Our Instructors
leslie cooper
Artistic Director/ Studio Director
For more than 20 years Mrs. Cooper has been a familiar face at York County Ballet as a teacher, choreographer, costumer, and board treasurer. Prior to the closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she was named Financial and Operations manager of YCB. In her spare time, she can be found riding her horse and volunteering at various Anne Springs Close Greenway Equestrian programs…
Peter Base
Instructor
Peter began dance training in Greenville South Carolina at Greenville Ballet, under the tutelage of Andrew and Merry Kuharsky. He continued to study through high school, adding training at the Fine Arts Center of Greenville. Peter has studied at the Orlando Ballet School, and with Nashville Ballet as a trainee. He has danced professionally for seven seasons in Greenville with Carolina Ballet Theatre, under the artistic direction…
Sakura Oka
Instructor
Originally from Jagoya, Japan, Sakura previously danced with both Columbia Classical Ballet and Virginia National Ballet. Now in her third season with Columbia City Ballet, Sakura is a Demi-Soloist. She trained under Maiko Uemura at the Ecole de Ballet MU and had her first opportunity to come to the U.S. in the summer of 2011. In Japan, Sakura successfully auditioned for the Kirov Academy of Ballet Summer Program and was…
stephanie thompkins
Instructor
As a principal dancer at York County Ballet Company, Mrs. Thompkins was known not only for her beautiful ballet technique but her artistry as well.
Mrs. Thompkins grew up in Rock Hill and studied at the School of Ballet and York County Ballet from the time she was a little girl. She danced roles from a clown in the Nutcracker to the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty and numerous other principal roles. While with YCB she also performed…
Guest Instructors
sarah hayes harkins
Instructor
Sarah’s early training was in Asheville, NC, at the Asheville Center of Performing Arts, after which she attended North Carolina School of the Arts in the High School Program. She performed George Balanchine’s Serenade for the Tribute to Melissa Hayden, and at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. In 2005, she performed with Ballet Adriatico in Ascoli Piceno, Italy.
Gabrielle Tull Spore
Guest Instructor
Gabrielle A. Tull Spore is an assistant professor of dance and program coordinator for dance education at Winthrop University. She is a 2020 MFA dance graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. As a previous high school dance director and curriculum curator, she received a Masters in Education in Divergent Learning at Columbia College, SC. Artistically, she has performed and collaborated with…
Anne Blackwell
The Inspiration
Anne Blackwell and her mother, Doris McClellan, brought classical ballet to York County. Mrs. Blackwell was the owner of the School of Ballet and Artistic Director of the nonprofit York County Ballet from the time of its formation in 1978. York County Ballet and The School of Ballet trained hundreds of dancers through the years and delighted audiences with yearly performances of The Nutcracker as well as full-length ballets each spring. YCB dancers performed at Piccolo Spoleto, SCADA and many other festivals.