Lake Area Ballet Theatre

Colleen Cannon Benoit established The Lake Charles Dance Academy in 2011 after many years of teaching, performing and training in classical ballet. She spent most of her years studying and teaching at the Clarke Dance Center, under the direction of the late Ida Winter Clarke and her daughter Cissie Clarke. She studied nationally receiving many scholarships for study and took classes with many nationally renowned teachers. Her training includes two scholarships to the Regional Dance America’s Craft of Choreography Conference, The School of American Ballet in NYC, The North Carolina School of the Arts, The Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, the International Ballet Competition, and the Joffrey Workshop.