Summer Intensives Faculty

New York Summer Intensive

Melissa Allen Bowman 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 Ms. Bowman began her own ballet company, the Emerson Dance Theatre, which featured up-and-coming ABT dancers. From 1981 to 1988, Ms. 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 Mr. Scholz to Leipzig, Germany, where she danced many soloist and principal roles and became his associate director. Ms. 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, Ms. Bowman has taught at ABT Summer Intensive in Detroit and in 2007 became an advisor to ABT’s curriculum committee. She has also been an adjudicator for the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts for the past two years. Ms. Bowman is currently founder and artistic director of the Danse Conservatory in southern California and its youth ballet company, California Danse Theatre.

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 and retired from dancing in 2004. He currently is an ABT Company Class teacher and is on the faculty of the ABT Summer Intensives in New York City and Bermuda. He is on the faculty of The School at STEPS and regularly guest teaches at STEPS on Broadway in New York City. He teaches master classes and 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, Ms. 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, Ms. Brown began teaching ballet, bringing sixteen years of experience as a ballerina to the classroom. Since embarking on her new career, Ms. 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. Ms. 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 studied during the summers with the ABT School and Walter Camryn and Bently Stone. Ms. 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. Ms. Browne joined American Ballet Theatre and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1986. Since leaving ABT in 1993, Ms. 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.

Hilary Cartwright performed as a Soloist and Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet of England before becoming the company’s Ballet Mistress and Repetiteur. After leaving Royal Ballet, Ms. Cartwright became the associate artistic director of Royal Winnipeg Ballet and director of Netherlands Dans Theatre II. Ms. Cartwright co-founded White Cloud Studio, New York with Gyrotonic and Yoga for Dancers and is currently an international guest teacher of ballet and Yoga with various companies. Ms. Cartwright has been teaching at ABT Summer Intensives since they began.

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. Ms. 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 ABT to dance the role of “Madame” in Antony Tudor’s Offenbach in the Underworld. Currently, Ms. Dvorovenko is also on the faculty of Ballet Academy East, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, and ABT II.

Tina Fehlandt appeared in the debut performance of the Mark Morris Dance Group in 1980 and was a featured dancer with the company for twenty years. Ms. Fehlandt is a respected teacher of both ballet and modern dance and has been acclaimed for her stagings of Mark Morris ballets on San Francisco Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Ballet Covent Garden, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre.

Jessica Lang is a graduate of The Juilliard School and a former member of Twyla Tharp’s company THARP! Ms. Lang has choreographed on companies including American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company, New York City Ballet (selected for the Choreographic Institute), Colorado Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Richmond Ballet (Choo-San Goh Award 2003), Hubbard Street 2, Ballet de Monterey in Mexico, among others. She has also choreographed on The Juilliard Dance Ensemble, The Ailey School/Fordham BFA Program, Princeton University, Texas Christian University, Bucknell University, Mesa State College, Barat Conservatory and commercially for BMW International Industrials. Ms. Lang currently teaches modern at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. She is also on faculty, teaching modern and composition/improvisation, for ABT Summer Intensives in New York and Bermuda and is a choreographer for the company’s Make a Ballet program. You can learn more about Ms. Lang’s work at www.jesslang.com.

Kate Lydon danced with American Ballet Theatre and was featured in roles like the Spring Fairy in Cinderella, Prayer in Coppélia, Polyhymnia in Apollo, Zulma in Giselle, and The Rancher's Daughter in Rodeo. She danced with the San Francisco Ballet for five years before joining ABT. Ms. Lydon's professional training includes the American Ballet Theatre's School of Classical Ballet and San Francisco Ballet School. Her 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, she taught a professional development workshop at New York City Center's Fall for Dance program. Ms. Lydon is currently an Editor in Chief of Dance Spirit.

Rosanna Seravalli was born in Florence, Italy where she began ballet classes at the School of Daria Colin. Shortly after her arrival in the United States, she joined the Joffrey Ballet, then moved to American Ballet Theatre where she spent the next eleven years, reaching the rank of Soloist. Ms. 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.

