Diablo Ballet To Start Its Own Ballet School In August Of 2019

As part of its 25th Anniversary, Diablo Ballet announced today that it will be opening its own ballet school at the end of summer at Performing Academy's Diablo location in Pleasant Hill. Classes will be offered to students ages three through adult who enjoy dancing as well as those who wish to pursue a professional career in ballet.

The Diablo Ballet School will be the first in the East Bay to be run by a professional ballet company. Under the leadership of Lauren Jonas, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Diablo Ballet and School Principal and company dancer, Raymond Tilton, the School has a dual mission: to train classical ballet dancers who wish to pursue a professional career in ballet and to offer young children and adults in the Bay Area an introduction to classic ballet and the joy of dance by professional dancers.

The school will be located at the Performing Academy Diablo location in Pleasant Hill. This location will also be the new home of Diablo Ballet's company rehearsals. "We are absolutely thrilled to be opening the school, which has been a part of our long-range plans for almost a decade. A ballet school goes hand in hand with Diablo Ballet's mission and PEEK Outreach Program: To be committed to enriching, inspiring and educating children and adults through the art of dance," states Lauren Jonas. "We couldn't be happier to collaborate with building owners, Rena Wilson and Renee DeWeese."

Classes will range from Pre-Ballet to Adult Ballet classes, including Ballet I, Ballet II, Ballet III, Intermediate and Advanced Ballet. Students will have performance opportunities each year and Intermediate and Advanced Ballet students will be given the opportunity to perform with Diablo Ballet in one program during the Company's regular season.

Registration will begin in May on the company's website. For information, please call (925) 943-1775 or visit www.diabloballet.org.

For 25 years, Diablo Ballet has been the award-winning, professional dance company for Contra Costa County. Presenting acclaimed classical and contemporary ballets, the company is committed to exposing youth to the arts through its renowned PEEK Outreach Programs which have reached over 68,000 underserved school children in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties since 1995. In addition, Diablo Ballet has served hundreds of at-risk teenage girls incarcerated within the Juvenile Justice system since 2015.