Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig Academy is thrilled to announce a new Master Class Series curated by Artistic Director Jodie Gates.
Classes are open to intermediate and advanced level students, ages 13 and up, with a minimum of 4 years of formal training. Students with advanced pointe skills should bring their pointe shoes. Each Master Class event features a dance technique class followed by a Q&A with the artist. Observers are also invited to join us with a discounted ticket option.
Sarah Van Patten joined the Royal Danish Ballet as an apprentice when she was fifteen years old. During her first season, she was cast as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, which she performed for the Queen of Denmark. While dancing with the Royal Danish Ballet, she met Helgi Tomasson, the artistic director and principal choreographer of the San Francisco Ballet. After two seasons in Copenhagen, Tomasson offered seventeen-year-old Van Patten a soloist position with the San Francisco Ballet, and after four seasons, he promoted her to principal ballerina. Van Patten recently retired in 2022 after twenty seasons with the company. Read more…
In 1986, Tracey joined the NYCB corps de ballet, launching a celebrated 16-year stage career. A principal dancer from 1991 until her retirement in 2002, she excelled in the Balanchine repertoire, appearing frequently in such core works as Apollo, Allegro Brilliante, Ballo della Regina, Concerto Barocco, Serenade, Square Dance, Symphony in C, Vienna Waltzes, Western Symphony, and Who Cares?, among others. She was also featured in a range of Robbins’ ballets, including Andantino, Afternoon of a Faun, The Four Seasons, and The Goldberg Variations, and created a role in the choreographer’s Ives, Songs (1988). Read more…
Keelan Whitmore from Rockford, Illinois, trained at the Rockford Dance Company, the Joffrey Ballet School/New School University, and graduated from Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy and St. Mary’s College L.E.A.P. Program where he received his B.A. in Dance. As a member of Kansas City Ballet from 2001-2006, Whitmore performed works by choreographers including George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Jerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp. In 2006, Whitmore became a member of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Read more…
Born in Zaragoza, Spain, Principal Dancer Gonzalo Garcia began training at eight years old, at María de Ávila’s school. After a summer session at San Francisco Ballet School, he participated in the Prix de Lausanne, becoming the youngest dancer to receive a gold medal. He joined San Francisco Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 1998, was promoted to soloist in 2000, and principal dancer in 2002. In 2000, he was the recipient of a Princess Grace Award. Read more…
As a Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet, Tiit Helimets has danced major roles in Tomasson’s Giselle (Albrecht), Nutcracker (Grand Pas de Deux Prince), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Desiré), and Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried and Von Rothbart); Tomasson/Possokhov’s Don Quixote (Basilio); Cranko’s Onegin (Gremin); Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid (Prince, Poet); Scarlett’s Frankenstein (Alphonse Frankenstein); and Wheeldon’s Cinderella (Prince Guillaume). He created principal roles in Caniparoli’s Doublestop, Ibsen’s House, and Tears; King’s The Collective Agreement; Liang’s The Infinite Ocean; Possokhov’s Swimmer (Humbert); and Wheeldon’s Ghosts. Read more…
SINGLE CLASS DANCER | SINGLE CLASS OBSERVER |
$40 per class | $10 per class |