Ballet training is based on The Royal Academy of Dancing syllabus for the first few years of study with the Vaganova syllabus added subsequently. The Lower School trains children kindergarten through sixth grade in ballet with jazz and Hip Hop technique classes available once a week for ages eight and up. Classes are limited to ten children each. From Levels three to five, children are required to attend two ballet classes per week. The School calendar is based on thirty-two weeks of classes.

The Upper School is for experienced dancers primarily in 7th through 12th grades; qualified, talented students in sixth grade may also be accepted into Level A classes.  The Upper School has two tracks for dancers:  a Pre-Professional Ballet Track for students committed to ballet and a Contemporary Dance Track for students who take some ballet to provide a strong foundation but who are primarily interested in other genres of dance.  The Upper School, in addition to increasing the number of days its students are required to dance, introduces pointe work to qualified students, modern dance, jazz dance, and Pilates Body Conditioning. Pianists are used to accompany ballet classes in both the Upper and Lower Schools.

The Teacher Training Program provides serious students with the opportunity to gain experience working with young children and learning the teaching of ballet. Students who are at least fifteen years old and are in Level C (the most advanced level of technique for ballet class) are selected to participate. The program, which spans three years, gives the trainee hands-on experience as he/she works along side the professional teacher in the ballet class.

Some of the objectives of the program include thoroughly learning the level of the Royal Academy of Dancing Syllabus being taught, achieving adequate classroom behavior, and learning to use the voice in a rhythmical and dynamic fashion. Teacher trainees are gradually given increased responsibilities as they progress through the program and demonstrate their abilities in understanding basic time signatures and effectively communicating musical requirements to the pianist.  Upon completion of the program, successful candidates are assigned to teach class independently.

Amherst Ballet has a major repertoire performance in the spring.  Dancers are selected each year by choreographers to fill the requirements of pieces in ballet, modern dance and jazz.  In May 2010 Amherst Ballet presented Classical and More.  In May 2009 Amherst Ballet premiered Emily of Amherst, an original ballet based on the life of Emily Dickinson in collaboration with the Emily Dickinson Museum.  Created and written by Catherine Fair (director of Amherst Ballet) and Jane Wald (executive director of the Emily Dickinson Museum), this ballet had an original musical score composed by Ted Trobaugh and choreography created by Catherine Fair, Sam Kenney and Sueann Townsend.  In 2005 Amherst Ballet presented Barefoot Books Ballet Stories:  Swan Lake and Shim Chung with special guests authors Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple and dancers of the Orlando Ballet Jessica Sibley (principal dancer) and Marshall Ellis.  In 2000 Amherst Ballet presented its first full length story ballet conceived by director Catherine Fair, based on the C.S. Lewis book THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW from The Chronicles of Narnia. A cast of 86 with 112 costumes brought this story alive to audiences of 2500 children and families in the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall at the University of Massachusetts.

Amherst Ballet values its collaborations and performances with other artistic and cultural organizations.  Some recent performances include the tour of excerpts from Emily of Amherst at the New York Botanical Gardens in May 2010; Chopiniana performed with the Pioneer Valley Symphony in Greenfield in December 2009; Peter and the Wolf  performed with the Smith College Orchestra and Sesame Street's Bob McGrath in March 2008.  Peter and the Wolf also toured local public schools in the fall of 2008.  The Arctic was presented to school and college students at American International College in 2007.  Amherst Ballet has also participated in childrens' concerts with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, in Springfield, Massachussetts.

In addition to tours and repertoire performances, each December the school gives a presentation night for parents of the Upper School and visitors' week for the Lower School classes.  At the end of the school year the Lower School invites parents to observe last classes of the year called CERTIFICATE DAY when the technique learned is shown. Each child receives a certificate to indicate that they are ready for the next level.