Christina Addabbo Prete

Christina Prete has been teaching ballet, jazz, and tap dance in the Washington, D.C. area for over 20 years. Specializing in the Cecchetti Method of ballet, in which Christina holds her Advanced Professional VII Teacher’s Certificate, she has worked with children aged 2 through 18. Christina was principal dancer with Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in Rockville, Maryland for nine years, playing lead roles in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and The Firebird. In addition, Christina has also danced with the Virginia Civic Ballet, performing as Cinderella. Currently, Christina is dancing as a featured guest artist with JAZZeMOTION, a resident dance company of Joy of Motion Dance Center in Washington, DC. Under the direction of Douglas Yeuell, the Executive and Artistic Director of Joy of Motion, JAZZeMOTION offers outreach performances for area nursing homes and senior centers and often appears in Performance Showcases at the Jack Guidone Theatre in Friendship Heights.

Christina graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Finance from the University of Maryland.  While at Maryland, she competed in collegiate ballroom dancing, traveling around the U.S.  and to the U.K. She also directed and choreographed for the Ballroom Formation Team at Maryland during her senior year.

Christina received her primary dance training at the Corinne Phelps Robertson School of Dance and began as an assistant teacher there in 1990.  Pamela Moore coached Christina for her Advanced Professional (Level VII) Teacher's Certificate and Suzanne Erlon trained her in the Balanchine method. Christina is currently the Executive Director of the Corinne Phelps Robertson School of Dance as well as a teacher of creative movement, ballet, jazz, and tap. Christina prepares students for Cecchetti ballet exams and choreographs and stages dance routines for the school's annual dance concert.

Christina has also been on the faculty of the Black Rock Center for the Arts in Germantown, Maryland, since the Center's inaugural season where she teaches creative movement, ballet, and tap. In addition, Christina has participated in a number of Outreach Programs with Metropolitan Ballet Theatre.  She has performed in Athletics and the Dancer, a lecture/demonstration program  for elementary school students, and has taught creative movement at the Child Care Center at Montgomery College-Germantown.  She also taught jazz and ballet to at-risk high school students as part of Educacion 2000 program at Richard Montgomery High School.

Christina is a member of the Cecchetti Council of America (CCA) and served for ten years as the Treasurer on the board of the East Coast Committee of the CCA.  She also served as Secretary of the Board of Directors of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre for four years.  In June of 2002, she was proudly featured in a biographical documentary on Montgomery Community Cable.  In addition, she has been interviewed by the Montgomery Gazette (April 2002) and the Potomac Almanac (September 1998).

As the oldest of four children, Christina has always loved working with and being around children. Being a dance teacher has enabled her to share her love of this beautiful art form as well as encourage freedom of movement and expression in her students. Most importantly, Christina has been able to show that dance is not only beautiful, it's also fun!