About
Pasadena Civic Ballet offers ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, musical theater, and character dance classes, along with special workshops and performances. Children and teens can take part in The Little Nutcracker Nutcracker-themed dance class with a holiday performance, the KPOP Demon Hunters Hip Hop Workshop powered by K-Pop music with a showcase for family and friends, and a Summer Dance Workshop that includes ballet, hip-hop, lyrical, improvisational, and musical theater. Dancers also participate in Annual Solo Fete performances, PCB Center Showcases, invitational events, charity group performances, in-studio concerts, guest appearances, and a 30-minute Toyland performance with Santa at a Christmas in July event.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Classes begin August 10, with The Little Nutcracker running August 28–December 11, the KPOP Demon Hunters Hip Hop Workshop running September 15–December 15, and the Summer Dance Workshop running July 6–30.
Pasadena Civic Ballet is a pre-professional dance school and the home of the not-for-profit Pasadena Civic Ballet Company, which includes Junior, Teen, and Senior Company divisions, with members accepted by audition or judgment of the directors. The company has presented original productions such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Peter Pan, and has been a leader in the Los Angeles dance community for over 50 years while training children and adults in dance for over 40 years. The mission of Pasadena Civic Ballet is to provide quality instruction in dance technique with ballet as the foundation, to create performance opportunities for dancers, and to offer a nurturing, supportive environment that emphasizes growth through dedication, discipline, creativity, and camaraderie.
The Pasadena Civic Ballet Company was formed in 1980 and has been directed by Artistic Directors Diane De Franco Browne, Tania Grafos, and Zoe Vidalakis since 2000, celebrating 27 years under their leadership. Founder Elly Charlotte Van-Dyke established the Pasadena Civic Ballet Company, and the current artistic directors bring over fifty years of dance training, choreography, and performance experience. PCB dance faculty backgrounds include American Ballet Theater, Beijing Dance Theater, Joffrey Ballet, and Hungarian State Ballet, and faculty members have collaborated with or performed works by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Twyla Tharp, Martha Graham, and Agnes De Mille.
Diane De Franco Browne is a Los Angeles-based choreographer and producer, Director of Pasadena Civic Ballet and ArtistsPlus Productions, and owner of the costume design company Theatre Threads. Zoe Vidalakis received her MA from USC’s Annenberg School in Entertainment Management and performed with Alberta Ballet, Alberta Civic Opera, Long Beach Classical Ballet, and Santa Barbara Ballet, and she and Tania Grafos performed as folkloric soloists and choreographers with the Hayastan Dance Ensemble under master Iosef Izrailvov of the Moiseyev Dance Company and with the Kalinin Dance Company; they also co-founded the children’s couture line Belle of the Ball. Tania Grafos studied with Mme. Maria DeBrovsky, trained with the Los Angeles Junior Ballet under John Clifford, performed with LA Ballet, was the youngest student accepted to the Los Angeles Junior Ballet, attended Elmherst Ballet School in London, apprenticed with the Hungarian State Ballet in Budapest, studied under dancers from the Kirov and Bolshoi, studied with Mme. Gerard Pierre, and received a BA in History from the University of Southern California.
Guest and resident faculty include Petra Conti, Principal with LA Ballet and former Prima Ballerina with Teatro alla Scala and Boston Ballet; Eris Nezha, Principal with LA Ballet and former Principal with Teatro alla Scala and Boston Ballet; Grigori Arakelyan, former Principal with Nevada Ballet Theater and Winner of The Music Center's Spotlight Awards; Jackie Kopcsak, PCB Guest Faculty and Assistant Dean at USC Kaufman School of Dance with a background at Pacific Northwest Ballet; and Mia Hjeite, former soloist of the Royal Swedish Ballet and Artistic Director of Stockholm 59°North, educated at Royal Swedish Ballet School, Stockholm University of the Arts, and the ABT teacher training program.
Pasadena Civic Ballet Company is committed to presenting original productions and collaborates with organizations such as the American Youth Symphony, Music & More SummerFest in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angeles Chorale, ArtNight Pasadena, Bel Canto Chorale and Orchestra, LA Art Show, LACMA, MUSE/IQUE, International Masters of Musical Whistling, and other Pasadena museums and arts organizations. Company projects include immersive performances at Heritage Square Park and sponsorship of choreographic collaboratives at Stomping Ground and Los Angeles Dance Project, and dancers perform at invitational events, charity groups, in-studio concerts, and guest appearances.
