Nina Amato
BALLET MISTRESS

Nina Baratova Amato began her training with the San Francisco Ballet School and continued with Barbara Crockett in Sacramento. She is a former principal with the Sacramento Ballet. While under the direction of Ron Cunningham and Carinne Binda, she danced leading roles in such ballets as Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo & Juliet, Nutcracker, Cinderella, Coppelia, La Fille Mal Gardee, Les Sylphides, and The Sleeping Beauty, as well as a wide range of contemporary works, many of which were created specifically for her.
 
She spent a summer studying at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, where she was invited to study on a two year scholarship. Nina was a finalist in the 5th International Ballet Competition in Paris, and was awarded an Emerging Artist Grant from the Sacramento Mayor, and the Metropolitan Arts Commission. 
 
Ms. Baratova Amato is the Owner/Director of Classical Ballet of California in Pacifica, a school with over 200 students, where she has staged numerous productions including Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, La Fille Mal Gardee, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and annual productions of The Nutcracker, incorporating all of the students as well as volunteer members of the community.

As Ballet Mistress of Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Nina Baratova Amato staged a full-length Giselle in 2019. She currently teaches, rehearses, and coaches the company at PBT.