Dora's Journey to United Ballet Theatre

Hi, my name is Dora Ciacca and I am a classical ballet dancer.

I started ballet at the age of 7 years old in my hometown in Italy which is Vergato, Bologna. There I quickly fell in love with ballet and contemporary and musical performing in musicals with the dance school.

At the age of 11, I moved with my family to New York City, studying at Ballet Academy East for a short period and then going to 92Y where I joined a contemporary ensemble at the age of 12 that allowed to do many different contemporary works by guest choreographers, including works of Jerome Robins and Martha Graham.

Later I joint the Alvin Ailey School where I studied for 4 years along with a Manhattan Youth Ballet and later Premiered Division for my ballet studies. After graduation I moved to Italy where I studied the Cecchetti method for two years, then I did one year of contemporary studies in Rome, and moved to Barcelona to study Vaganova at Yerakhavets Ballet Academy.

I started my professional career joining Ballet de Barcelona as a trainee in 2019, under the direction of Chase Johnsey. Now I am in my second season as a dancer with Columbia Classical Ballet in Columbia, South Carolina, under the direction of Brooklyn Mack.

In my lifetime I had the pleasure of attending contemporary workshops with significant companies and choreographers such as The Batsheva Dance Company, Hofesch Schecter, and Jiri Pokorny. I got the pleasure to study and attend in many summer intensives such as Ibstage Barcelona, Le Ecole Superior De Rossella Hightower en Cannes, the Joffrey Ballet School, and United Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive in 2021.

I am looking for your help today because I want to expand my ballet repertoire joining United Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive and right now is difficult for me to cover all the costs.

Directed by Joseph Gatti, UBT offers amazing training opportunities, Including The Gatti Method along with a vast set of professionals, this summer intensive will represent an opportunity for me to keep gaining knowledge not only for my personal career but to be able to share it with my students.

Consider helping me today! I appreciate all contributions and stay tuned to my social media where I will share more details of my training and my Journey to United Ballet Theater Summer Intensive