Founder & Artistic Director

Alex Manning

  Alex Manning is a former professional dancer with the Miami City Ballet. He received his training at the world-renowned Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) under the direction of the late Marcia Dale Weary, who personally mentored him in her legendary pedagogical method.  While at CPYB, he also trained with Darla Hoover and privately with Laszlo Berdo. In 2012, Alex received the Jerome Robbins Scholarship at CPYB and in 2013, Alex was hired by Lourdes Lopez to join the Miami City Ballet.

  Throughout his career with Miami City Ballet, Alex performed works by renowned choreographers including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Justin Peck, and Alexei Ratmansky. His performances have graced prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center Opera House and the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. During his off-seasons, Marcia frequently invited Alex to return to CPYB as a guest teacher, which began his journey as a teacher and coach.

  In 2022, Alex retired from Miami City Ballet to pursue his passion for educating the next generation of dancers. He has since served in roles across the United States as a ballet master, director of curriculum, and an instructor to all ages and levels. His teaching encompasses classical and Balanchine techniques, men’s and variations classes, pointe, pas de deux, and performance coaching. Alex continues to guest-teach at respected institutions nationwide, including CPYB’s Five-Week Summer Course. He received certification from CPYB’s Teacher’s Workshop in 2023.

  In 2025, he founded Ballet Manning; a new ballet school in Wilmington, North Carolina with a mission to provide exceptional, individualized training for dancers of all levels who aspire to reach their highest potential in ballet.

Assistant Artistic Director, Director of Contemporary & Modern Dance

Erin F. Cimino

Erin Fitzpatrick Cimino grew up dancing in Richmond, VA at Martinique School of Dance. In 2000, she completed her BFA in Dance Performance at the conservatory at Shenandoah University. While at Shenandoah she had many performance opportunities including The Jazz Dance World Congress and The Viennese Opera Ball hosted by the Austrian Embassy in Washington, DC. After graduation she moved to New York where she discovered a passion for teaching. This new found love of teaching led her to NYU where she received her MA in Dance Education in 2004. NYU offered her the opportunity to work with Dr Edward C Warburton and Pat Cohen as a teaching assistant, perform with Kaleidoscope Dance Company, and write her thesis on using dance as an early intervention tool to aid in motor skill development for children with Down Syndrome. After graduate school she worked as a Teaching Artist for American Ballet Theatre and taught at private studios across Long Island. She was invited to perform for DamastDance under the direction of Deborah Damast. In 2013 she moved to North Carolina and has been teaching there since. For over 25 years Erin has been educating, mentoring and coaching dancers in a variety of environments- private coaching/mentoring, competitive studios, recreational studios, ballet schools, and educational outreach through professional companies and universities. She has taught dancers of all ages and abilities, some choosing dance as a career path and some dancing just for the joy it brings them. As a dance educator she believes that dance can change the way a person moves through life, and that the lessons and skills learned in the studio go far beyond movement and technique.