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Yvonne Salcedo Williams



"The Creative Force"


Born in Bogota, Colombia, Yvonne moved with her family to Palm Beach, Florida where at age ten, she began her training with Marie Hale of Ballet Florida. At sixteen she was granted the prestigious Merit Scholarship at the National Academy of the Arts in Champaign, Illinois - an honor bestowed upon only one student every four years. She received further training in New York City from world-renowned teachers - David Howard, Finis Jhung, Nina Papova and Michael Maule; and studied with the American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet.

Yvonne was a member of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for four years, bringing deep emotional & technical interpretation as soloist in such Ballets as Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet, Daphnis & Chloe, Nutcracker, Etudes, Rodeo, Paquita, Giselle, Swan Lake, Petrouchka, Merry Widow & Sleeping Beauty as well as repertory by renowned choreographers George Balanchine and William Forsythe and original contemporary works including Portrait for the Present Times & Le Dans de Triumphe by Patrick Frantz and Barre on the Tavern by Keith Martins.

Yvonne has had the privilege of working with such noted choreographers as Alexandra Danilova, Patrick Frantz, Peter Martins, Bob Davis, Gwen Ashton and Marie Hale. Throughout her professional career, Yvonne has passed on to her students and dancers her passion for the language of dance, and is instilling in them a love of classical ballet, commitment to excellence and discipline that will make them triumph at whatever they may do in life.

In 1992, Yvonne and her husband Colin founded Arts Triumphant Dance Theatre, in Jacksonville Florida. Over the next decade Arts Triumphant thrived both as a contemporary Ballet Company and dance conservatory. In addition to creating and staging works in Florida, Yvonne has choreographed numerous full-length productions in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, The Netherlands and Israel. In October of 1998 & 1999, by special invitation, Yvonne traveled to Israel to dance at the Feast of Sukkoth. While there, Yvonne had the great honor of performing for Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

After ten very successful years in Jacksonville, Florida, Yvonne moved with her husband Colin to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Since relocating to the area, Arts Triumphant has held its annual Summer Dance Intensives at Coolfont Resort & Spa, culminating with public performances. Since it beginning Arts Triumphant has enjoyed many unique and powerful collaborations with diverse art forms. Yvonne continues to perform nationally and internationally and is much sought after as a dancer, teacher, choreographer and coach.

By blurring the lines that for to long have separated classical ballet, jazz and modern dance, Arts Triumphant is creating theatre that is triumphant, stirs the spirit and dares the audience to soar with the performers.

Arts Triumphant’s Mission

* To breathe life into the world through artistic expression
* To create art that is Classical, Physical & Triumphant
* To communicate hope and love through the language of dance
* To invite both the artists and the audience to embrace their Divine Destiny.

Arts Triumphant Dance Theatre is a non-profit arts organization, that is advancing the art of dance by embracing a strong classical ballet foundation while discovering new realms of expression through the freedom found in jazz and modern dance techniques. Founded in 1992 by Yvonne Salcedo Williams, Arts Triumphant trains dancers that are both lovely to watch and a delight to know by instilling virtues such as discipline, respect, self-evaluation, and critical thinking. These important life-skills benefit them in their personal lives as well as their professional careers-whether it be in dance or any other profession.