The South Hills will add a professionally oriented ballet studio to its already burgeoning dance population. Steven and Lindsay Piper, former dancers with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and faculty members of the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, will open their own studio, called Ballet Academy of Pittsburgh, this fall.

The studio will be at 4410 Library Road in Castle Shannon. Joining the Pipers will be Robert Steele (Boston Ballet and Royal Danish Ballet), Lindy Mandradjieff (New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet) and musical theater specialist, Valerie Gigliotti.

The husband-and-wife team are "proud to be bringing to our ballet school over seven years of teaching and management experience" and will hold an open house Sept. 2 and 3 from noon to 4 p.m. and Sept. 9 and 10, from noon to 4 p.m. For information, call 412-343-9333.

Youth Ballet to feature Govrin

Jean Gedeon's Pittsburgh Youth Ballet will feature Gloria Govrin, formerly of New York City Ballet, in a series of master classes next week. Noted for her tall, strong lines, Govrin danced roles specifically created for her by George Balanchine, including Hippolyta in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Coffee in "Nutcracker."

She subsequently taught at the Rock School, the official school of the Pennsylvania Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet School and was featured on the cover of Dance Teacher magazine. Govrin will teach both intermediate and advanced classes Aug. 21-23 at $15 per class. 412-835-1250.

Elizabeth Township natives Simon Ball, principal dancer with Houston Ballet, and April Ball, soloist with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, will finish the week by teaching classes Aug. 24 through 28. The pair began their dance studies at the Youth Ballet.