Five years ago Ballet Theatre began to look for a better way to reach children. Inspired by Eliot Feld's prestigious Tech Ballet School in New York City, Ballet Theatre created CityDance. Feld's school has been designated one of four national model projects by the United States Department of Education Office of the Gifted and Talented.

CityDance's primary goals are to expose elementary school age children to the art of dance as well as providing young students with the desire to dance the opportunity. Open to both boys and girls from schools in under-served areas of Albuquerque, CityDance is designed for children in grades 3-5. The program is divided into two separate parts: a six week "after school" dance workshop and a year round scholarship program. At the end of each workshop, two students are selected to continue their classes at Ballet Theatre's Academy on full scholarship. Along with the scholarships selected dancers receive a free set of dance clothes yearly. Participating schools also receive free tickets to one of Ballet Theatre's performances at the KiMo Theatre.

Ballet Theatre is excited about the creation of CityDance, its potential rewards to young dancers and what they in turn will give to the entire community. Whether or not any of the young dancers participating in the CityDance program go on to be professional dancers, they will learn the discipline they need to achieve their goals, the satisfaction that comes from hard work, and to explore and experience success. CityDance is 100 % subsidized, incorporating the cooperative efforts of participating Albuquerque Public Schools, local dancewear stores, Ballet Theatre's Academy and contributions from the community.