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Photos: Rosalie O'Connor

2013 Summer Intensives Faculty
	New York	North Carolina	Alabama	Texas	California	Collegiate

NEW YORK SUMMER INTENSIVE

Melissa Allen Bowman (Artistic Director of Summer Intensives) began her classical ballet training at age six with Lois Ellyn, formerly of New York City Ballet, and at age eleven began training with Stanley Holden and Margaret Graham Hills, both from The Royal Ballet in London. At age fifteen, she was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join the corps de ballet of American Ballet Theatre, where she danced for the next seven years. During that time, Bowman began her own ballet company, the Emerson Dance Theatre, which featured up-and-coming ABT dancers. From 1981 to 1988, Bowman also appeared in several of ABT’s Great Performances in America. In 1988, she moved to Europe to join the Bern Ballet in Switzerland and then the Zurich Ballet with Uwe Scholz. In 1990, she followed Scholz to Leipzig, Germany, where she danced many soloist and principal roles and became his associate director. Bowman returned to the United States in 1999 to join the staff of the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet, where in 2000 she became resident choreographer and associate director. While at PYB, she choreographed many pieces for their youth company that were performed not only at the Regional Dance America festivals but also for the Pittsburgh Symphony. Since 2001, Bowman has taught at ABT Summer Intensive in Detroit and, in 2007, became an advisor to ABT’s National Training Curriculum committee. She has also been an adjudicator for the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts for the past two years. In 2004, she established, with her husband Richard, Danse Conservatory and California Danse Theatre Youth Ballet and served as the Artistic Director for five years. Ms. Bowman is currently the Assistant Principal of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT as well as Artistic Director of Summer Intensives.

Ethan Brown was born in New York City and received his training at the School of American Ballet. He joined the corps de ballet of American Ballet Theatre in 1981, was promoted to soloist in 1988. Brown danced a wide range of ABT’s repertoire through 2004. He is on the faculty of the ABT Summer Intensives in New York City and Bermuda and also guest teaches with the main Company. He is on the faculty of The School at STEPS and regularly guest teaches at STEPS on Broadway in New York City. Brown judges ballet competitions for Youth America Grand Prix and regularly guest teaches and coaches for Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Gabrielle Brown began dancing at the age of five with former Ballet Russe dancer, Vera Nemtchinova, in New York City. At the age of twelve she was awarded a scholarship to the American Ballet Theatre School where she studied with Patricia Wilde, Leon Danielian and Michael Maule. In 1980, she joined ABT as a member of the corps de ballet, achieving the rank of soloist in 1991. At ABT, Brown performed soloist and principal roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Jardin Aux Lilas, Fancy Free, La Bayadère, Airs, The Leaves Are Fading, Swan Lake, Theme and Variations, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Mat Ek’s pas de deux Grass and many others. After retiring from ABT in 1996, Brown began teaching ballet, bringing sixteen years of experience as a ballerina to the classroom. Since embarking on her new career, Brown has enjoyed teaching at a number of distinguished ballet schools and programs including ABT Summer Intensive Programs in New York, California, and Alabama, North Carolina Dance Theatre’s Summer Program, UCLA, California Institute of the Arts, Pasadena Dance Theatre, State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara and the Anaheim Ballet. Brown is currently the resident ballet teacher at the Viewpoint School in California.

Leslie Browne received her early training from her parents, Kelly and Isabel Brown, who were both former members of American Ballet Theatre. She also spent summers studying at the ABT School and with Walter Camryn and Bently Stone. Browne joined the School of American Ballet at age fourteen on scholarship. At sixteen, she joined New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine. At seventeen, she was cast in the role of “Emilia” in the motion picture The Turning Point. Browne joined American Ballet Theatre in 1976 as a Soloist and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1986. Since leaving ABT in 1993, Browne has enjoyed teaching and choreographing throughout the United States. She is currently on faculty at The School at STEPS in New York City and enjoys guest teaching and giving master classes.

Harriet Clark is a native New Yorker though she began her training at the Houston Ballet School. She received her professional training at the School of American Ballet. While still a student at the school she was chosen to perform with Makarova and Company on Broadway, and danced as a soloist in ballets with Cynthia Gregory, Anthony Dowell, Fernando Bujones, as well as Natalia Makarova who was the Artistic Director. Later that year she joined American Ballet Theatre, then under the directorship of Mikhail Baryshnikov, where she performed not only the classics, but also in the works of George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Jose Limon, Anthony Tudor, and Twyla Tharp. Clark went on to dance as a soloist at The Pacific Northwest Ballet. For many years Clark performed as the Dance Captain and Swing of the Broadway Production of The Phantom of the Opera. As such she was in charge of teaching and rehearsing all of the choreography and much of the musical staging in the show as well as covering and performing every female ensemble role (dancers as well as singers) and a few of the male roles as well. Clark currently teaches for the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre and is on the ABT Artistic Board of Examiners.

Franco De Vita (Principal of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre) graduated from the Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Charleroi, Belgium, and was awarded the “Premier Prix” and Gold Medal. De Vita made his professional stage debut at age 9 and began his career as a professional ballet dancer at the age of 15. He danced with several European companies, in ballets of the classical repertoire, and by choreographers such as Peter Van Dyk, George Skibine, Antony Tudor and George Balanchine. In Europe, he performed in musical comedies and operettas such as Hello Dolly, Kiss Me Kate and My Fair Lady. After retiring from performing, De Vita acquired the Enrico Cecchetti Diploma and the highest teaching degree given by the Italian Ministry of Education through the “Accademia Nazionale di Danza”, Rome. He is a Fellow of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, London. In 1983, he directed, together with Raymond Lukens, the Hamlyn School of Ballet in Florence, Italy. He was President and co-founder of the Associazione Nazione Coreutica Enrico Cecchetti (the Italian Cecchetti Society). In New York City, De Vita was a faculty member at The Ailey School, The Ailey/Fordham BFA program and a guest company teacher for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II. He was company teacher for Hartford Ballet and principal faculty member of the School of Hartford Ballet and the BFA dance program of the University of Hartford. In Hartford, he was part of the task force that revised Hartford Ballet School’s curriculum. Before joining American Ballet Theatre, De Vita was Dean of Faculty and Curriculum of the Boston Ballet School and company teacher for Boston Ballet. De Vita has been a guest teacher for Virginia School of the Arts, Peridance International, Dance Connecticut, Dance Educators of America, Youth America Grand Prix and for Alberta Ballet Company and School. De Vita’s students have won prestigious international dance competitions including the Prix de Lausanne and have danced in many of the world’s major companies such as London’s Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The English National Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Boston Ballet.

