While some CBA students go on to professional careers in ballet, most students are here for the fun, the challenge, and the reward of an inspired ballet experience. CBA dancers excel academically and professionally due in part to their CBA training. Focus, drive, discipline, and commitment learned at CBA transfer to other activities. We take great pride in producing confident, passionate, accomplished graduates.
Leadership plays a vital role at CBA, as older dancers nurture and inspire younger ones. Many opportunities arise in this atmosphere, and each dancer is encouraged to discover his/her unique potential—whether their talent lies in dancing, teaching, coaching, choreographing or costuming! At CBA, we enjoy developing the whole person: body, mind and spirit.
Simply put, we consistently produce excellent dancers who develop
into well rounded, grounded individuals. Whether their ambition
is to dance professionally with American Ballet Theatre, to dance
in our local Nutcracker or simply to have fun in class, Champaign
Ballet Academy has a consistent track record for developing children
and dancers capable of reaching their goals.
To be your best, you need to learn from the best.
The academy is directed by Deanna Doty, who founded CBA in
1998. Professionally trained and experienced herself, Deanna
has
built a successful school because of her deep respect for
her students and her unique ability to impart on them the
benefits
of skilled training. She ensures that all instructors at
CBA share her commitment to meeting the individual needs
of each
student.
The teaching method used at the academy is based on the Russian
Vaganova Syllabus, with influences from Cecchetti and Bournonville
techniques as well. The technique is tailored to each individual
body, enabling the academy to produce dancers with clean
technique and pure academic lines. Speed, strength, and fluidity
are
increased slowly over the years to ensure proper alignment,
muscle and
ligament preparedness, and injury prevention.
With a variety
of classes offered at each level, the Champaign Ballet Academy
has become the premiere school of ballet in
East Central Illinois.
Older dancers are encouraged to explore different techniques
and forms of dance. At around the age of 13 many students
choose to expand their horizons during the summer when
they are accepted
to various ballet programs around the United States.
CBA students have won scholarships to American Ballet Theatre,
School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet,
Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Internationale, Ballet Chicago,
Ballet Met,
Salt Creek Ballet, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and Gus
Giordano. CBA
students have gone on to dance with the Atlanta Ballet,
the Joffrey Ballet, the Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Met,
Butler University, and have also won awards such as the American
Ballet Theatre
Scholar Award and the National Society of Arts and Letters
scholarship
(chapter award). In addition, many of the academy students
attain apprentice and company member status with the
Champaign
Urbana
Ballet.
