Diane Partington - Director

Born in California. She  began  her  training  with  the  Princeton Ballet under the direction of Audrey Estey.  She received a  full  scholarship to Balanchine's School of American Ballet  and studied  under  Stanley  Williams,  Alexandra Danilova, Suki Schorer  and  Antonina Tumkovsky,  among  others.  She was  a full scholarship student at the Joffrey Ballet School.  Invited to join the Joffrey II, she was the youngest member at age 16 to join the company, dancing ballets by Anthony Tudor, Frederick Ashton and Gerald Arpino. She toured nationally with the company and participated in Agnes De Mille's "Conversations About the Dance and Pineapple Poll" with the Joffrey Ballet at the City Center in New York. She was a principal dancer with the New Jersey Ballet, Ballet Du Nord and Les Grands Ballet Canadiens and until her retirement prima ballerina of the Sarasota Ballet of Florida. Noted for her style and brilliant stage presence and interpretation, her repertoire includedfull lenght ballets, Balamchine works as well as contemporary pieces. During the 1994 gala, She danced Grand Pas Classique with Fernando Bujones. She has worked with many prominent choreographers and has toured extensively in EuropeNorth and South America, Latin America and Asia. Her love for the ballet prompted her to establish the Studio of Classical Ballet to pass on her training, experience and the love for the arts. She has served as co-artistic director of the West Florida Ballet and as a faculty member of the Sarasota Ballet of Florida.Now on her fifteenth year as director of the school, Ms. Partington continues to bring her experience and her love of dance to the students of the Studio of Classical Ballet, with a strong focus on individual attention. ​