Olga Dvorovenko is a former principal dancer and ballet mistress for the Ukrainian State Academic Dance Ensemble. She was the Recipient of the Honored Artist Award of Ukraine, given by the President, has performed in practically every country of the world, and has taught master classes in Canada and France. Dvorovenko came to the United States in 1996 and turned her focus towards teaching and sharing her wealth of knowledge with the next generation of dancers. In 2002, she was invited by American Ballet Theatre to dance the role of Madame in Antony Tudor’s Offenbach in the Underworld. Currently, Dvorovenko is also on the faculty of Ballet Academy East, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre and the ABT Studio Company.

Raymond Lukens has been a faculty member of the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (JKO) School since 2005. He was director of Boston Ballet II and Ballet Master for Boston Ballet. In New York City, he has also taught for American Ballet Theatre, the ABT Studio Company, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Ailey School, The Juilliard School, Peridance International, Marymount Manhattan College and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Lukens has taught in North and Latin America, Australia, Europe, Japan and South Africa. He was Ballet Master for Hartford Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and Alberta Ballet. As a dancer Lukens toured extensively, and performed the works of Van Dyk, Balanchine, Petipa, Bournonville, Lifar, Nijinska and Skibine among others. He obtained the highest qualifications as a pedagogue in London with the Cecchetti Society. Lukens is ballet teacher for the Dance Educators of America (DEA) Teacher Training School and choreographed the set exercises and variations for DEA’s Ballet Competition. Lukens together with JKO School Principal Franco De Vita directed the Hamlyn School of Dance in Florence, Italy; and authored the ABT National Training Curriculum. Lukens created the syllabi for the New York University Masters Degree program in ABT Ballet pedagogy.

Kate Lydon, born in Berkeley, California, began ballet and movement classes at the age of three. Her professional training includes American Ballet Theatre’s School of Classical Ballet and San Francisco Ballet School. She danced with San Francisco Ballet for five years before joining American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in 1995. Her repertoire with ABT includes Polyhymnia in Apollo, the pas d’action in La Bayadère, the Spring Fairy in Cinderella, Prayer in Coppélia, Zulma in Giselle, and The Rancher’s Daughter in Rodeo. Lydon’s teaching credits include American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive programs in New York and Bermuda, ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and ABT’s Ballet for the Young Dancer program in Greenwich, CT. In late September 2008, she taught a professional development workshop at New York City Center’s Fall for Dance program. Lydon is currently Editor-in-Chief of Dance Spirit Magazine and is on the ABT Artistic Board of Examiners.

Erika Pujic was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio where she began her dance training at the School of Cleveland Ballet. She went on to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Juilliard School where she was the recipient of the Martha Hill Award. Upon graduation, Pujic danced with Gloria Marina’s Spanish Dance Ensemble performing in New Jersey Opera’s Carmen. She was a principal dancer and rehearsal director for Henning Rubsam’s SENSEDANCE for seven years. Pujic was a founding member and rehearsal director for Battleworks Dance Company during its 10-year span. She has been an integral part of the creation of many works for Robert Battle and she has been dancing and setting his works for the past 20 years. She is currently teaching at The Ailey School, an adjunct professor at Queensborough Community College and a guest teacher at Marymount Manhattan College and Skidmore College. Pujic is also working with the American Dance Legacy Institute (ADLI).

Rosanna Seravalli was born in Florence, Italy where she began ballet classes at the School of Daria Collin. Shortly after her arrival in the U.S. she joined the Joffrey Ballet, then moved to American Ballet Theatre where she spent the next eleven years, reaching the rank of soloist. Seravalli is currently professor of ballet in the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College – SUNY. She has staged works and taught for the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre and the National Institute for the Arts in Taiwan, the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Beijing Academy of Dance, Ballet Philippines, Ballet Municipal de Santiago, the Guangdong Modern Dance Company in China, the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts, and the Queensland Institute of Technology (Australia), in Spain and in her home country of Italy, as well as throughout the United States. She has received a SUNY Research Foundation grant to develop methods for adapting Russian Classical training for American dancers, and in 1995 was a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to Chile (Santiago) and neighboring countries. For the past three years, Seravalli has been a regular guest faculty member for the National Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore where she has also staged a piece each year for the graduating seniors in ballet. In addition, she recently was a guest instructor at the School of the Houston Ballet.

Lupe Serrano had a distinguished performing career as a leading ballerina with American Ballet Theatre for two decades, beginning 1953. She began her teaching career at the University of Milwaukee and later served as Assistant Director at The National Academy of Dance in Illinois. In 1974, she joined The Pennsylvania Ballet as company teacher and head of the apprentice program. She also directed the school for eight years. In 1988, Serrano joined The Washington Ballet as artistic associate where she taught and coached the company and the advanced students. Currently, Serrano teaches company class for American Ballet Theatre, ABT Studio Company, and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre.

