Chris Corn

OWNER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Chris Corn is a former soloist and principal dancer with the Arabesque Concert Dance Company of San Francisco. She started her ballet studies as a young child at The Guam Academy of Performing Arts. Chris and her family moved to San Francisco in the early 70’s where she was promptly enrolled at The San Francisco Ballet School. At the age of 14, Chris was one of three San Francisco dancers awarded Summer Intensive Scholarships bestowed by Tance Johnson of San Francisco Dance Spectrum. She was also the recipient of the same honor and scholarship the following year. Through this opportunity, Chris was fortunate enough to meet her would-be mentor, the late Pepper Smith of San Francisco’s Smith Studios.

     Pepper fueled her passion for the art; provided guidance and intensive training in Classical Ballet, Modern Ballet, and Modern Dance (inspired by the styles of Martha Graham and Twyla Tharp). At the age of 17, Pepper invited Chris to join her performing company, the Arabesque Concert Dance Company. During her time at Smith Studios, Chris had the opportunity to study with Bruce Bain of The San Francisco Ballet, The L.A. Ballet, San Francisco Dance Spectrum and The National Ballet of Mexico; Carlos Carvajal and Tance Johnson both of San Francisco Dance Spectrum, Suzanne Farrell of The American School of Ballet and many other notable dance professionals.

    In addition to her studies at Smith Studios, Chris also attended Intensive Programs and Workshops at The San Francisco Ballet, San Francisco Dance Spectrum, The National Ballet of Canada and The Argentine National Ballet, as well as continuing her Classical Ballet studies at the University of San Francisco. Throughout her dance career, Chris performed in several productions and performances including The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Awakening, Rite of Spring and The Miraculous Mandarin. Chris has been a guest teacher at several studios and in January 2020, conducted a 4-day Winter Intensive at Starlight Studios. As of the Spring 2020 Semester, Chris joined the staff of Starlight Studios, taking on responsibility for the Ballet program.

     In addition to ballet, Chris is an avid equestrienne and spends her weekends riding her horse as well as teaching Dressage. Her husband, also a rider, is a professional Hunter/Jumper trainer and their training business is based in Oakley, California. Together they spend many weeks a year at competitions with their show clients and enjoy bringing along young horses and riders. Our innovative solutions are designed to address the unique needs of our clients and drive success..