Carla Prucnal founded the Johnstown Concert Ballet School in 1964. She teaches ballet classes for all ages and serves as the Johnstown Concert Ballet Company’s Artistic Director. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, performed with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and is a member-teacher of the Cechetti Council of America.

Ms. Prucnal has choreographed and staged hundreds of dances throughout her career, including: The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, La Fille mel Garde, Coppelia, Graduation Ball, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Peter and the Wolf, Caroline goes to the Circus, Merry Widow, The Skaters, Beauty and the Beast, and the perennial favorite, The Nutcracker. The premier of the Flood Ballet, as part of the commemoration of the Great Flood, was the tumultuous finale for the Centennial Celebration of 1989.

The School participates yearly in the Ethnic Fest, dances for special events, and performs seasonal Nutcracker excerpts for nursing homes.

Ms. Prucnal’s honors and recognition include YWCA’s Tribute to Women in the Arts, and the BOTTLE WORKS’ Artists’ Hall of Fame in 2005. She is a frequent speaker on the important of dance and the arts for community groups.

Carla doesn’t just teach dance. Her ballerinas learn the history of ballet and the music that accompanies it, as well as other derivative art forms. Carla introduces young dancers to the global stage. They hone a work ethic and develop a lifelong appreciation of the arts.

Many of Carla’s graduates go on to dance in college, and dance professionally with larger companies. Others have gone on to successful careers in a vast array of fields. Here’s what they have in common: they’re disciplined, goal-oriented, collaborative, creative, and goal-oriented. They know how it feels to stand in the spotlight after months of hard work, and feel the profound satisfaction of a job well done.

This empowerment lasts long after the last curtain call.