Richard Toda performed on Broadway and with the National Touring companies of The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Hal Prince. Prior to the many Phantom years, he danced Jerome Robbins’ choreography of West Side Story, Michael Bennett’s A Chorus Line, Oklahoma, My Fair Lady and Guys and Dolls at Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Annie Get your Gun at North Shore Music Theatre. Toda’s association with ABT began as a rehearsal assistant for Agnes de Mille as she set and revived two ballets for the Company: The Other and Tally Ho. Toda began his professional training at Syracuse University, where he holds a BFA in Music Theatre. While working in regional theater and opera company productions and waiting for his Broadway break, Toda continued his training in Jazz technique with Lynn Simonson and Michael Shawn. He received scholarships and professional support from David Howard and his ballet faculty, and studied with many of New York’s ballet teachers notably Tina Bernal and Simon Dow. Toda assumed his position in the Education Department after five years of facilitating ABT’s Make a Ballet programs and developing a range of educational outreach programs. During these performing and teaching years, he also grew his classes at the The Ailey School and worked as a teaching artist for Jacque D’Amboise National Dance Institute and the New York City Ballet. Toda is certified to teach the first four levels of ABT’s National Training Curriculum. Toda is the Artistic Coordinator of the Young Dancer Program for Bermuda’s National Dance foundation. As an educator Toda has participated in the development of ABT’s centerpiece program Make a Ballet facilitating the program in New York’s Metropolitan areapublic schools and hub cities across the country. He represents ABT in studio master classes and many educational partnerships and special events.

New York Summer Intensive faculty will also include special guest teachers:

Kevin McKenzie (Artistic Director of ABT), a native of Vermont, received his ballet training at the Washington School of Ballet. In 1972, McKenzie was awarded a Silver medal at the Sixth International Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. He was a leading dancer with both the National Ballet of Washington and The Joffrey Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in March 1979. McKenzie was appointed a Principal dancer the following December and danced with the Company until 1991. As a Principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, McKenzie danced leading roles in all of the major full-length classics including Solor in La Bayadère, Don Jose in Carmen, the Prince in Mikhail Baryshnikov's production of the full-length Cinderella, Franz in Coppélia, the Gentleman With Her in Dim Lustre, Basil and Espada in Don Quixote (Kitri's Wedding), Albrecht in Giselle, a leading role in The Garden of Villandry, Her Lover in Jardin aux Lilas, the leading role in The Leaves Are Fading, the Friend in Pillar of Fire, the leading role in Raymonda (Grand Pas Hongrois), a featured role in Requiem, the Champion Roper in Rodeo, Romeo and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, James in La Sylphide and the leading roles in Other Dances, Paquita, Les Sylphides, the Sylvia Pas de Deux and Theme and Variations. He created the role of Amnon in Martine van Hamel's Amnon V'Tamar and a leading role in Clark Tippet's S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. During his performing career, McKenzie performed as a guest artist in cities throughout the world, including Spoleto, Italy, Paris, London, Tokyo, Havana, Moscow, Vienna and Korea, dancing with, among others, the London Festival Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, the National Ballet of Cuba and the Universal Ballet in Seoul. In September 1989, McKenzie was appointed a permanent guest artist with The Washington Ballet, and, in 1991, assumed the position of Artistic Associate of that company. He has also acted as Associate Artistic Director of, and a choreographer with, Martine van Hamel's New Amsterdam Ballet. McKenzie was appointed Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre in October 1992. His choreographic credits include Groupo Zamboria (1984) and Liszt Études, now called Transcendental Études, (1991), both for Martine van Hamel's New Amsterdam Ballet, Lucy and the Count (1992) for The WashingtonBallet, and the full-length classic The Nutcracker (1993), Don Quixote (1995) in collaboration with Susan Jones, and a new production of Swan Lake (2000), all for American Ballet Theatre.

Susan Jones (ABT Ballet Mistress) was born in York, Pennsylvania and began her early dance training there. She continued her studies with Lucille Hood at the Rockville School of Ballet, Rockville, Maryland, and with Mary Day at the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C. In 1969, she accepted an apprenticeship with the Joffrey Ballet, dancing with the original Joffrey II, and made her professional debut with the New York City Opera, Robert Joffrey, choreographic director. Jones joined American Ballet Theatre in 1971 and danced with the Company for eight successive seasons. Among her roles were the Cowgirl in Rodeo and Lizzie Bordon as a child in Fall River Legend. Her transition from dancing to staff began in 1976 when she assisted Twyla Tharp with Push Comes to Shove. She was appointed Assistant Ballet Mistress in 1978. Retiring as a dancer at the close of the 1979/80 season, she was appointed Ballet Mistress in the spring of 1980 and Regisseur in 1982. Jones has returned to ABT after a three-year absence during which she mounted Natalia Makarova's full-length La Bayadère for the Ballet del Teatro Colon in BuenosAires, Argentina, and Mikhail Barysnikov's production of Don Quixote (Kitri's Wedding) for The Royal Ballet.

Clinton Luckett (ABT Ballet Master) was a dancer with American Ballet Theatre for ten years. His professional career spanned fifteen years and began at the National Ballet of Canada. As a dancer he created roles in original works by Glen Tetley, William Forsythe, John Neumeier, and James Kudelka among others and appeared in featured roles in most of the full-length ballets in the classical repertoire. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he began his dance training there, and after two years of study at the National Ballet School in Toronto, joined the National Ballet of Canada in 1987. In 1992 Luckett came to American Ballet Theatre where he was featured in the works of Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Agnes De Mille, Jiri Kylian, Lar Lubovitch, Kenneth MacMillan, Mark Morris, and Antony Tudor. He appeared on television in the PBS/Dance in America programs ABT Now and Le Corsaire, and in the CBC/Rombus Media productions of Glen Tetley’s Alice and La Ronde. A faculty member of the ABT New York Summer Intensive since 2001, Luckett assumed his position as the Artistic Associate for Education and Training in 2002 where he taught, rehearsed,and coordinated ABT Studio Company and also served as a Company Teacher at ABT and as the Artistic Coordinator of ABT’s first Bermuda Summer Intensive in 2005. Luckett has been a guest teacher for the Alvin Ailey company and taught ballet at New York University.

