Past Guest Instructors
Ahita Ardalan Bergman performed with the Paris Opera Ballet where she danced throughout Europe and the United States. She taught at the Conservetoire de Region de Paris and later became Stage Manager and assistant choreographer for the Ballet de Monte Carlo (under the Presidency of Princess Caroline of Monaco).
In 1991, Roland Petit asked her to join the Ballet National Marseille as his Artistic Assistant and Stage Manager. During her career in Europe, she has worked personally with Rudolf Nureyev, Marcia Haydee, Sylvie Guillem, Alessandra Ferri, William Forsythe, and many others.
She served as the long-time Ballet Mistress for the San Diego Ballet for 20 years, and now lives in Jackson, WY, where she continues to teach ballet classes.
She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: November 2009 Ballet Master Class, 2010 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2011 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2012 Summer Ballet Intensive, August 2012 Master Class, 2013 Summer Ballet Intensive, August 2014 Master Class, 2016 Summer Ballet Intensive, June 2016 Master Class, 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive, June 2017 Master Class, 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive, and 2020 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Angela Wood was born and raised in Colorado! She attended Ballet Society for 7 years training under Patty Hoffman, performing with all the Colorado Classical Youth Ballet productions and receiving awards from Denver Ballet Guild and Esther Geoffrey competitions.
She also participated in summer courses with Kaatsbaan, National Ballet School of Canada, Ballet Magnificat, and Ballet Austin.
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She joined the Royal Ballet School in London at 17-years-old and graduated two years later with Honors. Liam Scarlett and Alistair Marriott from Royal Ballet and Gary Norman from Australian Ballet all chose her to choreograph on and take the lead in their graduation pieces for the school.
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She then joined English National Ballet and has been dancing there for almost ten years. She was chosen by William Forsythe and Liam Scarlett for leading roles in their ballets for the company, and she has performed in numerous other classical and contemporary ballets. Some of her other favourite pieces to perform were Pina Bausch’s Rite of Spring and John Neumeier’s Spring and Fall. She has toured with the company to Japan, Australia, Spain, Moscow, Hong Kong, China, Poland, and Ireland.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: Master Classes and 2020 Private Training Sessions.
Anna Ellis is from Fort Myers, Florida, and started dancing at age seven. She trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz and modern with Jorie Evangelista (NYC Broadway Dance Center) and Erin Rivera (Florida School of the Arts/Cecchetti Counsel of America). She spent a year training with Ingredients Dance Company and went on tour with Dance Revolution in Dallas, Chicago, Orlando, and Winston-Salem. She joined the Ballet Magnificat! Trainee Events Company in September 2013, and toured with them internationally for a year. After that, Anna moved to Champaign, Illinois, where she was offered a company position with Aaron Chen's Filter Dance Conservatory, and following that, Artesan Dance Company in Redding, California. Since moving to Los Angeles, Anna has trained with actor Diane Venora, choreographer Ido Tadmor, and Backhaus Dance Company. During the past eight years, Anna has taught multiple styles of dance to students of all ages and has choreographed/directed four full-length productions along with many group pieces and solos.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2019 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Aoi Koenig, originally hails from Chiba, Japan, where she started her classical ballet study. She furthered her craft at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, on a talent/academically based scholarship, where she graduated Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance in 2000. She has toured nationally and internationally with classical ballet and contemporary dance companies from around the world. Her favorite memories of intensive performing years were with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (USA), Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company (USA), Compania de Danza Tania Perez-Salas, Ballet Nacional de Mexico Laleget Danza (Mexico City), Cas Public Production, and Les Sortileges (Montreal). Aoi came to Colorado Springs with her husband in 2011 and is finding the balance of life as an artist, a wife, mother of two, and business owner, while performing with Ormao Dance Company and other local projects. She is currently teaching regularly at Ormao Dance School and Pikes Peak Community College and substitute teaching at Colorado College, UCCS, and Ballet Society.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: August 2016 Master Class and 2016 Winter Workshop; 2019 Audition Master Class
Autumn Morgenstern grew up in Orlando, FL where she performed with Orlando Ballet's The Nutcracker on tour at the young age of 12 and danced at Walt Disney World. She performed with the Radio City Rockettes for 7 years and was extremely honored to be apart of such a prestigious, internationally known group. She was one of Radio City's main Rockettes chosen to give interviews for radio, newspapers and television. Autumn has also danced for Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, Holland America Cruise Lines, Perichoresis Dance Company in NYC, the Olympic Game Opening Ceremony, Kia Motors and performed at several Universities in Africa. Her other experiences include work in film and television with musical groups such as Outkast and appearances on The Today Show, CNN, Waterboy, Rosewood, The Division, First Women Magazine and America's Health Network. Along with her dance career, Autumn graduated from the University of Florida with a BS in Telecommunications and a Minor in Theatre. She then continued her education in NYC at The Kane School for Pilates and The School for Film and Television. She is also a commercial voice-over artist for radio and costume designer. Autumn has been a competition judge for 10 years and has taught at The Joffery School of Ballet, The Orlando Ballet, The Rockette Dance Intensive, Project Dance NYC, Dance Masters of America, Fox Theatre’s Rising Stars, The Atlanta Ballet, New York Backstage and at the Texas Dance Educators Association. She has also enjoyed being a high school dance team coach, Adjunct Professor at Brenau University and producer of Project Dance Atlanta for 4 years. She currently guest teaches, choreographs musicals, judges dance and musical theatre competitions, and travels around the country as a convention teacher with Celebration Talent and a director with Project Dance.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 Summer Broadway Dance Workshop.
Carol Pakri began her dance training at the David Taylor Dance Theatre in Littleton, Colorado, where she studied with Lynelle Mossholder, Milton Myers and James Clouser. In 2000, she went on to receive a BFA in Ballet Performance at the University of Oklahoma, graduating with honors. While dancing with Oklahoma Festival Ballet she danced the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, the White Cat in The Sleeping Beauty, a soloist role in George Balanchine’s Serenade and toured to Nice & Cannes, France. Upon graduation, Carol returned to Colorado, where she danced with Colorado Ballet and David Taylor Dance Theatre. She performed in Swan Lake, Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, Donald McKayle’s Jam Nation and Martin Fredmann’s Cinderella & The Nutcracker.
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Carol has been teaching for over 20 years. She has held the positions of Director for the Youth Ballet Company at Spotlight Performing Arts Academy and School Principal & Principal Teacher at the Academy of Colorado Ballet South. In 2006, she joined the staff at The Royal Ballet School in London, England, where she taught for 7 years. During her time there, she graduated from The Royal Ballet School Professional Dancers Teachers Course with Distinction. Upon returning to the United States in 2014, Carol taught on staff at the Houston Ballet Academy. She now resides in Boca Raton, Florida, and is currently the Director of the Children’s Division at the Florida School for Dance Education and Director of Outreach for Dance Theater of Florida.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Catherine Board, originally from Maryland, began her dance training with the Maryland Youth Ballet under Tensia Fonseca, Michelle Lees and Eric Hampton. At Maryland Youth Ballet, she was honored to be the first student invited to teach and choreograph for the M.Y.B. summer intensive. She was very inspired to be dancing alongside Julie Kent and other top professionals from MYB. She joined her first company, Classical Ballet Theater, in Washington DC, at the age of 14. She then went to train and eventually graduate from the high school program of North Carolina School of the Arts where she studied under Melissa Hayden, Gyula Pandi, and Franchon Cordell. After her years at NCSA, she was offered a full scholarship from Boston Conservatory for her choreography, which she turned down to continue pursuing her career as a dancer.
