Eileen Witt

Artistic Director & Ballet Mistress

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Eileen began her dance training at the age of five with the John Hayes O'Neill Studio of Dance in Rome, NY, studying classical ballet, pointe, partnering, jazz, modern, lyrical and tap. During her teenage years Eileen began to train pre-professionally at with major institutions, such as the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, the Joffrey Ballet School and the American Academy of Ballet. In these programs she was exposed to several new styles of dance like African and character, and had the opportunity to train under world-renowned dancers such as Violette Verdy, Eleanor D'Antuono, and Jacques D'Amboise.

 

After graduating from high school, Eileen went on to dance at the University at Buffalo while simultaneously earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Although her professional career post-college was outside the dance world, Eileen began teaching ballet locally as well soon after graduation in 2013. She expanded her teaching career to include several regional studios and all age groups, instructing in the areas of ballet, pointe, partnering, lyrical and stretching/conditioning. As her passion for teaching continued to grow she decided to pursue her instructor certification through the prestigious American Ballet Theatre's National Training Curriculum Teacher Training Intensives in New York City, becoming certified in 7 levels of the training program, Pre-Primary through Level 5. She also was able to combine her passion for dance with her love of fitness and became barre certified through American Barre Technique.

 

Her passion for teaching dance and building a love and appreciation for the performing arts in her students provided the foundation for CNYAOD's central mission and vision - to combine elite technical dance training with compassionate and inspiring instruction to instill a love of dance in our local community.

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