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Kim Raymond is originally from Springfield, Missouri. She began her ballet training at the age of seven under the instruction of Debbie Claus Moore. Kim completed her advanced training under Julia Bubalo at Ozark Dance Academy. She also received training and performed with Springfield Ballet and Missouri State University. Upon high school graduation, Kim moved to Jackson, MS, to join Ballet Magnificat!’s Trainee Program in 2001. She was later promoted to Company Member with Ballet Magnificat! Omega. In August 2004, Kim married Jason Raymond, who served as the company’s Road Manager. The couple moved to Springfield in June of 2007 and founded Petra Ballet Company in January of 2008.
Kim’s teaching experience includes six years at Ballet Magnificat! School of the Arts, Ballet Magnificat! Summer Dance Intensives, and workshops at Credo Dance Academy, Ozark Dance Academy, Red Door Dance Company, and Springfield Ballet. Kim has guested as instructor and choreographer on tour in the United States and internationally, including master classes in Soust, Holland and at the Prague Conservatory of Dance. Kim is the Founder and Artistic Director of Petra Ballet Company, Petra School of the Arts, and Petra Junior Company.
A native of Springfield, Rebekah started her dance training when she was 10 years old at Credo Dance Academy. Rebekah competed with the Youth of America Grand Prix (YAGP) and passed two advanced exams through the Royal Academy of Dance. Rebekah has attended dance intensives with Steve Rooks, Ballet Magnificat! and Ad Deum.
Sara Beth Ford is from Broken Arrow, OK. She began her dance training at age 6, attending the Dance Pointe in Tulsa, OK. Once in high school, she began training under Laura Norman-Tyson at Oklahoma Performing Arts where she was able to continue improving and strengthening her classical ballet and modern dance technique. She attended summer workshops with Tulsa Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and Kansas City Ballet. She also had the opportunity to compete in the Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition dancing variations from Swan Lake and La Bayadere.
After graduating high school in 2007, she attended Wichita State University and danced one year with WSU’s dance department where she had the unique opportunity to travel and perform in Taiwan. She then transferred to the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she graduated in 2011 and received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance.
Upon graduating college, Sara moved to Springfield and began dancing with Petra Ballet Company for the 2011-2012 season starting as an apprentice. The following season she was promoted to company member, dancing and ministering through the arts with Petra until 2016. Sara married her husband Jordan in 2014. They welcomed their first child, Oliver, into the world in 2018 and their second child, Avery, in 2021. After resigning from her manager position at Twin Oaks Country Club in 2020, she has enjoyed being a stay at home mom to her two kids. She is excited for this new adventure teaching for Petra School of the Arts.
McKenna began her dance training at Petra Ballet Company at age 4. Her dance training includes ballet, pointe, Irish, contemporary, and jazz. She became one of Petra Ballet Junior Company’s first members in 2018. McKenna has danced lead roles such as Lucia in “You are Special”, Christian in “The Quest”, and both Lucy and the White Witch in “Christmas in Narnia”. McKenna has trained and passed four exams through the Cecchetti Council of America and has attended several dance intensives with Petra Ballet Company. She has served as an assistant for many Lower School classes and workshops at Petra. She has also enjoyed assisting in teaching dance at Creative Camps at church and volunteering for the last five years in the preschool program there. She is a current Company Dancer with the Junior Company and we are proud to have her as an Instructor in the Lower School.