Catherine danced professionally for the Richmond Ballet, Nashville Ballet, and Ballet Nouveau Colorado in a wide range of classical and contemporary works by choreographers including George Balanchine, Choo San Goh, Peter Anastos, Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Violet Verdy, Janek Schergan, Paul Vasterling, and Robert Mills among others.
Catherine has continued her career by becoming the Company Teacher and Ballet Mistress of Ballet Nouveau Colorado. She guided the 19 member company in a variety of classes, rehearsals and performances throughout the season. She was also one of the main members to create the 21st Century Choreography Competition written about in Dance Magazine and used by the current artistic team of Ballet Nouveau.
Catherine has most recently been the Ballet Coordinator for a young arts competition named TASHCO, which encourages the arts to young people and offers talented students scholarships. In 2012, she had the rare opportunity to choreograph for The Silhouettes (runner up winners on America’s Got Talent). She has been inspiring young dancers at Classic Dance Academy since it opened in 2010 and has worked and choreographed for dancers competing in Youth America Grand Prix. Her choreography has been performed in New York with this competition. Currently, Catherine is on faculty and teaching most of her classes at Classic Dance Academy.
In addition to her involvement with dance, Catherine additionally holds her Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Sciences. She was a leader at Landmark Education for 3 years and has traveled to many countries in the world including living and teaching in Barcelona, Spain. She has a wealth of knowledge to give to young dancers as they begin to explore who they are and how to evolve as a dancer. Catherine believes that regardless of how much ballet is part of a child’s life in the future, the lessons learned in the ballet classroom can apply to living an extraordinary life.
Dex Honea danced professionally for fifteen years with Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Eugene Ballet Company, and The Sarasota Ballet. Dex has been teaching since 2004, and directed the Sarasota Ballet School for five years, until recently transitioning into professional photography. His duties as director included running The Sarasota Ballet School, The Margaret Barbieri Conservatory, and Dance The Next Generation outreach program for at risk youth. Dex specialized in teaching ballet technique, partnering and character classes. He has directed numerous successful summer intensives that included international students and teachers. As Education Director, he produced and directed all the shows, workshops, end of the year performances, outreach and master classes, adult program, and full school curriculum and syllabus. The Sarasota Ballet School won Best School at YAGP in 2015.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive and August 2017 Master Class; 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive and June 2018 Master Class; 2019 Summer Ballet Intensive and June 2019 Master Class Audition, and 2020 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Eva Draw trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School graduating with honors, Ms. Draw joined Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet Theater in 1979 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1981.
During her dancing career, Ms. Draw studied at the Russian University of Theater Arts (GITIS) for degree as a Ballet Master under the guidance of Marina Semyonova. In 1994, Ms. Draw joined the faculty of the National Ballet School of Canada as a ballet teacher while completing her Diploma for the Former Professional Dancers teacher training program with distinction.
During her tenure at the National Ballet School Ms. Draw received the Diploma as a teacher of the Cecchetti Method and the Associate Diploma in Cecchetti Classical Ballet from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD) as well as granted the registration status as a teacher of the Royal Academy of Dancing.
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In 2002, Ms. Draw was promoted to the Senior Teacher and Senior Student Advisor and cared the responsibility for Career advisory for the senior students at the National Ballet School of Canada. In 2009, she was invited by Nicolaj Hubbe the Director of Royal Danish Ballet and Niels Balle the Director of Royal Danish Ballet School to join the company as a ballet mistress as well as ballet teacher for the school.
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As a ballet mistress of the company she has the responsibility to teach company classes, lead rehearsals, coach principal dancers and stage the productions. In 2012, in co-operation with Nikolaj Hubbe, Ms. Draw has staged full production of “La Bayadere”.
In 2015 Ms. Draw joined the Dance faculty at the UNCSA as an Associate professor and currently holding this position at the present time.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2004 Summer Ballet Intensive; June 2006 Master Class Series; 2019 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Ikolo Griffin is an internationally recognized Master of Ballet committed to sharing his rich expertise through coaching and community outreach. Griffin began his ballet training at age 10 with the San Francisco Ballet School. At 18, he became the first student of San Francisco Ballet’s Dance in Schools program to join the Company. He danced with the Company for seven years, earning the Princess Grace Award for dance, before going on to dance with the Joffrey Ballet as a soloist, the Dance Theatre of Harlem as a principal, and Smuin Ballet as a principal. He has been around the world, performing, directing, choreographing, and teaching dance. Griffin, who currently resides in San Francisco, now focuses most of his time on providing individual instruction, coaching dancers of all ages, and conducting Just Turns workshops internationally, and around the country.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: March 2017 Just Turns Workshop.
Jacob Mora is a choreographer, dancer, actor, and musician. He hails from Denver, Colorado where he works in dance, music, and film. As Artistic Director of Moraporvida Contemporary Dance, Jacob fuses both cultural and contemporary movements and music styles, ever expanding his continued exploration of relationships and the human experience.
Jacob has garnered international success as a performer, teacher, and artist. He has been seen dancing with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Hannah Kahn Dance, and Santee Smith Group. He has had the pleasure of working with Choreographers such as Donald Mckayle, Betty Jones, Milton Meyers, David Rousseve, Eleo Pomare, David Dorfman, and Lisa Race, among many.
Existing as a fiercely passionate educator and promoter of dance culture, Jacob unites different genres of movement, both traditional and progressive to bring together peoples of different cultural and socioeconomic groups to embrace the art and joy of dance.
As an emcee and musician Jacob’s reach is similarly diverse. He produces, creates and performs with multiple bands across the genres of Hip-Hop, Electronic, and avant-garde styles of music.
Jacob teaches nationally and internationally conducting workshops and residencies on Jazz, Contemporary, Modern, Hip-Hop, and Conditioning the Spirit. He has been on faculty with the University of Wyoming, UNLV the New York Institute of Dance, as well as guest artist and teacher for many other schools, festivals, and institutions.
He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Jadell Lee trained in Jazz, Hip-Hop, Ballet, and Modern. He began dancing at the age of 15 with Sacramento Charter High School’s 34th Street Dance Company under the direction of Sheila Coleman and Chanthou Lam. Accompanied by pre-professionals of Juilliard and the Alvin Ailey 2 Company, Jadell performed in opening and closing numbers for the 2009 New York City National ACT-SO Competition’s awards ceremony as he placed in the Top 17. Jadell Lee has choreographed opening numbers for The Miss Black California Pageant, The Miss Black Sacramento Pageant, The Little Miss Capital City Pageant, as well as The Miss Greater Inland Empire Pageant. In addition, Jadell has choreographed productions for the University of California, Riverside’s homecoming extravaganza, Midnight Madness. Featured in California, Nevada, and Oregon locations, he also choreographed a Promo for John’s Incredible Pizza Inc.
