About Us
Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet was founded in 2020 by Joan Kilgore Anderson and Cristiane Santos. After working together for 8 years, the two former professional dancers decided to open their own school to focus on proper ballet training and technique. They are passionate about their work and strive to give the best to their students, families, and community.
Mission Statement
Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is committed to providing quality professional dance training to pre-professional students throughout the Greater Saratoga region. Students achieve their potential as dancers and artists while learning in a collaborative environment. A focus is put on building self-confidence and maturity in a nurturing atmosphere with an emphasis on performance and positive reinforcement. Dancers learn the value of hard work and garner an appreciation and love for the arts.
Board of Directors
Joan K Anderson
Jason Bedell
Katherine Breitenbach
Cristiane Santos
Erika Sellar Ryan
Faculty
Joan Kilgore Anderson
Founder, Co-Artistic Director
Joan first danced professionally with Cedar Lake II and went on to dance with Philadanco, the Philadelphia Dance Company, where she was a senior member and toured extensively both nationally and internationally. She performed many ballet and modern classics as well as contemporary and new works by renowned choreographers from around the world.
Joan hails from central Pennsylvania and was trained by Sandra Carlino at the Pennsylvania Regional Ballet. She received a BFA in dance from SUNY Purchase where she was the recipient of the President’s Award for academic and artistic excellence. In college she performed with American Ballet Theatre’s second company and Ballet Contemporaneos de Burgos. Joan is a master teacher and regional choreographer for many years. She has taught at Skidmore and Union Colleges and served as Co-Director of the National Museum of Dance’s School of the Arts.
Cristiane Santos
Founder, Co-Artistic Director
Cristiane danced and taught ballet and tap for seven years at Ballet Vera Bublitz in Brazil. She was accepted to Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) school with a full scholarship and joined the company’s Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble through which she performed in lecture demonstrations at public schools around the country, taught movement classes in NYC public schools, and performed with DTH during its 30th anniversary season. Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Cristiane graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Albany with a BS in Human Biology. She has extensive training in Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis methodologies, certified since 2002. She has taught Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis locally and in NYC at Studio Riverside, Steps on Broadway, and Ballet Arts at City Center, and has been a guest teacher for Ballet Hispánico School of Dance Summer Program, Hartwick College Dance Team, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Cristiane served as Co-Director of the National Museum of Dance’s School of the Arts. She is a Dance Lecturer at Skidmore College.
Leanne Sweet
Leanne Sweet grew up in Schenectady where she studied ballet under Phyllis Marmein at the New School of Ballet and Lillian Sealey at The Sealey Dance Studio. As a teenager she danced with the Tri City Ballet Guild and the Schenectady Civic Ballet. She appeared often on several local television shows. She attended Adelphi College as a dance major and was accepted at both The School of American Ballet and Julliard. She also studied with Felia Dubrovska of The School of American Ballet and at The Joffrey School. She began teaching ballet at the New School of Ballet in Schenectady, where she taught for 10 years. She then spent 15 years teaching in Saratoga at Ballet Regent for Michael Steele and Tomi Vokovitch. She was an instructor at Saratoga City Ballet for 4 years before being hired to teach for The School of the Arts at the National Dance Museum in Saratoga, where she taught for 12 years. Leanne has four children, six grandchildren, and currently shares living space with four dogs.
Katie Dunkel
Katie Dunkel moved to Saratoga Springs, NY in 2020 after having taught and danced professionally in Boston, MA since 2007. Katie was a company member with EgoArt, Inc./Nicole Pierce and Lorraine Chapman The Company for 10 and 8 years, respectively. She has had the pleasure of performing work by choreographers and companies including Audra Carabetta, Contrapose Dance, Falling Flight Project, Meghan McLyman, Quicksilver Dance, and Danny Swain Dance Company. From 2014-2020 Katie was on faculty at Arlington Dance Place, Community Dance Academy at Walnut School for the Arts, and Walnut Hill Summer Youth Dance. She has taught at multiple schools and studios in Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont since 2004. Katie’s early training included The Royal Academy of Dance under Mary Tolland and Walnut Hill Community Dance Academy. She earned her BA in Dance from Hamilton College, where she performed works by H.T. Chen, Tiffany Mills, and Elisa Monte. She is a graduate of the Trinity/La MaMa Performance Art Program in New York City, where she studied with Maureen Fleming, Tiffany Mills, and Lisa Race. Katie holds her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification through YogaWorks in Boston, MA under Natasha Rizopolous.