The Diablo Ballet Intermediate Program is designed for students who have previous dance training and want to pursue professional ballet training. Both girls and boys are encouraged to audition. Acceptance into the program is decided by the Professional Intermediate Program. The age range is 11 to 18 years of age. This program will facilitate young dancers with ability and skill in continuing their dance training even if they are not ready for the advanced placement into the current Diablo Ballet Apprentice Program. These dancers will be featured in Diablo Ballet and Civic Arts Education/Diablo Ballet's Winter Dance Production.

Training
In addition to technique class, the dancers also participate in repertory and pointe classes.

Professional Intermediate Program Director Rebecca Crowell trained with Gordon Paxman and Bene Arnold in Salt Lake City. She studied under Willam Christensen of Ballet West. She was a member of Ballet Ensemble and the Utah Light Opera while majoring in ballet at the University of Utah. She operated her own school in Marin County for 9 years and in the Danville/Alamo area for 23 years. Besides teaching, she has choreographed for various theatre groups in the Bay Area as well as for Danville Ballet Company. She directed the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Village Theatre for the Town of Danville and served as the chair of the Danville Arts Commission. She has staged La Fille mal Gardee, Nutcracker, Les Patineurs, Coppelia, Peter and the Wolf, Raymonda, the third act of Sleeping Beauty, and La Bayadere. She choreographed the full length original ballets Perina, R U R Mother?, Pulcinella, and East, West and Somewhere In-between which had their world premieres in 1992, 1999, 2001 and 2003 respectively. Her students have had professional careers in dancing, administrative, and teaching positions with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Ballet West.

Erin Leedom received her training on scholarship at the American Ballet Theatre and the Joffery Ballet in New York as well as the San Francisco Ballet Ballet. She enjoyed an esteemed career as a principal dancer with the Oakland Ballet and Ballet West performing the title roles in Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Anna Karenina, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Sugarplum Fairy and many roles in ballets by Val Caniparoli. Ms. Leedom was featured in Dance Magazine in 1985. She has performed in Europe, throughout the United States, the Spoleto Festival in Italy, Wolf Trap, and the Kennedy Center. She has been teaching ballet for 12 years and has been the Artistic Director for California Academy of Ballet Company and School since 2002.

Edward Stegge received his training on full scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet. He also received training at the School of American Ballet, Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. He danced with the Colorado Ballet for ten years, dancing soloist and principal roles, including the Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Franz in Coppelia, Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, Dark Angel in Balanchine's Serenade, the principal role in Flower Festival at Genzano and alternate leading roles in Alvin Ailey's The River. He was a guest artist with Minnesota Dance Theater, under direction of the late Loyce Houlton, and has performed extensively throughout Japan. Since returning to California in the Fall of 2000, he has performed with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Oakland Ballet, and with the San Francisco Opera Ballet. Since joining Diablo Ballet in 2002, Mr. Stegge has performed in The Magic Toy Store, Carmen, Amadeus, George Balanchine’s Tarantella Pas De Deux, Val Caniparoli’s Aquilarco and roles created for him by KT Nelson, Nikolai Kabaniaev and Viktor Kabaniaev.

Graciela Acedo began her dance training in Caracas. In 1982, she won a government scholarship to study at the Boston Ballet. In 1983, she was awarded a scholarship from Harkness Ballet to work with Eleonora Dantuono. She has danced with Ballet Teresa Carreño, directed by Enrique Martinez and Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas where she performed classical and contemporary works by choreographers such as Judith Jamison, Ulises Dove, John Butler, Gustavo Mallajoli, Elisa Monte, Paulo Denubila, Dennis Nahat, Choo San Goh, and Donald Mackayle among others. Ms. Acedo has performed with Oakland Ballet and has been a guest artist with the Margaret Wingrove Dance Company, Pacific Dance Theater of San Francisco, Western Ballet and Peninsula Ballet Theatre. Her vast teaching experience includes University of Nebraska, Oakland Ballet, Shawl Anderson, Pacific Dance Theater of San Francisco (assistant director to the summer programs), Pacific Ballet, Teen Dance Company, Ballet San Jose, and Marin Ballet. Ms. Acedo was Associate Director of Western Ballet from 1998 to 2003 and she has guest-taught at America’s Ballet in Florida and in Venezuela.

Classes begin September 7, 2010 and are located at Studio D at Civic Park in Walnut Creek and Shadelands at 111 N. Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek. For more information, please call Diablo Ballet at (925) 943-1775, ext. 2 or Civic Arts Education at (925) 943-5846.

To register online, click here:

SCHEDULE:

Monday
4:00-6:00 pm	Technique/E. Leedom
6:00-7:00 pm	Repertoire/E. Leedom
Wednesday
4:00-5:30 pm	Technique/R. Crowell
5:30-6:30 pm	Pointe/R. Crowell
Friday
4:00-5:30 pm	Technique/G. Acedo
5:30-7:30 pm	Pointe/G. Acedo
Saturday
9:30-11:00 pm	Technique/E. Stegge
11:00-12:30 pm	Repertoire/E. Stegge

Drop-in available for technique classes only. Full program meets 4 days per week.