Salwa Rizkalla’s artistic vision and community involvement led to the creation of Festival Ballet Theatre (FBT) and Southland Ballet Academy (SBA).

Artistic Director Salwa Rizkalla has contributed to the Orange County, California community for more than 40 years by presenting full productions of classical ballet alongside new contemporary and original works. Through her non-profit organization, Festival Ballet Theatre, she invites world-class dancers to perform leading roles and promotes excellence in dance performance, while providing top-tier classical ballet training at Southland Ballet Academy.

During her professional dancing career, Ms. Rizkalla performed key roles in well-known classical ballets and worked under the direction of world-renowned choreographers, including Leonid Lavrovsky and Serge Lifar. She trained in the Russian Vaganova method at the Higher Institute of Cairo, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Ballet Pedagogy, and later secured a lifelong teaching credential from UCLA. She established Southland Ballet Academy in 1983 and debuted Festival Ballet Theatre in 1988. In addition to teaching and directing, she has served on the faculty at several local colleges and institutions.

Her contributions have been recognized by numerous arts organizations. The Orange County Music and Arts Administrators and Orange County Performing Arts Center jointly named her the Orange County Arts Educator of the Year for Secondary Dance (2003). Youth America Grand Prix has repeatedly recognized Ms. Rizkalla as an Outstanding Teacher, and Arts Orange County honored her with the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award (2014). Additionally, the OC Register named her one of Orange County’s 100 Most Influential people in 2017.

Ms. Rizkalla is honored to have impacted the lives of hundreds of students and their families through her teaching. She remains a dedicated educator, energetic promoter of the arts, and active participant in the cultural life of her community.

Ms. Rizkalla has been honored to impact the lives of hundreds of students and their families through her teaching. She is proud to be a dedicated educator, an energetic  promoter of the arts, and an active participant in the cultural life of her community.

Ms. Rizkalla has been honored to impact the lives of hundreds of students and their families through her teaching. She is proud to be a dedicated educator, an energetic  promoter of the arts, and an active participant in the cultural life of her community.

Dedicated to cultivating excellence and inspiring an appreciation for classical ballet

Welcome to Southland Ballet Academy (SBA), the official school of Festival Ballet Theatre.

Founded in 1983 by Artistic Director Salwa Rizkalla, SBA is dedicated to cultivating excellence and inspiring an appreciation for classical ballet. We offer comprehensive instruction for dancers of all ages and skill levels—from beginners (ages 3 and up) to aspiring professionals. Our programs are taught using the traditional Vaganova method across our eight state-of-the-art studios in Fountain Valley and Irvine.

We offer instruction in a wide range of disciplines, including:

– Ballet (Vaganova method) and Pointe
– Character and Pas de Deux
– Boys’ Classes
– Contemporary, Jazz, and Stretch

Our faculty consists of nationally and internationally recognized instructors with extensive professional experience. Through our strong affiliation with Festival Ballet Theatre, students enjoy exceptional performance opportunities, including our annual student recital, International Summer Intensive, competitive events, and full-scale productions such as The Nutcracker. Need-based financial scholarships are also available for qualifying students.

We invite you to visit our facilities, observe a class, and discover our programs. Please let us know if you have any questions or if you would like to schedule a visit.

Exhilarating, Nurturing, Stimulating

Founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Salwa Rizkalla, Festival Ballet Theatre (FBT) is Orange County’s premier non-profit ballet company. Our mission is to enrich our community’s artistic vitality, inspire a love for dance, and invigorate the art form through three core initiatives:

– Exhilarating Performances: Presenting professional-quality classical and contemporary productions, including The Nutcracker, full-length classical ballets, and the annual International Ballet Festival: Gala of the Stars at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.
– A Nurturing Environment: Fostering the next generation of dancers and choreographers by pairing rising Southern California talent with world-renowned guest artists from prestigious companies, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and the Royal Ballet.
– Educational Outreach: Expanding access to dance within diverse and underserved communities, enriching school curricula, and offering free performances throughout Orange County.

Recognized as Arts Orange County’s Outstanding Arts Organization of the Year, FBT remains dedicated to artistic excellence, audience development, and sustaining the arts in our community.

Ms. Rizkalla has been honored to impact the lives of hundreds of students and their families through her teaching. She is proud to be a dedicated educator, an energetic  promoter of the arts, and an active participant in the cultural life of her community.

With reverence for master-pieces of the past and a clear focus on developing future tour de forces

The company’s productions spotlight internationally acclaimed guest artists from prestigious companies such as American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, the Kirov Ballet, Nashville Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, Royal Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Stattsballet Berlin and Stuttgart Ballet.

As part of our pledge to foster careers for those who show talent and drive, we offer selected dancers from our Southland Ballet Academy studios and open audition to the community the unique opportunity to dance alongside these international stars of ballet. Each of our productions offers an impressive roster of homegrown, up-and-coming Southern California talent.

Aspiring to heights of artistic excellence, FBT simultaneously attracts the best in professional dance to its home base while sending its own dancers out as artistic ambassadors to the nation. Our alumni have achieved great things, and we are very proud of each and every one. Among these are former students who have received contracts with prestigious companies throughout the world, including American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Washington Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Memphis Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet Austin, Nashville Ballet, National Ballet of Canada and others.