Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy

🌲🍭Save the Date! The Young Performers Audition for The Nutcracker will be held Saturday, September 7 at the Cincinnati Ballet Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance! Every year, Cincinnati Ballet invites young dancers and gymnasts from across the region to audition for more than 100 children’s roles in the annual holiday production, performing alongside our professional Company dancers. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime! Join us on our journey to the Land of Sweets, Dec. 19 - 29 at the spectacular Cincinnati Music Hall. Check back for Audition details soon which will be posted at cballet.org.

PC: Peter Mueller Photography

Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig is so proud to share former Academy student Salomé Tregre has been promoted to Cincinnati Ballet Apprentice. Salomé began training at Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig Academy at the age of 3. She performed in numerous productions such as Coppélia, King Arthur’s Camelot, Beauty and the Beast, and Victoria Morgan’s The Nutcracker. In 2017 Salomé was the first African-American to dance the role of Clara in Cincinnati Ballet’s 50-year history of The Nutcracker.

Salomé is the 2018-2019 recipient of the Blanche Frisch Maier Memorial Scholarship, the 2020 Cincinnati Overture Awards semifinalist, and the 2020 YAGP – Pittsburgh Third Place Award recipient for her Giselle variation. She attended summer intensives at Cincinnati Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and in 2022 with the Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s pre-professional summer intensive and the San Francisco Ballet School’s advanced summer intensive programs. Salomé joined Cincinnati Ballet’s Professional Training Division on a partial scholarship for the 2021-22 season while completing her senior year at Walnut Hills.

She was promoted to Trainee on a full scholarship for the 2022-23 Season. Salomé’s most notable moments as a Trainee include performing in Cinderella, Snow White, and Bolero during Cincinnati Ballet’s Bold Moves Festival, as the Sugar Plum Fairy during the Happy Holidays With The Mighty Wurlitzer event, and in the Snowflake and Flower Corps during The Nutcracker. Salomé joined the Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company in January 2023 and spent two seasons as a CB2 artist.

Brava Salomé!

SI Week 4 has been amazing! Here are a few of this week’s teaching artists.

Simon Plant hales from Sydney, Australia. He graduated from The Australian Ballet School in 2013 and joined the Australia Ballet the following year. Simon became a company dancer in 2017 with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. He danced five seasons with CCB and has also become a member of the teaching faculty for the Complexions Academy Summer Intensives. Simon joined Cincinnati Ballet in 2022.

Chandra Moss-Thorne graduated from Butler University and worked and danced with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Cincinnati Ballet, and the Washington Opera Ballet. Chandra restages classical ballets and creates contemporary ballet choreography for the Swarthmore Dance Program. Additionally, Chandra is a faculty project advisor for the Inclusive Excellence Fellows Initiative.

Christina LaForgia Morse trained at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduating from UNCSA, Christina was a second company and main company dancer with the Charlotte Ballet. Christina then joined the Cincinnati Ballet from 2014 to 2024.

Shauna Steele is associate professor and chair of dance at University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. Prior to CCM, Shauna is also the founder and artistic director of Mocha Dance Project. Her research interests include dance in world culture and context, Africanized movement in the Diaspora of Western culture (specifically Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean), the influences of Celtic traditions on art and movement, the function of art in restricted or repressed environments, and body movement logic.

Dale Shields is a rehearsal director for Cincinnati Ballet’s Company dancers. She trained at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Butler University before joining Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, where she rose to principal dancer under Artistic Director George Verdak. Shields served as Principal Ballet Mistress for Ballet Internationale and Atlanta Ballet before assuming an artistic leadership role at Cincinnati Ballet in 2019.

Let’s get to know some of the talented dance professionals teaching during week 3!

Blanca Huertas-Agnew is the Otto M. Budig Academy Director. Blanca began her training in Puerto Rico and later joined Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico. She then joined Ballets de San Juan as Principal Soloist. Before joining Cincinnati Ballet, Blanca was the Dance Program Director at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. She was also a faculty member at School of Philadelphia Ballet and Ballet Hispánico’s School of Dance in New York City.

UNCSA School of Dance Assistant Dean and Associate Professor, Jared Redic is a graduate of the high school ballet program at UNCSA and the School of American Ballet. During his career, he dancedat San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Boston Ballet. Following his retirement from the stage, he has taught nationally and internationally at institutions including Royal Danish Ballet School, Tivoli Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet School, among others.

David Morse is the Principal of the Academy’s Professional Training Division. Before joining CB faculty, he danced for six seasons as a soloist with Cincinnati Ballet. He previously danced eight seasons with Charlotte Ballet. His choreography has been performed throughout the United States by professional companies, universities, and pre-professional schools, and has been recognized by various awards and accolades. David has twice participated in sessions at the New York Choreographic Institute.

Carolyn Guido Clifford is a multidisciplinary performing artist and educator who has been working in community engagement and arts integration for over a decade. Carolyn spent her youth in the ballet and has since dedicated her career to making that experience accessible and welcoming for students of all backgrounds.

Sarah Cooper is currently the Creative Director for Community Education and Public Programs at Philadelphia Ballet. Sarah has spent her career in the dance world as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, and arts administrator. Sarah has been with Philadelphia Ballet for over twelve years.

We are so excited to share more aboit some of the incredible artists teaching class this week!

