About Ballet Caliente
Ballet Caliente was founded by Sheryl-Marie Dunaway in 1996. Our school is located in
Lexington Park, Maryland at 21615 S. Essex Drive.
Mrs. Dunaway has taught dancing for over 30 years and has owned and directed her ballet
school and company here in Southern MD for over 11 years. She discovered her love for ballet
at age 3, when she lived in El Paso, Texas. After her mother noticed her floating around the
house, she enrolled her daughter with the British Ballet Academy. By the age of 11, she started
attending dance schools on scholarship and at age 12 received her first teaching job for the
local YMCA. At 16, she was invited to become an apprentice with the San Francisco Ballet
Company and danced with it for five consecutive summers. She attended the National Academy
of Dance in Champaign, Illinois, a performing arts high school that was a feeder school for the
American Ballet Theater. During the summer months, she furthered her dancing interests by
attending dance sessions at several famous dance schools and companies. Mrs. Dunaway
has received scholarships to study with an extensive list of well-known dance organizations.
Some of the most prestigious are the San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, the Royal Winnipeg
Ballet; Dance Aspen and the School of American Ballet. She has studied with world-renowned
teachers such as Lupe Serreno, Violette Verdy, Michael Maule, Harold and Lew Christiansen,
Bene’ Arnold, Gus Giordano, and Joe Termaine. Mrs. Dunaway attended college on a dance
scholarship at the University of Texas, El Paso, for one year then transferred to Southern
Methodist University and received her BA, majoring in dance. Mrs. Dunaway has also
performed as a professional dancer and a guest artist with several regional dance companies
including Ballet El Paso, Ballet de Las Americas in Mexico, Ballet Fantastique, and the Monterey
Peninsula Arts Company.
Mrs. Dunaway has been teaching and choreographing for over 30 years and enjoys writing and
choreographing story ballets. Locally, she has choreographed pieces and her troupe has
performed with the St. Mary’s River Concert series with collaboration with Jeffery Silberschlogg
a number of times. Additionally, her group has performs the Nutcracker annually in conjunction
with COSMIC orchestra, and the National Ballet of the Ukraine. Presently, she is working on a
project with COSMIC to perform Peter and the Wolf and plans are to take the production to local
schools. The wife of an active duty Navy man, she has moved many times in 25 years of
marriage and has taught several hundred students everywhere the Navy has taken her family,
including Japan. Although many of her students are dancing professionally, or are enrolled at
highly accredited dance schools and universities, Mrs. Dunaway feels her greatest success is
in touching others and helping them to love and appreciate dance. Her fondness for children
has led to her greatest joy . . . teaching.
Mrs. Dunaway currently resides in Ridgecrest, California with her husband. She travels to
Maryland frequently to teach classes, choroegraph dances and direct our performances.
Ballet Caliente was founded by Sheryl-Marie Dunaway in 1996. Our school is located in
Lexington Park, Maryland at 21615 S. Essex Drive.
Mrs. Dunaway has taught dancing for over 30 years and has owned and directed her ballet
school and company here in Southern MD for over 11 years. She discovered her love for ballet
at age 3, when she lived in El Paso, Texas. After her mother noticed her floating around the
house, she enrolled her daughter with the British Ballet Academy. By the age of 11, she started
attending dance schools on scholarship and at age 12 received her first teaching job for the
local YMCA. At 16, she was invited to become an apprentice with the San Francisco Ballet
Company and danced with it for five consecutive summers. She attended the National Academy
of Dance in Champaign, Illinois, a performing arts high school that was a feeder school for the
American Ballet Theater. During the summer months, she furthered her dancing interests by
attending dance sessions at several famous dance schools and companies. Mrs. Dunaway
has received scholarships to study with an extensive list of well-known dance organizations.
Some of the most prestigious are the San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, the Royal Winnipeg
Ballet; Dance Aspen and the School of American Ballet. She has studied with world-renowned
teachers such as Lupe Serreno, Violette Verdy, Michael Maule, Harold and Lew Christiansen,
Bene’ Arnold, Gus Giordano, and Joe Termaine. Mrs. Dunaway attended college on a dance
scholarship at the University of Texas, El Paso, for one year then transferred to Southern
Methodist University and received her BA, majoring in dance. Mrs. Dunaway has also
performed as a professional dancer and a guest artist with several regional dance companies
including Ballet El Paso, Ballet de Las Americas in Mexico, Ballet Fantastique, and the Monterey
Peninsula Arts Company.
Mrs. Dunaway has been teaching and choreographing for over 30 years and enjoys writing and
choreographing story ballets. Locally, she has choreographed pieces and her troupe has
performed with the St. Mary’s River Concert series with collaboration with Jeffery Silberschlogg
a number of times. Additionally, her group has performs the Nutcracker annually in conjunction
with COSMIC orchestra, and the National Ballet of the Ukraine. Presently, she is working on a
project with COSMIC to perform Peter and the Wolf and plans are to take the production to local
schools. The wife of an active duty Navy man, she has moved many times in 25 years of
marriage and has taught several hundred students everywhere the Navy has taken her family,
including Japan. Although many of her students are dancing professionally, or are enrolled at
highly accredited dance schools and universities, Mrs. Dunaway feels her greatest success is
in touching others and helping them to love and appreciate dance. Her fondness for children
has led to her greatest joy . . . teaching.
Mrs. Dunaway currently resides in Ridgecrest, California with her husband. She travels to
Maryland frequently to teach classes, choroegraph dances and direct our performances.
About Us
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Ballet Caliente
Classical School of Dance
Classical School of Dance
Sheryl-Marie Dunaway
Ballet Caliente
Artistic Director
Ballet Caliente
Artistic Director