Last updated July 25, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: Classes begin August 10, with The Little Nutcracker running August 28–December 11, the KPOP Demon Hunters Hip Hop Workshop running September 15–December 15, and the Summer Dance Workshop running July 6–30.
Pasadena Civic Ballet is a pre-professional dance school and the home of the not-for-profit Pasadena Civic Ballet Company, which includes Junior, Teen, and Senior Company divisions, with members accepted by audition or judgment of the directors. The company has presented original productions such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Peter Pan, and has been a leader in the Los Angeles dance community for over 50 years while training children and adults in dance for over 40 years. The mission of Pasadena Civic Ballet is to provide quality instruction in dance technique with ballet as the foundation, to create performance opportunities for dancers, and to offer a nurturing, supportive environment that emphasizes growth through dedication, discipline, creativity, and camaraderie.
The Pasadena Civic Ballet Company was formed in 1980 and has been directed by Artistic Directors Diane De Franco Browne, Tania Grafos, and Zoe Vidalakis since 2000, celebrating 27 years under their leadership. Founder Elly Charlotte Van-Dyke established the Pasadena Civic Ballet Company, and the current artistic directors bring over fifty years of dance training, choreography, and performance experience. PCB dance faculty backgrounds include American Ballet Theater, Beijing Dance Theater, Joffrey Ballet, and Hungarian State Ballet, and faculty members have collaborated with or performed works by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Twyla Tharp, Martha Graham, and Agnes De Mille.
Diane De Franco Browne is a Los Angeles-based choreographer and producer, Director of Pasadena Civic Ballet and ArtistsPlus Productions, and owner of the costume design company Theatre Threads. Zoe Vidalakis received her MA from USC’s Annenberg School in Entertainment Management and performed with Alberta Ballet, Alberta Civic Opera, Long Beach Classical Ballet, and Santa Barbara Ballet, and she and Tania Grafos performed as folkloric soloists and choreographers with the Hayastan Dance Ensemble under master Iosef Izrailvov of the Moiseyev Dance Company and with the Kalinin Dance Company; they also co-founded the children’s couture line Belle of the Ball. Tania Grafos studied with Mme. Maria DeBrovsky, trained with the Los Angeles Junior Ballet under John Clifford, performed with LA Ballet, was the youngest student accepted to the Los Angeles Junior Ballet, attended Elmherst Ballet School in London, apprenticed with the Hungarian State Ballet in Budapest, studied under dancers from the Kirov and Bolshoi, studied with Mme. Gerard Pierre, and received a BA in History from the University of Southern California.
Guest and resident faculty include Petra Conti, Principal with LA Ballet and former Prima Ballerina with Teatro alla Scala and Boston Ballet; Eris Nezha, Principal with LA Ballet and former Principal with Teatro alla Scala and Boston Ballet; Grigori Arakelyan, former Principal with Nevada Ballet Theater and Winner of The Music Center's Spotlight Awards; Jackie Kopcsak, PCB Guest Faculty and Assistant Dean at USC Kaufman School of Dance with a background at Pacific Northwest Ballet; and Mia Hjeite, former soloist of the Royal Swedish Ballet and Artistic Director of Stockholm 59°North, educated at Royal Swedish Ballet School, Stockholm University of the Arts, and the ABT teacher training program.
Pasadena Civic Ballet Company is committed to presenting original productions and collaborates with organizations such as the American Youth Symphony, Music & More SummerFest in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angeles Chorale, ArtNight Pasadena, Bel Canto Chorale and Orchestra, LA Art Show, LACMA, MUSE/IQUE, International Masters of Musical Whistling, and other Pasadena museums and arts organizations. Company projects include immersive performances at Heritage Square Park and sponsorship of choreographic collaboratives at Stomping Ground and Los Angeles Dance Project, and dancers perform at invitational events, charity groups, in-studio concerts, and guest appearances.
Last updated July 25, 2026.
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