The Conservatory of Movement

It was such a treat to have Eri Nishihara and Jack Miller in the studio Monday! A wonderful class at the end of the season.

Eri Nishihara began dancing at the age of five in Hiroshima, Japan. After moving with her family to Reno, NV, at the age of 12, she continued her ballet training at the Conservatory of Movement. She holds a BFA in Ballet Performance from the University of Utah, where she studied for two years before joining the second company at Richmond Ballet. She was promoted to the main company in 2017 and has since danced in many works, including Ben Stevenson’s Dracula, Ma Cong’s Firebird, Jerome Robbins’ In the Night, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Who Cares?, Malcolm Burn’s Romeo & Juliet, and John Butler’s Carmina Burana. She is also part of the faculty at School of Richmond Ballet, as well as a part-time piano accompanist for the School classes. This is her eleventh season with Richmond Ballet.

Jack Miller, born in Fort Wayne, IN, began his dance training with Fort Wayne Ballet at the age of seven. His training included summer intensives at Boston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and The Royal Ballet in London. In 2019, Jack moved to Richmond to join Richmond Ballet’s second company. He danced with RBII for two years until he was promoted to the main company. That same year, he also received his BS in Business Administration from Indiana University. With Richmond Ballet, Jack has performed in works such as Val Caniparoli’s Violin, Jerome Robbins’ In the Night, Ma Cong’s Ershter Vals, John Butler’s Carmina Burana, Ben Stevenson’s Dracula and Cinderella, George Balanchine’s Mozartiana, and Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain.

Advanced dancer Julia performs for the grade 3 and 4 dancers.

Please consider supporting Ana as she raises funds for the Arthritis Foundation. She is walking this walk in San Francisco in May.

Our grade 4 dancers putting on their demi-pointe shoes. These shoes help dancers strength their feet, practice the art of tying and sewing, and get them ready for a more seamless transition to pointe next year.

Spring has sprung and these rainbow babies are ready for it! 🌈

And just like that, exams are done! Congratulations to our 63 students who participated this year, thank you to examiner Ms. Haslock, and thank you to all our wonderful teachers!

And we’re off! First group of Grade 4s about to head in - waiting for the bell!

Getting ready for our Royal Academy of Dance exams in a couple of weeks with our practice sessions. So amazing to see the progress these dancers have made this year; from our littlest Pre-Primary level all the way to the awe-inspiring work of the seven Advanced 2 level candidates.