Our History
Nan Klinger | Founding Artistic Director
Nan Klinger, Founding Artistic Director of the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, studied dance as a child, with her mother, Gertrude Holvey Harris. She later studied in New York City where she attended the American Theater Wing while taking with renowned teachers Edward Caton and Vladmir Dokoudovsky. “Miss Nan,” returned home and founded Excellence in Dance in 1953. Her school was chosen by George Balanchine to receive scholarships from the Ford Foundation in New York, to train talented young dancers. Her students have made an impact in the arts throughout the country and have had careers with prestigious companies such as, the Royal Birmingham Ballet of England, American Ballet Theater, Pittsburgh Ballet, Boston Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, Ballet Flordia, Ballet West, Miami City Ballet, Ballet Met and many others.
Try It Out!
Curious about dance? We’d love to have your child join us for a free trial class at Excellence in Dance! Fill out the form below and we’ll get in touch to schedule your child’s first step toward developing confidence, focus, and creativity through the joy of dance.
Thank you for your interest in Excellence in Dance! We’ll be in touch soon to confirm your child’s trial class. Let’s dance!
WiFi
Nan Klinger Excellence in Dance offers complimentary Wi-Fi to our students. Please ask for the password at the front desk.
TESTIMONIALS
EID alumni are dancing in professional companies throughout the world. In addition, many of our alumni are utilizing their dance training and the valuable life lessons learned from their experience at EID.