Dance Alive National Ballet

Khoury Family Center For The Arts

Our Goal:

Building a new facility - The Khoury Family Center for the Arts - to provide the space for dance and music instruction as well as a performance space to serve the community.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of the Khoury Family Foundation, our new home will be more than a studio. Spanning over 22,000 square feet, it will be a cultural landmark in the heart of Central Gainesville. Designed by renowned architect James Blythe (BXP Architects) and brought to life by Scherer Construction, our space will feature:

• A premier Dance & Music Academy
• Community outreach programs
• A vibrant art gallery
• A state-of-the-art Black Box Theatre for performances and rentals
• Serene, beautifully landscaped grounds

Our new home will also see the merging of the professional ballet company, Dance Alive National Ballet and its resident school, Pofahl Studios, ensuring unmatched quality in dance education. 

Now in its 60th year, Dance Alive National Ballet is a professional ballet company with a roster of award-winning dancers from all over the world.  DANB has toured for over 40 years for Florida’s Touring Program, toured 17 states, 41 Florida counties, Costa Rica, Brazil, Russia, Cuba and Bulgaria.

From dancing on a basketball court where lights were hung on hoops to being sponsored in state of the art theatres to performing by invitation for HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, DANB has been on a mission to bring dance to the people.  DANB has produced over 200 works for home and tour reaching over 950,000 individuals in mainstage performances at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Along with annual mainstage performances, DANB has outstanding educational and outreach programs.

Outreach programs include:

1. Discovering Dance provides opportunities for students of Alachua, Marion and surrounding counties to be brought to daytime PROFESSIONAL mainstage productions featuring professional dancers, musicians and designers. These productions are presented at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the Reilly Arts Center, and selected local theatres. DANB has served over 170,000 students since its inception in 1986 and its award-winning educational programs and accompanying curriculum material, have reached over 150,000 school children - most free or at greatly reduced cost. Multi-disciplinary, grade specific curriculum guides are available online and in hard copy. These curriculums are keyed to Florida Literacy Standards.
   Curriculum for Lady Bug! Curriculum for Sea to Sky
2. Dance Partners brings live professional dance at no cost to clients of social service and non-profit agencies in the City of Gainesville and Alachua County with over 120 social service agencies participating as well as veterans and first responders through Vet Tix. In the 2024-2025 season, DANB provided $18,360 in tickets to Vet Tix alone. 
3. Magic of Nutcracker is a special private NUTCRACKER at the final rehearsal for children with special needs. Magical and touching, the children have a unique and special time with the dancers and each child receives a holiday gift!  We are proud to perform for the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. Dance Alive has provided for special needs children for over 7 years.   Magic of Nutcracker
4. Senior Moments provides programs for elderly in retirement, senior center and nursing homes.
5. DanceAbout provides free after school classes for children K-8 in both Alachua and Marion counties. DanceAbout

DANB does it all.  And we do it with the help of a supportive community and a wealth of extraordinary artists of all genres who contribute their enormous talents in exciting and innovative collaborations.   

We do it with YOU!