Nancy Raffa (ABT Ballet Mistress) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and received her early training with Madame Gabriella Darvash. In 1980, she became the youngest and first American female to win the Gold Medal at the Prix de Lausanne competition in Switzerland. The same year, Raffa joined Makarova and Company on Broadway and, at age 16, became a member of the corps de ballet of American Ballet Theatre. She joined Ballet de Santiago in 1985 as a principal dancer and was also a principal dancer at Ballet National Française de Nancy. In 1992, she became a principal dancer with Miami City Ballet. She began her teaching career in Miami at the New World School of the Arts and joined the staff of the Miami City Ballet School in 1994, becoming the coordinator for the School’s summer intensive program and Ballet for Young People program. Among her many awards, Raffa was twice awarded a special teacher’s recognition from the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts and won a grant from the United States Information Services to act as a cultural ambassador and teacher for the company and school in Honduras. Raffa holds an Ace certification in exercise physiology and graduated magna cum laude in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Thomas University. Raffa was appointed Ballet Mistress with American Ballet Theatre in June 2007.

NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER INTENSIVE

Alaine Haubert (Artistic Coordinator), a fourth generation Californian, has the unique distinction of having been associated with America’s three major companies. She received her training from age fifteen at the School of American Ballet in New York City where she studied with George Balanchine and his illustrious post-Diaghilev faculty. After graduation from high school, she performed with San Francisco’s Pacific Ballet, and then joined the national touring company of Camelot. In 1965 after a year on the road with Camelot, Haubert joined American Ballet Theatre, where she performed corps de ballet, soloist and principal roles. She was coached during this period by such diverse and exciting choreographers as Antony Tudor, Agnes De Mille, Jerome Robbins, Elliot Feld, Birgit Culberg, Herald Lander, and Glen Tetley, and also danced the classics. In 1969 Haubert joined the Joffrey Ballet as principal dancer performing leading roles in many ballets including The Green Table, The Dream, Feast of Ashes, The Moor’s Pavane, The Still Point, The Three Cornered Hat, Cakewalk and Le Bleu Danube. After nearly a decade with the Joffrey Ballet, a serious back injury ended Haubert’s performing career, and she began teaching and coaching in such wide-ranging locations as Europe, Japan, Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. In 1986, Haubert moved to Hawaii where she was on faculty at the University of Hawaii for seven years. In 1993, Haubert was invited by Kevin McKenzie to return to New York as Ballet Mistress for American Ballet Theatre, where she instructed, coached, and rehearsed the world’s leading dancers for four years. She now makes her home in California where she was on faculty at California State University, Long Beach for six years. She continues her association with ABT and annually travels the U.S. auditioning dancers for the ABT Summer Intensives. She has been Artistic Coordinator of the ABT Detroit Summer Intensive for thirteen years. In spring, 2002, Haubert had the honor of adjudicating the Pacific Region for Regional Dance America (RDA) and in 2003 was adjudicator for the Southwest Region. Haubert continues to travel worldwide, offering master classes and workshops and scouting for future ballet professionals.

Joahnna Butow began her dance training with Irma Grant Millard in Lancaster, PA. She attended the Pennsylvania Ballet School at age thirteen, and received a full scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet School at age fourteen. Ms. Butow’s professional career began at age fifteen, when she joined the Joffrey II as an apprentice. At nineteen, she was asked to join the Joffrey Ballet. In 1993, she left the Joffrey Ballet to join American Ballet Theatre, where she danced for eight years. At ABT, Ms. Butow performed most of the major full-length classical ballets, including: Giselle, La Bayadere, Romeo and Juliet, Coppelia, and La Sylphide; with featured roles in The Merry Widow and Swan Lake. She was also a cast member of Lar Lubovitch’s original full-length Othello and Meadow. In addition, she has performed such repertory ballets as Antony Tudor’s Echoing of Trumpets, Gala Performance and Lilac Garden, Clark Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto, Kevin McKenzie’s Transcendental Etudes, Agnes DeMille’s Fall River Legend, Marius Petipa’s Paquita, Fokine’s Les Sylphides, Lar Lubovitch’s A Brahms Symphony and James Kudelka’s Cruel World. She has had featured roles in Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo and Antony Tudor’s Leaves Are Fading, and was in Twyla Tharp’s The Elements and was an original cast member of Twyla Tharp’s How Near Heaven.

Erica Fischbach began her training with Theresa Bullard at the Kalamazoo Ballet School. At twelve, she moved to study at the Milwaukee Ballet with Ted Kivett, Basil Thompson, Michelle Lucci, Brunhilda Ruiz, Paul Sutherland, and privately with Mariana Laufer. When Ms. Fischbach was fifteen, she was accepted to the North Carolina School of the Arts under the direction of Robert Lindgren and Duncan Noble where she studied primarily with one of Balanchine’s most important muses, Melissa Hayden, and ABT’s Fanchon Cordell. At 17, she was hired by Edward Villella and danced principal roles in many Balanchine ballets with Ballet Oklahoma. From there, Ms. Fischbach moved to Pacific Northwest Ballet where she danced as a soloist until ’95. In ’96 she was hired by American Ballet Theatre where she danced until 2005. Throughout her dance career Ms. Fischbach had the privilege of dancing the classics as well as works by the world’s foremost choreographers including Balanchine, Tharp, Lubovitch, Taylor, Limon, Kylian, Forsythe, Tudor, DeMille, Graham, and Morris. Ms. Fischbach is currently the Artistic Director of Southold Dance Theater in South Bend, IN, where she teaches, choreographs new works, and stages classic ballets for her students. She has led Southold through five years of top 3 placements in the soloist and ensemble categories at the prestigious YAGP regional competitions. Ms. Fischbach is certified in the ABT curriculum and in Gyrotonic.

