Our Faculty

Ballet

Deborah Vinton, FISTD, FCUSA, Artistic Director, has taught and choreographed for 35 years. She is a renowned Fellow/Examiner for Cecchetti USA and is one of the few members to hold the Society’s highest credentials, the Maestro Cecchetti Diploma. After years of experience abroad and nationally, Ms. Vinton returned home to Sarasota in 1985 to continue her mission to positively enhance and influence the lives of others through her commitment and involvement in the arts. To learn even more about Miss Deborah Vinton Click here.

Ballet

Robin Kumm has been teaching dance in the area for over 20 years. She began her ballet training at age 9 with Kay Hearton, formally with the Washington Ballet and Sandra Young, formally of the Tampa Ballet. Robin furthered her ballet studies at FSU studying under Kate Levitz. Earning a B.S. in Early Childhood Ed., she taught Elementary School for 6 years. She furthered her ballet training with Deborah Vinton, studying the Cecchetti ballet syllabus. Robin has successfully passed several qualifying exams earning her teaching Certificate 1 and is a member of Cecchetti USA. She has successfully put students in for examination for four years and continues training in the Cecchetti method. Robin enjoys performing with the West Coast Civic Ballet in their many productions.

“My goal is to instill in my students a love of movement, dance, and encourage a creative spirit. Having taught dance in the community for over twenty years, I embrace the opportunity to introduce children to the world of dance; music expression; and develop their mind, their bodies and their creative spirit. Once a child learns that moving and dance is fun, they learn it for life.”

Ballet

Alice Stahlschmidt started a love of dance after seeing a production of the Nutcracker at age of 5.  She studied music, ballet, and drama as a child.  After graduating High School Alice moved to Germany and danced in two companies for two years.

She then moved to London to study at the Laban Center for Dance, and became certified to teach dance specializing on creative movement for the very young. Alice taught ballet at Pineapple studios and various preschools, while dancing in the Dudan Dance Theater Company in London.

In 1990 she moved to Sarasota. Here Alice worked with Cis Rossey and Anya Flesh in many dance  and musical theater productions, while teaching creative movement at several preschools. In 1998 Alice started taking classes with Deborah Vinton in Cecchetti method of ballet and has taken two major exams. Alice has worked with West Coast Civic Ballet since it started 2002.

Beginning/Intermediate Modern
Jazz/Hip Hop/Contemporary

Molly Elisabeth Nichols is a recent graduate of the University of Florida’s notably inventive and highly collaborative dance program.

She has fallen under the instruction of the Susan Marshall Dance Company, JoAnna Mendl Shaw-The Equuis Project, Yelleb Dance Company, Ella Ben-Aharon and Edo Ceder from the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Einav Levy and Dana Raz, Abby Yager and Ming-Lung Yang, Kraig Patterson, Mark Haim, Tara Burns, Tommy DeFrantz, Zachi Cohen from Barak Marshall, Inbal Pinto,  Paige Cunningham, Trey McIntyre Project, and Complexions Ballet, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.

Her choreographic works include “A View With a Room” and “Kataleipo” which were showcased at the University of Florida’s BFA Showcase.

Injury Prevention – “Actionomics”

Mona Clifford Baker, RDE,RSMT,RSME is an Actionomics Movement Therapist and Educator for Wellness at the Florida Intergrative Medical Center, as well as an Actionomics Movement Educator for Dance at the West Coast Civic Ballet. A spectrum of her professional career includes professional ballet dancer with American Ballet Theatre in New York City, Certified Movement Analyst and researcher, inventor of two patents; Actionomics and Actlectica, thirty years private practice, workshop programs for physicians and Law Enforcement Officers and ongoing program development.  As a Registered Dance Educator with the National Registry of Dance Educators, Mona is currently spearheading the formation of a Consultant’s Bureau for Registered Dance Educators who want to become dance educator entrepreneurs.