Mission

The Mission of Ballet Yuma is twofold the development of programs that train and provide professional performance venues for gifted dancers, and provide opportunities for all local dance students to enjoy the educational benefits available through discipline in a major art form.

Ballet Yuma serves the community through outreach programs in the public schools to introduce the art of ballet to all students, and funds a scholarship discovery program for talented multi-cultural youth who would not otherwise be able to experience the world of ballet.

Ballet Yuma provides Yuma and the surrounding communities with a high quality, pre-professional ballet company, showcasing the area's most gifted dancers. The company strives to maintain a standard of excellence as set by Regional Dance America.

History

For the past twenty-three years, Jon Cristofori and Kathleen Sinclair have set the standard for dance excellence in our community. From 1982-1993, as the directors of Yuma Ballet Theatre, they took a small group of inexperienced dancers and developed one of the finest regional ballet companies in the United States. Jon and Kathleen enabled the company to attain Honor status with Regional Dance America, one of the highest achievements possible for a youth ballet company.