Community Dance Class With BalletMet’s Caitlin Valentine

Elevate your artistry in a community ballet class led by Caitlin Valentine, former BalletMet dancer and BalletMet Academy teaching artist. Thanks to a partnership between Northrop, BalletMet, and Ballet Co.Laboratory, this dynamic session invites intermediate-level dancers to refine their technique—beginning with a barre warm-up and moving into expressive center combinations inspired by the repertoire and phrases featured in BalletMet’s upcoming performance at Northrop.

Registration is required.

The class is free for University of Minnesota students, faculty, and staff with a promo code. The promo code will be sent to UMN members of the Email Club or email abetz@balletcolaboratory.org with your UMN credentials for the promo code.

Capacity is limited to 35 students. Participants will receive a 50% off discount code to attend the BalletMet performance at Northrop on Fri, Mar 28, at 7:30 pm.

About Caitlin Valentine

Caitlin Valentine began her dance training in New Jersey before joining Orlando Ballet at age 16, led by Fernando Bujones. She later danced at Colorado Ballet as a soloist. Throughout her career, Valentine has performed numerous principal roles including Kitri in Don Quixote, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Giselle in Giselle, Dorothy in Dorothy and the Prince of Oz, Cinderella in Cinderella, Alice in Alice, Daisy in The Great Gatsby, the Survivor in Light/The Holocaust & Humanity Project, Lise in La Fille mal gardée, Tinkerbell in Peter Pan, Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in The Nutcracker, and Guinevere in Camelot. 

She has been featured in contemporary works by Edwaard Liang, Val Caniparoli, Matthew Neenan, Dwight Rhoden, Amy Siewert, and Christopher Wheeldon and has enjoyed performing lead roles in George Balanchine’s Rubies, Serenade, Square Dance, Who Cares?, Allegro Brillante, Theme and Variations, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free. Valentine’s awards and honors include a bronze medal at the New York International Ballet Competition in 2003, Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2005, and a Jury Award at the USA International Ballet Competition in 2006. Valentine retired from the stage at the end of BalletMet’s 2023–24 season and joined the staff as a teacher in the academy and a member of the development team.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Sponsored by RBC Wealth Management.

The BalletMet presentation of Timeless Tide is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.