About Us.

The Dance Academy of Stuart is built on passion, inspiration, and the drive to enhance young lives. Founded in 1997 by Alicia Chodera the studio is, in her own words, “one beautiful long dance project.”

In her youth, Alicia began ballet lessons in Chicago at Ellis Du Boulay School of Ballet. In the 1980s moving on to the Boston Ballet and continuing to New York City, her passion for ballet technique fused her performance career into the art of teaching.

Her love of dance fused with a finely tuned business acumen, led to the success of two studio locations in Stuart and Palm City.

A loving environment with a foundation of strong discipline leads students to realize their inspiration from within themselves. She says, “Each child is an individual with thoughts and emotions uniquely their own. My teaching staff and I approach every child as an individual.” The success of this approach is reflected in an enormous growth in the number of students at The Dance Academy of Stuart.

Since its inception in 1997, The Dance Academy of Stuart has been dedicated to providing a positive future in the performing arts from the classical to the contemporary.

With our vast knowledge of ballet instruction, the young dancer is exposed to several schools of ballet which include: The Cecchetti Method, Vaganova, Royal Academy of Dance, The Cuban National Ballet, and Neo Classical Ballet/ Balanchine. Exposure to these different schools of ballet prepares the young dancer with the knowledge and technique required for a professional ballet career. This education also provides the dancer with the tools necessary to advance confidently through our pre-professional Senior company “Stuart City Dancers”. For the dancer desiring a career with a professional ballet company, advancing through our program with skills and determination students have achieved this goal.