studio6twenty5 is a classical ballet school in Destin, Florida presenting full-length productions for our community, featuring the dancers of our community.

The WHY: The arts give us our identity as a community while enriching us as individuals. The arts transcend cultural boundaries, and serve to advance the consciousness of a community. The arts offer the ability to create the future.

The HOW: An education in the preforming arts encourages students to explore their emotions, expand their imagination and develop their own unique voice. From the studio to the stage, the lessons learned allow students to gather knowledge and inspiration that eventually contributes to how they speak to and view the world as a whole.

studio6twenty5 is proud to include the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE® National Training Curriculum, a breakthrough 9 level program that combines high quality artistic training with the basics of dancer health and child development.
The ABT® National Training Curriculum consists of a comprehensive set of age-appropriate, outcome-based guidelines to provide the highest quality ballet training to dance students of all ages and skill levels.
Pre-Primary through Level 5 will be taught by ABT® Certified Teacher, Rachel Prescott, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.

classical ballet classes
for ages 2-9

Pre-Primary Ballet
(2-5 yrs)

Pre Primary Ballet is part of the ABT® National Training Curriculum for the youngest dancers, instilling foundational elements of movement through creative experience, expression and play. Basic concepts are informally introduced throughout these levels, and students are encouraged to explore movement through imaginative ideas. Emphasis is placed on correct posture, musicality and coordination. Both boys and girls are highly encouraged.
These classes runs through the academic school year and require registration.
Pre Primary Ballet [Ages 2-3]
Pre Primary Ballet [Ages 3-4]
Pre Primary Ballet [Ages 4-5]

PINK & GREEN Ballet (4-8 yrs)

PINK & GREEN Ballet is part of the ABT® National Training Curriculum and begins to introduce class in a more structured nature, with defined floorwork and center exercises. Creativity and imaginative ideas continue to be encouraged for movement exploration within these levels. New concepts at this level include understanding spatial instructions, spacial relatively and performing movement to a defined musical phrase. A pre-requisite of the Pre Primary Ballet program is suggested. Both boys and girls are highly encouraged. 
These classes runs through the academic school year and require registration.
PINK Ballet [Ages 4-6]
GREEN Ballet [Ages 5-8]

NAVY Ballet (6-9yrs)

NAVY Ballet is part of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Training is structured as a progressive ballet class that develops strong technical foundations through center and traveling exercises. Dancers build coordination, strength, musicality, spatial awareness, and greater independence in their classwork.
These classes runs through the academic school year and require registration.
NAVY Ballet [Ages 6-9]
NAVY+ Ballet [Ages 5-8]
 

AQUA Ballet (9-12yrs)

AQUA Ballet is part of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Training includes structured ballet classes focused on strengthening classical technique, alignment, coordination, musicality, and movement quality. Dancers develop greater control, confidence, and artistry through barre, center, and traveling exercises.Training is structured as a progressive ballet class that develops strong technical foundations through barre, center, and traveling exercises. Dancers build coordination, strength, musicality, spatial awareness, and greater independence in their classwork.
These classes runs through the academic school year and require registration.
AQUA Ballet [Ages 9-12]

AQUA Pre-Pointe & PBT (9-12yrs)

AQUA Pre-Pointe is a preparatory class designed to build the strength, alignment, balance, and technical awareness needed for future pointe work. Exercises emphasize proper placement, foot and ankle stability, core strength, and safe movement habits.
AQUA Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) A conditioning class that uses specialized exercises and equipment to strengthen the muscles required for ballet technique. Dancers improve core stability, alignment, flexibility, coordination, and body awareness.
These classes runs through the academic school year and require registration.
AQUA Pre-Pointe & PBT [Ages 9-12]

Modern

A classical modern dance class introducing dancers to grounded movement, expressive use of the body, musicality, and dynamic changes in energy. Students develop strength, coordination, creativity, and confidence through center work, traveling exercises, and movement combinations.

Jazz

A classical jazz class focused on clean technique, rhythm, coordination, flexibility, and performance quality. Dancers explore isolations, turns, jumps, traveling progressions, and energetic combinations in an encouraging environment.

Adult/Open Division

We offer a variety of Adult/Open Ballet and Pointe classes at beginner and intermediate levels.
Adult/teen students ages 13+ are welcome to attend. All classes are offered on a drop-in basis.
Instructed by Rachel Prescott.
ENROLL FOR ADULT/OPEN DIVISION CLASSES HERE

Dress Code For students under 12 Years Old.

