Nan Klinger, Founding Artistic Director of the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, studied dance as a child, with her mother, Gertrude Holvey Harris. She later studied in New York City where she attended the American Theater Wing while taking with renowned teachers Edward Caton and Vladmir Dokoudovsky. "Miss Nan," returned home and founded Excellence in Dance in 1953. Her school was chosen by George Balanchine to receive scholarships from the Ford Foundation in New York, to train talented young dancers. Her students have made an impact in the arts throughout the country and have had careers with prestigious companies such as, the Royal Birmingham Ballet of England, American Ballet Theater, Pittsburgh Ballet, Boston Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, Ballet Flordia, Ballet West, Miami City Ballet, Ballet Met and many others.