The mission of San Jose Dance Theatre is to develop, foster and promote the art of dance for the community of Silicon Valley. Through dance instruction, workshops and performances we engage all areas of the community to participate in the arts, particularly in classical ballet and contemporary dance.

SJDT’s Vision is to inspire all to explore the art of dance and to give individuals the opportunity to learn dance, perform, and set goals to advance to professional dancers. We foster the growth of dance in the community through mentoring experiences by professional dancers and instructors. We also promote the art of dance through creative public awareness campaigns and performances. San Jose Dance Theatre promotes the positive impact of dance in the San Jose region through accessible performances, excellent training, creative outreach, and collaboration across the arts. We strive to illuminate the human experience through art while enriching an appreciation of movement and music to an expanding and more diverse audience through professional seasonal productions and school outreach and education. We value and maintain excellence in classical ballet and contemporary dance training in our San Jose Dance Theatre Academy by providing innovative opportunities for dancers of all levels. We seek to engage our community through collaboration with artists, arts organizations, government and private sector to enrich the arts community.

Our Vision reflects the growth and development of our community and the dance industry as a whole. We seek to understand what dance is today and what it will be in the future as we pioneer new productions, employ innovative training techniques and engage the broader community. We promote the artist-within through freedom of expression in movement, storytelling, and the pride of accomplishment through hard work, leading to a lifetime of enjoyment, or the pursuit of a professional career in dance.

We strive to be a creative leader in our craft harnessing inclusivity and uniqueness. We believe dance delivers athleticism, technical prowess and artistry and we apply this to everything we do. San Jose Dance Theatre provides the local and broader community with an annual season of performances, ranging from full length classical works to innovative contemporary ballet. By being artistically dynamic we deliver innovation and embrace a melding of diverse movement vocabulary while observing the foundation of classical dance.