About

Longest Established Studio in Forsyth County

Established as Sawnee School of Ballet in 1990 under the direction of Joan Kall Stewart, Sawnee School of the Arts is recognized in the Cumming dance community for its standard of excellence.

Classes are taught with enthusiasm by an outstanding faculty of experienced, caring professional instructors and are presented in a manner appropriate to the age and development of the students.

Sawnee School of the Arts is the home base for the recreational performing group Sawnee Sapphires as well as the non-profit Sawnee Ballet Theatre known for their annual Nutcracker and Spring Concert performances.

Whether your child is studying strictly for pleasure, or as a serious student with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer, Sawnee School of the Arts offers classes and performance tracks that suit the interests of all dancers.

Students have been accepted in prestigious summer intensive programs such as The Rock, North Carolina School of Arts, Boston Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, School of American Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Alonso King’s Lines, and the American Ballet Theatre.  They have also received scholarships to pursue dance collegiately at Ballet Magnificat, Belhaven University, the Joffrey School of Ballet, Kennesaw State University, Point Park University and Brenau University.  Many of our alumni have gone on to have successful stints performing and teaching.  

Faculty & Staff

Faculty & Staff Spotlight

In Loving Memory

Joan Kall Stewart

Our Founder

A native New Yorker, Ms. Stewart, also affectionately known as Miss Joanie, received her formative training at the Westbury Studio of Fine Arts with Martha Manners, Lillian Waldecker and Jon Curtis. She furthered her studies at the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo under the guidance of Anatole Vilzak and Ludmilla Shollar.

A performer of great versatility, Ms. Stewart worked for Broadway’s four top producers: Lerner & Lowe, David Merrick, Hal Prince, and Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Her professional credits include Broadway companies of Hello Dolly, Camelot, and National Touring Companies of Sound of Music, Fiorello, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. She has performed with Carol Channing, Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable, Kathryn Grayson, Florence Henderson, Eve Arden, Anne Miller, Leslie Gore, Tony Randall, and Soupy Sales.

Her Summer Stock credits include Paper Mill Playhouse and Music Fair Productions of production of Half A Sixpence and Gypsy and the Atlanta’s Theatre Of The Stars as Liesl in The Sound of Music, Liat in South Pacific, Gloria Upson in Mame, and Ermengarde in Hello Dolly. Industrial show credits include The Ford Show, Coca Cola, and Canada Dry.

Miss Joanie taught ballet in Atlanta beginning in 1967 and directed the Sandy Springs School of Ballet for fourteen years. She was a principal dancer with Georgia Ballet, DeKalb Concert Ballet, and Chattahoochee Dance Theatre.

Miss Joanie’s choreographic works have been performed by the Georgia Ballet, Ruth Mitchell Dance Company, Phoenix Opera, Mercer University, DeKalb Concert Ballet, Chattahoochee Dance Theatre, Sandy Springs Dunwoody Civic Ballet, Sawnee Ballet Theatre, and St. Petersburg Florida’s Chamber Ballet Company.

In 1990, Miss Joanie founded the Sawnee School of Ballet, and in 1991, she formed the Sawnee Ballet Theatre presenting Cumming, Georgia with its first full length Nutcracker.

Miss Joanie, passed away in April 2023 at the age of 82. As founder and matriarch of Sawnee School of Ballet and Sawnee Ballet Theatre, Miss Joanie made an incredible impact on so many who walked through the studio doors.  Her wit, philosophies for living a long and fulfilling life, and her years of experience as a performer, dance teacher, and studio owner inspired so many.  Her students often described her as someone with humor, wisdom, and grace. According to alumnus Anna Lugus, she  was a person who "nurtured our souls, made us feel like we belonged to something, made us feel like we were doing something that mattered, made us feel like WE mattered."  

Miss Joanie taught classes well into her 78th year, and she will be greatly missed and remembered for many more than that.

To honor Joan Kall Stewart, Sawnee Ballet Theatre will annually award one company member exemplifying passion, dedication, and determination for dance with a Joan Kall Stewart Memorial Scholarship towards membership in the SBT company.