Walking through an old building in Lowertown can reveal a lot about the lives shaped within its walls. And when the inhabitants are Andrew and Cheryl Rist of Classical Ballet Academy, those walls are humming with parents hand-stitching tutus, younger siblings peeking through doorways, and piano melodies and French commands drifting from studios where ballet students and professionals are busy honing their craft. This is Classical Ballet Academy, the official school of Ballet Minnesota, where the Rists have been making magic happen for 27 years. This summer, Ballet Minnesota and Classical Ballet Academy packed up and headed across the river to a new studio, also in Saint Paul, where the beauty of classical ballet will continue.
The Founders
According to physics, opposites attract. Just look at the Rists, who have been dancing together—literally and metaphorically—for decades. Aaron Davies, who has been dancing under their guidance for 14 years, describes Cheryl as a ballet mistress with high expectations who draws the best out of her students. Andrew, on the other hand, pulls you in with his warmth and approachable personality. “They balance each other, like peanut butter and jelly,” Davies adds. Andrew’s strengths lie in teaching, administration and choreography; “I love to create new,” he explains. Cheryl’s forte is designing costumes and restaging classics to work with the company’s space and talent while being mindful of the original choreographer’s vision. “She puts the soul into the piece,” Andrew says.
Andrew was always interested in teaching, but his path to Classical Ballet Academy was anything but direct: He started out as a chemical engineer and didn’t step into a dance studio until age 18. But once he began dancing, he knew he’d found his calling. “I’ve always wanted to teach. To walk into a classroom where these kids still believe you, nothing is more precious. It’s an amazing responsibility,” he says.
Cheryl, on the other hand, has been dancing since she can remember. “It’s simply in my DNA,” she says. “It’s just what I do.” Dancing for Cheryl began around age 5. At the time, her family lived in Hawaii, then they moved to Germany. “It’s all I ever did,” she recalls. After years of studying and training, including time at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Cheryl met Andrew at a summer camp, and their shared dream of teaching and running a dance company suddenly seemed possible.
(Andrew and Cheryl Rist)
From Dream to Reality
In 1989, the Rists brought together a group of professional dancers to perform The Nutcracker in Saint Paul, choreographed by Andrew, under the name Classical Ballet Academy. A few years later Ballet Minnesota was formally established as a nonprofit with a board of trustees, and Classical Ballet Academy became the official school.
Today the couple is living out their dream, sharing the magic of classical ballet with 13,000 audience members annually, and shaping the lives of approximately 200 students each year. The academy welcomes kids of all skill levels from 4 to 18 years old, and place students according to their ability. “The idea is to start from the beginning and create a strong foundation,” explains Ballet Minnesota executive director Cynthia Betz. Some of the kids dancing with the Classical Ballet Academy go on to become professional dancers, but that is not a requirement, and the Rists meet every student where they are. “They have an all-inclusive philosophy,” says Betz. “Everyone will get the best training regardless of what they want to do with it.”
Ballet Minnesota comprises about half a dozen professional dancers, with additional dancers brought in on a show-by-show basis. The annual rhythm at Ballet Minnesota is focused around four main performances: a fall concert, The Nutcracker, the Minnesota Dance Festival including staging of the Spring Classic, and the summer River Songs. The academy participates in The Nutcracker since it includes roles for all ages and skill levels; Andrew choreographs a special children’s story ballet for the spring festival. Last spring, the academy performed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and the company performed Sleeping Beauty, with guest artists Sarah Elena Wolff and Matthew Prescott. “Our intent is to create art. We try and stay very honest and true to that; that’s what we are about,” says Andrew.
Beyond Ballet
There is a common thread among the dancers who have graduated from Classical Ballet Academy. Whether they’ve gone on to dance internationally, teach at their own studio or join Ballet Minnesota as a professional dancer, alumni from the academy look back at their time in the program as a gift that helped shape who they are today. Taylor Huber, who graduated in 2001, says dancing taught her how to prioritize all aspects of life. “We are taught at such a young age to be driven, disciplined and scheduled that it stays with you throughout your life,” she says. Aaron Davies, who is currently dancing in Ballet Minnesota, adds patience to the list, as well as the determination to keep going when you fail. But most importantly, “dance gives you the opportunity to express who you are, spiritually, mentally and physically,” he says. And that is precisely why the Rists continue dancing, and helping others dance, after all these years. “We adhere to the belief that you have something inside of your soul and you need to express it and that’s it. And you are never done. Never,” says Andrew.
With 27 years of rehearsals clocked at the old building in Lowertown, the move to the new studio on Chester Street was filled with nostalgia, especially for those who considered the academy their second home. But the new studio promises new space, great light and many more years of dance. “I always say that change is good,” says Davies, wistfully. “What the next chapter is will be even better.”
Classical Ballet Academy offers classes for kids ages 4-18, of all abilities. Students are placed based on an initial assessment.
(Harper Skulley + Nik Nelson)
