Created by Mignon Furman, the AAB Performance Awards program is a joyful and motivational system that has inspired thousands of dancers worldwide. It consists of 115 choreographed dances over 12 levels, each designed to develop artistry, musicality, and technical excellence.

Dancers perform all choreography on stage in front of an audience and a qualified judge, and each dancer receives a medal (Gold, Silver, or Bronze), a certificate, and may be selected for a scholarship to attend the AAB Summer School in New York.

The Performance Awards are now presented in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, and continue to expand internationally under the guidance of the AAB Faculty and its global network of certified teachers and adjudicators.

Dancers learn the repertoire for their level during technique classes. Each level contains age-appropriate standardized classwork, choreography, and staging.

During Performance Awards, students present their work for one of 10 American Academy of Ballet judges. Students will be evaluated on their technique, musicality, and performance quality, and will be presented with their medal and certificate at the end of the assessment.

PLEASE NOTE: Dancers’ assessments will reflect their performance and the judge’s interpretation of their presentation on this day, and may not be a representation of their work through the year as a whole. Performance Awards are an opportunity for dancers to participate in an international, standardized program, and reap all the benefits that come from learning and practicing for such an event.

Participation Fees are charged by the American Academy of Ballet, and include the program fee, uniform, and credit card processing fee. PLEASE NOTE: Performance Awards is an American Academy of Ballet event.‍ ‍

BALLET I: $98

BALLET IA: $105

BALLET II: $116

BALLET IIA: $118

BALLET III: $122

BALLET IIIA: $126

BALLET IV: $134

BALLET IVA: $140

BALLET IVA/KDA JUNIOR COMPANY: $144

KDA SENIOR COMPANY: $150

Barbara Mullen is the Artistic Director of New England Dance Ensemble and Owner and Director of Londonderry Dance Academy. Born in North Wales, Ms. Mullen attended the Hammond School in Chester, U.K., a prestigious boarding school for the Arts, where she received extensive training in ballet as well as other dance forms including tap, modern, Latin American, and ballroom. 

She attained Royal Academy of Dancing teaching certifications for ballet, specializing in children courses and major (vocational graded) levels, as well as teaching certifications with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. 

Ms. Mullen’s performing experiences have included resident company dancer in Tiller Girls London Palladium where she performed in television specials in London and in the Provinces, performing contemporary repertoire and touring internationally with Stafford Dance Company, and company dancer for the Philadelphia Opera Company. 

Ms. Mullen has been a dedicated educator and has had an extensive teaching career in dance, which began in 1971 in Philadelphia, PA. After moving to New Hampshire in 1976, she eventually opened Londonderry Dance Academy, and subsequently established New England Dance Ensemble, a youth ballet company. 

Ms. Mullen served as an international adjudicator and was the assistant ballet teacher and lecturer in dance history at the University of New Hampshire for 10 years. Recognized by many for her superior technical and creative teaching and her choreographic abilities, Ms. Mullen has also received several awards for her outstanding positive influences and her exemplary artistic services, including receiving the 2011 Charles A. Hildebrandt Holocaust Studies Award. As a practical training supervisor for the Royal Academy of Dance, Mrs. Mullen now travels to registered schools to assess educators as they pursue their teaching certificate.