Jadell has worked with industry professionals such as MTV’s Taking The Stage; Tyler Nelson, MTV’s Americas Best Dance Crew Season 1; Taeko Carroll, BET’s Sunday’s Best Season 1; Ian J. Knighton, GMC’s Gospel Dream Season 5 Winner; Melinda Watts, CWTV’s Americas Next Top Model Cycle 4 Winner; Naima Mora as well as the Dance Theatre of Harlem and Debbie Allen’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, NaTalia Johnson. In addition, he has trained professionals that have gone to television, film, music videos, the UFL, as well as the NFL for productions and organizations such as FOX’s The X Factor, NBC’s America’s Got Talent, and The ’49er’s.
Holding various positions, Jadell has served as dance instructor, competition team director, dance coordinator, and marketing director for a plethora of academies, studios, and non-profitable organizations throughout the Inland Empire such as Bowen Hayes School of The Arts, Riverside Dance Academy, Brooklyn Dance Academy, Kristi’s Forever Dancin’ Dance Studio, and LJR Arts Academy. He has also worked for the Moreno Valley Unified School District as Vista Heights Middle School’s Competition Team Coach. In Addition, Jadell has performed under the direction of Jamie Azpeitia- Sachs, Evette Swinson- Demarco, Quincy Jacinto, and Rachel Swinson- Jacinto with The Inland Empire Contemporary Ballet, The Inland Dance Theatre, as well as CODA- Company of Dance Artists. He also participated as the assistant choreographer for AMPED Entertainment, a professional entertainment company based in Sacramento, CA.
Represented by Go 2 Talent Agency, he is a faculty member with Sharp International Dance Competition. Jadell Lee holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance with a focus on experimental and unconventional choreography from the University of California, Riverside.
He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2016 Winter Workshop, 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive, and 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Jayne Persch, as a dancer, trained and danced with Stuttgart Ballet American Ballet Theater and the Royal Ballet. She has created more than 40 works for small companies and chamber-sized performance groups, worked with the Shubert Theater, Theater-By-the Sea in Broadway musical theater productions. Her choreography has been presented in Ireland, Italy, Denmark and France including Festival Off D’Avignon. Most recently, Ms. Perch created work for Colorado Ballet Studio company that was presented in Colorado in Boulder and Denver. She is the Artistic Director of BRIAH Danse, a project-based, contemporary ballet company based in Boulder, CO - BRIAH has qualified for works from the Anthony Tudor Trust, Balanchine Trust, and the Limon Foundation – dancing The Leaves Are Fading, Romeo’s Farewell from Tudor’s full-length ballet Romeo & Juliet as well as Cereus in 2019. For 2020, the company looks forward to dancing ‘Who Cares’ from the Balanchine Trust and more Tudor works.
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As Artistic Director of the New Hampshire Contemporary Ballet Company, she was one of two choreographers for the MacDowell Colony Centennial Celebration, served on the rosters of both Artists-in-Residence and Arts-in Education and received the Governor’s Award for Artistic Excellence. Ms. Persch received a national award from the National Association of Science Teachers for her innovative Alternative Educational – Arts- in-School project, Let’s Create Together-The Planets. Internationally, she was appointed to the Faculty for the Pari Center for New Learning, (Italy) funded through the World Academy of Art & Science.
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She is a guest teacher for the Royal Danish Ballet School, The Danish National Theater School, School of Modern Dance, and Copenhagen Dance Arts, SEAD (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance) in Germany, and Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds, England. Ms. Persch has taught at colleges, universities, public and private schools and conservatories including the University of New Hampshire, Southeast Missouri State College and Trinity College for Graduate Studies in California, California State
University-Long Beach; Hart School, University of Hartford; Ballet Etudes, Orange County High School of the Arts, and Saint Joseph’s Ballet.
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Ms. Persch graduated with honors BA in Asian Studies and a Masters level in Counselling Psychology through Antioch-New England Graduate School and a Master of Arts in Dance at California State University Long Beach. She is certified in the ABT National Training Curriculum (Primary – Advanced & Partnering) and Feldenkrais based Self-Corrective Mechanisms® and Foundation in Gyrotonics. Ms. Persch is the creator of BRIAH Movement/Embodied Awareness© - an anatomically based approach to movement and dance. Jayne has been a licensed massage therapist since 1988 and teaches multiple classes for the Upledger Institute. Jayne teaches dance, movement therapy and craniosacral therapy in both Colorado and California as well guest workshops through the US, Canada, and Europe.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: August 2019 Colorado Youth Ballet Master Class Audition.
Jean Philippe Malaty, Executive Director of the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, was born in the Basque region of France. After receiving his baccalaureate in dance, he accepted scholarships to study at Mudra, Maurice Béjart’s school in Brussels and at John Cranko’s ballet academy in Stuttgart. Invited by acclaimed instructor David Howard to study in New York, Jean-Philippe traveled to America under Howard’s tutelage. Jean-Philippe’s performance career began with Joffrey II. He also danced as a guest artist with Los Angeles Classical Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Jean-Philippe segued from the stage to an administrator role while still in his twenties. A key member of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s start-up team, Jean-Philippe has been central to developing the company’s unique dual-city business model. He directs operations in two locations, overseeing a $4.2 million budget that he allocates to the company, two schools, an esteemed presenting series, and an award-winning folkloric outreach program. In a daring managerial move, in 2014, Jean-Philippe added Juan Siddi Flamenco Santa Fe as a second performance company under the ASFB umbrella. Over the last decade, Jean-Philippe has received multiple accolades from the field. He has served as panelist for both the Colorado Council for the Arts and National Endowment for Arts. The Denver Bonfils-Stanton Foundation granted him their Livingston Fellowship in recognition of his significant leadership role in Colorado’s non-profit sector. Jean-Philippe and Tom were also co-honored with the Joyce Theater Foundation Award in recognition of ASFB’s contribution to dance. He shared an honor with Artistic Director Tom Mossbrucker when the Santa Fe Community Foundation bestowed its Piñon Award on the company. Jean-Philippe’s first love is teaching, and when his schedule permits, he teaches company class and is a guest instructor at schools and universities. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Jean-Philippe is proud to have forged a dance company infused with American energy, invention, and eclecticism.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2004 Summer Ballet Intensive.
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Joanna Richardson is originally from Atlanta, GA where she trained at Vista Grove Dance Centre and joined their teaching staff for several years after while choreographing for their competition team. She has taught dance for over 15 years around the country and judged for several dance competitions. Joanna is also a STOTT Pilates level 1 and 2 instructor and currently trains clients in Denver, CO.
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Joanna has been a Radio City Rockettes for 14 years, performing in the Christmas Spectacular in NY and on tour. She has performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Today Show, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and represented the Rockettes on Norwegian Cruise Line teaching master classes. Joanna has danced at Tokyo Disney Sea in Tap Happy Two, as well as Beauty and the Beast Live at Hollywood Studios. She was a performer in the 1996 Olympic Games Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as the Tanzsommer Dance Festival in Austria and Germany. Some of her favorite regional musical theater performances include: Chicago, Anything Goes, Pippin, Lil Abner, Oklahoma, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Shee has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2020 Broadway Dance Workshop.
