EXCELLENCE IN DANCE TURNS 70 YEARS Old Longstanding Cuyahoga Falls business provides classical ballet training since 1953
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio (July 15, 2023) – Nan Klinger Excellence in Dance, is celebrating 70 years of providing the highest level of classical ballet training to Northeast Ohio residents. The family-owned studio is currently managed by Mia Klinger, the youngest daughter of the founder, the late Nan Klinger. Nan began the studio in the basement of her home in 1953. Since that time, the studio has been located at Portage Trail in Cuyahoga Falls. It has been at its current location at 2315 State Road, since 1989. Excellence in Dance provides classes from toddlers through adults. Their class offering includes ballet, variations, jazz, tap and contemporary classes for beginner to advanced students.
Nan Klinger, a Cuyahoga Falls native, began her ballet training with her mother, Gertrude Holvey Harris at her dance studio at Highland Square. In, 1966, she was chosen as one of forty ballet teachers nationwide for a Ford Foundation project to develop young ballet talent. The project brought her in close contact with George Balanchine, the New York City Ballet and many prominent artists in the dance world. Her daughter Mia following in her mother’s footsteps recently awarded a fellowship with the School of American Ballet in learning the Balanchine technique which is the technique she was taught as a child and still teaches today.
Mia Klinger began her ballet studies under her mother and then went on to study with the School of American Ballet. She is a graduate of the North Carolina School of Arts, where she performed with NCSA’s touring ensemble. A premier teacher and coach, Mia Klinger joined the faculty of Excellence in Dance in 1989, where she has continued in the great legacy of her mother, while developing the studio programming to meet the artistic needs of the community. Under her leadership, she has introduced variation classes, men’s classes and partnering classes and a choreographic workshop, showcasing veteran dancer’s work at the annual spring workshop. Many of her students are now enjoying professional dance careers, excelling in college dance programs and teaching dance throughout the world.
The Excellence in Dance studio is the training ground for Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet dba Ballet Excel Ohio. Ballet Excel Ohio is the premier pre-professional youth ballet company of Northeast Ohio and one of the oldest in the country. Ballet Excel Ohio is recognized for its annual spring production of an original work based on children’s literature, as well as community and educational outreach programs such as Ballet Excel on Tour and Reach Out and Dance® (ROAD®).