Ted Kivitt is a former Principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, International Guest Artist and Artistic Director of The Milwaukee Ballet. On stage, Kivitt was known throughout the world as one of American Ballet Theatre’s danseurs nobles. After dancing with ABT from 1961 to 1979, he made the challenging transition from performer to director, teacher and administrator of the Milwaukee Ballet, which he led to national acclaim. Kivitt has performed world wide, partnering many of the world’s leading ballerinas, including Cynthia Gregory, Eleanor D’Antuono, Lupe Serrano, Michelle Lucci, Carla Fracci, Gelsey Kirkland, Marianna Tcherkassky, and Natalia Makarova. In addition to his many appearances with ABT as a Principal dancer, he has also been a popular guest artist and teacher throughout the world. His performances in Russia, England, Spain, Italy, Japan, France, Cuba and Central and South America have received standing ovations and critical acclaim. In 1975, he was the first American male dancer invited to dance in Cuba. In the summer of 1977, Kivitt was invited to perform with Cynthia Gregory at a “Command Performance” at the White House for President Jimmy Carter in honor of the President of Venezuela. Currently, Kivitt is an Associate Professor in the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College.

ALABAMA SUMMER INTENSIVE

Carla Stallings Lippert (Artistic Coordinator) began her training with Marquerite Phares in Sacramento, CA. In 1974 and 1975, she was awarded scholarships at New York's School of American Ballet. In 1976, she received a scholarship to the then American Ballet Theatre School. Later that year she joined ABT II, and in 1977 was named to the corps of ABT. Lippert won the Bronze Medal in the Senior Division at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS in 1982. In 1983, she was promoted to the rank of Soloist at ABT by Mikhail Baryshnikov and danced with the Company in this position for another four years. In 1987, Carla joined Boston Ballet as a principal dancer, where she performed for nine years. She has danced as a guest artist with Baryshnikov and Company, Nureyev and Friends, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. She has guest taught for the Boston Ballet company and school, the Boston Ballet Summer Dance program, the Harvard Summer Dance program, Capital Ballet of Sacramento, the Sacramento Area Dance Alliance, and Fort Worth City Ballet. She currently teaches at the Severance School of Dance in Fresno, CA. Her teaching specialties include classical ballet, including technique, pointe, and variations; hair and make-up for the stage; and re-staging the major works of the classical ballet repertoire. She lives in Fresno with her husband and four children.

Pamela Booth Bjerknes Born in Wilmington, Delaware, .Bjerknes began her studies with former Ballet Russe ballerina Helena Antonova and James Jameison. At age of 12, she received a Ford Foundation Scholarship to study at the School of American Ballet. Following her studies at SAB, she studied at American Ballet Theatre School and began her professional career with ABT II, (Ballet Repertory Company), under the direction of Gage Bush and Richard Englund. She later joined Houston Ballet, under the direction of Ben Stevenson, where she danced soloist and principal roles. Joining ABT under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov, Bjerknes danced all the classics from Swan Lake to La Bayadère along with ballets by Anthony Tudor, Agnes DeMille, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Following her career at ABT, she served as Ballet Mistress for the Universal Ballet Company in Seoul, Korea. Upon her return to the states, she founded a young dancers program, Ballet Ecole, in Bethesda Maryland. In addition to teaching at Ballet Ecole, she taught for the Maryland Youth Ballet and Washington Ballet. Joffrey Ballet requested she train the children for their first performances of The Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center and continued her work with Joffrey as a faculty for their Summer Intensives. In September 2000, Bjerknes and husband Michael Bjerknes founded the American Dance Institute in Rockville Maryland. In addition to teaching at the Institute, Bjerknes holds the position of Artistic Director Emeritus and is currently working on a degree in Elementary Education at Montgomery College.

Carmela Gallace is a former principal dancer with The Moiseyev Dance Company and former soloist with Riverdance-The Show; performing across Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceana. Additionally, she has danced at The Radio City Music Hall in Riverdance’s 10-year anniversary celebration, and at the Bolshoi Theatre in productions of La Fille Mal Gardee, Les Sylphides/Chopiniana and The Nutcracker. She has also performed as a guest with The Miami City Ballet in The Nutcracker and the 100th Anniversary Celebration of The Nutcracker with the Kirov Ballet. Her training began in St. Petersburg, FL at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts and The Academy of Ballet Arts under Suzanne Pomerantzeff, Reginald Yates and Lester Jacobsen. She was later invited to study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow (Russia) where she graduated under the training of Galina Solovyova, Alexander Bondarenko, Marina Leonova and Sofia N. Golovkina. After returning back to America, Carmela received her BA degree in Communication at the University of Tampa while teaching dance at The Pinellas County Center for the Arts and Academy of Ballet arts. Many of her students went on to join schools, companies or shows such as: ABT, Dance Theatre of Harlem, BalletMet, Momix, Juilliard, The Lion King and Rent. She also worked for five years at The American Samoa Community College where she helped establish the first dance and musical theatre programs at the only US accredited institution of higher learning south of the equator. Carmela is a graduate of the NYU-Masters program in Dance Education/ABT Pedagogy. She is ABT certified (Primary-Level 7) in the National Training Curriculum and is currently teaching various forms of dance at the JKO School of the American Ballet Theatre, New York University/Steinhardt, City Center and other schools and institutions throughout the city.

Melissa Hale Coyle grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she received her early training from Roman Jasinski and Moscelyne Larkin. She studied as a scholarship student for two summers at American Ballet Theatre with Leon Danelion and Patricia Wilde. After graduating from high school, she joined American Ballet Theatre as a company member for three years. Hale later joined Cincinnati Ballet Company where she performed in principal roles and Tulsa Ballet Theatre where she was a principal dancer for six years. For the past 20 years, Hale has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina where she is on the faculty and Artistic Director of the Ballet Program at Sullivan Dance Centre, Artistic Director of Charlotte City Ballet Company, part-time faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and teaches company classes at North Carolina Dance Theatre. She has been a guest choreographer for the Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra, Carolina Voices, Atlanta Dance Theatre, The Dance Collective, Ballet San Antonio, Civic Ballet of Chicago, South Carolina’s Governors Summer School and Orange County Performing Arts High School. In 2001, The North Carolina School of the Arts awarded Hale “Best Dance Teacher of North Carolina”.