Jordan McHenry is a Colorado Springs native and the Executive Director of the Colorado Springs Dance Theatre. A graduate research candidate at Laban Conservatoire of Dance in London, England, McHenry is the founder of Dance on Air: The Podcast and a correspondent for DIYdancer Magazine. After receiving a BFA in Dance from The Ailey School in New York City McHenry danced for renowned organizations including Cirque Du Soliel & The Martha Graham Dance Company and EZDanza. Jordan is grateful for his long-lasting relationship with CBS and for its dedication to quality training in Southern Colorado.
He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2020 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Joy Voelker grew up moving around the Midwest before landing in Michigan, where she attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy with a major in dance. After Interlochen she attended the Purchase College Conservatory of Dance where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. While living in New York, Joy performed professionally with many dance companies including CorbinDances, 360º Dance Company, Lane & Co, Headless Horse, Artichoke Dance Company, children’s programs at the Metropolitan Playhouse and guest artist for Iowa State Center's The Nutcracker. During this time Joy was also a senior faculty member at the Mark Morris Dance Center teaching ages from two to adult. Joy currently lives in Madrid, Spain, where she is the owner and founding teacher of Joy of Dance offering early childhood dance classes in English and returns to teach as a guest teacher in the US during summers.
She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive and 2018 Early Childhood Dance Teacher Training.
Kate Honea joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2002 and was promoted to Principal in 2009. Her lead and featured roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, La Fille mal Gardée, Les Patineurs, Les Rendezvous, La chatte métamorphosée en femme, The Two Pigeons, Jazz Calendar; Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, Apollo, Rubies, Serenade, The Four Temperaments, Who Cares; Bruce’s Sergeant Early’s Dream; de Valois’ The Rake’s Progress; Flindt’s The Lesson; Fokine’s Les Sylphides, Petrushka; Graziano’s Symphony of Sorrows, Shostakovich Suite, En las Calles de Murcia, In a State of Weightlessness; Hart’s John Ringling’s Circus Nutcracker; Kobborg’s Salute; MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations; Nureyev’s Raymonda Act III; Prokovsky’s Anna Karenina; Samsova’s Paquita; Taylor’s Company B; Tuckett’s The Secret Garden, Changing Light, Lux Aeterna; Tudor’s Gala Performance; Wheeldon’s The American, There Where She Loves; Wright’s Summertide.
Kate has taught in the Sarasota Ballet School from 2002 until 2014, under the directorship of Adrian Ciobanu, Sayward Grindley and Dex Honea (Education Director from 2011 until 2016). Kate specializes in youth pre-professional levels, and professional and adult classes, including ballet technique, pointe, variations, and dance conditioning. She has choreographed for the SBS summer workshops and end of the year performances, including co-directing and producing two full length productions. Kate has coached multiple award winning students for YAGP, and choreographed works for their contemporary solos. She has also judged for the 2015 World Ballet Competition in Orlando, as well as taught a master class for the competitors.
She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive and August 2017 Master Class; 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive and June 2018 Master Class Audition; 2019 Summer Ballet Intensive and June 2019 Master Class Audition.
Lauren Manning is a professional dancer based out of New York City. Originally from Pennsylvania, Lauren was a scholarship student at the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts. She continued her dance education at Elon University and earned a B.F.A. in Dance Performance & Choreography. Lauren has studied at various training programs including the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, the Rockette Summer Intensive, Code 3 with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and the American College Dance Festival. As a member of the Elon Dance Company and The Kearns Dance Project she spent her undergraduate career performing in various companies and festivals across the U.S. and in Europe. Lauren also appeared on the HBO drama Vinyl, directed by Martin Scorsese. During the holiday season Lauren performs in The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes. As a Rockette she has worked with Tony Award-winning choreographer, Warren Carlyle, in the preproduction of The New York Spring Spectacular. Lauren has appeared with the Rockettes on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, LIVE! With Kelly and Ryan and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She has also appeared on NBC's July 4th Fireworks Spectacular performing the work of Emmy Award-winning choreographer Mia Michaels' of The Rockettes' New York Spectacular. Lauren has been seen with the Rockettes on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Today Show. In addition to performing Lauren is an editor at DanceMedia, publisher of Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher, Pointe, and Dance Retailer News.
She has taught at Ballet Society as a regular instructor and for the following events: 2017-2020 Summer Ballet Intensive and Broadway Dance Workshop.
Lawrence Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Alabama. Lawrence received a BFA in Dance from the University of Southern Mississippi and an MFA in Dance from Florida State University. Professionally, he devoted several years with the internationally acclaimed modern dance company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. Additionally, he has performed as a guest artist in a variety of venues; on the concert stage, PBS television programs, dinner theatres, and summer dance intensives. Jackson has choreographed over 75 original works for the concert stage. As an instructor, he has taught and continues to guest teach and choreograph at various universities, academies and summer workshops throughout the U.S. and abroad. As a scholar, Jackson has published in many scholarly journals in the field of Black Dance. Most recently, he co-edited and published a special edition devoted to Black Dance in the Journal of Pan African Studies. This edition marked the second occurrence in history, where an academic journal edition was committed solely to Black Dance. As a dance educator and choreographer, Lawrence approaches the teaching of dance by focusing on the direction of contemporary movement elements, choreographic principles, and performance. Lawrence’s objective is to facilitate excellence in the promotion of dance education. He attempts to aid his students in advancing their theoretical and analytical foundations for dance through discipline-based studies. Using all of these methods, Lawrence’s ultimate artistic and educator goals are to conceptualize and synthesize movement material, maximize dance education through course planning and direction, and to assess the outcomes of dance education.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2005 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2005 Summer Workshop, June 2006 Master Class Series, November 2007 Contemporary Master Classes, June 2010 Master Class, 2010 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2011 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2012 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2013 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2016 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2019 Summer Ballet Intensive and 2019 Master Class Audition.
Lindsay Fischer was born in New York City and moved to Toronto in 1974 to study at Canada’s National Ballet School. After graduating in 1978, he went to Europe, joining the Companhia Nacional de Bailado in Lisbon and then the Dutch National Ballet where he was a Principal Dancer. In 1987, he returned to North America to join New York City Ballet as a Principal Dancer. He performed as a guest artist with some of the most eminent ballerinas of the era, including Margaret Barbieri, Cynthia Gregory, and Evelyn Hart.
After retiring from the stage, Mr. Fischer joined Canada’s National Ballet School where, in addition to teaching, he developed a structure to guide the school’s graduates through the transition from school and graduation to professional employment. This led to the creation of the Post-Secondary and the Dancer Career Planning Programs at the school, both of which Mr. Fischer managed until 2007. In 2008, Mr. Fischer was appointed Director of the Professional Summer Dance Program at The Banff Centre in Alberta.
