Bio:
Regina Pietraroia is the director of Dance Arts by Regina studios in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood and North Royalton, where her mission is to create community and connection through dance. She grew up studying all forms of dance in Northeast Ohio, went on to train at Butler University in Indianapolis, and after college, spent several years dancing and teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area. Upon returning to Cleveland, Regina joined Ohio Dance Theatre, performing a variety of classical and contemporary ballets and repertoire, including The Nutcracker, Dracula, Cinderella, The Firebird, and many more. Since her time with ODT, Regina has performed as a guest artist with Neos Dance Theatre, the City Ballet of Cleveland, North Pointe Ballet, and Ballet Legato. She continues to participate in the area's artistic community through freelance performance - she was a featured performer during the Dance/USA national conference held in Cleveland in 2019 and has also been selected to dance at the Ohio Dance Festival. She has collaborated with other artists and organizations such as the Parma Symphony Orchestra, Summit Choral Society, guitarist Neil Zaza, and more.
Regina holds a Bachelor’s in Middle & Secondary Education from Butler University, as well as a Master’s in Arts Administration from The University of Akron. She also had the opportunity to attend the National Dance Institute’s Teaching Artist Training with Jacques d’Amboise in New York City to study his renowned methodology. Her extensive teaching experience includes the Berkeley Ballet Theatre, The University of Akron, the American College Dance Festival conference, the Ohio Dance Festival, and many private studios in Ohio and California. Over the years, Regina has created programming for schools in Oberlin, Lorain, and Cleveland, as well as the Cleveland Public Library. In addition to fully staged ballet productions, her students perform at a variety of community and outreach events such as the Tremont Arts & Cultural festival. Regina is a sought after guest teacher and enjoys teaching master classes to dance students both locally and regionally.
Regina is grateful every day that she gets to live out her dreams, and hopes to inspire all of her students to do the same.