Ballet, Tap & Contemporary Dance Classes for Children in Old Town, Alexandria
Since 1975, School for Swans has been turning Alexandria’s finest little swans into lovely young ballerinas. Founded by Grace Manly Machanic, one of the Washington, DC area’s most respected members of the dance community, School for Swans graduated more than 3,000 swans under her direction.

In August 2017, after the premature loss of “Ms. Grace” as she was known to generations of her swans, her daughter, Laura Machanic, stepped in to carry on Grace’s vision of introducing children to the joy of ballet and dance.

Beginning at age 3 and continuing into their teens, students at School for Swans learn classical ballet, tap, pointe, contemporary dance and creative movement.  All classes perform in our annual spring recital, typically held in mid-May.

In 2024, we added Adult Ballet for beginners and intermediate dancers.

In Fall 2025, we are opening up our Creative Movement with PreBallet class for preschoolers as young as 3 years old.