Our Mission

Located northwest of Tucson, CDA began in 1989 to educate and enrich students of all ages in dance as a theatre art and for personal enjoyment.  The school offers training in the classical ballet tradition as well as in jazz, lyric, contemporary, tap, tumbling, hip hop, and flamenco.  From an early age students are taught technique, musicality, expressiveness, discipline and professionalism within an atmosphere of love and respect.  Over 50 classes are taught weekly during a 10 month academic calendar.  A seven week Summer Interim Program is also offered as a pre-session for beginners and as an intensive workshop for the intermediate/advanced company dancer.  Students at CDA participate in two shows annually: a winter concert featuring The Nutcracker Ballet, and a summer concert of original and classical works.  Artistic Director and Head of the Ballet Division, Kandis Meinel, is joined by a staff of talented teachers/choreographers who have training in dance education as well as extensive performing experience.

Our Team

Being the fundamental core of our establishment, our Teachers are extremely important to us. We hold ourselves to the highest possible standard, because we want to deliver only the best to our students. All of our Teachers are seasoned professionals, brimming with experience and knowledge in the area of Dance. We want nothing more than to be able to impart that knowledge onto the next generation of dancers.

We hope that you will take a moment of your time to learn about us, because where we came from is of course a part of who we are today.