THE CHICAGO SCHOOL OF BALLET
Open Enrollment
CLASSES AUGUST 25th-JUNE 13th
Our Mission at The Chicago School of Ballet is to provide students of all levels with more than just dance classes, but a unique experience in which our students grow and thrive both mentally and physically as dancers. Classes will include:
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Ballet
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Pointe
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Variations
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Contemporary
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Modern
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HipHop
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Jazz
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Yoga
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Pre-professional Ballet Program
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Registration is now open! Please call the school or
drop by to register in person.
About Us
Our mission at The Chicago School of Ballet is to provide students of all levels with more than just dance classes, but a unique experience in which the student can grow both mentally and physically as a dancer. Owner/Director, Steve Norman has assembled a team of some of the finest instructors, all of whom have extensive professional experience teaching and performing in their various styles.
Our Pre-Professional students are among the top in the country, receiving scholarships and placing in such prestigious competitions as Youth American Grand Prix, World Ballet Competition, Carey Rose and more.
Here at The Chicago School of Ballet, we have a passion for the art of dance and for helping others discover their inner dancer.
For more information regarding our program, please contact us at: 630.418.5525
HOURS OF OPERATION
Mon - Fri: 3pm-10pm
Saturday: 10am - 4pm
Sunday: By Appointment
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**Private Coaching Available Upon Request**
Meet Our Team
STEVEN NORMAN
Founder, Artistic Director
Steven Norman began his classical ballet training at Lisa Boehm School of Ballet at the age of 11 in Elgin Illinois. In 1988 he continued his pre-professional ballet training at Ruth Page School of Dance in Chicago Illinois under Director/Mentor Larry Long. In 1990 he was awarded full scholarship to train at Houston Ballet Academy. Steve began his professional career in 1992 in the Corpe de ballet at Houston Ballet. In 1995 he was invited by Artistic Director Helgi Thomasson to join the prestigious San Francisco Ballet. He danced numerous soloist roles. Most memorable for him include Hilarion and Pas de Cinq in Tomasson's Giselle, Snow Prince, Lead Russian, Arabian Prince and Spanish in Nutcracker. He toured and performed in cities throughout the world including New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, London, Paris, Athens, Edinburgh, Reykjavik, Belfast, Nervi, Copenhagen, Madrid, Bilboa and Barcelona.
After retiring from his 13 year career with San Francisco Ballet, he has dedicated his efforts to fulfilling a very specific vision of creating a world-class environment for dancers who desire to pursue the highest level of ballet training.
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The Chicago School of Ballet was created and has been thriving for the past 7 years. Students have graduated from CSB & have pursued professional careers with Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, Orlando Ballet & Ballet West. It has been an equally important preparation for students who are choosing a collegiate path with dance attending the University of South Florida, Butler University, University of Kansas City, and Texas A&M.
In the past 5 years, Steven created the nonprofit organization
Chicago Ballet Theatre. "CBT" has made it possible for him to choreograph full length ballets, giving students the opportunity to perform in ballet productions along side professional guest artists like: The Nutcracker, Thumbelina, Coppelia, Snow White, The Wizard of Oz, & Sleeping Beauty. This year, CBT has created a new scholarship program for dancers. The vision for this new program is to award deserving dancers merit or hardship scholarships to help offset performance fees and/or summer training costs.
Jocelyn La Forte
BALLET & CONTEMPORARY
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Jocelyn La Forte is a graduate of Sam Houston State University, where she earned her BFA in Dance. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, she began her dance training at the age of three and later joined Visceral Studio Company under the direction of Nick Pupillo. During her time with Visceral, Jocelyn performed in Within, Dance Chicago, and Dance for Life’s Next Generation, experiences that helped shape her early artistic voice.
Jocelyn’s performance background spans concert dance, commercial work, and musical theatre. She has appeared in the Cry Gala with Karmagraphy Entertainment, performed the role of the Evil Queen in The Chicago School of Ballet’s original contemporary ballet Snow White, and danced as part of the ensemble in Sam Houston State University’s production of Green Day’s American Idiot, among other works.