Carlos Quenedit is currently a rehearsal director for Cincinnati Ballet’s Company dancers. During his career, Carlos was principal dancer with several companies including San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Houston Ballet, as well as Principal Guest Artist with the Joffrey Ballet, and Soloist with the National Ballet of Cuba.

Born in Brazil, Isabele Elefson began her ballet training in the Royal Academy of Dance system. Isabele danced in Brazil with The Classical Ballet of São Paulo and Cisne Negro Dance Company. In the United States she was a member of Ballet Theatre of Chicago. She has danced lead roles in Giselle, Coppélia, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, among others. Ms. Elefson has over 20 years of teaching experience, working with dancers all levels.

Yoshihisa Arai is a Company Rehearsal Director and Director of Cincinnati Ballet Second Company - CB 2. He began his training at the International Ballet Academy in Japan before he was accepted to The Royal Ballet School in London. He was also a Finalist of the Prix de Lausanne in 2007. In 2008, Arai joined Northern Ballet in Leeds, UK. In 2011, Arai transferred his career to the United States and joined Tulsa Ballet. The following year Arai joined The Joffrey Ballet Chicago under the leadership of Ashley Wheater MBE, where he gained innumerable experiences and the responsibility to perform countless principal and corps roles in world-renowned classical and contemporary works.


Kate Stark is a performer, choreographer, teaching artist, and arts administrator. She is passionate about finding ways for people of all ages and abilities to access dance. In addition to her work at the Ballet, Kate performs regionally with companies like The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, Columbus Children’s Theatre, Cincinnati Landmark Productions.

Kerry Enders has over 38 years of dance experience and over 25 years of dance teaching experience. She holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts; Dance from Oakland University in Rochester, MI.

We are so pleased to highlight some of the incredible guest faculty teaching Week 2 of Summer Intensive 2024.

Born in Shanghai, China, Sirui Liu started her dance training with the Shanghai Dance School. In 2011 Liu started her professional career in the United States with the Cincinnati Ballet as a Corp de Ballet member. She was promoted to Principal with the company in 2017.

Julius ‘Eclypse’ Jenkins is a street style dance professional and has been engaged in the street dance world for 20 years. While his primary focus is Robotic animation, he has an intimate knowledge of the most popular street dances of Hip-Hop, Breaking, Popping, Locking, House and Krump. Eclypse has performed with a variety of artists like Krs- One, Mr.Carmack, Lupe Fiasco, Herobust, Flux Pavilion and many others. He created the Heroes Rise Street Dance Academy, Cincinnati’s first Street Dance program.

Collegiate Intensive Director Joshua Stayton is heading up this advanced program at . A Cincinnati native, Joshua Stayton began his training at the School for Creative and Performing Arts before joining the Orlando Ballet School (Peter Stark) and Houston Ballet II (Claudio Muñoz). Prior to joining Cincinnati Ballet, Stayton was a Demi-Soloist at Sarasota Ballet and a soloist at Tulsa Ballet.

Nikita Boris began her ballet training at the Irine Fokine School of Ballet. She continued her studies at the Valentina Kozlova Dance Conservatory of New York. In 2016, Boris was invited to the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Nikita joined Boston Ballet II in 2018. Since 2020, Nikita has been an artist with Cincinnati Ballet.

Chaz Wolcott is an actor, director and choreographer based in New York City, and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. He earned his BFA in Dance from Oklahoma City University. As a performer, Chaz has been seen as Buttons on the first national tour of Disney’s Newsies.

Jiang Qi is an internationally renowned choreographer and master teacher. He received his early ballet training in Beijing, China. He has danced with the National Ballet of China and was principal dancer at Ballet West for many years.

From Giselle to The Wizard of Oz to contemporary world premieres, the 2024-2025 Season is packed with dance you'll love!

While single tickets are not on sale until August, season ticket packages on ON SALE NOW. Design your perfect ballet experience with 3, 4 or 5-show packages, as well as 'create your own' or our 'fairy tale package' and SAVE UP TO 25% off single ticket prices.

Subscribers also enjoy free, early access to Ballet and Beer and exclusive events, free ticket exchanges within productions, and more. To explore subscriptions, click https://cballet.org/subscription-packages-24-25/

Join us as we honor and celebrate our remarkable planet on this extraordinary day. Earth Day is a reminder of the importance of environmental conservation and sustainability, encouraging us to come together and take action for a healthier planet and brighter future.

Photo credit: Matthew Griffin, BALANCE, Choreographer: Helen Pickett; Photography: Hiromi Platt

April is Autism Acceptance Month. Join us as we raise awareness to promote autism acceptance, celebrate neurodiversity and individual differences, and continue to advance inclusivity and connectedness throughout the community. Cincinnati Ballet's CB Moves program is designed to foster a love of dance and creative expression for individuals with physical and/or cognitive challenges. With curriculum designed in consultation with the Division of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy at Cincinnati Children’s, we offer a variety of classes for students from age four through young adults. Led by qualified faculty and experienced physical therapists, our CB Moves team is deeply committed to safely supporting all participants as they explore the rich benefits of movement, music and a highly engaged student community. We are also proud to offer sensory-friendly performances of our mainstage productions, including last weekend's Family Series: The Little Mermaid. These special performances are designed for adults and children with sensory sensitivities such as autism. In addition to sensory friendly kits, patrons will experience modifications to the program. We are grateful for the support of the Dater Foundation in creating these important community programs.