Mr. Fischer has created works for Canada’s National Ballet School students and has overseen the production of works by such notable choreographers as George Balanchine, Rudi van Dantzig, James Kudelka, Peggy Baker, Christopher House and Toer van Schayk. As well, he has staged works for and been a Guest Ballet Master with companies in Canada and abroad. He was a Guest Répétiteur for The National Ballet of Canada from 1997 to 2007 and was appointed Ballet Master with the company in 2007. In 2011, he re-staged Don Quixote for the National Ballet. Mr. Fischer is currently the Artistic Director of YOU dance, the National Ballet’s outreach program focused on introducing young people to the world of dance and ballet.
He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2004 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2005 Summer Ballet Intensive, and 2005 Summer Workshop.
Logan Hathaway began dancing at the age of 10 in his hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has received training in contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap, lyrical, musical theatre, hip hop, and jazz funk. Logan has trained with many artists such as Ade Obayomi, Melissa Sandvig, Alex Little, and other teachers from conventions across the country. During his high school education, Logan fell in love with the discipline of choreography and teaching. He began teaching classes in a variety of styles and choreographing dances even during his high school career. His group and solo choreography have won multiple high scoring awards and recognition for outstanding choreography at LA Dance Magic, Starpower, StarQuest, and Rainbow dance competitions. Logan has helped choreograph theatre productions such as Urinetown for Coronado High School and has helped choreograph and produce Pikes Peak Performance Company’s holiday shows for the past two years. Using his knowledge of a variety of styles, Logan enjoys creating new and innovative movement that is technically proficient, musically adapt, and engaging to all audience members.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2019 and 2020 Summer Broadway Dance Workshop.
Mandy-Jayne Richardson is a native of London, England. She studied dance at The Royal Ballet School and upon graduation, joined the legendary Sadler’s Wells Ballet. Her luminous stage presence and highly praised technique were in evidence in many works from the company’s varied repertoire including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Elite Syncopations, Brouillards and Five Tangos. A favorite with both audiences and critics for her powerful interpretive and communicative abilities, Ms. Richardson was twice voted one of England’s most interesting young performers by the readers of Dance and Dancers.
In 1986, Ms. Richardson joined the renowned Dutch National Ballet, under the artistic directorship of Rudi van Dantzig, expanding her repertoire and deepening her artistry through such roles as the pas de deux in Autumn Haze, the Fourth Song in Four Last Songs, Euridice in Toer van Schayk’s Orpheus, Summer in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella and the second pas de deux in George Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto. Ms. Richardson joined New York City Ballet in 1988, where she had the opportunity to broaden her understanding of the Balanchine repertoire and performed leading roles in such works as Peter Martins’ Songs of the Auvergne, Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, and John Taras’ Souvenir de Florence.
Ms. Richardson retired from dance in 1991 and joined The National Ballet of Canada’s artistic staff in 1999. In 2005, she was appointed Senior Ballet Mistress. She has set numerous ballets for the company, including James Kudelka's Cinderella, which she also set to great acclaim for Boston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2005 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Marsha Fay Knight received her MFA from the University of Utah ’83, and is a Professor at the University of Wyoming where her primary responsibilities lie in the teaching of ballet, historical dance, choreography, and period movement for actors.
Marsha's full-evening productions include Nutcracker, Coppelia, Pulcinella, and Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth. Her experience also includes choreography for numerous short works and musical theatre productions. Marsha’s contemporary ballet Of a Mind was selected for presentation at the Kennedy Center in May 2006, through the adjudication process of the American College Dance Festival.
Marsha conceived, choreographed, and co-directed Six Songs From Ellis, a full-evening theatre/dance piece including film and oral histories of immigrants who passed through Ellis Island. Six Songs was a regional finalist, KCACTF, Reno, NV, 2010.
University of Wyoming awards include the UW Alumni Association's Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Ellbogen Award for Meritorious Classroom Teaching, CASE award nominee for UW, Wyoming Arts Council Performing Arts Fellowship for Choreography, and the Flittie Sabbatical. Marsha’s specialization in historical dance forms and reconstruction includes Stanford University's Baroque Dance Workshops and private instruction in NYC under the direction of Wendy Hilton (Julliard, Stanford), and 15th and 16th century dance forms with the Historical Dance Foundation. Marsha spent spring ’03 and ‘12 semester teaching in London through the University of Wyoming’s Program for Foreign Studies, teaching as well as training in Royal Academy of Dance teaching methodology and furthering her research in Baroque dance. She currently serves on the Executive Committee for the American College Dance Festival Association as VP for Nominations and Elections. Marsha is married to Leigh Selting, and their sons are Thomas, Nick, and Gabe.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: January 2008 Ballet Master Class, 2010 Summer Ballet Intensive, April 2013 Master Class, and 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Marsha Rodriquez was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She discovered and developed her dance skills at the age of six as a student of Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico.
At age ten, she traveled to New York to participate in the summer intensive workshop of The Eglevsky Ballet. Two years later, she left her homeland, family and friends and moved to New York City with her mother and younger sister, seeking the best ballet experience possible. Soon after she was accepted to study at the School of American Ballet under a full-scholarship and studied there for five years. While at SAB, she was invited to dance with the New York City Ballet for a new creation choreographed by Elliot Feld. Alongside her professional ballet training, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School for her academic studies.
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In 2005, she married and moved to Orlando, Florida where she completed her Associate’s Degree and later danced with the Russian Ballet of Orlando as a principal dancer. She also taught Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced ballet levels in their academy for five years. During this season in her life she was invited by Mr. Alonzo King to join his LINES Ballet Company in Hawaiian tour as a guest soloist.
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Her dedication and passionate commitment to the art of dance resulted in a soloist contract with the Prague State Opera Ballet in 2009 and a year later she was offered a soloist position with the renowned Bèjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. There she performed various major roles, such as Bhaktii in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles in the outskirts of Paris, France. During her five years with BBL, Marsha travelled the world collaborating with various ballet companies in countries such as: Japan, China, Russia, Senegal, France, Italy, Mexico, and Brazil, among many others. With Bèjart she was able to realize one of her lifelong dreams of performing on world famous stages such as: The Bolshoi Theatre, Mariinsky Theater, The Royal Opera of Versailles, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Berlin State Opera.
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In 2015, she embarked on a new venture and co-founded a neo-classical ballet ensemble Uniqart Dance Company in France, where she performed in England, Dubai, Spain, and Miami, Florida. In the spring of 2017, Marsha was invited to perform and teach a master class in the Festival Nacional del Baile in Puerto Rico where she received the Ambassador of Dance award from the Institute of Culture. This past year she was mentioned in Puerto Rico’s main newspaper, El Nuevo Día as one of the 18 pillars of ballet of Puerto Rico as being influential in the development and advancement of dance in the country.
