If you are new to A Ballet Education, and new to David King, let me be very frank, and let me very clear… I am not for everybody. In fact, if you look me up on parent groups, you will see that I am “polarizing” figure inside of the ballet world. For some, I am too conservative, and for others I am too liberal. For some, I am too ethnic, and for others, I am too privelaged. For some, I don’t come from pedigree, and for some I know too much. No matter what microscope you put me under, you are going to find something you don’t like, and to be honest… That is Ballet in 2026.
When I first started A Ballet Education back in 2014, ballet was different, the internet and social was different, and the landscape of dance was VERY different.
Fastforward to today, the 2026-2027 season, and everything is different. We now have AI running a muck, politics is… well politics, a pandemic later, and the rise of social media and content creation, we have landed somehwere between a rock and a hard place. Like most things right now, the invention and neccesity of art is is suffering, because politically and culturally— change is at a standstill.
Art has always defined humanity. Most things are either catagorized by art or technology— and many times, those things go hand in hand. We have everything from ancient art to medieval art, the renaissance, the bronze age, neoclassicism, the industrial age, and the list goes on and on and on across various subjects. Ballet is usually categorized by style or theme: the romantic age, the imperial age, modern and post modern. These time frames, are usually defined by what was on stage, and what was being portrayed/mastered/communicated as reflection of the times.
When I started A Ballet Education, everything was really behind closed doors, and very secretive. Now, ballet has become very… not transparent, but lets say more obliging and politically correct. The ballet community has tried/attempted to be more inclusive, more accepting, healtheir both physically and mentally, create fairness between genders, accomodate genders and identities, created more equal opportunities on social media, created more more access through social media, created podcasts, online courses, seminars and more… All for the sake of ballet.
There is a lot of noise.
Which is why I have decided to go back to my humble roots as sa writer, and just cut through all of the BS, and say it plainly. Something, I am known for.
So what is A Ballet Education?
A Ballet Education has had many a different life. Some choices great, some choices terrible. But as time as gone on, I have learned one thing about all of these things… While being niche is great, it also limits who you are, what your voice is, and what the possibilities are. So let me walk you through a timeline of A Ballet Education.
July 2014 - The blog started as anonymous Gossip Girl style blog, by the end of 2014, the blog had hit over 2 million views on wordpress. While 2014, was great, I did get into hot water when republishing other people’s photos. And this is before copyright rules, and discolsures on social media existed. So, I started drawing.
2016- I published my first e-book. Took a job in Arizona. By the end of 2016, two doodle books were published, and the poster series came out, and the merch line started and the blog pivoted to be magazine style.
2017 - I took a job in Charleston and quit after two weeks for finding fraud. Published more e-books. Was asked to illustrate for a major company in NYC and got screwed over big time, lesson learned. Moved back to Arizona for Master Ballet Academy.
2018- Started making planners and trackers. 2018, signed a book deal, and got screwed over again. I was so caught up in the oppertunity, that I didn’t read all the fine print and once they had accquired what they needed the shelved the manuscript and drawings, and then one of their imprints published their own “illustrated” guide to ballet.
2019 - The magazine is going strong, and in the middle of all this I open up The Ballet Clinic.
2020 - Covid happens, and the magazine folds. Tried to launch A Ballet Network, that also failed. However, the planners and stationary take off. Start the podcast.
2023 - The Ballet Directory Launches and the guide to marketing is published.
2024 - The Illustrated Guide to Ballet Fundamentals is published. Sales were not very good, and so I never finished barre and center. I get married.
2021-2026 - Focused on the school and the financial ups and downs of running a ballet school. Started focusing more on managing and creating other brands and businesses, and creating social media templates for other dance schools. I also really invested a lot into my own photography.
2026 - Me being annoyed on social media and reading press releases, and decides, I am starting the blog back up and entering my CEO phase at 40.
Where we are at today…
A Ballet Education today now is made up of many small businesses- each with their own identity and direction.
A Ballet Education - Parent Company
The Ballet Directory
The Ballet Dictionary
The Ballet Clinic
The Ballet Planner
A Ballet Company
A Ballet Magazine
Ballet Careers