New York Summer Intensive faculty will also include special guest teachers:
Kevin McKenzie (ABT Artistic Director)
Wes Chapman (ABT II Artistic Director)
Franco De Vita (Principal of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School)
Kirk Peterson (Master Teaching Associate)
Clinton Luckett (ABT Ballet Master)
Nancy Raffa (ABT Ballet Mistress)
and others.

Michigan 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, then joined the national touring company of Camelot. In 1965 after a year on the road with Camelot, Ms. 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: Tudor, De Mille, Robbins, Feld, Culberg, Lander, and Tetley, and also danced the classics. In 1969 Ms. 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 Ms. 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 Ms. Haubert moved to Hawaii where she was on faculty at the University of Hawaii for seven years. In 1993, Ms. 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. Ms. Haubert now makes her home in California where she was on faculty at California State, 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 eight years. In spring, 2002, Ms. Haubert had the honor of adjudicating the Pacific Region for Regional Dance America (RDA) and in 2003 was adjudicator for the Southwest Region. Ms. Haubert now continues to travel worldwide, offering master classes and workshops and scouting for future ballet professionals.

Giuseppe Canale is an internationally recognized ballet dancer, choreographer, instructor and coach. Born in Palermo, Italy, he began his dance training at age eleven under the direction of Ludivicio Durst. He then trained at the National Academy of Dance in Rome, as well as Maurice Bejart’s famous Mudra dance school in Brussels, and the School of American Ballet in New York. He has toured extensively as a dancer with such companies as Ballet Company of Germinal Casado (West Germany), Ballet Company Jean Deroc (Switzerland), and the National Ballet in the Netherlands. He has toured all over Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia, and has choreographed works for Het National Ballet and Teatro Massimo. In 1994, the Mayor of Palermo invited him to return to his native home to serve as Director of corps de ballet for Teatro Massimo – a company, which had been abandoned for over twenty years. As Director, he revived the company and revitalized the theatre’s repertoire. He worked closely with the thirty dancers – restoring confidence and motivation lost to years of inactivity and bringing in well-known dancers and choreographers. Within one year, the company had presented an outstanding performance, and Mr. Canale was publicly congratulated by the President of Italy. As Director, Mr. Canale also spearheaded multiple arts outreach programs for Sicilian children with little or no dance exposure. Since moving to the United States, Mr. Canale has become the Co-Director of the Northeast Academy of Dance in Oscoda, Michigan, where he brings his passion for dance to the youth in the area. He has appeared as judge at the Luxembourg International Ballet Competition, and most recently as a judge for Youth America Grand Prix in New York City. Mr. Canale has been cited by the American Guild of Music Artists as having extraordinary ability in the field of dance.

Deirdre Carberry

Ted Kivitt is a former Principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, International Guest Artist and Artistic Director of The Milwaukee Ballet. On stage, Mr. 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. Mr. 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 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, Mr. 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, Mr. Kivitt is an Associate Professor in the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College.

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, Mr. Molina was a competitor in Jackson International Ballet Competition, MS, and the same year he was offered a contract for Cleveland Ballet. In 2000 Mr. Molina joined Orlando Ballet under the direction of Fernando Burjones. For the 2002-2003 season he was appointed Ballet Master. In 2003 Mr. Molina coached Joseph Gatti, gold medal winner at the Youth American Grand Prix and recently gold medal winner at the New York International Ballet Competition. Mr. Molina 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.

Samantha Shelton has been on the ballet faculty for the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive in Detroit for the past eight 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. Ms. 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. Ms. Shelton received her professional training from the Joffrey Ballet School in New York and has performed extensively in both classical and contemporary ballets. Ms. Shelton holds 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. She also holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan.

Alabama Summer Intensive

Charles Maple (Artistic Coordinator) danced with American Ballet Theatre and the Basel Ballet of Switzerland. He has made guest appearances in Europe and South America. His association with these companies exposed him to the cutting edge choreography of Europe and America’s most influential choreographers. In 1992, Maple began creating his own works. He has since received a steady stream of commissions, awards and a growing reputation as a freelance choreographer. Mr. Maple’s choreography represents a diversity of dance styles that are firmly rooted in the traditions of classical ballet. He has been active as a faculty member and an adjudicator for Regional Dance America. He is resident choreographer of the South Bay Ballet and is on faculty at Southland Ballet Academy, Ballet Pacifica, and the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensives.

