Specialties
Give your child the chance to dance...Enroll now for the 2017-18 school year!
Yuma Ballet Academy, under the direction of Jon Cristofori and Kathleen Sinclair, offers classically based training taught by the finest teaching staff in the southwest. From our Early Childhood Dance classes to our upper level Ballet and Contemporary Dance programs, the intention is to develop each dancer to be their very best through the teaching of correct placement and alignment, classical ballet technique and an appreciation of and respect for the art of dance. We work with dancers from a very young age to ensure that they are challenged to meet their potential at any level, while also nurturing in them important life-skills such as discipline, teamwork, a strong work ethic and perseverance.
Yuma Ballet Academy is the official school for Ballet Yuma, Southern Arizona's premier pre-professional ballet company.
History
Established in 1992.
From 1982-1993, Jon and his wife, Kathleen Sinclair, directed the Yuma Ballet Theatre. Taking this small performing group to its first regional ballet festival in 1986, they built it into a Regional Dance America Honor company by 1990. In the fall of 1993, Jon and Kathleen opened their own ballet school, Yuma Ballet Academy in Yuma, Arizona and with a group of dedicated supporters organized Ballet Yuma. Ballet Yuma has been recognized as an Honor company with Regional Dance America. Their students have received numerous awards and scholarships and have or are dancing in professional companies today, including San Francisco Ballet, Les Grands Ballets de Canadiens de Montreal, Trey McIntyre Project, Houston Ballet, Texas Ballet Theatre, Louisvill Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Ballet Memphis, Ballet San Jose, Ballet Idaho, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, City Ballet of San Diego and Utah Regional Ballet.
Meet the Business Owner: Kathleen S.
Kathleen Sinclair is Co-Artistic Director of Ballet Yuma, a long-time member of Regional Dance America/Pacific. Kathleen has taught for the past Thirty years and has specifically developed a syllabus for the first four years of a child's ballet studies. She also created a pre-ballet syllabus for 3-6 year olds. She has developed out-reach programs in the public schools, most recently the Ballet Bound program that has been funded by the Arizona Commission on the Arts, The City of Yuma, Yuma Community Foundation and Target.
Kathleen is the Regional representative for the Regional Dance America/Pacific Region and sits on the Regional Dance America National Board.