Staff

upcoming events

Kristen Doolittle, Artistic Director
Kristen has been dancing since age nine, mostly at Civic Dance Center. At 18,
she received a scholarship to the EDGE Performing Arts Center while going to
school at UCLA. She graduated in 1996 with a B.A. in Sociology.
She has done commercial work, such as MGM Grand Hotel,
industrials as far away as Japan, and served on faculty for the
Tremaine Dance Center in Los Angeles, CA. She has
choreographed and taught classes all over California and Texas.
She was on faculty in 2009 at The School of Nashville Ballet for
their Summer Intensive. She was an adjunct professor at
California State University, Bakersfield. Her choreography has
made her a finalist in the Under the Stars Choreography Festival
in both 2006 and 2007. She has performed and choreographed
for the Bakersfield Music Theatre. She has choreographed for
the nationally ranked Cal Lutheran dance team. In 2004, the
Greater Chamber of Bakersfield gave Miss Doolittle a Beautiful
Bakersfield Certificate of Recognition for outstanding contribution
to the community. She is currently on faculty at Civic Dance Center, is the
director of its performing company, Troupe Civic and is a dance director for The
Nutcracker Ballet. You can see her choreography reel on youtube.com.

ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
AND STAFF

Cindy Trueblood, Founding Artistic Director
Cindy began ballet classes at the age of six with Robert Bell in Oklahoma
City. When she was 16, she received a scholarship to study dance at the
University of Kansas School of Fine Arts. Her training continued in Oxnard,
CA, with Mara Lysova. When she moved to Bakersfield, CA, she studied
ballet at the Bakersfield Ballet Theatre under the direction of Martha Knight.
In 1968, she began teaching and established what is now Civic Dance
Center. In 1978, the Civic Dance Center accepted the Bakersfield Symphony
Orchestra's invitation to be a part of The Nutcracker Ballet, a partnership
which continues to this day. In 1997, the Kern County Board of Supervisors
presented Mrs. Trueblood with a resolution that recognized her 20-year
commitment to The Nutcracker Ballet. In 1998, the Arts Council of Kern
awarded her the Bakersfield Centennial Dance Award for outstanding
contributions to the cultural heritage of Bakersfield. In 2002, the Arts Council
of Kern honored Civic Dance Center for 25 years of commitment to the
enhancement of the arts.

Erica Ackerley, Dancer Liason

Erica studied dance at Civic Dance Center for eleven years

and i

s a

former

member of the

company.

Her training

included

summer dance

programs with American Ballet

Theatre, The Rock School of Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet

Theatre.

She has been a certified massage therapist for

the past

four

years and has joined the Imagine Ballet

Company team. She is also currently on faculty with Civic

Dance Center. Whether teaching company class,

choreographing, or giving a quick calf massage in the

corner of rehearsal, Erica is happy to be a part of IBC.

This

is her

d year as Dancer Liason.

Ann McArthur, Ballet Mistress
Ms. McArthur trained with Civic Dance Center for 18 years. She continued at
a year-round school with Contra Costa Ballet and completed several summer
programs with both Contra Costa and San Fransisco Ballet. Ann has also
had a great opportunity to travel and attend Basque Music Camps. She is
currently on faculty at the Civic Dance Center, teaches private lessons, and
is a dance director and choreographer for The Nutcracker Ballet. When not
dancing, Ann is busy raising two beautiful daughters, Natalie and Chloe, who
both dance in The Nutcracker Ballet.

Civic Dance Center
Spring Gala

June 17th-19th,
Harvey Auditorium