Gage Bush Englund serves as Ballet Mistress of ABT II and is an honorary member of the dance company’s Board of Trustees. In 1997, she helped to establish the American Ballet Summer Intensive at University of Alabama, the first training program for young dancers to be held by ABT at a university or outside of New York. Ms. Bush’s dance career includes membership with ABT, Joffrey Ballet, Dance Repertory Company and the Huntington Dance Ensemble. She received a Ford Foundation Scholarship to the School of American Ballet and studied with dance greats in Paris and with the Royal Danish Ballet. Recently, a scholarship was endowed by the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive program at University of Alabama, to honor Ms. Brush’s instrumental role in establishing this renowned summer dance program.

Melissa Hale Coyle began her studies with Roman Jasinski and Moscelyne Larkin in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her training also included summer scholarships to the American Ballet Theatre School and after graduating from high school, joined American Ballet Theatre. Later she joined the Cincinnati Ballet Company and then danced with Tulsa Ballet Theatre as a Principal Dancer for six years. She has been in films such as The Turning Point and the made-for-TV movie The Cowboy and the Ballerina. For the last 16 years, Ms. Hale has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband and two sons. She is on the faculty and the director of the ballet program at Sullivan Dance Centre, on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, teaches company classes for North Carolina Dance Theatre and is the choreographer for the Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. Hale has also been a guest choreographer for Carolina Voices, Atlanta Dance Theatre, The Dance Collective and Ballet San Antonio. In 2001, The North Carolina School of the Arts awarded Ms. Hale the “Best Dance Teacher of North Carolina.”

Lorin Johnson danced with the San Francisco Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre in New York in 1987 under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Mr. Johnson performed at ABT until 1995, creating original roles in ballets by Ulysses Dove, Clark Tippet, and Agnes De Mille, among others. He has also worked with some of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century including Glen Tetley, Kenneth MacMillan, Twyla Tharp, and Jerome Robbins. His choreography has been commissioned in the United States and abroad, and in 2003 he choreographed and produced an evening of dance at the renowned dance festival at the Fabbrica Europa in Florence, Italy. Mr. Johnson has been on faculty of the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensives program since 2004. In 2005, he directed the Ballet Pacifica Academy in Southern California. In 2006, Mr. Johnson became an Assistant Professor of Dance at California State University, Long Beach, where he teaches courses in ballet technique and dance history. Mr. Johnson has published several articles and has both B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Southern California.

Denise Warner Limoli received her early training with Vera Nikitina in Connecticut and was a summer scholarship student with the Washington Ballet, Jacob's Pillow, and Ballet Theatre School. While still in high school she began performing principal roles and teaching with the Hartford Ballet. In 1970, Ms. Limoli began performing with ABT as a seasonal dancer, and joined the company officially in 1972. During her eight years with the company, she also appeared as a guest artist with Stars of American Ballet in Caracas, Venezuela, at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and for numerous companies throughout the country. Since her retirement from performing, Ms. Limoli has been the Ballet Mistress and teacher for the Minnesota Dance Theatre, Nevada Dance Theatre, and the Cincinnati Ballet. For more than 30 years she has helped develop the Nutmeg Ballet/Conservatory for the Arts in Connecticut. She teaches workshops in the Leningrad Pedagogical Method (Vaganova) and the Bournonville School. Although her own choreography is contemporary in style, her specialty is staging classical and romantic ballets. Ms. Limoli has also been on faculty at the University of Cincinnati College/Conservatory of the Music and the North Carolina School of the Arts. She currently is Associate Professor at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, where she lives with her husband--a classical musician--and two teenage children.