Throughout her training and professional development, Jocelyn has worked with a wide range of artists including Dual Rivet, Nicole Von Arx, Travis Lake, Gregory Dolbashian, Braeden Barnes, Joshua Manculich, and others. She is grateful for the many mentors and collaborators who have contributed to her growth as an artist and continues to pursue opportunities that challenge and expand her creative voice
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Amanda Hickey
BALLET, JAZZ & CONTEMPORARY
Amanda discovered a passion for dance at the age of ten. She began her serious training at Faubourg School of Ballet under Watmora Casey, Tatyana Mazur, and Ernesto Quenedit. She later graduated from Butler University in 2014, where she studied on both academic and talent scholarships earning her BFA with honors in Dance Performance. While at Butler she had the opportunity to spend a month studying abroad in Europe where she trained and performed in Warsaw, Krakow, and St. Petersburg. As a senior, she was asked to choreograph for the study abroad program, exposing her choreography to venues across Eastern Europe . Throughout the years Amanda has had the pleasure of performing as a guest artist for State Street Dance Studio, The Dance Factory, Elan Artists, and The Schaumburg Dance Ensemble to name a few. Upon returning to Chicago after graduation, Amanda joined Nomi Dance Company where she danced for four years. In addition to being a dancer with the company, she has also worked as a choreographer for three of the Nomi's shows, and has set choreography on the Ballet Theatre of Indiana as well. Currently, Amanda is dancing with Giordano Dance Chicago as a Senior Performing Associate. Besides performing, Amanda enjoys teaching and choreographing for studios across the Chicago-land area.
Brian Enos
BALLET, MODERN & REPERTOIRE
Brian is a choreographer, movement coach, and dance educator with a career spang 24 years. His original works have been performed by companies such as the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Houston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Ballet Met, Oklahoma City Ballet, and Nashville Ballet, among others. Enos is also an accomplished teacher and movement coach who has led master classes and workshops internationally and has been a guest teacher for many professional companies and educational institutions. As a dancer, Enos danced professionally with The Houston Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, where he has worked with and performed notable works by Ben Stevenson, William Forsyth, JiÅ™í Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Johan Inger, Jim Vincent, Lucas Crandall, and many more.ENOS is a choreographer, movement coach, and dance educator with a career spanning 24 years. His original works have been performed by companies such as the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Houston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Ballet Met, Oklahoma City Ballet, and Nashville Ballet, among others. Enos is also an accomplished teacher and movement coach who has led master classes and workshops internationally and has been a guest teacher for many professional companies and educational institutions. As a dancer, Enos danced professionally with The Houston Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, where he has worked with and performed notable works by Ben Stevenson, William Forsyth, JiÅ™í Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Johan Inger, Jim Vincent, Lucas Crandall, and many more.
Jennifer Mastin
BALLET
Miss Jenny trained at Classical Ballet Center in Tampa, Florida under the direction of Haydee Gutierrez and Miguel Campaneria. She performed lead roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Paquita, Les Sylphides, Le Corsaire and original choreography. Jenny performed as an apprentice with Tampa Ballet in their productions Nutcracker, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Ms. Mastin spent summers with Joffrey Ballet New York City and School of American Ballet with performances in Saratoga Springs. Under the direction of Ms. Gutierrez, she began training as a classical ballet instructor at the age of 15. She danced two seasons with Cincinnati Ballet, Knoxville Ballet Theatre and New Orleans Ballet before receiving a Bachelor of Science from University of Tampa. Miss Jenny attended North Carolina School of the Arts studying under Duncan Noble, Melissa Hayden and Mabel Robinson. She performed lead roles in Nutcracker, Serenade, Symphony 13 and accompanied NCSA for a six-week performing tour in Budapest, Hungary. She became Director of Classical Ballet Center in Tampa, Florida with students professionally contracted with Joffrey Ballet, Sarasota Ballet and Ballet Hawaii. Jenny has been teaching at Salt Creek Ballet for 13 years and coaching their yearly production of Nutcracker for the past four years. She has been a registered nurse for 28 years.
Jordan Buchanan
CONTEMPORARY & HIPHOP
Jordan Buchanan is an up-and-coming choreographer and dance instructor that is extremely excited to share their artistry and passion for dance with the community. Jordan began training in genres such as jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, and hip hop at Center Stage Dance Academy at the age of 6 years old, and continued there up until they graduated high school in 2019. Jordan competed with Envision Dance Company for years, and ended their competition career as a consecutive title winner with Starbound Dance Competition. Jordan was also a part of LA Dance Magic Company, where they assisted incredible choreographers and performed around the US. Jordan has always had an intense love for performing. At a young age, they performed in Disney’s Dance the Magic Parade in Disney World, Orlando Florida, where they led the parade dancing through Magic Kingdom. Jordan also appeared on TV in ABC’s Disney Christmas Day Parade for two years, where they got to dance with Neil Patrick Harris and Broadway’s Cast of Newsies. Jordan gained a love for teaching by traveling with dance artists such as Amanda Preiser and Sky Nowotnik, who they closely assisted for several years. Jordan began teaching by becoming a trusted substitute teacher to instructors such as Debbie Nowotnik, Sky Nowotnik, and Amanda Hickey, and has since made a debut with their own choreography at several studios in the Chicagoland area. Jordan is ecstatic to be teaching the younger generation, and is looking forward to continuing to spread their adoration for the art of dance for years to come at The Chicago School of Ballet.