River Arts Ballet opens in Fletcher

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Hendersonville native Christina Moore Schreivogel has pirouetted across stages around the globe; so when it came time to build her own dance studio, she wanted to bring the same “world-class” amenities she benefited from to her students. She is literally building her studio starting from the “ground up.” Her new studio in Fletcher features state of the art flooring with 8-foot mirrors and over 20-foot ceilings. Her dancers gain stamina and endurance from pushing themselves to travel across the union specific theater size dance floor which in turn translates to the professional stages they are striving to carve their own careers on. Most importantly, her dance floor – a few inches off the ground – is made up of over 1,000 “closed-cell” shock absorbing foam blocks covered with a top-of-the-line “Marley” flooring which enables dancers and fitness novices alike, to practice with less strain and stress on muscles and joints. This non-slip surface is ideal for the Pointe work and partnering of her aspiring protégé dancers, allowing them to practice longer, safer and develop necessary muscle memory, strength and stamina for longevity in a typically short lived, physically demanding career. It’s this focus on the details which is making River Arts Ballet a WNC Arts and Local Business success story.

Christina began her life-long passion of dance at The Dancers Loft in Hendersonville. When her father was transferred to Milan, Italy, she jumped at the chance to further her dance education in Europe. She returned to the US and was awarded a two-year scholarship at the Virginia School of the Arts, a Ballet Boarding School, as well as a Work Study Scholarship at Steps on Broadway in New York City. Her dance success then took her to Wales and England, where she completed a 1-year graduate program at the London Studio Centre, touring throughout the United Kingdom. Returning to the states, Her repertoire includes stints with the Omaha Theater Co. Ballet in Nebraska, the Greenville (SC) Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet School in NYC and The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet. It was at the Sacramento (CA) Ballet where she was both a Soloist and served on its faculty where she met her future husband and business partner, Benjamin Schreivogel.

Starting at the age of eight, Benjamin Schreivogel began honing his multi-disciplinary dance skills in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to ballet, he also acquired skills and experience in Modern, Flamenco and Jazz genres throughout his youth. His success led to training at the prestigious Houston Ballet Academy. He began his professional career with the Ft. Wayne Ballet, IN and he continued across the country as a Season company dancer, often as Soloist, with Columbia City Ballet, the Atlanta Ballet and then the Sacramento Ballet.

Together, Christy and Benjamin Schreivogel have created a comprehensive training environment and program which welcomes “Petites” as young as 3 years old to the “young-at-heart” nearly 70 years old who religiously attend their “Adult Basic” Ballet classes. Additionally, they offer classes for children and adults in Modern, Hip Hop, Bokwa, Yoga, Homeschool Ballet classes, and a special Boy’s Only Ballet Class. Their goal is two-fold, notes Christy, “we want to create a studio which can engage our community of dancers regardless of their ‘age and stage.’ We also want to mentor and train the next generation of world-class dancers in the South Eastern United States, while enticing International students to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Our Protégé Ballet Program is specifically designed to support and polish students with dance career-potential so that they will stand-out nationally and internationally in Universities and Professional companies here and abroad.

For more information and schedules, please visit www.riverartsballet.com or contact Christina Schreivogel at 828-424-1739