Dancers at the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet are trained at Excellence in Dance. To learn more about the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet join their mailing list.
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| Mia Klinger
CVYB Artistic Director
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Ms. Klinger is a founding member of the
Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet since 1975. After studying under Nan Klinger, Mia
went on to study as a scholarship student with the School of American Ballet,
Melissa Hayden Studio and Steps Studio in New York City. She is a graduate of
the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she performed with NCSA’s touring dance ensemble.
A premier teacher and coach, Mia has studied many years under her mother
Nan Klinger, John White of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet Society,
Marcia Dale-Weary of Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, School of
American Ballet, Ballet Academy East and many others. Her unequaled
dedication to her school, students and instructors and her unique
teaching style has brought national attention to the Cuyahoga Valley
Youth Ballet and Excellence in Dance for being one of the top training
schools in the country. She has guest taught at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Briansky Saratoga Ballet
Center in Saratoga Springs, New York, Vevey Youth Ballet in Vevey,
Switzerland and others.
Mia joined the faculty of Excellence in Dance studio in 1989, where she has continued to meet the growing needs of the pre-professional program. Since 1989 she has introduced Variations class, where the most advanced students learn world-renowned choreography, Men’s class and Partnering for the increasing numbers of young men studying ballet and a Choreographic Workshop in which veteran dancers create original dances and compositions for the Excellence in Dance Spring Workshop. Many of her students are now enjoying professional dance careers, excelling in college dance programs and teaching dance throughout the world.
Mia served as artistic assistant when the CVYB toured Taiwan in 1992, and assisted in many rehearsals before being named Artistic Associate in 1999 and Artistic Director in 2001. Since being named Artistic Director, Mia has played an integral role in creating the International Youth Festival held annually in Vevey, Switzerland in which her students take class and perform with dancers from around the world including England, Russia, South America and Switzerland. In 2005, the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet was asked to perform Madeline at the Circus at Symphony Space in New York City, fulfilling the dream of founding artistic director Nan Klinger. |
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Lori Klinger
Guest Teacher
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Founding Artistic Director of Reach Out and Dance®, CVYB's out reach program for public school children.
She is Artistic Director of "Rosie's Broadway Kids" in New York City where she lives. She worked as Artistic Associate with Jacques d' Amboise and his National Dance Institute, teaching dance to thousands of public school children each year.
As a dancer with the Eglevsky Ballet of New York, she performed in ballets by choreographers George Balanchine, Edward Villella, Michael Vernon and David Parsons.
She received her BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts. |
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Kristen Habel
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Kristen had danced professionally for the Cleveland Opera, the Harbinger Dance Company of Detroit and with Cleveland Dancers Repertory Company.
Kristen has a BA in ballet and a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Akron. Kristen has teaching experience with The University of Akron and the Harbinger Studios, Detroit, Michigan. She has also completed several teachers workshops including Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet Society's Vaganova workshop with John White, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet's teacher workshop with Marcia Dale-Weary. Currently Kristen serves as the artistic associate of community school. |
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Kara Stewart
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Kara received her early dance training in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio at the Excellence in Dance Studio. She went on to study with Dennis Nahat and Nicole Sowinska as a full scholarship student at the School of Cleveland Ballet, and later graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts and the University of Akron. Kara has performed as a member of The Ohio Ballet, The Eliot Feld Ballet, The Long Island Dance Theater, The Washington Opera, The Toledo Opera, and The Cleveland Opera.
Currently Kara is an Instructor of Dance at the Excellence in Dance studio, teaching pre-professional classes in ballet and Pointe. She also serves as the primary instructor, artistic director, and grants administrator for Reach Out and Dance (ROAD®), the CVYB’s arts education outreach program. Kara leads her team of teachers into 14 elementary schools each week to provide arts enrichment opportunities to area students. In 2006 ROAD was the proud recipient of the Outstanding Outreach Program Award by the Akron Area Arts Alliance. Under her direction, Reach Out and Dance has grown to become the largest weekly arts outreach program in Northeast Ohio. Kara is also a Consultant for Ballet Met’s outreach program, Momentum, and is the co-author of Enhancing DECA Protective Factors Through the Arts (2006) and Using the Arts to Develop Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Competence (Department of Mental Health, 2007). |
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Joli Oliver
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Joli Oliver started her dancing career in Cleveland, she currently lives in West Akron with her husband and two daughters. She has a B.S. in Dance from Kent State University and is certified through Dance Masters of America. She has studied dance and performed all over the world. She was on the Cleveland Cavalier Dance Team for the 91-92 season. Since coming to the Akron area in 1995 she has taught at various studios and performed with many local artists. In both 2003 and 2004, Ms. Oliver had the privilege of studying at the Jacob’s Pillow Jazz Intensive Workshop with Chet Walker in Athens Greece. She has continued her studies with the Giordano School in Chicago, many trips to the Jazz Dance World Congress and Joe Tremaine. Ms. Oliver will also again be on the staff of R.O.A.D. and she is looking forward to reaching out to the community through dance. She has a special love for jazz dance and she is very excited about sharing her knowledge and respect for the art form with the talented and dedicated students of Excellence in Dance. |
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Carrie DeRooy began her dance training at a young age in Cleveland. She was trained at Dianne Savelli’s Dance Studio and was a member of Savelli’s Triple Threat Dancers for five years. Carrie has performed Tap into Peace at New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival as well as Cleveland’s Playhouse Square. She has also performed at the Chicago Human Rhythm Project and Tappy Holidays in both Cleveland and New York. While studying psychology and dance at the University of Akron, Carrie continues to teach a variety of levels and styles of dance. She also dances in the Saravelli Sextet, a tap group directed by Sarah Savelli. This is Carrie’s first year on staff at Excellence in Dance. |
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Laura Richardson
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Born in Toronto, Laura trained at the Canadian Children's Dance Theatre, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and Ballet Jorgen. She holds a Bachelor's of Arts in Dance and a Master's of Science in Exercise Physiology. This marks her second year instructing ballet for the pre-professional school. Laura has been involved in ballet training throughout Northeast Ohio. She is a Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine. Laura is a senior lecturer at The University of Akron Sports Science & Wellness Education department and works with patients with chronic diseases at Summa Health System. She enjoys bringing her passion for dance along with her kinesthetic awareness into the dance studio to help dancers understand how their bodies move. |
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Tara Tober
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Tara Tober received her BA in Dance with a concentration in Jazz from the Point Park University Conservatory of Performing Arts. She is a nationally recognized freelance choreographer, clinician and competition adjudicator. Her work over the past 10 years has spanned hundreds of different high school and college performing ensembles, and she is currently in demand over 13 states. She spent four years training and dancing in Chicago, where she performed with the Dunco Funk (hip hop) Dance Company, and held internships with both the Gus Giordano Dance company and the Lou Conte Dance Studio - host of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Currently she resides in Akron, OH and has joined the ROAD crew as a co-instructor. She also is the resident choreographer for the ETC School of Musical Arts, a non-profit performing organization which has been in existence for over 30 years. |
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