Highlights
- The Richard P. Stahl Charitable Fund is supporting the David Hallberg Scholarship Fund at the School of Ballet Arizona to honor a longtime Ballet Arizona patron.
- Fourteen current Ballet Arizona company dancers previously trained through the school's Studio Company, with four starting at the school as young students.
- Ballet Arizona's DanceAZ school residency program has sent seven students on to the School of Ballet Arizona, supported by scholarship funding.
- This season, the school launched a Professional Day Program to deepen pre-professional training for advanced students.
A posthumous gift from the Richard P. Stahl Charitable Fund is now backing the David Hallberg Scholarship Fund at the School of Ballet Arizona, directing donor capital toward the pipeline that has produced 14 of Ballet Arizona's current company dancers.
Mel Reese, trustee of the Richard P. Stahl Charitable Fund, said the gift was intended to celebrate Stahl's decades of attendance at Ballet Arizona performances. "Richard Stahl enjoyed performances at Ballet Arizona for many years. After his passing, the Richard P. Stahl Charitable Fund wished to celebrate his love of ballet, and we were delighted to do so by supporting the David Hallberg Scholarship Fund at SBAZ. These scholarships will help ensure the excellence of the School and Ballet Arizona for many years to come."
The school, which serves students ages 4 through 21 across Children's, Lower, and Upper Division levels, has built a documented internal pipeline. Four of those 14 company dancers began their training at the school at an early age before advancing through the Studio Company, a bridge program launched in 2014, and into the professional roster.
Company dancer Jordan Islas traces his path to Ballet Arizona's DanceAZ school residency program, described in the school's own account as the moment he "first encountered ballet in a classroom setting." He continued at the School of Ballet Arizona, moved into the Studio Company, and joined the company as a professional dancer. Since DanceAZ launched, seven students have followed a similar route to the school, with scholarship support cited as the enabling factor for families who could not otherwise sustain the commitment.
This season, the school added a Professional Day Program to extend that continuum, offering advanced students a structured environment for pre-professional development beyond the Studio Company framework.
The School of Ballet Arizona also accepts international students at Professional Program levels and operates a new East Valley campus in Mesa offering drop-in classes, Children's Division programming, adult classes, and Creative Aging programs for seniors. Enrollment information is available at balletaz.org/school.
Sources
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- balletaz.org retrieved 13/05/2026 16:15
- balletaz.org retrieved 13/05/2026 16:15
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 13/05/2026 16:15. Every claim traces to a source.
