Alison Kravenko-Johnson
Artistic Director of Kravenko Youth Ballet
Intermediate and Advanced Ballet Program Director
Pre-Professional Dance Career Mentor
Alison Kravenko-Johnson is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada. As the daughter of a third generation dancer and ballet teacher, Alison started early at the Robert Gilbert School of Ballet. Formal pre-professional tutelage was under the mentorship of Garold Gardner (ABT), Jacqueline Douguet (Paris Opera Ballet) and legendary ballet coach Joanna Kneeland and master teacher David Howard. Alison studied Jazz and Graham Technique with Rick Milland, Winston Hemsley, Rich Rizzo, Nick Navarro and Ronnie Lewis. Her exposure to Jack Cole and Bob Fosse expanded her training and in 1980, with a MGM contract in hand, she became the youngest member of the original cast of "Jubilee". Alison's performing career continued for over 20 years and she danced around the world in shows including Lido De Paris, Bally's Jubilee, Siegfried and Roy (soloist), Le Hot Tokyo Japan, Cabaret Circus (principle) and many more. Throughout her stage career, Alison remained a devoted student of ballet and in 1981 she was introduced to Balanchine's choreography and the teaching theories of Stanley Williams. A private mentorship with Rodney Jenkins (SAB and John Clifford's Los Angeles Ballet) made the biggest impact on her life and ballet remained her strength and passion. In 1996, Alison began teaching at her mother's Las Vegas area school. The Kravenko Dance Academy was founded in 1980 by Janet Kravenko, a certified Royal Academy of Dance examined ballet teacher. In 1997, a year before the birth of her daughter, Alison founded the first youth ballet company in Las Vegas. Alison has created over 150 new works which include neo-classical ballets, contemporary works, musical theater and full-scale ballets and productions. Performances for these works grew outside the studio to include pieces performed at AIDS Benefits, guest performances at UNLV, adjudicated Choreography Showcases, Dance In the Desert, Civic and City Arts Council and Youth Mentoring Youth programs in Nevada and at the Huntington Beach Performing Arts High School. In the fall of 2002, Alison was an Artist-In-Residence for the University of Nevada Las Vegas Dance Department. In 2003, she was nominated five times by her colleagues for the Nevada Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Arts and between 2005-2008 held a position as Adjunct Professor at UNLV teaching Dance Theory. Today, Alison is the advanced ballet teacher, mentor and Artistic Director at KYB. She is a certified para-professional teacher for the Clark County School District Magnet Programs and is currently the Ballet Para-Pro for Las Vegas Academy of the Performing Arts and holds a teaching certification for a syllabus at Pacific Northwest Ballet School Levels Pre-Dance- Level 8. Alison she will continue teaching classes and staging works throughout the United States. Alison attributes her ongoing passion for teaching to her ongoing trips to study with ballet master Willy Burmann at STEPS ON BROADWAY.
Artistic Director of Kravenko Youth Ballet
Intermediate and Advanced Ballet Program Director
Pre-Professional Dance Career Mentor
Alison Kravenko-Johnson is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada. As the daughter of a third generation dancer and ballet teacher, Alison started early at the Robert Gilbert School of Ballet. Formal pre-professional tutelage was under the mentorship of Garold Gardner (ABT), Jacqueline Douguet (Paris Opera Ballet) and legendary ballet coach Joanna Kneeland and master teacher David Howard. Alison studied Jazz and Graham Technique with Rick Milland, Winston Hemsley, Rich Rizzo, Nick Navarro and Ronnie Lewis. Her exposure to Jack Cole and Bob Fosse expanded her training and in 1980, with a MGM contract in hand, she became the youngest member of the original cast of "Jubilee". Alison's performing career continued for over 20 years and she danced around the world in shows including Lido De Paris, Bally's Jubilee, Siegfried and Roy (soloist), Le Hot Tokyo Japan, Cabaret Circus (principle) and many more. Throughout her stage career, Alison remained a devoted student of ballet and in 1981 she was introduced to Balanchine's choreography and the teaching theories of Stanley Williams. A private mentorship with Rodney Jenkins (SAB and John Clifford's Los Angeles Ballet) made the biggest impact on her life and ballet remained her strength and passion. In 1996, Alison began teaching at her mother's Las Vegas area school. The Kravenko Dance Academy was founded in 1980 by Janet Kravenko, a certified Royal Academy of Dance examined ballet teacher. In 1997, a year before the birth of her daughter, Alison founded the first youth ballet company in Las Vegas. Alison has created over 150 new works which include neo-classical ballets, contemporary works, musical theater and full-scale ballets and productions. Performances for these works grew outside the studio to include pieces performed at AIDS Benefits, guest performances at UNLV, adjudicated Choreography Showcases, Dance In the Desert, Civic and City Arts Council and Youth Mentoring Youth programs in Nevada and at the Huntington Beach Performing Arts High School. In the fall of 2002, Alison was an Artist-In-Residence for the University of Nevada Las Vegas Dance Department. In 2003, she was nominated five times by her colleagues for the Nevada Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Arts and between 2005-2008 held a position as Adjunct Professor at UNLV teaching Dance Theory. Today, Alison is the advanced ballet teacher, mentor and Artistic Director at KYB. She is a certified para-professional teacher for the Clark County School District Magnet Programs and is currently the Ballet Para-Pro for Las Vegas Academy of the Performing Arts and holds a teaching certification for a syllabus at Pacific Northwest Ballet School Levels Pre-Dance- Level 8. Alison she will continue teaching classes and staging works throughout the United States. Alison attributes her ongoing passion for teaching to her ongoing trips to study with ballet master Willy Burmann at STEPS ON BROADWAY.
