About
Armour Dance Theatre offers classes in ballet, hip hop, contemporary, flamenco, musical theater, and tap. The program provides dance training to over 850 students each year, with nearly 600 students on scholarship across five locations.
Armour Dance Theatre states that its mission is to create a pathway to educational and professional opportunities for the youth of Miami-Dade County through the study and performance of dance. The organization offers free after-school Community Programs in Miami Heights, Goulds, Little Haiti, and Miami Gardens, and offers inclusive programming for children and youth of all abilities and for youth with or without disabilities. Armour Dance Theatre states that it uses dance as a vehicle to success and that arts education has the power to transform a child’s future and make dance accessible to all children in the community regardless of income, race, ethnicity, gender identity, ability, or body type, and that its programming reflects the diversity of the community and serves youth regardless of income level. Armour Dance Theatre is funded by The Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade County, and The Children’s Trust network provides ancillary support through Armour Dance Theatre to students and staff with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
The South Miami Academy of Armour Dance Theatre is described as Miami’s oldest dance conservatory, with a history of over 70 years. In 1949, after World War II, Thomas Armour returned to South Florida, took over a small ballet school, and started the Miami Ballet Guild, which became the Miami Ballet with non-profit status in 1951, and over the last three decades Armour Dance Theatre’s programs have grown in scope and impact. Armour Dance Theatre is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Precollegiate Arts Schools. Thomas Armour was a world-renowned classical ballet dancer, trained in Paris by Olga Preobrajenska, and was a principal soloist with the Ida Rubenstein Company, the Nijinska Company, the Woijikowski Company, the De Basil Company, and Leonid Massine’s Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo, and he received many awards, including a “Lifetime Achievement” recognition from Dance For Life for his contributions to the South Florida dance community.
The leadership team includes Camila Gil as Executive Director, Kelly Robotham as Artistic Director, Ruth Wiesen as Academy Director, Addyson Fonte as Marketing Director, Sarah Donate as Development Director, and Janis Signorelli as Registrar. Robert Pike received his dance training at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and Ballet and at the Ballet Theater school in New York with William Dollar and Anatole Vilzak, and performed with New York City Opera Ballet as a soloist and with touring companies of “The Student Prince” and “Bells are Ringing.” Camila Gil holds a Master’s in Global Governance from Florida International University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Miami. Kelly Robotham is an alumna of New World School of the Arts, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School, danced with Ailey II and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 2011 to 2014, and held administrative internships with Ballet Austin and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ruth Wiesen received her BFA in Dance from the University of Florida/New World School of the Arts, trained at the Miami Conservatory and New World School of the Arts, performed as a soloist with the Miami Ballet and New World School of the Arts, founded the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet Scholarship Program, and is a member of the dance faculty of the New World School of the Arts. Sarah Donate earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Le Moyne College and worked in wildlife conservation in the U.S. and South Africa for seven years.
Armour Dance Theatre identifies several features of its programming, including inclusive programming for children and youth of all abilities, free after-school and summer camp Community Programs, and its Pointes of Impact Programming, which includes free after-school and summer camp Community Programs, Next Steps, Summer in NYC, and Beyond the Classroom. The organization describes itself as Miami’s longest standing dance institution and notes that the South Miami Academy is Miami’s oldest dance conservatory with an over 70-year history, and that nearly 600 of its more than 850 students each year are on scholarship, with a focus on making dance accessible to all children in the community regardless of income, race, ethnicity, gender identity, ability, or body type.
Last updated February 11, 2026.
Armour Dance Theatre states that its mission is to create a pathway to educational and professional opportunities for the youth of Miami-Dade County through the study and performance of dance. The organization offers free after-school Community Programs in Miami Heights, Goulds, Little Haiti, and Miami Gardens, and offers inclusive programming for children and youth of all abilities and for youth with or without disabilities. Armour Dance Theatre states that it uses dance as a vehicle to success and that arts education has the power to transform a child’s future and make dance accessible to all children in the community regardless of income, race, ethnicity, gender identity, ability, or body type, and that its programming reflects the diversity of the community and serves youth regardless of income level. Armour Dance Theatre is funded by The Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade County, and The Children’s Trust network provides ancillary support through Armour Dance Theatre to students and staff with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
The South Miami Academy of Armour Dance Theatre is described as Miami’s oldest dance conservatory, with a history of over 70 years. In 1949, after World War II, Thomas Armour returned to South Florida, took over a small ballet school, and started the Miami Ballet Guild, which became the Miami Ballet with non-profit status in 1951, and over the last three decades Armour Dance Theatre’s programs have grown in scope and impact. Armour Dance Theatre is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Precollegiate Arts Schools. Thomas Armour was a world-renowned classical ballet dancer, trained in Paris by Olga Preobrajenska, and was a principal soloist with the Ida Rubenstein Company, the Nijinska Company, the Woijikowski Company, the De Basil Company, and Leonid Massine’s Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo, and he received many awards, including a “Lifetime Achievement” recognition from Dance For Life for his contributions to the South Florida dance community.
The leadership team includes Camila Gil as Executive Director, Kelly Robotham as Artistic Director, Ruth Wiesen as Academy Director, Addyson Fonte as Marketing Director, Sarah Donate as Development Director, and Janis Signorelli as Registrar. Robert Pike received his dance training at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and Ballet and at the Ballet Theater school in New York with William Dollar and Anatole Vilzak, and performed with New York City Opera Ballet as a soloist and with touring companies of “The Student Prince” and “Bells are Ringing.” Camila Gil holds a Master’s in Global Governance from Florida International University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Miami. Kelly Robotham is an alumna of New World School of the Arts, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School, danced with Ailey II and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 2011 to 2014, and held administrative internships with Ballet Austin and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ruth Wiesen received her BFA in Dance from the University of Florida/New World School of the Arts, trained at the Miami Conservatory and New World School of the Arts, performed as a soloist with the Miami Ballet and New World School of the Arts, founded the Thomas Armour Youth Ballet Scholarship Program, and is a member of the dance faculty of the New World School of the Arts. Sarah Donate earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Le Moyne College and worked in wildlife conservation in the U.S. and South Africa for seven years.
Armour Dance Theatre identifies several features of its programming, including inclusive programming for children and youth of all abilities, free after-school and summer camp Community Programs, and its Pointes of Impact Programming, which includes free after-school and summer camp Community Programs, Next Steps, Summer in NYC, and Beyond the Classroom. The organization describes itself as Miami’s longest standing dance institution and notes that the South Miami Academy is Miami’s oldest dance conservatory with an over 70-year history, and that nearly 600 of its more than 850 students each year are on scholarship, with a focus on making dance accessible to all children in the community regardless of income, race, ethnicity, gender identity, ability, or body type.
Last updated February 11, 2026.
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