By Johnathon LeCheminant

REXBURG, Idaho — Robert and Cecilia Fisher’s story is one of love and dedication to their family. Although they come from different backgrounds, they’ve been united through their faith and their passion for the arts.

Their story begins when they were both 7 years old. Robert began training in martial arts while
Cecilia studied ballet. They both trained for many years in these disciplines. Robert achieved
black belt rank in several martial arts styles, and Cecilia became a ballet master. The two met
years later and started a family together.

Cecilia Fisher teaches an adult ballet class at Rexburg Arts Center.

Robert worked for several years as a systems operator for a nuclear power plant, but it didn’t
allow him to spend enough time with his family. Both Robert and Cecilia wanted to figure out
how to meet their family’s financial needs while balancing work and home life.

They thought about the things they were interested in, and both agreed that they had a common
passion for the arts. Their conclusion was to open an arts school.

Cecilia recounted a time when her parents told her she might be able to open her own ballet
school someday. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it because she didn’t feel like she was as
skilled as her ballet teacher at the time. Her parents continued to encourage and support her,
and she took on her first student when she was 14 years old. She helped the student prepare
for an audition in her bedroom, using her headboard as a ballet barre.

Robert always saw Cecilia’s potential to be a great teacher, but she felt inadequate. They
decided to return to Cecilia’s home country of Peru for a time to meet with her former ballet
teacher, and Cecilia became certified to teach.

It wasn’t long before they had students. They started teaching classes in their living room but
later, they opened their first arts center in Goodyear, Arizona.

In a recent interview, Robert expressed his reason for why they decided to open an arts center:
“We felt like we had more to offer… and we needed a way that we could not only bless our
family but that we could be of more service to the community in the process.”

After running their arts business in Arizona for several years, they decided to pack up and move
to Idaho where they opened a new arts center in Rexburg. The school provides classes to more
than 150 students in various art disciplines, including martial arts, classical ballet, choir and
visual arts.

Through this center, they hope to bring together a community of people who want to express
themselves through the arts and live their dreams as they have.