City Youth Ballet - Johnson City, TN

City Youth Ballet is new, but its history in the community spans over 80 years!

In 1928, Reese Holloway, a talented dancer, and her sister, Wilma, a conservatory trained pianist, introduced East Tennesse to classical ballet by opening the Holloway Dancing School of Johnson City (which later became Johnson City Ballet). Taking their training very seriously, the two sisters and their students traveled to New York City each summer to study with such 20th century dance luminaries as Andre Eglevsky, Igor Youskevitch, Leon Danielian, Thalia Mara, Robert Joffrey, and Arthur Mitchell. Other ballet notables including Lowell Smith and Yvonne Hall of Dance Theatre of Harlem, Robert Barnett of Atlanta Ballet and New York City Ballet, Anna-Marie Holmes of the Boston Ballet, and Gelsey Kirkland of New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater traveled to Johnson City as guest dancers and teachers for the Holloway School and the Johnson City Ballet.

Throughout the years, Reese (later Reese Holloway Toohey) and Wilma (later Wilma Holloway Pace) taught and enriched the community with regular recitals and performances at the old Majestic Theater and the John Sevier Hotel Ballroom. Weekly performances were given for returning WWII soldiers at the V.A. Theater at Mountain Home. Reese and Wilma began a tradition of quality instruction and performance which has continued for 78 years.

With Wilma’s daughter Susan Pace as the City Youth Ballet’s Artistic Director, the tradition continues. Hardworking volunteers, parents, and dancers have helped realize the dream of a nonprofit, semi-professional dance company, supported by the community and starring the community’s youth. With the advent of the City Youth Ballet, we open a new chapter for the arts and for the children of Northeast Tennessee.