School of Nashville Ballet’s 2026 summer intensive audition tour will bring the company’s artistic leadership to cities across the country
For young dancers with professional ambitions, summer can be a threshold: a season of disciplined training, artistic discovery and first encounters with the expectations of company life. In January, School of Nashville Ballet will take that promise on the road, launching a national audition tour for its 2026 Summer Intensives, including Nashville Ballet’s Company Immersion Intensive, Contemporary Intensive and other advanced programs.
The tour begins January 10, 2026, in Oceanside, California, and continues through January 31 in Dallas, Texas, before concluding with Nashville Ballet’s NSIA auditions on February 8 at The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet. Open to students ages 12 and up, the auditions will also serve as consideration for Nashville Ballet’s Second Company, NB2, and the school’s Professional Training Division.
Among the school’s most distinctive offerings is the Company Immersion Intensive, recommended for dancers ages 17 to 22 with pre-professional or professional experience. The selective five-week program is designed to shape technically accomplished students into more complete artists. Under the guidance of Nashville Ballet’s artistic staff, including CEO and Artistic Director Nick Mullikin, participants will expand their repertory, deepen their technique and develop a more personal artistic voice.
In its final two weeks, the intensive shifts into an immersive company model. Dancers take daily class, move into rehearsals and collaborate with guest choreographers and Nashville-based musicians—an experience intended to illuminate the rigor, collaboration and invention that define professional ballet today. The program culminates in a public performance at Nashville Ballet’s Martin Center.
Led by School Director Jennifer Kulev and newly named Second Company Director Dmitri Kulev, the school has placed renewed emphasis on performance opportunities for students in its Academy and Pre-Professional divisions. Those efforts extend to the Young Men’s Scholarship Program, an initiative aimed at broadening training access and strengthening opportunities for male-identifying dancers of all ages.
“At Nashville Ballet’s Summer Intensive, we challenge each dancer while nurturing their individual artistry,” said Jennifer Kulev, Director of School of Nashville Ballet. “We want students to feel supported as they grow, take risks and discover who they are as artists.”
Dmitri Kulev described the program as both technically demanding and creatively expansive. “This program is designed to build strength and refine technique while also inspiring creativity,” he said. “Our goal is for every dancer to leave with a deeper understanding of their craft and the confidence to pursue their dreams.”
Nashville Ballet’s audition tour will be led by members of the organization’s artistic and educational leadership, including Nick Mullikin, Jennifer Kulev and Dmitri Kulev, along with school team members Kate Kastelnik and Janna Kirova. Audition applications require a registration fee of $45 for pre-registration, $50 for walk-ins and $55 for video auditions, as well as a résumé, headshot and photo in first arabesque. Registration for each city closes the Wednesday before the audition or when capacity is reached. More information is available at nashvilleballet.com/audition-tour or by emailing intensive@nashvilleballet.com.
