Artistic Director/Choreographer
Kathleen Curtis was born in San Bernardino, California. She began classical ballet training at Noerr Dance Academy, now known as Inland Dance Academy, with Diane Amendt and Evette DeMarco Swinson. At age nine, she made her first appearance in Inland Dance Theatre’s Nutcracker as a soldier. She went on to perform more prominent roles including the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, Dew Drop Fairy, Nutcracker, and Mouse King. She has made twenty-six appearances in Nutcracker. Kathleen began working as the Rehearsal Assistant for Nutcracker in 1997. She joined Inland Dance Theatre’s Board of Directors in 2015 and was elected President of the Board in 2018.
Under the direction of Evette DeMarco Swinson, Kathleen has performed principal roles in Alice in Wonderland, Pas de Quatre, Paquita, and The Sleeping Beauty. In 2000, she began teaching ballet at Inland Dance Academy where she choreographed for many of their Young Artist Showcases. Her students have attended summer intensive programs at professional ballet schools across the United States.
Director / Choreographer
Cecilia Hering, Artistic Director of Redlands Festival Ballet and the School of International Ballet, began training in Los Angeles. She toured with the Ouhtomsky Ballet Classique and has performed with San Francisco Opera Ballet. Her international career includes soloist and principal roles with Les Grandes Ballet Canadiens, States Ballet of Munich, Gelsenkirchen, Muenster of West Germany, and Ballet of Saint Gallen in Switzerland, where she was ballet mistress and choreographer.
Ms. Hering founded Redlands Festival Ballet in 1982 and has received high acclaim for her choreography in the extensive repertoire of the company. She continues her dedication to the preservation and presentation of classical dance in the Inland Empire.
Choreographer
The dedication of Diane Amendt to the art of dance began at the age of seven. Diane served forty-one years as Artistic Director of Nutcracker and spent forty-five years in association with the production.
A native of San Bernardino, Diane appeared in various local productions including, Mikado, Brigadoon, Hello Dolly, and in several Carousel of the Arts and Junior University productions. Diane made ten appearances in Nutcracker. She danced so many different parts in this classic Christmas tale that she acquired a deep understanding and appreciation of this ballet.
A graduate of the University of California at Riverside and holder of an Elementary Cecchetti Teaching Certificate, Diane taught ballet at the Inland Dance Academy, the School of International Ballet, and Dance Dimensions. Her enthusiasm for dance and the arts led to her position as Artistic Director of the Inland Ballet Theatre Company. In March 1992, Diane was honored for her outstanding contribution to the Performing Arts in the Inland Empire by the University of Redlands, Town and Gown. In 1993, Diane received recognition from the San Bernardino City School District for her success in the Performing Arts. She retired as a 3rd grade teacher at Ruth Grimes Elementary School for the Colton Joint Unified School District. She received a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Concordia University in 2014.
Diane’s students have been accepted into professional ballet schools across the United States and Canada, bringing national recognition to the Inland Ballet Theatre Company.
Choreographer
Evette DeMarco Swinson started her early classical ballet training in Riverside with Clinton Rothwell, Mary Lynn, and Kenneth Kreel. At the age of twelve, she received a Ford Foundation scholarship from the School of American Ballet and studied with David Howard at the Harkness House for Ballet Arts in New York. At the age of fifteen, she joined the Los Angeles Ballet under the direction of John Clifford where she danced many principal roles in both Balanchine and Clifford ballets. She was a guest artist with many Southern California companies including Inland Dance Theatre. Evette worked with choreographer David Allan as Ballet Mistress and danced in several of Mr. Allan’s ballets as a principal dancer. Evette retired from performing in 1996, after having shared the stage with such celebrated artists as: Merril Ashley, Gelsey Kirkland, Alicia Alonso, Darci Kistler, Peter Martins, Jorge Esquival, Damian Woetzel, and John Clifford.
Evette began teaching in 1985. She was a Lecturer of Dance at the University of California, Irvine, the Ballet Mistress at Inspire Dance Complex, and owned Inland Dance Academy for seventeen years. She has taught in many Southern California schools, and she instructed company classes for the Orange County tours of the Rambert Ballet Company of England and Ballet Preljocaj of France. She has coached her students in the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix Competition.
Ms. DeMarco Swinson is a ballet instructor in several ballet studios including Inland Dance Academy, Reverence Performing Arts Academy, and Studio Roxander. Her students have been accepted to every major school in the United States and Canada. Her students have become members of professional companies including the San Francisco Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Ballet Met, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the Inland Pacific Ballet.
