Academy Ballet School of Annapolis

The Academy Ballet School of Annapolis (ABSA) follows the Royal Academy of Dance Syllabus (RAD) for classical ballet training. Offering the finest teaching curriculum for classical ballet, character dance, and lyrical free movement dance, the Academy Ballet School is directed and staffed only by RAD certified and professionally trained teachers. Our mission is to encourage, foster, and provide for every child, regardless of age or ability, the joy of movement and a love of dance. We believe that consistent faculty and professional excellence in the teaching of classical ballet provide optimal student development in ballet and all dance forms. Mature, experienced faculty who are committed both to teaching classical ballet and to the development of young dancers from preschool through adulthood are and always will be the cornerstone of the ABSA program.

Eileen Razzetti, RAD, RTS: Founder and Artistic Director of ABSA, Mrs. Razzetti’s ballet training and professional performing experience took place in New York City at the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Ballet School, the Yurek Lazowski School for Character Dance, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School. She also earned a degree in design from the Fashion Institute of Technology at the State University of New York, which guides her set and costume designs for ABSA’s performances.

Prior to establishing ABSA, Mrs. Razzetti was a ballet instructor with the Peabody Conservatory and St. Paul’s School in Baltimore, Georgetown Ballet School in Washington, DC, and the Ballet Theater of Maryland. She opened her first ballet school in Severna Park in 1974 and established ABSA at Maryland Hall in 1989.

As one of the area’s most experienced ballet instructors, Mrs. Razzetti has trained hundreds of dancers from the age of three through adulthood. Each year, her students consistently pass and earn above average marks on the grade-level examinations conducted by the Royal Academy. Past students have received scholarships or been accepted for instruction at Washington School of Ballet, the Harid Conservatory of Ballet, the Kirov School of Ballet, the Central Pennsylvania Ballet, the Vermont Berklyn Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the American Academy of Ballet, the Suzanne Farrell program at the Kennedy Center, Nevada Dance Theater and the School of American Ballet.

In addition to training young ballet dancers, the Academy has appointed Mrs. Razzetti as a certified mentor to assist in the training and coaching of instructors who wish to complete the required teaching course and examination procedure which will qualify them to obtain their Registered Teaching Status.

Lindsay Johnson, RAD RTS began her training with ABSA and has passed RAD exams through Advanced 1. Interested in the choreographic side of dance, she led dance teams in high school and college. Earning a B.S. in Arts Management through Indiana University in 2010, she earned her Registered Teaching Status after graduation, and immediately began teaching and choreographing for ABSA. She has also worked as a choreographer for the Annapolis Opera and Colonial Players, and is currently the Dance Instructor at The Key School.

Gabriela D’Andrea, ARAD RTS began her training at Cisne Negro Dance Studio in São Paulo, Brazil where she obtained her Advanced Foundation. After completing her B. Sc. in Biology, she moved to Boulder, CO and went back to dancing and teaching. Under the direction of Ms Vera Stephenson, RAD Examiner, she passed RAD exams Advanced 1 and 2 while also teaching. She completed her Certificate of Higher Education: Dance Education with the RAD in 2017 and earned the Registered Teaching Status in 2019. She prepared students for exams in Rome for 3 years at Accademia del Balleto before moving to Maryland. In 2022 she completed the level 1 teacher training in Rambert Grades syllabus for contemporary dance. She has joined ABSA in 2020 and currently teaches ballet and creative dance at the Greenbelt Dance Program.  

ABSA has staged and choreographed annual performances featuring the entire student roster each spring since 2008, including the classics Peter and the Wolf, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, and Beauty and the Beast.