With over a decade on stage and over three decades behind the scenes, Andrea Hill is one of Wilmington’s foremost creative powers. Hill is the founder and artistic director of the City Ballet, a classical ballet school with almost 150 students. The former professional ballerina turned choreographer boasts a long and impressive career, and a passion for dance that she strives to share with people of all ages in Wilmington and New Hanover County.
“Having good music and having good literature is key,” said Hill. “With all of our ballets, just delving into the stories and really trying to flesh out the characters and the storyline- that’s my favorite thing to do.”
Hill’s first appearance on stage came when she was 5 years old, performing in the Boston Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker.” She trained for just over a decade before becoming a professional ballerina at age 16, joining a company in Rhode Island first before moving to Dallas, Texas. She soon retired following a back injury caused by her eating disorder—something she developed as a result of the unhealthy environment at the Dallas ballet company with which she was performing at the time. This experience drives Hill’s approach to teaching and mentorship.
“We really try to keep a very positive atmosphere,” said Hill. “All of our teachers are very passionate about what they do, and they’re very nurturing. They create an environment that fosters everybody supporting each other and that’s always been really important to me.”
The first ballet school that Hill founded was in central Pennsylvania, but when her husband was hired by the St. Mark Catholic Church, they moved to Wilmington. Hill created City Ballet in 2011, and has seen the company grow tremendously in the 14 years since it opened. Over the course of her teaching career, Hill has trained formidable dancers such as Arron Scott, a former soloist for American Ballet Theatre, and Alex Manning, who recently retired from the Miami City Ballet and joined the City Ballet in Wilmington as a faculty member and Ballet Master.
“Each teacher and each student has just been so special to me,” Hill said. “When Arron Scott got accepted into New York and went on to his career, I just remember it felt like the wallpaper was gone; the studio dynamic just changed because I was so used to him always being there. There’s been so many students like that.”
Not all ballet schools or professional companies implement training through a strictly classical technique; many have incorporated a more contemporary method to their choreography and repertoire over time. However, classical ballet remains fundamental for many dancers across the world, whether in ballet, modern, tap, jazz or any other style due to its emphasis on coordination, discipline and respect.
Although City Ballet maintains its focus on classical ballet and provides lessons for all levels, ranging from pre-ballet to pointe and pre-professional, it offers contemporary training in styles such as modern and lyrical as well. Past productions of the Contemporary Company have included “Jane Eyre,” “Resilience” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
Notable productions by the City Ballet’s classical school, ensembles and company include “The Carolina Nutcracker,” “The Firebird,” “Peter and the Wolf,” “Cinderella” and a movement from “Viva Vivaldi,” among others. The lattermost was taught by then-guest artist Diane Orio Gerberg, who had personally learned the choreography from original choreographer Gerald Arpino during her 14 year career with the Joffrey Ballet. Gerberg is now Company Ballet Mistress for City Ballet.
“For dancers who want to go professional, 75% of the training should be in the classical technique,” Hill explained. “When you look at some of the major schools like the Royal Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, School of American Ballet- they don’t offer all these other things [referring to contemporary or modern curriculum]. If you want to ever be in one of those schools or be in one of those companies, our feeling is, ‘Let’s train like they do.’”
Hill most recently choreographed City Ballet’s annual production of “The Nutcracker,” which sold out two shows at The Wilson Center in downtown Wilmington. She has already begun planning for the company’s performance of “Sleeping Beauty” this coming spring.
“If anybody knows a ballet it’s going to be ‘The Nutcracker.’ I think because it ties into the holidays it becomes a special place for people in their hearts; It becomes very nostalgic to go to ‘The Nutcracker,’” said Hill, referring to the annual success of the ballet. “We’ve done ‘Jane Eyre,’ we’ve done ‘Phantom of the Opera’—and they sell well but just not nearly what ‘Nutcracker’ does. It’s unfortunate because those ballets are just as enjoyable. I hope that more audiences will take a chance and go to some of the other shows because they are very special.”
More information about Andrea Hill and City Ballet can be found on the school’s website, https://www.cityballetofwilmington.org/. The school’s production of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ will take place on May 31 and June 1, 2025 at The Wilson Center.