Orlando Molina began his training at the age of ten in Cuba. In 1996, he directed and performed with Trujillo Ballet in Peru. In 1998, Molina was a competitor in Jackson International Ballet Competition, Mississippi, and the same year he was offered a contract for Cleveland Ballet. In 2000, Molina joined Orlando Ballet under the direction of Fernando Bujones. For the 2002-2003 season, he was appointed ballet master. In 2003, Molina coached Joseph Gatti, gold medal winner at the Youth American Grand Prix and recent gold medal winner at the New York International Ballet Competition. He has been a guest teacher with Spartanburg Ballet, Texas Christian University, Alabama Dance Theatre, Jackson Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet, and most recently at Kowa Ballet in Okayama, Japan, and Ohio Dance Theatre. Orlando Molina is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through level 7 and Partnering of the ABT National Training Curriculum.

Samantha Shelton has been on the ballet faculty for the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive in Detroit for the past ten years; teaching, setting ABT repertoire and choreographing new works for the final performance. She has also taught and choreographed for the professional ballet program at the Walnut Hill School in Boston, directed by former ABT Principal Michael Owen. Shelton was on faculty for three summers at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and an adjunct professor of ballet at Wayne State University in Detroit for seven years. Shelton received her professional training from the Joffrey Ballet School in New York and has performed extensively in both classical and contemporary ballets. Shelton holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan and two master’s degrees, a M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Michigan and a M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University.

TEXAS SUMMER INTENSIVE

Christine Spizzo-Serrano (Artistic Coordinator) trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts and at the School of American Ballet in New York. She first performed professionally with the National Ballet of Washington (DC) and Ballet Repertory Co. (NY), before joining American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in 1975. She appeared in many of ABT’s Live From Lincoln Center and Dance in America programs and the Herbert Ross movies The Turning Point (1977) and Dancers (1987). She was a principal dancer with Ballet Arizona (1988, 1990) and with the Nureyev and Friends North American tour in 1990. She performed on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera for ten years before retiring from the stage. She is on the dance faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and was the original Artistic Coordinator of ABT’s Summer Intensive Programs (1996 and 1997). She has remained a primary teacher for all subsequent ABT Summer Intensives in NYC and Austin.

Deirdre Carberry danced with American Ballet Theatre for 12 years, and remains the youngest member to have been accepted into the Company at the age of 14. She was the youngest Company member to have performed solo and principal roles. Carberry received her early dance training at the American Ballet Theatre School, Miami Conservatory, David Howard & Elena Tchernichova. She was accepted by the School of American Ballet on scholarship, and she also attended the Harkness House Ballet & David Howard Studio on scholarship. At the First U.S. International Ballet Competition held in Jackson, Mississippi, Carberry was the youngest competitor and won a silver medal, in a year in which a gold medal was not awarded. After her 12 years dancing with ABT under the artistic direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov, she was also a principal dancer with the Atlanta Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Memphis, and the Miami City Ballet. While with American Ballet Theatre, Twyla Tharp cast her as the leading ballerina in a new ballet she choreographed called The Little Ballet partnered by Baryshnikov. She then debuted as Kitri in Baryshnikov’s Don Quixote partnered by Kevin McKenzie (currently ABT Artistic Director) and then partnered by Patrick Bissel. Fernando Bujones invited her to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy opposite him in SUNY Purchase, NY. Carberry has appeared in several PBS Great Performances programs for television & video: Baryshnikov Dances Balanchine, Baryshnikov Dances Sinatra and More with ABT, in both her partner was Baryshnikov. She is also featured in several Dance in America television programs & videos: ABT at the Met and ABT in San Francisco. The following seasons she demonstrated a quality of technique, style, presence and artistic interpretation that inspired ABT to promote her to increasingly important and prominent roles. Some of her other partners have been Wes Chapman, Robert LaFosse, Johan Renvall, Robert Hill, and Ross Stretton. She has toured three times with Baryshnikov & Company, toured with Alexander Godunov & Stars of the American Ballet, she has danced extensively throughout the USA, Europe, Israel, Japan, Central & South America, Mexico, Denmark and Toronto. Carberry had the great honor to have been coached by Dame Margot Fonteyn, Natalia Makarova, Fredrick Franklin, and Baryshnikov. Several works were created on her: Common Ground by Toni Pimble, Carmen by Nigel Burgione, Elements by Dennis Poole, Rigaudon by Clark Tippet, Taming of the Shrew and Diane Corbin Bruning contemporary work. While still performing she had taught at: Atlanta Ballet School, Cincinnati Ballet School, and the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, master classes for Emory University in Atlanta, The Washington Ballet School, and numerous workshops throughout the USA and Europe. Carberry was the ballet teacher and judge for American Idol’s Paula Abdul Company Dance Conventions & Competition. This included being televised on ESPN from Disney Florida. Carberry was also a judge for the Star Search Finals in Atlanta. She has been a ballet mistress for the Columbia City Ballet and ballet instructor for the school. Some of the ballets she has staged on students include Cinderella, Don Quixote, La Slyphide, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Paquita and Swan Lake. As part of her workshops she has included educating the students in stage makeup and nutrition awareness. Most recently Carberry was a guest instructor for several months at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham. She was also a faculty member at American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive in Detroit for 2008.

