Diablo Ballet to open a Ballet School on August 26 in Pleasant Hill

Will be the first school run by a professional ballet company in the East Bay and will include a Professional Trainee Program

(August 6, 2019) WALNUT CREEK — Now entering its 26th Season, Diablo Ballet is opening its own ballet school on August 26, the first school in the East Bay to be run by a professional ballet company. Classes will be offered to students ages 3 to adult who enjoy dancing as well as those who wish to pursue a professional career in ballet. The school will be located at the Performing Academy in Pleasant Hill. This will also be the new home of Diablo Ballet Company rehearsals.

Under the leadership of Lauren Jonas, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Diablo Ballet, the School’s staff will also include Associate Director, Rebecca Berke, School Principal and company dancer, Raymond Tilton and Diablo Ballet’s company dancers. The school has a dual mission: to train classical ballet dancers who wish to pursue a professional career in ballet and to offer young children and adults in the Bay Area an introduction to classic ballet and the joy of dance.

Not only will the students enjoy instruction by professional dancers who are in the height of their careers, students will also have a number of performance opportunities throughout the year. The Children’s Division (Pre-Ballet and Ballet Level 1) will participate in one performance as well as parent observation days throughout the year. Students in the Training Division (Ballet Levels 2 through 5) will have the opportunity to participate in three performances throughout the year, including performing with Diablo Ballet during the March performances of Coppélia, with the Diablo Symphony Orchestra at the Lesher Center for the Arts. Students will also participate in Master Classes offered throughout the year including: a Master Class in Technique offered by former principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet and Diablo Ballet’s Regisseur, Joanna Berman; a Master Class in Choreography offered by master choreographer and former principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet, Julia Adam; and a Master Class in Balanchine Technique offered by Balanchine Repeteur, Sandra Jennings, among many others.

Students will also be able to enjoy the many perks of the professional company. Diablo Ballet’s Sports Medicine Physician, Dr. Selina Shah, Acupuncturist, Shih Hao Ho, and Physical Therapists from the staff of Center for Sports Medicine are all dedicated to assist students at Diablo Ballet School. Students will also be invited to classes on nutrition and preventing injuries.

For those students interesting in pursuing a career as a professional ballet dancer, Diablo Ballet is launching a Professional Trainee Program. This comprehensive program gives the student the experience necessary to transition from student to professional dancer, all while offering personal attention in a positive and nurturing environment. Students will be selected to participate in the Trainee Program through an audition and must be enrolled in Ballet Level 5 to participate. Trainee Program members will be able to take company class, participate and understudy in company rehearsals and perform with Diablo Ballet.

In celebration of the opening of the school, Joanna Berman, former principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet and Diablo Ballet’s Regisseur, will be teaching the Advanced Ballet class on Monday, August 26 from 5 pm – 8 pm with Raymond Tilton, with the other levels invited to participate or watch. “Excellent training is essential for a professional career in ballet. I’m thrilled that Diablo Ballet School will be providing such training to young dancers in the East Bay,” states Ms. Berman.

Diablo Ballet School will be hosting two free events to celebrate the opening of the school. Join Diablo Ballet on August 17 at 11 am at Macy’s Walnut Creek for a day of fashion, food and fun at Family Day with Diablo Ballet, sponsored by Macy’s, Diablo magazine and Broadway Plaza. The school will also be hosting an Open House on August 18 from 11 am – 2 pm. All interested students and families are invited to come tour the new studios, meet Diablo Ballet School faculty and staff, and enjoy food and drinks before the new school opens on August 26. Please visit: www.krissyg.sg-host.com/events.

Registration is open and filling up fast. For information, please call (925) 943-1775 or visit www.krissyg.sg-host.com.

About Diablo Ballet

For 25 years, Diablo Ballet has been the award-winning, professional dance company for Contra Costa County. Presenting acclaimed classical and contemporary ballets, the company is committed to exposing youth to the arts through its renowned PEEK Outreach Programs which have reached over 68,000 underserved school children in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties since 1995. In addition, Diablo Ballet has served hundreds of at-risk teenage girls incarcerated within the Juvenile Justice system since 2015. This August, the Ballet will launch its new program serving adolescents housed at the Behavioral Therapy Unit at John Muir Hospital in Concord.

Now entering its 26th Season, Diablo Ballet will open its own ballet school on August 26, the first school in the East Bay to be run by a professional ballet company. Located in Pleasant Hill, classes will be offered to students ages 3 to adult who enjoy dancing as well as those who wish to pursue a professional career in ballet. Students will enjoy many perks of being associated with a professional company such as instruction by professional dancers most in the height of their career; many performance opportunities throughout the year including performing with the company during their March performances of Coppélia at the Lesher Center for the Arts; many Master Classes with former professional dancers well known to the industry; and access to company physicians, nutritionists, physical therapists and more. For those students interesting in pursuing a career as a professional ballet dancer, Diablo Ballet will also be launching a Professional Trainee Program. In celebration of the opening of the ballet school, Joanna Berman, former principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet and Diablo Ballet’s Regisseur, will be teaching the Advanced Ballet on the first day of class. Diablo Ballet School will be hosting two free events to celebrate the opening of the school. Join Diablo Ballet on August 17 at 11 am at Macy’s Walnut Creek for a day of fashion, food and fun at “Family Day with Diablo Ballet” and all interested students and families are invited to an Open House on August 18 from 11 am – 2 pm at the new studios. For more information, visit krissyg.sg-host.com.

Shannon Stowe
Public Relations Manager
Diablo Ballet Diablo Ballet
925/943.1775 
marketing@diabloballet.org