Artistic Directors

Kathleen Sinclair, Artistic Director

Kathleen Sinclair is Co-Artistic Director of Ballet Yuma, a member of The Ballet Alliance. Kathleen has taught for the past Thirty years and has specifically developed a syllabus for the first four years of a child’s ballet studies. She also created a pre-ballet syllabus for 3-6 year olds.

During the 1980’s, she and her husband, Jon Cristofori, directed Yuma Ballet Theatre. Taking this small performing group to its first regional ballet festival in 1986, they built it into a Regional Dance America Honor company by 1990. In the fall of 1993, Jon and Kathleen opened their own ballet school, Yuma Ballet Academy in Yuma, Arizona and with a group of dedicated supporters organized Ballet Yuma.

Ballet Yuma is a proud member of The Ballet Alliance. Their students have received numerous awards and scholarships and have or are dancing in professional companies today, including English National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Les Grands Ballets de Canadiens de Montreal, Trey McIntyre Project, Houston Ballet, Texas Ballet Theatre, Louisville Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Ballet Memphis, Ballet San Jose, Ballet Idaho, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, City Ballet of San Diego and Utah Regional Ballet.

Kathleen is the past Chairperson for The Ballet Alliance. She has also served twice as a grant panelist for the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Emma M.K. Cong, Artistic Director

Emma M.K. Cong is in her 24th year of teaching at Yuma Ballet Academy and was recently named Ballet Yuma’s Co-Artistic Director. She trained under the direction of Jon Cristofori and Kathleen Sinclair for eight years prior to majoring in dance at the University of Idaho. Upon moving back to Yuma in 1999, she began teaching at Yuma Ballet Academy developing YBA’s Contemporary dance program. Ms. Cong now leads both the Contemporary program and the Early Childhood Dance program.

For the past 9 years, Ms. Cong has served as the Director of Ballet Yuma’s Outreach Program. Three notable programs include “Ballet Bound” serving underprivileged third grade boys and girls in local elementary schools, “Project Pas de Deux” in partnership with The Boys & Girls Club, also “Making a Pointe” a program for at-risk Junior High girls. In addition to teaching, Ms. Cong is an award-winning choreographer and has set numerous works for Ballet Yuma. As a freelance choreographer, she has created several pieces for other member companies of The Ballet Alliance. Notably, Ms. Cong’s was pleased to have her latest work, “For Maestro” performed at the Ballet Alliance Festival 2022 in El Paso, TX.

Ms. Cong credits Jon Cristofori with igniting the spark of choreography within her at an early age. Her greatest joy is carrying on Cristofori’s teachings to the next generation of Ballet Yuma dancers. Emma is proud to serve as an Emerging choreographer mentor for The Ballet Alliance. Ms. Cong is excited to begin this new season alongside Kathleen Sinclair as Ballet Yuma’s Co-Artistic director.