Three Rivers Ballet serves Western Pennsylvania through ballet education and performance.
We nurture our students to grow into exceptional artists by cultivating strong bodies, healthy practices, and curious minds.
Our Mission
Our Guiding Philosophies
PERSEVERANCE
Never give up because something is a challenge! Be willing to take the time and figure it out: perseverance will lead to success.
RESPECT
Be polite, kind, and aware of your surroundings. Always strive to treat others as they wish to be treated.
INTEGRITY
We are known by our words and actions. Strive to ensure that they convey who you are in all that you do.
DISCIPLINE
Sometimes it’s hard to be responsible. Good discipline helps us keep working towards our goals, even when we would rather take a break.
EXCELLENCE
We can always continue to grow and improve! Being our best doesn’t mean being perfect, it means always reaching for our potential.
Our Story
We started as the Conservatory of Dance Arts and have recently become Three Rivers Ballet, a name that reflects both our roots and the sense of movement we value. To us, Three Rivers Ballet represents the coming together of technique, artistry, and community.
We believe ballet should be for everyone, and we’re proud to bring that vision to Pittsburgh by creating a space where more people can access high-quality training, connect through dance, and grow both artistically and personally.
Board of Directors
Christopher Fellows
FOUNDER, INTERIM PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD
Heather Cramer
TREASURER
Maura Fellows
SECRETARY
Morgan Carpenter-Panuski
DIRECTOR
Molly Krichten
DIRECTOR
Our Faculty
Christopher Fellows, Artistic Director
Christopher Fellows was born in Ithaca, New York where he started his ballet journey with Ithaca Ballet in 1983. He furthered his studies in the Vaganova syllabus under the tutelage of Rafael Grigorian, and attended The School of American Ballet on scholarship from 1993-1995. While at SAB he participated in lecture demonstration programs, Annual Workshops and the 1993 New Choreography Workshop. He received additional training from Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the Chautauqua Festival Dancers.
At the age of 15 he was invited to apprentice with the Chautauqua Ballet Company and was, at the time, the youngest artist in the company’s history. He went on to dance professionally with Alabama Ballet, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, and Milwaukee Ballet. While in Milwaukee he also served as a union representative, member of multiple board subcommittees and organizer of the Behind the Curtain dancer’s fund benefit performance.
During his career, he danced principal roles in many ballets, including Romeo & Juliet, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Dracula, Giselle, Carmina Burana, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Moor’s Pavane. He also had original works created on him by contemporary and classical choreographers such as Lee Wei Chao, Wes Chapman, Foye DuBose, Rafael Grigorian, Michael Pink, Kathryn Posin, Margot Sappington, John Summers, Thor Sutowski, Nelly Van Bommel and Petr Zahradnicek. He has toured internationally and been a guest artist for various schools and companies around the United States.
He retired from active performance in 2008 to pursue his lifelong passion for teaching ballet. He served as Director of the Classical Ballet Division at Dance FX Academy in Toledo, Ohio from 2008-2014. Over the course of his career, he has taught for Alabama School of Fine Arts, Milwaukee Ballet School, Danceworks Milwaukee, Point Park University, Yanlai Dance Academy and Huntingdon Dance Academy. He has also been a guest instructor for Ithaca Ballet, Rafael Grigorian Ballet Theater, and Illinois Youth Dance Academy. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in ballet pedagogy and a Masters in Education in PreK-12 dance education. It is his dream to nurture and inspire a new generation of dancers with a strong sense of artistry, technique, and self-confidence.
Patricia Hohman, Instructor
Patricia Hohman is a Pittsburgh native and received her early years of training at Pittsburgh Ballet House with Kwang-Suk Choi and Sae-Young Kang. She then attended the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. on full scholarship from 2017-2019, studying the Vagonova method under Stanislav Belyaevsky, Evgenia Singur, and Anastasia Dunets. While with the Kirov, she was one of 4 dancers chosen to perform with the Mariinsky Theatre in their production of La Bayadère at the Kennedy Center.
Returning home to Pittsburgh, she began training at West Point Ballet in the Cuban method. She competed in the Youth American Grand Prix and became a finalist, competing with a self-choreographed contemporary piece. Patricia taught Adult Ballet classes at West Point during this time.
Upon her high school graduation in 2021, Patricia furthered her training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Graduate Program under Susan Jaffe.
In 2022, she traveled to London to be a trainee of The English National Ballet under Viviana Durante. She studied with Ibrahim Önal, Julia Ellis, and Ivan Putrov. Patricia also had the opportunity to work with choreographers including Katarzyna Kozielska, Mauro de Candia, Kristina Paulin, and Dickson Mbi. After formal choreography training, she participated in a composer collaboration project. The piece was performed at London's Royal Albert Hall, and Patricia was both a dancer and lead choreographer. She danced in the international GradPro competition held at the Royal Ballet, competing with a self-choreographed contemporary piece in addition to her classical work. She was one of 14 dancers who qualified for the Final Round at Elmhurst Ballet in Birmingham, England. She was the first ever American finalist. Patricia graduated from the English National Ballet Professional Trainee Programme in 2023. She completed her training at Three Rivers Ballet with Christopher Fellows.
She is passionate about sharing her love of music and movement through teaching, with experience working with dancers of all ages.
The Studio
420 Perry Highway - 2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15229
Hours
4pm-9pm Monday to Friday
8:30am-4pm Saturday
Additional hours by appointment.
Phone
(412) 265-8017