Young Ladies: Class assigned leotard dress/leotard & skirt, pink tights, pink ballet shoes (no string ties), hair in a bun at the crown of the head.
Young Men: White cotton crew neck t-shirt, black biker shorts and white fold over ankle socks or black boy’s tights, black ballet slippers. 

︎ (contact us)

Rachel Prescott

artistic director & owner

A native of Destin, Florida, Rachel Prescott began her classical ballet training at age five with Bernadette Clements Sims, founder of Northwest Florida Ballet, placing her earliest formation within the founding line of classical ballet on the Emerald Coast.

She rose through the school to become a company member of Northwest Florida Ballet, dancing under Ballet Mistress Dorothy Daniels Lister, a former member of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo who led the Children's Department of the Joffrey Ballet's official school for twenty-five years. Under Miss Dorothy's direction, Rachel performed in The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Giselle, Coppélia, Sleeping Beauty, Scheherazade, La Bayadère, and Cinderella, among many other classical and contemporary works.
Through Lister, her training descends directly from the Ballets Russes tradition that shaped classical dance in the twentieth century.

Admitted to Northwest Florida State College's Collegiate High School, Rachel danced concurrently with the college's dance program under Artistic Director Frances Herron, training with Ulli Dunbar, a former professional dancer with Germany's Frankfurt Ballet.

A notable modeling career with Elite Model Management later carried her to New York City and Los Angeles, where she continued her training at Steps on Broadway, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Westside School of Ballet, and the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center.

Rachel is certified in American Ballet Theatre's National Training Curriculum, Pre-Primary through Level 5. In 2020 she founded studio6twenty5 in Destin and built its program from the ground up: an ABT-curriculum Children's Program for ages 2–12, a large Adult/Open Division, a Pre-Professional TEAM, and an Adult Ballet Company presenting full-length classical repertoire — The Nutcracker, Coppélia, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, and Snow White — with complete costume wardrobes and sets maintained by the studio.
For four consecutive seasons she has self-produced and self-funded The Nutcracker and an annual spring production of rotating classical and original repertoire.

A second-generation steward of the arts in Destin, Rachel is the daughter of architect and ballet dancer Jeffrey Prescott, whose firm, Prescott Architects, designed Northwest Florida Ballet's current home as a pro bono gift to the ballet.

In Rachel, the region's classical lines converge: the founder's line of Bernadette Clements Sims, the Ballets Russes and Joffrey line of Dorothy Daniels Lister, the Frankfurt Ballet line of Ulli Dunbar, and the institutional legacy of Frances Herron — carried forward, daily, at the barre in Destin.

Shaye Smith 

pre-professional team director

Shaye Smith began her classical ballet training at just 2 years old with Birmingham Ballet Academy, where she continued training throughout her childhood and teenage years. She has performed classical roles with Moscow Ballet, Washington Ballet and Alabama Ballet, as well as in The Nutcracker on Broadway in New York City.
Her performance repertoire includes Coppelia, Swan Lake, Hansel and Gretel and many more.

Additionally, Shaye also competed at a state and national level with her high school dance team, and went on to work for - and judge for - the prestigious Universal Dance Association.
Through the opportunities with UDA, she performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and at Halftime of The Cotton Bowl.

Shaye attended Auburn University and studied modern, ballet, choreography, dance history and rhythm tap with the dance program. She performed in many dAUnce productions as part of the Dance Program under the Auburn University Theatre Department.

A longtime educator, Shaye began teaching ballet in college and has been teaching ballet, lyrical and jazz styles for over 10 years. She has been an official judge at both local and regional level dance competitions, as well as dance team auditions.

Shaye currently serves on the artistic staff as Assistant Director at studio6twenty5, as well as the Pre-Professional TEAM Director and choreographer for the 2024-2025 season. 

Shelby began her dance training in 2006 in Orlando under the training of Irina Depler and Katerina Fedotova, and choreography of Vadim Fedotov. After her move to the panhandle area she continued with ballet from Patsy Graydon Hill and expanded with modern styles with A Time To Dance. In 2016 she began her teaching training as an assistant teacher, and by 2018 she was teaching independently. During this time she was fortunate enough to receive ballet lessons from the great Dorothy Daniels Lister. 
As Shelby entered adulthood, she began taking ballroom lessons. With her ballet background, she was quickly recruited to assist as a consultant by the other teachers to help their students find fluidity in their movements. While she continues to love ballroom, post-Covid she transitioned to teaching specifically wedding dance lessons. That was until a student of studio6twenty5 recommended Shelby to audition for S625’s production of Alice in Wonderland in 2024. Shelby has since rekindled her love for ballet and is excited for the opportunity to work at such an incredible and unique ballet studio.