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These days Marsha dedicates her time to her husband of 13 years, their beautiful 1-year-old son, and their mini Pomeranian. She is a Business Associate at Smart Brain Insights and a Master Certified Neuro-Link Practitioner, companies that offer solutions utilizing neuroscience-based learning. In her spare time she loves teaching and mentoring young dancers, and also sewing and designing dancewear. In the very near future, Marsha looks forward to relocating with her family to the Colorado Springs area.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2019 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Mary Beth Tilley began her classical ballet training at the age of 7 at Ballet Magnificat in Jackson, Mississippi. A year later, she and her family moved back to Little Rock, Arkansas where she trained for many years at the Academy of Ballet Arkansas under the instruction of Kurt and Linda Hathaway, Eleanora Pohkitonova, Olivier Munoz, and was fortunate enough to work briefly with Susan Jaffe from American Ballet Theater who was one of the ballerinas who inspired her to dance. Her training consisted of all styles of classical ballet, including Vaganova, Balanchine, Cecchetti, and Bournonville. Mary Beth began dancing soloist roles with Ballet Arkansas at the age of 15, which included roles in The Nutcracker, Giselle, Ballet Under the Stars, Elvis Has Left the Building, La Bayadere, Paquita, Stars and Stripes, and many others. Mary Beth has been a dance educator in Arkansas since 2004 and is passionate about offering safe technique that enables the dancer to perform to the very best of their ability while also preventing injuries. She is also Progressing Ballet Technique certified. Mary Beth is excited to be in Colorado and work with the talented dancers of Colorado Ballet Society.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2020 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Meelis Pakri is on the ballet faculty at Harid Conservatory in Florida. He is originally from Estonia and is a graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Following his graduation, Mr. Pakri danced with Estonian National Ballet as a principal dancer and taught partnering and technique classes at the Tallinn State Ballet School. During that time, he also performed as a principal guest artist at the International Ballet Festival in Havana, Cuba; and for the National Theater of Macedonia in Skopje, Yugoslavia. In 1991, at the invitation of then-artistic-director Martin Fredmann, Mr. Pakri joined Colorado Ballet as principal dancer. Over the next ten years, he performed numerous classical and contemporary roles, including Albrecht in Giselle, the title role in George Balanchine’s Apollo, Basilio in Don Quixote, the principal male in Balanchine’s Rubies, and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. Mr. Pakri was also a frequent guest performer in Estonia and Japan. In 1998, he performed as a guest artist with the Martha Graham Dance Company in the role of the Husbandman in Appalachian Spring at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Pakri retired from dancing in 2001 and, for the next five years, served as ballet master of Colorado Ballet. In 2005, he received critical acclaim for staging The Sleeping Beauty for the Company. In 2006, Mr. Pakri joined the faculty of The Royal Ballet Upper School in London, England, where he remained until August 2013. During his tenure, Mr. Pakri’s students won prizes at the Youth America Grand Prix and Young British Dancer of the Year competitions. He also served as a guest teacher at Estonian National Ballet and numerous other schools. Prior to joining HARID’s faculty, Mr. Pakri was ballet master at Houston Ballet. He remains active as a guest teacher.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: December 2007 Ballet Master Class, December 2008 Ballet Master Class, 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive, and 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Michelle Martin had her early dance training at the Alberta Ballet School and danced with the Alberta Ballet Company for four years before joining the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre (IBT) in 1982. While with IBT and, subsequently, the Hartford Ballet in Connecticut, she performed leading and soloist roles in Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and The Moor's Pavane as well as creating roles in many original works. Martin's teaching credits include guest-teaching engagements at schools and universities in Canada, South Carolina, Michigan, and throughout Indiana and Texas. She was on faculty at Butler University in Indianapolis for five years. Martin began her tenure with Ballet Austin in 1991 as a dancer with the Company and in 1992 she was appointed ballet mistress and curriculum director of the Academy. In 1999 she founded Ballet Austin II, Ballet Austin's apprentice program, providing professional development for the 10-member second company and designing educational programming for presentation in schools. Martin has served on the Texas Commission on the Arts advisory panel for Arts Education and is a recipient of the Austin Under Forty award for contributions in the area of the Arts and Entertainment. Martin was appointed associate artistic director of Ballet Austin in 2000.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2007 Summer Ballet Intensive and June 2006 Master Class Series.
Michele Wiles was born in Baltimore, Maryland, at age 10 she moved to Washington D.C. to train at the Kirov Academy on full scholarship. She was a Gold Medal winner at the 18th International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria a Bronze Medal winner in Nagoya, Japan and a finalist at the Paris International Dance Competition. She was a Princess Grace Foundation – U.S.A. Dance Fellowship recipient for 1999–2000 and won the Erik Bruhn Prize in 2002.
She joined American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company in 1997 and joined American Ballet Theatre in 1998. She was promoted to soloist in 2000 and to principal in 2005. In 2011, she left that position to start BalletNext.
In addition to leading BalletNext as artistic director and dancer, Michele is choreographing Ushuaia to music by Heinrich Biber, which premiered at New York Live Arts in February 2015 marked her formal choreographic debut.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: August 2013 Master Class and December 2015 Master Class.
Rachel Sebastian began her training in classical ballet at the age of 8. She entered into the Cecchetti method of ballet under the direction of Sylvia Palmer Zetler (National Ballet of Canada) and was awarded high commendations in her syllabus exams. By invitation, Rachel continued her training in the professional division of the Houston Ballet Academy. In an effort to become a more versatile and well-rounded dancer, she trained at the Academy of Performing Arts (Kevin Patterson/Liam Harney, Directors). Rachel has danced professionally with several dance companies, production agencies, and touring groups. Rachel has toured throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and North America as a ballet, jazz, and Irish dancer. She is currently performing with the San Diego Ballet as a principal dancer. Her favorite roles include the Snow Queen (The Nutcracker), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and the Dying Swan from Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. Other favorites include the contemporary and avant-garde works of San Diego Ballet’s award winning choreographer and co-director, Javier Velasco.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: September 2006 Ballet Master Class, August 2008 Ballet Master Class, and August 2009 Ballet Master Class.
Robert Sher-Machherndl, a native of Vienna Austria, has worked as principal dancer, choreographer, master-teacher, and artistic director. He has been granted the privilege of the US Visa type, "Alien of Extraordinary Ability" allowing him permanent residence in the US. Mr. Sher-Machherndl worked with and danced the works of Rudolf Nureyev, Jiri Kylian, Hans van Manen, Ulysses Dove, George Balanchine, Sir Fredrick Ashton, Rudi van Dantzig, John Neumeier, Ed Wubbe, Ben Stevenson, Maurice Bejart, and John Cranko. As principal dancer, he performed leading roles for Dutch National Ballet and Bavarian State Ballet to include Swan Lake, Giselle,Romeo and Juliet, Onegin; Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Nuages, Apollo; Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Serenade; Symphony in C, Diamonds, Concerto Barocco, Agon, La Valse, Divertimento No. 15 (Mozart), Hammerklavier, Grosse Fuge, and Bad Blood. He also danced with Nederlands Dance Theater. Mr. Sher-Machherndl partnered ballerina Jolinda Menendez of American Ballet Theater and Evelyn Hart of Royal Winnipeg Ballet and was featured in the documentary Moment of Light with Evelyn Hart. Mr. Sher-Machherndl appeared on the cover of Dance Magazine while performing with Bavarian State Ballet at Lincoln Center.