Amy Rose trained on scholarship at American Ballet Theatre School, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance. Amy performed with Chicago Ballet in The Nutcracker and Alice in Wonderland before joining American Ballet Theatre at the age of sixteen. She danced as a soloist with ABT from 1979-1992 featured in principal, soloist and character roles in both the classical and contemporary repertoire. She created her role opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov in David Gordon’s Murder among many others. She was also featured in many Dance in America and Live from the Met television and video tapings. During this time she also guested with the Universal Ballet in Korea, Japan and China, with the Stars of American Ballet in Manila and performed at Jacob’s Pillow with Patrick Bissell. In 1992, she joined Pacific Northwest Ballet where she danced leading roles in many ballets including creating her roles in Kent Stowell’s Carmina Burana and Cinderella and Mark Dendy’s Les Biches. She was a featured dancer on the company’s tour to Melbourne, Australia. As a freelance dancer she guested with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dance West Ballet, Northwest Ballet and the Civic Ballet of Chicago among others. Ms. Rose has been on the faculty for the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensives for the last eleven years and has been teaching in the Chicago area for ten years. She is currently a faculty member at three different local schools and at the Kenosha Academy of Dance in WI. She is also the ballet mistress for Ballet Theater of Illinois and has coached students for various competitions. Amy Rose is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 of the ABT National Training Curriculum.

Flavio Salazar is a native of Colombia, where he began his dance studies at the Instituto Colombiano de Ballet (Incolballet), He joined Ballet de Cali and also joined the faculty of Incolballet, having been certified by the National Ballet of Cuba to teach its methodology and pedagogy in ballet technique. Mr. Salazar went on to study at the Houston Ballet Academy as a full scholarship student under the direction of Ben Stevenson. He later joined Ballet Arizona under the direction of Michael Uthoff. In 1993 Mr. Salazar was invited by Kevin McKenzie to join the American Ballet Theatre. During his thirteen year career with ABT, he danced in a variety of classical, contemporary and modern ballets and nearly every ballet in ABT`s repertoire, working with Sir Anthony Dowell, Frederic Franklin, James Kudelka, Lar Lubovitch, Natalia Makarova, David Parsons, Twyla Tharp, Stanton Welch among others before retiring from the company in 2006. Mr. Salazar’s teaching experience extends from his early professional dancing years in Colombia, through his time at ABT. Presently, Mr. Salazar is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 of the ABT National training Curriculum, and a Certified teacher in Methodology and Pedagogy in Ballet advised by the National Ballet of Cuba. Mr. Salazar has taught in North America, Peru, Amsterdam and the Philippines. He has taught classes at ABT II, the ABT Summer Intensive, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, the Ailey School, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Ballet Tech, the School at Steps, Ballet Hispanico, YAGP, Adelphi University and Marymount Collages. In February 2012 Mr. Salazar was an Assistant Instructor for the ABT National Training Curriculum, Primary through Level 3 session, in Lima, Peru.

Roger Van Fleteren, a native of Michigan, began his dance training at the age of twelve with Charmaine Schick. Two years later, he was offered a scholarship to study with Madame Nathalie Krassovska in Dallas. In 1982 he joined ABT and became soloist in 1990, where his repertory included works by Antony Tudor, Kenneth Macmillan, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jir¹í Kylián, and Frederic Ashton among other. He was chosen by Agnes de Mille to dance the principal role in her final ballet, The Other. Van Fleteren has appeared as a guest artist with companies throughout the United States including Wes Chapman's American Ballet in 1991-1992. Van Fleteren has also performed throughout Europe at major Opera Houses including the Paris Opera and the Coliseum Theatre in London. He has also performed in productions of 42nd Street, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the television series The Equalizer and in the film Dancers starring Mikhail Baryshnikov. Van Fleteren joined the Alabama Ballet Company from the London City Ballet in 1996 where he served as principal dancer at the renowned Sadler's Wells Theatre. His repertoire included Giselle, TheSleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Coppelia, Don Quixote pas de deux and works with Royal Ballet stars David Wall and Leslie Collier. While at the Alabama Ballet, Van Felteren has been featured as Albrecht in Giselle, Drosselmeyer in Nutcracker, Herr Stahlbaum in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, as well as principal roles in Bolero and Swan Lake. Van Fleteren continues to be closely affiliated with American Ballet Theatre. In the summer of 1998 and 1999, he was appointed Administrative Coordinator of the ABT Summer Intensive in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was on the teaching staff of the intensive in Detroit, MI. In 1998, he co-choreographed Dracula, and in the 1999-2000 season Wes Chapman and Van Fleteren choreographed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 2001 he choreographed the Alabama Ballet's one- act full-length Romeo & Juliet and the full length Cinderella, and in 2003 he created original choreography for Swan Lake. In 1999, he won the Panoply Award for best overall choreography for Tickling the Ivories, in 2001 for Bach Variations. In the 2002- 2003 season he choreographed Be Major. Van Fleteren is one of the principal instructors in the Alabama Ballet School, and an Artist in Residence at the Gorham's Bluff Institute's Summer Residency.

ORANGE COUNTY SUMMER INTENSIVE

Lorin Johnson (Artistic Coordinator) trained at the Pacific Dance Theatre and the San Francisco Ballet School, dancing with the San Francisco Ballet before joining the American Ballet Theatre in New York under the directorship of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Johnson performed at ABT until 1995, appearing in eight seasons at the Metropolitan Opera House, touring nationally and internationally and performing in Live from Lincoln Center television broadcasts. Johnson created original roles in ballets by such renowned choreographers as Ulysses Dove, Clark Tippet and Agnes DeMille, among others. He has worked with some of the 20th century's most renowned choreographers, including Glen Tetley, Kenneth Macmillan, Twyla Tharp, and Jerome Robbins. Johnson's choreographic work has been described as "dynamic" and "electrifying" and has seen both in the US and abroad. He has been commissioned to create works for dance companies and in national and international dance festivals, including the Fabbrica Europa Dance Festival in Florence, Italy; Celebrate Dance in Los Angeles; the Orange County Performing Arts Center's Invitational Dance Festival; the Laguna Dance Festival; the Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival in Palm Springs, and the Los Angeles Dance Invitational at the Ford Amphitheater. He has been artist in residence at such universities as Skidmore College, New York, and at the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) in Southern California. In 2003, Danza & Danza wrote that Johnson's piece, Moto-Bio: Bodies in Movement, was "a work of extraordinary interest," and the Glendale News Press stated that Johnson's work, My Breath Comes Differently, was "the best performance" in Celebrate Dance 2010. In 2009, Johnson founded Body Current Dance (www.bodycurrent.org), a contemporary dance company based in Southern California. Johnson is currently an Associate Professor in the Dance Department at California State University, Long Beach, where he teaches courses in ballet technique, composition and history. His writings on dance have been published in Dance International and Dance Teacher magazines, as well as in the peer-reviewed journal Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (Routledge) and in Experiment and Musyka. Johnson has been a guest pre-performance speaker at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Los Angeles Music Center, as well as presenting papers at international conferences such as the Congress on Research in Dance. He has B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Southern California.

