About

• Inspiring students of all ages and abilities to attain the highest standards of each student’s individual potential, primarily through training in the art of classical ballet, and also in other genres of dance;
• Performance of ballet of the highest artistic standaard as a component of student education;
• Enriching the entire diverse Carlisle community and surrounding communities in central Pennsylvania through the instruction and performance of ballet and other genres of dance.

Since 1955, the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB), with studios in Carlisle and Harrisburg, has grown from a small, local dance studio to an internationally renowned classical ballet school and performing company. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Marcia Dale Weary, CPYB provides exceptional dance training for beginning to pre-professional dancers in Central Pennsylvania and enhances the cultural climate of the region through ballet performances.

In addition to the Ballet Program, CPYB’s Preschool Program offers pre-ballet, Creative Movement, Mommy & Me class and tap for children ages 2 to 6, and the Open Program for the community offers classes and workshops for teens and adults in various dance disciplines such as Hip Hop, Pilates, Ballet, and Salsa.

As Resident Ballet Company of Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, the CPYB Performing Company’s season includes performances in the fall, spring and in June. CPYB, honored as the only regional company in the country licensed to perform George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, performs the holiday classic not only at Whitaker Center, but also at the historic Hershey Theatre with live music by the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra and the Susquehanna Youth Chorale. CPYB performs other classical and contemporary ballets, and many nationally-recognized choreographers have also premiered works on the Company. In 1998, CPYB initiated a program for the development of new works called Choreoplan, that has now attracted talented choreographers from a national pool of artists.

As a school, CPYB has produced an incredible number of professional dancers who have worked with or are currently performing with top companies in the world. Others have continued on in dance-related fields such as ballet teaching, arts administration, and entertainment law. CPYB alumni, no matter what their vocation, are enthusiastic audience members and arts advocates in our communities.

In August 2001, The New York Times dance critic Joseph Carman said, “London, Paris, St. Petersburg, and New York are well known for their first-rate ballet academies, training many of the best dancers in the classical form. Add to that list Carlisle, PA, a town with fewer than 20,000 people and a modest economy driven by state government jobs and the defense industry….Marcia Dale Weary and her Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet have produced dancers well known in the ballet world.”

In January of 2004, CPYB was featured on the cover of Dance Teacher Magazine. In an article entitled “Marcia’s Magic,” Kristin Lewis wrote, “She produces students who have the whole package—attention to detail, early technical development and a broad socialization into the arts. It seems a given that companies nationwide will continue to be stocked with her dancers for many years to come.”