Our Staff
The leadership of Oil Region Ballet believes in making the Art of Ballet approachable and relatable to modern audiences and the rapidly changing world. Through the adaptation of modernized folk tales and literature, ORB's performances provide both real and fictional role models. All are rich with relatable characters who learn valuable moral lessons and overcome challenges with humor and personal growth.
Artistic Director
Deborah Femovich
Oil Region Ballet’s Founder, Executive Director, and Artistic Director. Deborah is native of Michigan. She studied under such renowned names as Ed Riffle, Rich Ron, Sally Seven, Bene Arnold, Barbra Hamblin, Douglas Bentz and Conrad Ludlow. She is a graduate of University of Utah and Point Park College. She has a Bachelors's degree in Fine Arts with a major in Ballet. Deborah was a member of the Grand Rapids Ballet.
Her post-graduate studies include a certification in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. Deborah taught dance in Grand Rapids, Pittsburgh, and Morgantown before relocating to this area where she has continued to teach for eighteen more years.
She is a great believer in giving dancers the opportunity to perform full-length ballet productions in a professional and supportive environment. The joy of performing is a dancer's greatest reward.
Costume Mistress
Tina Borger
ORB's amazing costumer resides in Tennessee. With the help of her husband and fellow costume engineer David Borger, Tina brings the extraordinary ORB characters to life.
Once the Artistic Director has conceived of a character and envisioned its form, she sends the idea with dancer measurements to Tina. With this concept in hand and working from her home in the outskirts of Nashville, Tina's team must engineer how to bring the character to life. Tina and David love the large and challenging character tasks, while Deborah Femovich sews the more mundane corps costumes locally.
After the cast of characters is complete, a truck full of creations must now parade up the road to Pennsylvania. During each dress rehearsal and performance, Tina is tirelessly repairing the heavily used costumes behind the scenes.
Choreographer
Sylvia Cagle
Sylvia Cagle is passionate about all aspects of dance and the performing arts, which lead her to attain a teaching/choreography concentration in addition to her performance concentration from Mercyhurst College's dance program. While in college, her work was featured at the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center and performed at the American College Dance Festival Association. She transitioned to musical theater work when she moved to Meadville and has choreographed for The Academy Theatre, Meadville Community Theatre, and The Barrow-Civic Theatre. Sylvia believes in giving anyone who has the desire to dance the opportunity to do so, and thrives on guiding performers to achieve more than they thought they could.
Our Photographers
Our talented team of volunteer photographers capture ORB's magical moments.
Gary Stone
Leigh-Anne Williams
Explore our full gallery for more stunning photographs!