En Pointe Indiana Ballet pre-professional dancer Joey Moore soon will be packing his bags for Kansas.
The Noblesville, Indiana 18-year-old high school senior signed a 2025-2026 traineeship contract with Kansas City Ballet based in Kansas City, Missouri. He has been studying classical ballet since the age of 10 at En Pointe Indiana Ballet. He trains 30+ hours a week while also homeschooling and working in tandem towards a bachelor’s degree online through Excelsior University, where he will graduate June 2025.
Moore said he is honored to receive a professional contract from the Kansas City Ballet, which was offered after just a few months of an extensive audition tour across the United States. He noted that several companies extended offers, but the Kansas City Ballet felt like the perfect fit and a place where he could continue to grow in his artistry.
Under the artistic direction of Mr. Devon Carney, Kansas City Ballet is one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the U.S. and features a very competitive hiring process. The company has fewer than 20 trainees, while thousands audition annually.
Moore’s pre-professional student career highlights include paid guest roles in several ballet performances across the country, top placements in competitions like Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) and numerous invite-only and audition-only ballet summer intensives including European School of Ballet and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
“This is a dream come true,” said Moore. “As a small child, I remember watching my aunt and uncle, Pollyana Ribeiro and Robert Moore, perform as principals at prestigious companies in Boston, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. They have been my biggest inspirations. It is so fulfilling to know my hard work has led to my dreams – and the beginning of a professional career in the ballet industry.”
Robert noted he has loved having Moore as one of his biggest fans and a student. Moreover, he saw the ballet spark and potential in Joey long before he even saw it in himself.
“It has been an amazing journey alongside Joey,” said Robert Moore. “He’s a talented dancer as well as a confident, kind, and strong young man.”
“I am thrilled Joey chose to accept the Kansas City Ballet offer because there is no other place that I would rather him go. Robert and I are so very proud of him and can’t wait to watch him grow as a professional dancer,” said Pollyana Ribeiro.
Don’t miss your last chance to see Moore locally before he heads off to his next chapter. Find him in the lead role of Basilio in the beloved romantic and comedic ballet Don Quixote May 9-10, 2025 at Reardon Auditorium on the Anderson University campus. It’s truly a coming-of-age moment, as Moore first danced in Don Quixote as a village boy in 2019 and the exuberant character Gamash in 2022. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at enpointe.yapsody.com.
En Pointe will be partnering with Indy with Kids for a free workshop in May for young gentlemen interested in exploring dance. The fun two hour dance workshop will feature a sampling of dance genres, including ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and more. En Pointe gentlemen dancers, including Moore, will be on hand to demo, talk about their dance journeys, and answer questions. Workshop date to be announced soon via En Pointe’s social media.