Mr. Sher-Machherndl was co-director of Salzburg Ballet and assistant to the artistic director Ed Wubbe at Scapino Ballet. He taught at Ballet Rambert and for the Matthew Bourne production of Swan Lake. His work was featured in Young Choreographers Workshops at Bavarian State Ballet and Scapino Ballet, Salzburg Ballet, Colorado University at Boulder, Colorado State University; Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and Ballet Nouveau Colorado.
Robert is a founder of critically-acclaimed Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet andhas created over 25 full-evening works danced by renowned principal dancers to include Susan Jaffe ABT, Michele Wiles ABT, Misty Copeland ABT, Minna Tervamaki Finnish National Ballet, Valerie Madonia ABT/Joffrey Ballet and Simone Messmer ABT/San Francisco Ballet. He has created choreography for Finnish National Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet, Bavarian State Ballet, Scapino Ballet, Salzburg Ballet, Cleo Parker Robinson, Santa Fe Dance Festival, Lines Ballet BFA and Training Program, Ballet Next, University of Colorado, Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, Kuopio Dance Festival, Peridance, Moving People Dance, American College Dance Festival, Colorado Ballet Training Program and more. He was awarded Dance Person of the Year by The Denver Post, a four-time winner of the New York Ballet Builders Choreography Award, and featured on the MTV Emmy Award winning series MADE. Lemon Sponge Cake recently received the first dance Public Art Commission from Denver Arts and Venues for White Mirror at Babi Yar Park and Ellie Caulkins Opera House Denver.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following events: 2004 Summer Ballet Intensive, June 2006 Master Class Series, 2007 Summer Ballet Intensive, February 2008 Ballet Master Class, 2010 Summer Ballet Intensive, April 2013 Master Class, August 2013 Master Class, and August 2018 Audition Master Class.
Ron Jules' mission for dance is to teach people the foundation and history of the hip hop culture. He has danced with the best of the best and has taught and taken master workshops all across the United States.
Over the past 13 years, Ron has mastered a number of dance styles including: hip hop, house, popping, locking, krump, capoeira and African. His goal is to motivate his students and help them become more innovative in all aspects of their life.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following event: 2019 Summer Master Class Series.
Sally Monroe originally from Chardon, Ohio, began her ballet training at Elliot’s Fine Arts under the direction of Joe Glowick, and continued her dance training for 10 years at Ballet Arts Academy under the instruction of Suzanne Rosati. Sally also trained for four years under Marguerite Duncan, who pioneered dance in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. After graduation, Sally danced with Ohio Dance Theatre for two years, performing many roles in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Carmen. She was accepted into Ballet Magnificat’s Trainee Program in August of 2005 and promoted to an Apprentice with Ballet Magnificat! Omega in the fall of 2007 and Company Artist in August 2008. Since then, Sally has toured, performed, and conducted Master Classes all over the United States, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Sally was selected to become the Company's Assistant Artistic Director in August of 2013.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following event: 2016 Summer Ballet Intensive and 2018 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Sascha Radetsky was born in Santa Cruz, California and began his ballet studies in the San Francisco Bay Area with Damara Bennett and Ayako Takahashi. At the age of 15, he was invited to study in Moscow at the Bolshoi Academy under world-renowned men's teacher Pytor Pestov. After a year in Russia, he studied on scholarship at the Kirov Academy in Washington, D. C. under Rudolph Kharatian and Andrei Garbouz. He toured with the Kirov Ballet throughout the United States and internationally. He also studied on scholarship at the summer programs of the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre's School of Classical Ballet with Mikhail Baryshnikov, the San Francisco Ballet School and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Vail, Colorado. Radetsky joined American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in 1995, became a member of the corps de ballet in 1996, was promoted soloist in 2003, and retired in 2014. His repertoire includes Lankendem and Birbanto in Le Corsaire, Benno and von Rothbart in Swan Lake, Act III, Espada and the lead gypsy in Don Quixote, the Head Fakir in La Bayadère, Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Hilarion and the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, Orion in Sylvia, Cavalier and the Nutcracker-Prince in The Nutcracker, Petrouchka in Petrouchka, Bernard in Raymonda, Tybalt and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Head Fakir in La Bayadère, Hortensio in The Taming of the Shrew, the second sailor in Fancy Free, the Champion Roper in Rodeo, the Warrior Chieftain in Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, the third movement in Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, the fourth movement in Symphony in C, the pas de deux in Jabula, the "Guitar" pas de deux from Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison, and many others. He has danced the works of acclaimed choreographers such as Balanchine, Morris, Taylor, Lubovitch, MacMillan, Tharp, Tudor, Cranko, de Mille, Elo, Robbins, Reinking, Wheeldon, and Kylian. He is an original member of the troupe "Stiefel and Stars" and has been a frequent guest performer and teacher with ballet companies across the United States and abroad.
He has been a principal or guest principal with the Dutch National Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Berlin Staatsballett, Ballet San Jose, Ballet do Theatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro, and the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Ballet. He has choreographed for Bucknell University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, and written for Vogue.com, Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit, Shinshokan Dance Magazine, and Newsweek.
Radetsky starred as Charlie in the movie Center Stage as well as in pop singer Mandy Moore's music video "I Wanna Be with You" from the Center Stage soundtrack. He has appeared in numerous television and print commercials as well as starring roles in the PBS movie Home at Last, in the NBC television series Midnight Caller, and appeared as a principal actor in the Starz television series, Flesh and Bone.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following event: March 2004 Master Class.
Sharee Lane danced as a soloist with Ballet West for nine years and has been on the faculty of Ballet West School since 1981. She has extensive experience in both television and film, including coaching John Travolta in the movie Staying Alive. Ms. Lane is currently Associate Professor at the University of Utah, teaching ballet and pointe to upper and lower division majors.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following event: 2004 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2005 Summer Ballet Intensive, 2007 Summer Ballet Intensive, and 2011 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Sol Maisonet was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Started training in classical ballet at the age of 12. Throughout the years, Ms. Maisonet received many scholarships by the Puerto Rico Institute of Culture to continue training in New York City (USA) and in Cuba. Some of her teachers were, Madame Maggie Black, Ramón Segarra, David Howard, Melissa Hayden, Juan Anduze, and José Pares to mention some.
Ms. Maisonet performed professionally as Soloist and Principal Dancer for more than 25 years with companies such as Ballet Puertorriqueño, Ballet Theatre of San Juan, Ballet Concierto, and Ballets of San Juan. In 1983, was invited by the government of Colombia under the Artistic Director Ramon Segarra, to dance as a Principal Dancer with the Ballet Nacional of Colombia with headquarters in Bogota. As a Principal dancer she lead several original ballets especially choreographed for her, Val’s of Ravel and Stravinsky’s Firebird’s Symphony in Three Movements and Ciclos. As a professional dancer performed principal roles in many classical ballets including The Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, Swan Lake, Rites of Spring, Tango Expectro, The Merry Widow, George Balanchine’s Rubies, Serenade, Who Cares, and many companies repertoires.
