ERICA FISCHBACH

ACADEMY DIRECTOR

Academy Director Erica Fischbach enjoyed a distinguished 20-year professional career with American Ballet Theatre and Pacific Northwest Ballet before transitioning to teaching and leadership. She is fully certified in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, as well as in Pilates and the Gyrotonic Method, and has served on the faculty of leading institutions including American Ballet Theatre, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), the Cecchetti Council of America, and Colorado Ballet.

Since 2016, Ms. Fischbach has played a central role in shaping Colorado Ballet Academy into one of the nation’s premier training institutions. Under her leadership, the Academy’s faculty and staff have grown significantly and now include former principal dancers and master teachers from internationally renowned companies such as American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and more. She has expanded both the after-school Academy and the daytime Pre-Professional Division, with an average of six graduates each year receiving contracts with Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company.

Ms. Fischbach began her training at the age of seven with Theresa Bullard’s Kalamazoo Ballet Company. She later studied on scholarship at Milwaukee Ballet and trained privately with Mariana Sachs Laufer. At 15, she was awarded a scholarship to attend UNCSA, where she trained under legendary artists including Melissa Hayden, Fanchon Cordell, and Duncan Noble.

Her professional career began with the opportunity to perform Balanchine works as a principal under Edward Villella. She then joined Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she rose through the ranks, performing leading roles across a wide-ranging repertoire. In 1996, she joined American Ballet Theatre under the direction of Kevin McKenzie, where she performed until 2005. During her tenure, she originated roles in world premieres by Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, and Kevin McKenzie, and performed principal roles in works by Antony Tudor, Ji?í Kylián, Agnes de Mille, and Twyla Tharp, among others. She also appeared as a featured guest artist in Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite at the World Trade Center in 2001 and in productions including Dance in America, Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker, and the film Center Stage.

Since transitioning to teaching and leadership, Ms. Fischbach has built an internationally recognized Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) program. Her students have consistently earned top placements and advanced to the prestigious International Finals, and she has received multiple YAGP “Outstanding Teacher” awards. After bringing the program to Colorado Ballet Academy in 2016, the school was named “Outstanding School” within three years and has maintained that distinction annually. Now a designated YAGP partner school, CBA continues to receive top honors at the international level.

Ms. Fischbach is also an accomplished choreographer, known for staging and adapting full-length classical ballets for dance students of all ages. Her productions—including The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, and Coppélia—have been performed annually at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Additional works include The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Les Patineurs, and numerous original pieces for competition and community performances.

Her students have gone on to join leading companies such as American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet, train at elite institutions including The Royal Ballet School, and pursue collegiate dance programs nationwide.

Erica Fischbach is proud to be part of Colorado Ballet’s leadership and the Academy’s community of dedicated, world-class artists and educators.