Julie Bickerton Bravata is from Honolulu, Hawaii where she received her early dance training from Barbara Theusen. She continued her studies on full scholarship at the National Academy of Arts in Champaign, IL and in New York City at the School of American Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre Scholarship Program, and with Madame Darvash. At the age of 15, Bickerton became a member of ABT's Ballet Repertory Company. At 18, she was invited to join American Ballet Theatre under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov. During her six years there she was privileged to work with some of the world's leading choreographers, such as Kenneth MacMillan, Antony Tudor, Roland Petit, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp. While with American Ballet Theatre, Bickerton appeared in several Dance in America and Live from Lincoln Center television special presentations. She then went on to dance as a soloist with Ballet du Nord in France and with The Feld Ballet in New York City. Since retiring from her performing career in 1988, Bickerton has taught all levels of ballet from creative movement through professional classes in New York, Oregon, and South Florida. In April 2002, Bickerton received a certificate of recognition from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts for inspiring young dancers and for her commitment to the arts. In 2009, she became an Artist-in-Residence at Bak Middle School of the Arts in Palm Beach and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University. Bickerton is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is currently the Ballet Director for Southern Dance Theatre in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Yan Chen was born in China where she started her dance training at the Shanghai Dance School. She later continued her studies at the San Francisco Ballet School and was a prizewinner at the 1987 Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. Prior to joining American Ballet Theatre in 1993, Chen was a principal dancer with the Washington Ballet. As one of ABT's most lyrical and versatile dancers, Chen performed many demanding leading roles. She received critical praise from The New York Times for her "refined and exuberant" rendition in all pieces.

Susan Jones (ABT Ballet Mistress) was born in York, Pennsylvania and began her early dance training there. She continued her studies with Lucille Hood at the Rockville School of Ballet, Rockville, Maryland, and with Mary Day at the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C. In 1969, she accepted an apprenticeship with the Joffrey Ballet, dancing with the original Joffrey II, and made her professional debut with the New York City Opera, Robert Joffrey, choreographic director. Jones joined American Ballet Theatre in 1971 and danced with the Company for eight successive seasons. Among her roles were the Cowgirl in Rodeo and Lizzie Bordon as a child in Fall River Legend. Her transition from dancing to staff began in 1976 when she assisted TwylaTharp with Push Comes to Shove. She was appointed Assistant Ballet Mistress in 1978. Retiring as a dancer at the close of the 1979/80 season, she was appointed Ballet Mistress in the spring of 1980 and Regisseur in 1982. Jones has returned to ABT after a three-year absence during which she mounted Natalia Makarova's full-length La Bayadère for the Ballet del Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Mikhail Barysnikov's production of Don Quixote (Kitri's Wedding) for The Royal Ballet.

Andrew Vaca has been teaching at California State University, Long Beach, for seven years after teaching at UCLA, Scripps College, California State University, Sacramento, and the Orange County High School of the Arts. He holds a B.A. degree in Communication Studies from CSUS and an M.F.A. in Dance from UCLA. A native of Sacramento CA, Vaca began dancing with Dale Scholl in the Jazz-ee Dance Company, and later in Jazzworks and Dale Scholl Dance/Art. Vaca is known in the worlds of both entertainment and concert dance. For over 15 years, he has choreographed dance material for NBA and NFL dance teams across the country. He has also choreographed halftime shows, award-winning material for dance teams in California, Idaho, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah, nd presented at numerous professional dance team conventions. Vaca has been professionally associated with the United Spirit Association for 22 years as a head instructor, adjudicator, and director of dance, and has taught their USA Pro camp for the last two years.

COLLEGIATE SUMMER INTENSIVE

Richard Toda performed on Broadway and with the National Touring companies of The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Hal Prince. Prior to the many Phantom years, he danced Jerome Robbins’ choreography of West Side Story, Michael Bennett’s A Chorus Line, Oklahoma, My Fair Lady and Guys and Dolls at Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Annie Get your Gun at North Shore Music Theatre. Toda’s association with ABT began as a rehearsal assistant for Agnes de Mille as she set and revived two ballets for the Company: The Other and Tally Ho. Toda began his professional training at Syracuse University, where he holds a BFA in Music Theatre. While working in regional theater and opera company productions and waiting for his Broadway break, Toda continued his training in Jazz technique with Lynn Simonson and Michael Shawn. He received scholarships and professional support from David Howard and his ballet faculty, and studied with many of New York’s ballet teachers notably Tina Bernal and Simon Dow. Toda assumed his position in the Education Department after five years of facilitating ABT’s Make a Ballet programs and developing a range of educational outreach programs. During these performing and teaching years, he also grew his classes at the The Ailey School and worked as a teaching artist for Jacque D’Amboise National Dance Institute and the New York City Ballet. Toda is certified to teach the first four levels of ABT’s National Training Curriculum. Toda is the Artistic Coordinator of the Young Dancer Program for Bermuda’s National Dance foundation. As an educator Toda has participated in the development of ABT’s centerpiece program Make a Ballet facilitating the program in New York’s Metropolitan area public schools and hub cities across the country. He represents ABT in studio master classes and many educational partnerships and special events.