🎉Draper Center is excited to be part of JFest 2026!🎉

Join us for an afternoon of community, music, food, fun, and celebration — and be sure to stop by and see our dancers throughout the day!

✨ Live performances
✨ Delicious kosher food
✨ Activities for all ages
✨ FREE community event

We’re proud to be one of the many organizations coming together for this special event hosted by the JCC!

📅 Sunday, June 14
🕛 12–4 PM
📍 JCC Rochester

Learn more & register: jccrochester.org/jfest/

05/28/2026

Take a playful peek inside rehearsal for Jimmy Orrante’s The Ugly Duckling ✨

Between the storytelling, character work, and a little backstage silliness, our dancers are bringing this heartwarming ballet to life in the most joyful way. The Ugly Duckling follows one little duckling’s journey to discover where they truly belong — filled with courage, kindness, and plenty of charm along the way.

These rehearsal moments capture not only the hard work going into the production, but also the fun, imagination, and playfulness that make this ballet so special. Bring the whole family and experience the magic live on stage!

🎟️ Tickets:

https://thetimothymdrapercenterfordanceeducation.thundertix.com/events/257889

Come celebrate friendship, laughter, and the joy of finding your wings. 🦆✨

05/27/2026

✨We’re excited to welcome Sasha Yapparov to the Draper Center Summer Intensive faculty!✨

Sasha Yapparov is the Director of the pre-professional C.O.R.P.S. program at Portland Ballet. He trained at the Perm Ballet Academy and performed as a soloist and principal with leading companies including the Sverdlovsk Academic Theatre of Opera & Ballet and the Odessa Academic Theater of the Opera and Ballet.

He has served as Ballet Master with the Sarasota Ballet and faculty at institutions including the Kirov Academy of Ballet. We are thrilled to have his expertise join our summer program. ✨

05/23/2026

✨2026 Graduating Senior Spotlight!✨

Miss Lilly Gauss