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
or visit their website at www.cvyb.org.
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Mia Klinger, CVYB Artistic Director, 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.
Lori Klinger (guest teacher) is the 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.
Kristen Habel 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.
Sha'ran Marshall has studied voice, musical theatre, acting and dance in Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio area. She has studied jazz, ballet and tap under the direction of many great teachers including the renowned Dee Hillier of Cleveland, Ohio. She performed with Cleveland Cavaliers Dance Team 1997-98, 2000-0|, and she is a certified fitness instructor for many Cleveland area health clubs. In 2002-03 she received a choreography award for Stepp Stewart and the New York Dance Alliance Competition.
Kara Stewart
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).
Shananne Lewis has been on staff with the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet’s outreach program ROAD since 2006. This will mark Shananne’s first year on faculty with Excellence in Dance. Miss Shananne graduated with her B.A. in Dance from the University of Akron in 1995. Immediately upon graduation she toured Switzerland performing ballet, hip-hop, and modern dance with the Christian organization “Youth with a Mission.” Upon arrival back in Akron, Shananne taught day care for one year while attending auditions. Little did she realize how this experience would be monumental with teaching dance to children ages three thru five. She then performed dancing chorus roles in the shows Brigadoon and Oklahoma! at Akron’s Carousel Dinner Theater. She was also flown to Jupiter, Florida to perform in Brigadoon with Carousel’s Jupiter Theater. Miss Shananne has taught creative movement, ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, hip-hop, sacred dance, and Pilates thru out Canton, Cleveland, and Akron. She also performed with the modern dance company Living Fountain (Canton, Ohio) for one year. Miss Shananne is the founder and choreographer for “Move and Groove Birthday Parties”, a unique birthday celebration that teaches themed dances to children, offering over 30 themed characters to choose from. Shananne enjoys sharing her love of dance with her two young children and attending teaching seminars to further enhance her skills.
Warren Levene has been dancing since he was 3yrs old. He trained at Laine Theatre Arts in Surrey England, where he graduated with a teacher's diploma in modern dance and a musical theatre diploma. He's credits include shows such as 42"d Street, Bugsy Malone, What A Feeling, Smokey Joes Cafe, Grease, Fosse, and Oliver, to name a few. Cruise ships, Theme parks, UK National tours, and West End, which is the equivalent to Broadway.
Warren was the resident choreographer for "New Pantomime" production for 10 years, putting his original choreography to shows such as Cinderella, Snow White, Aladdin, Dick Whittington, and Jack and The Beanstalk. He also choreographed a new show called "The Peppermint Lounge" based on the birth of the twist which became a national UK tour.
Warren has taught dance classes since he was 16 years old. Since coming to the United States in 2003, Warren has been fortunate enough to be part of the Reach Out And Dance program, an outreach program of the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet. He is extremely excited to be bringing Tap classes to the studio, where a high standard of excellence is always shown by the students and teachers.
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. This is her first year teaching at Excellence in Dance and she is looking forward to an exciting season. This will also be the first year she will 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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