In 1990 was invited to represent Puerto Rico in Barcelona, Spain, at the 5th Iberoamerican Festival, Oscar Lopez; She became one of the finalist with Cuban choreographer Petra Bravo’s piece Que Signo Lleva el Amor. In 1992, she joined recognized choreographer Gabry Christa from Holland and Gloria Llompart from Puerto Rico to found the dance company, Danzadentro. In 1994 once again, represented Puerto Rico in Barcelona, this time with her own choreography Una Vez al Mes. On two occasions, Ms. Maisonet represented Puerto Rico and then the Virgin Islands in Caracas, Venezuela, in the Latin-American Dance Congress with Bravo's choreography Un Solo Dueto and Gabry Christa's Matutina for the Virgin Islands and in New York City.
Ms. Sol Maisonet has been teaching classical ballet since 1977 up to date. Some of her accomplishments are but not lease, developing and enhanced the Dance Department Ballet Curriculum for the School of the Arts in Carolina Puerto Rico. Choreographer for children musicals such as Lilipun, Aladdin, and several theater plays. Couched and trained many professional dancers during her career. Guest Master Teacher for Summer Intensives at San Augustine Conservatory of Dance in FL, Rejoice Dance Academy in MS, Ballet Aviv in Louisiana, and Ballet 5:8 IL, former Ballet Mistress for Ballet Magnificat! Company Alpha and Omega, also, Ballet Magnificat former Trainee Program Director and Ballet Magnificat II Artistic Director, as School of Arts Principal, and developed the Upper School Ballet syllabus from 2001-2011.
From 2011-2016 served as adjunct Dance Faculty for Belhaven University, Dance Ministry Ensemble Artistic Director. Now she serves as Rehearsal Director for guest choreographers for the fall and spring Belhaven dance concerts. Ms. Maisonet currently works for Ballet Magnificat! Alpha and Omega Companies as well with Trainee companies as Rehearsal and Master Teacher.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following event: 2017 Summer Ballet Intensive.
Vera Timashova was born in Russia and received her ballet training at the Novosibirsk State School of Ballet. Having completed her studies with distinction, Timashova joined the Ballet Company of Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre as a soloist in 1974. She danced with the company for 3 years and had her first debut as the leading role in Carmen Suite, which was created especially for her.
In 1977, Timashova was invited to join the Moscow Classical Ballet Company (today the State Academic Theatre of Classical Ballet led by Natalia Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasiliyov) where she quickly became a Principle Dancer. Her repertoire included most of the major classical roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, The Nutcracker, and Cinderella. She also played the leading roles in numerous contemporary ballets. Timashova also partnered young V. Malakhov in his several debuts with this company.
A key part of Timashova's repertoire were the principle roles she played in Nathalie, ou La Laitiere Suisse in production by Pierre Lacotte after Filippo Taglioni, El Guije by Alberto Alonso (both created for the Moscow Classical Ballet); L'Arlsienne by Roland Petit; and Les Vainqueurs by Maurice Bejart.
In her celebrated 26-year career, Vera Timashova has been a guest performer with various concert groups traveling throughout the world and Russia, and has danced on many prestigious stages including the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres. Timashova is the recipient of several prestigious government awards that include the honorary title of “Distinguished Artist of Russia,” which she received in 1983.
In 1992, Timashova completed her studies at the Russian State University of Theatre Art (teachers included Marina Kondratyeva and Marina Semyonova), which qualified her as a teacher-choreographer. While still dancing, she began her teaching career at the Moscow Classical Ballet Company. Timashova also served on the jury for The International Ballet Seminar in Brasilia (Brazil) between 1998 and 2001. Her work there included both coaching and staging for the Grand Pas from Raymonda, The Kingdom of The Shades from La Bayadère, the 2nd Act from Swan Lake and the full production of Don Quixote.
A graduate of the Teacher Training Program for professional dancers at Canada's National Ballet School, Timashova joined the artistic faculty at NBS in 2002, where she teaches in the Professional Ballet Program.
Viki Psihoyos trained at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet in New York for eight years before being accepted into his company, The New York City Ballet. She performed in over 70 works by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Ruth Page, Peter Martins, Richard Tanner, Frederick Ashton, John Taras and others. Her television appearances included The Cage, Four Temperaments, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, The Merry Widow and Chaconne. She has taught ballet and choreographed for a number of schools in the US and abroad. Psihoyos works with the Balanchine Trust to offer Balanchine Technique Workshops focusing on the master’s unique approach to detail and musicality. She also stages Balanchine works so that students may apply these principles while learning a masterwork in a studio setting. She also holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Colorado.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following event: 2005 Summer Ballet Intensive and 2005 Master Class.
Whitney Moncrief , Assistant Professor at Western Michigan University, earned her M.F.A in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College and a B.A. in Dance from Point Park University as well as a Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis from Columbia College Chicago.
Originally from Orlando, Florida, Whitney studied under Edith Royal and Lindsay Moncrief. Artistic credits include a professional performance career with Hubbard Street II under the direction of Julie Nakagawa, as well as ODC/San Francisco; performing works by choreographers such as Lou Conte, Robert Battle, Harrison McEldowney, Alex Ketley, Aszure Barton, KT Nelson and Brenda Way; and performing throughout the United States, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
From 2006 to 2008, Whitney served as the Artistic Associate of Hubbard Street II, leading the company both artistically and administratively, acting as rehearsal director, ballet mistress and master class instructor, and teaching in colleges, universities and dance festivals around the world.
Whitney has choreographed works for Point Park University, Western Michigan University, and Ballet Arts Ensemble. She teaches regularly for Point Park University’s International Summer Dance Program, and has had the pleasure of teaching at American College Dance Association conferences. Currently, Whitney is a faculty member for Dance Educators of America’s Teacher’s Training Program. In 2011, Whitney was awarded an Instructional Development Grant by Western Michigan University’s College of Fine Arts to study Gaga in a 2012 Gaga intensive program held in Tel Aviv, Israel.
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She has taught at Ballet Society for the following event: October 2006 Jazz Based Master Class.
Xijun Fu was born in QingDao, China and began his dance training at the distinguished Beijing Dance Academy. He was viewed as a special talent at an early age and proved his gift by receiving the highest marks in his class throughout his academy career. He was rewarded for his hard work and dedication at age 18 when he was asked to join China’s premiere ballet company, the National Ballet of China, as a soloist dancer.
He was then promoted to become the leading dancer at age 19 and continued to excel and impress everyone in the dance world with his skill and performance.
Fu then left China in 1985 to become a guest artist in a cultural exchange program with Ballet De Santiago in Chile under the direction of former ABT star Ivan Nagy. Fu returned to China a year later with the intent to focus his energy on becoming an instructor at the Beijing Dance Academy.
Then in 1988 he was asked to join the Cincinnati Ballet. Fu and his wife, Fang Li, left China to take this opportunity with the vision of expanding his knowledge of dance into directing and became director of several companies. Afterwards, Fu and his wife moved to Washington to pursue their dance shoe company, Fuzi.
Xijun Fu currently stays in touch with dance world by teaching and coaching. He says “It’s very important to know what a dancer needs; I can’t know that unless I’m in their world.” Using his own experience, and that of current dancers, Fuzi continues to grow and develop shoes that are designed by a dancer, for dancers.
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He has taught at Ballet Society for the following event: 2013 Summer Ballet Intensive.