About Our Studio
What is Classical Youth Ballet and how did it start?
Classical Youth Ballet is a strictly classical ballet studio that began in September 2007 when Ms. Michelle moved to Brigham City, Utah from Bentonville, Arkansas. It started with a handful of students and a wonderful man named Clyde Price who rented space to our dancers. We quickly outgrew this space and moved to our second location on historic Main Street in Brigham City. It was an old hotel, built in the early 1900’s, and brought a fabulous classic feel to our dancers’ experience. After outgrowing our second space, we relocated to our third location in January 2011. This building was also historic, built in 1914 originally as a Carpenter’s Dance Hall, and still had the original maplewood floors. Ms. Michelle and her family relocated to Southern Utah in 2021 and, after commuting for six months, closed the studio in January 2022. She took one year off and then returned to teaching for Westside Studio of Performing Arts in St. George, Utah. She performed professionally in their production of The Nutcracker for two years. After an almost 4-year hiatus, we are thrilled to be returning to Box Elder County in September 2025 and look forward to continuing the legacy of Finding Balance for Life through classical ballet!
Mission Statement:
Our mission is to promote both creativity and discipline, believing that every child deserves the opportunity to reach their highest potential. Through caring instructors, we provide the technical training necessary while nurturing each student’s love for dance, helping them grow into confident and passionate artists.
Meet Our Owner and Artistic Director:
Michelle Jackman, or "Ms. Michelle" as her students call her, has spent the last 30 years teaching classical ballet to children from ages 3 through college. Ms. Michelle began her love of ballet at 8 years old, when she and her twin sister were accepted into the children’s cast of Tulsa Ballet Theatre’s: The Nutcracker. She began her serious study of classical ballet with June Runyon School of Ballet in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 10. She studied with the School of Ballet West summer intensive and, upon graduation, moved to SLC to continue her studies with Michelle Armstrong at The Christensen Centre, now The Ballet Centre in Murray. It was here she studied with the late Willam Christensen, founder of Ballet West and the University of Utah’s Dance Department. She completed her Associate's Degree in Business from LDS Business College, now Ensign College. She began her teaching career in SLC and relocated to Southern Utah after marrying. She taught and performed in St. George for 12 years and Arkansas for over 3 years. Ms. Michelle then moved to Brigham City where CYB was created. In the first 15 years of Classical Youth Ballet, she directed and choreographed ten full-length ballets including: Peter & The Fairy Circle, The Enchanted Swan Princess, Felicity's Vision, La Danseuse de Ballet, Little Pagoda, Paquita: The Gypsy Princess, Snow White, Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, and The Nutcracker.
She has extensive training in the Cecchetti and Vaganova methods and has continued her education through many teacher training intensives and injury prevention workshops. Ms. Michelle loves to travel and has gone to many of these trainings all over the country including Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ruth Page Center for the Arts in Chicago, and Classical Ballet Academy in Bentonville, Arkansas. In August 2009 she traveled to Denver, Colorado and studied with Beverly F. Spell and Annie W. Spell, Ph.D. and certified with their Leap 'N Learn - A Comprehensive Early Childhood Dance Syllabus. In August 2010 she traveled to New York City after being accepted into the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum program. Ms. Michelle is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has continued access to the ABT National Teacher Training portal, exclusive to ABT-certified teachers only, where she continues her studies through classes and workshops.
In 2012 she completed a summer course with Rhee Gold in Pennsylvania with the Dance Life Teacher Conference. In 2014 she completed an Injury Prevention Course with The Ballet School in Lafayette, Louisiana, receiving training from Lisa Howell, physiotherapist from Australia, and other professionals in the area of physical therapy. In 2015 she traveled to San Francisco, CA to support her daughter who trained with the Joffrey Ballet summer school. In April 2018 she received her Balanced Body Pilates Reformer 1 Instructor Training. In 2022 she continued her studies with Lisa Howell and completed the Level 1 Teacher Training in Injury Prevention. Her repertoire includes soloist pieces in Gershwin, Raymonda, Graduation Ball, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Paquita, Swan Lake, Kitri in Don Quixote, and other featured solos. Ms. Michelle is passionate about keeping your young dancer healthy and injury free and is so excited to continue her legacy in the Box Elder County!
Meet Our Office Manager:
Miss Tylee has been in the studio from the time she was born. While her mother was teaching ballet, she remembers dancing in the waiting rooms, staring at the dancers in awe, and trying to make her tiny little arabesque look just like the older dancers. Her classical ballet studies began with Ms. Catherine at Classical Ballet Academy in Bentonville, Arkansas and continued with Classical Youth Ballet in Brigham City, Utah. When she got older, she started teaching ballet, not knowing this would be a passion that would magically take over her life. She believes that imagination outside of the classroom should be brought into the classroom and that a child should always be redirected in challenging times and always loved. She believes the studio should be a safe place for the mind, body, and heart. Miss Tylee performed with Cache Valley Civic Ballet in The Nutcracker as a Russian Doll and Ballet West in The Nutcracker as a Toy Soldier. She auditioned, made, and attended two weeks of The Joffrey Ballet School Summer Intensive in San Francisco, CA and attended The Ballet Centre in Murray’s distinguished Vivat Ballet! Summer Intensive with many of the world’s most renowned teachers and directors. She was taught to nurture and to love by the one and only Ms. Michelle of Classical Youth Ballet. Miss Tylee has also performed in many Nutcracker and story ballets, directed by Ms. Michelle.
