Ballet Arts School


About Ballet Arts


The Professional Dance Training School of Arizona
(Official School of Ballet Tucson)

BALLET ARTS was established in September of 1986 and has since gained the reputation as Arizona’s foremost classical ballet training institution. Our permanent faculty is comprised of highly accomplished ballet, jazz, and tap professionals who have danced in prestigious American companies as soloists and principal dancers.

Our faculty is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards in the teaching of the "American" style of ballet. This emerging style combines the best of the Russian, French, and Italian schools with a distinctive dose of American restless energy and youthful spirit. Our teachers share a common technical background and philosophy of teaching and we hope to provide each student with a full and exciting dance education in a creative environment.

BALLET ARTS is pleased to announce the accomplishments of its students who have been awarded scholarships to or are performing professionally with the following institutions:

  • Ballet Tucson
  • American Ballet Theatre
  • New York City Ballet
  • Gus Giordano
  • National Ballet School, Toronto
  • Boston Ballet
  • School of American Ballet
  • Ballet West
  • Oregon Ballet Theatre
  • Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet
  • San Francisco Ballet
  • The Kirov Academy
  • Milwaukee Ballet
  • Hartford Ballet
  • Harid Conservatory
  • Houston Ballet
  • Pacific Northwest Ballet
  • Sarasota Ballet
  • Cleveland Ballet
  • Alvin Ailey
  • Dance Theatre of Harlem
  • Ballet Florida
  • Pennsylvania Ballet
  • Dayton Ballet
  • Disney Tokyo
  • Ohio Ballet
  • North Carolina School of the Arts
  • Oakland Ballet
  • Alabama Ballet
  • Dutch National Ballet

MARY-BETH CABANA, founder and Artistic Director, has been a principal dancer with Cleveland Ballet, Ballet Oklahoma, San Diego Ballet, and Arizona Dance Theatre. She began her professional career at the age of 14 with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and has danced in numerous ballets including the works of Petipa, Fokine, Balanchine, Tudor, Nahat, and DeMille. As a teacher, she has served on the faculties of the School of Cleveland Ballet, Ballet Arts-Carnegie Hall, Dance Concepts, NYC, and as administrator and principal teacher for Arizona Dance Theatre School (Ballet Arizona). Since 1986, she has been responsible for establishing Ballet Arts School, Ballet Tucson, Ballet Nogales, annual Summer Dance Workshops in cooperation with UA School of Dance and Summer Dance/Cultural Exchanges that have taken place with Kiev, Ukraine and Beziers, France. In summer 2009, students toured and performed in France as part of the International Program.

Ms. Cabana has further demonstrated her commitment to the development of classical ballet in Arizona by having established branch programs in Sierra Vista, Patagonia, Prescott, and a second training school in Nogales, which served Arizona and Mexico. She regularly guest teaches and stages choreography and continues to gain national praise for her training of young dancers. This year she was distinguished as one of the nation’s prominent ballet instructors by Peter Martins and the School of American Ballet.