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 have demi solos and corps de ballet parts in the Diablo Ballet and Civic Arts Education/Diablo Ballet's production of the Nutcracker.

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 a dancer with 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 done choreography 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.

Lauren Main de Lucia is a native of California and a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Utah, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She performed with Ballet West before joining Ballet New England where she danced as a soloist for two years. She has also danced with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Richmond Ballet and the Eugene Ballet Company. Ms. de Lucia has danced a variety of roles including the Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, and Queen Anne in The Three Musketeers. Since joining Diablo Ballet in 2003, she danced roles in The Magic Toy Store, Carmen, Amadeus, George Balanchine’s Tarantella Pas De Deux and roles created for her by KT Nelson, Nikolai Kabaniaev and Viktor Kabaniaev.

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 4, 2007 and are located at Studio D at Civic Park in 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/L. Main de Lucia
6:00-7:00 PM	Repertoire/L. Main de Lucia
Wednesday
6:15-7:45 PM	Technique/R. Crowell
7:45-8:15 PM	Pointe/R. Crowell
Friday
4:00-5:30 PM	Technique/E. Stegge
5:30-7:30 PM	Repertoire/E. Stegge
Saturday
10:30-12:00 PM	Technique/G. Acedo
12:00-1:30 PM	Pointe/G. Acedo

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