About Us

Our Mission

The Maple Conservatory of Dance is committed to providing the City of Irvine and its surroundi ng communities with a ballet training conservatory of the highest international standards. Through excellence in the classical ballet tradition, we seek to attract and expose our diverse community to the wonder and value of the art of dance.

Our 13,000 square-feet facility is one of the largest dance facilities in Southern California

Our Vision

The Maple Conservatory of Dance is privately owned and directed by Charles Maple and Kathy Crade. Both Charles and Kathy have been involved in dance for a combined total of over thirty years, experiencing its joys and rewards.

Charles is a former soloist with American Ballet Theatre, an award-winning choreographer and a teacher and artistic director of various national and international organizations. His involvement with each level of the Conservatory and his working relationship with the teachers and students come together in his vision of a conservatory that represents the teaching styles and techniques that he has found to be most beneficial to his students over the years.

The Maple Conservatory features a prestigious faculty that is dedicated to nurturing dancers in a caring and healthy environment that challenges the students with the highest standard of excellence.

Our Curriculum

The Maple Conservatory offers a program designed to take students from their first introduction to the art of dance, through a full course of ballet study. The Conservatory has four divisions:

Creative/Pre-Ballet Elementary Division (Ages 3-8)
Classical Dance Division (Ages 7-19)
Professional Dance Division (Ages 13-19)
Open Division (Ages 14 & older)

Our curriculum is founded on the highest standards of classical ballet technique. Each level is created to be age-appropriate according to this defined curriculum. To this base of academic classicism is added the importance of freedom in movement and musical expressivity — training dancers to embody the athletic attack and grace inherent in contemporary movement styles.

Students take classes in ballet technique, pointe, variations and men's technique & variations. There are additional classes in pas de deux, conditioning, modern, jazz, character, improvisation, acting, choreography, audition & performance techniques and music.

The Conservatory begins accepting students starting from ages three through eight for our Creative/Pre-Ballet Elementary Division.

Beginning at age seven, students follow a structured sequence of training in ballet technique, pointe and variations designed to increase their technical skills, stamina and discipline in accordance with their age and physical development in the Classical Dance Division.

At the appropriate level of maturity and stamina, students have the opportunity to seek an intense level of study in our Professional Dance Division. Students wishing to enter this division may audition at the age 13. As a general guideline, it is recommended that students have at least five years of solid technique and three years of pointe work to be considered for this division.

Students whose paths lead to non-dance careers still gain immeasurably from our training. They develop self-motivation, self-discipline, poise, grace, physical adroitness and an appreciation for the arts which they will carry with them throughout their lives.

Learn more about our Conservatory program.

Questions?

We invite you to contact us to learn more about the Maple Conservatory and how to enroll. Or you may stop by our location to speak with one of our Conservatory staff.