Our directors

Toshiko Tompkins

CEO

Toshiko Tompkins opened the doors of the Naples Academy of Ballet in 2008 and has built the school into one of the finest ballet studios in Southwest Florida. As a young woman, Toshiko danced professionally in her home country of Japan before moving to the United States. Together with her husband Jay, the Tompkins’ are strong proponents of the arts – sponsoring several performances of the Star Dancers Ballet in Tokyo and performances by the National Ballet of Japan at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Toshiko has also sponsored numerous other ballet productions in McLean, Virginia and Southwest Florida.
Toshiko and Jay are major supporters of the American Dance Festival through their friendship with Charles and the late Stephanie Reinhart, co-directors of the Festival. Toshiko and Jay’s daughter, Mimi Tompkins, trained at Harid Conservatory and The San Francisco Ballet. She is currently a principle dancer at Ballet Arizona.

Christophe Maraval

Artistic Director

After nine years as a Principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Mr. Maraval retired at the end of the 2007 season to join the faculty at Ecole Superieure de Ballet Contemporain de Montreal the most prestigious school in Quebec. Mr. Maraval has been teaching Vaganova style with some French Flair, American musicality and energy to all levels of students. Christophe’s style is to teach his students method, rigor and the passion for dance. He believes Ballet is discipline and it will follow you all your life.
Mr. Maraval began his training at the Opera de Paris and the Superior Conservatory of Paris and at age 16, joined the Ballet National de NANCY (under Pierre Lacotte). He left after six seasons to work with Nanette Glushak at The Ballet du Capitole in Toulouse (France). It was in Toulouse that he discovered Balanchine and decided to move to America, first with Cincinnati Ballet under the direction of Victoria Morgan and finally PNB under Kent Stowell, Francia Russel and Peter Boal.
During his career, Mr. Maraval danced with various professional Ballets in the US and Canada as a Guest Artist including Tulsa Ballet, Oklahoma Ballet and Gala Des Etoiles of Montreal.
With a vast repertory, some of his favorite ballets are from George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Val Caniparoly, Ben Stevenson, Richard Tanner, Glen Tetley, Jose Limon, Jerome Robins, Ulysses Dove, Kent Stowel and more. Numerous choreographers have created ballets for Mr. Maraval such as Kirk Peterson (Amazing Burning dream, Carmen) Paul Gibson (Rush, Piano dance) Dominique Dumais (Scripted in the body, time and others matters).