Colleen O'Callaghan danced with American Ballet Theatre under the direction of Lucia Chase and Mikhail Baryshnikov. She trained on scholarship with the schools of the Louisville Ballet, the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. Before joining American Ballet Theatre's main company, she danced with ABT’s Ballet Repertory Company under the direction of Richard Englund and Gage Bush. Ms. O’Callaghan received a Bachelor of University Studies degree from the University of Utah. She has been teaching ballet for over 23 years and has been a faculty member of the University of Utah, Ballet West, California State Long Beach, California Institute of the Arts, the Stanley Holden Dance Center, Westside School of Ballet, Louisville Ballet and many other nationally recognized schools. For over five years she was the classical dance director for the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA). Currently, Ms. O'Callaghan is a faculty member for the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive programs. Most recently, she taught for the ABT II and for the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre in New York City. She continues to teach for South Bay Ballet and California Dance Theater. She is a certified Yoga instructor and has developed a Yoga program for children grades Pre K through 8 that has had much success throughout Southern California. The uniqueness of this situation is that the highly experienced teachers travel to the students, allowing the dancers to stay close to home and experience a professional and positive dance intensive. Ms. O'Callaghan lives with husband and three children in Ventura, California.

Amy Rose joined American Ballet Theatre at the age of sixteen. She rose to the rank of Soloist and danced with the company from 1979-1992. During that time she also performed with Mikhail Baryshnikov in Spoleto, Italy, as well as Patrick Bissell at Jacob’s Pillow and Wes Chapman in Manila. From 1992-1997, she danced as a Soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet. After freelancing several years as a guest artist, she settled down to teaching fulltime. She is on fulltime staff at four different schools in the Chicago area and also guest teaches for the professional companies in the city.

Texas Summer Intensive

Rodney Gustafson (Artistic Coordinator) trained at the School of American Ballet and spent the majority of his performing career as a dancer with the world-renowned American Ballet Theatre. During this period, Mr. Gustafson trained and worked with many of the great dancers and choreographers of our time including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alvin Ailey, George Balanchine, Rudolf Nureyev, Jerome Robbins, and Anthony Tudor and appeared in the films The Turning Point, Baryshnikov’s The Nutcracker, and several Live from Lincoln Center specials for PBS. He continues his affiliation with American Ballet Theatre as a coordinator, choreographer, and teacher for its summer programs. Academically, Mr. Gustafson holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (1994) from the University of Arizona, and a Master of Arts in Organizational Management (2001) from Antioch University in California. Mr. Gustafson founded State Street Ballet in 1994 and, from a modest debut in a small black box theatre to performances throughout the United States, and Asia, the company continues to gain prominence and recognition both nationally and internationally. A talented choreographer, Mr. Gustafson has created many new ballets for the company’s repertoire including full-length versions of The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, and Cinderella. He has built a company respected for its choreography, dancing, and fiscally responsible management.

George de la Pena has performed in numerous stage, film and television projects and taught in several universities. An accomplished performer, career highlights include work with American Ballet Theatre, Broadway, Off-Broadway, television, film, and regional theaters throughout the United States, Europe, and Canada. As an ABT soloist, he performed in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s television broadcast of The Nutcracker. In 1978, he portrayed Vaslav Nijinsky in Herbert Ross’ film Nijinsky. Broadway credits include the musicals Woman of the Year and On Your Toes. In Hollywood, he performed in shows including Murder, She Wrote and L.A. Law, while continuing to act, direct, produce, and choreograph. He was formerly the Artistic Director of the Bay Area Houston Ballet and is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Iowa.

Jolinda Menendez, a former ballerina with American Ballet Theatre, has performed leading roles in La Bayadère, Giselle, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, The Firebird, Raymonda Act III, and other repertoire by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Agnes De Mille, Kenneth MacMillan and Glen Tetley. Lewis Segal of the L.A. Times said, “Jolinda’s performance of ‘The Dying Swan’ was dance poetry – a quality Pavlova’s name has always symbolized – you could understand why Natalia Makarova has championed her as a major artist.” Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times reviewed one of her Metropolitan Opera performances saying, “It is hard to imagine two dancers reaching so deeply into the emotional and lyrical core of Swan Lake unless one brings back memories of Fonteyn & Nureyev.” Following ABT, she was Principal Ballerina with the Bavarian National Ballet in Munich, Germany, where she added to her repertoire, John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Eugene Onegin, and Taming of the Shrew, John Neumeir’s The Nutcracker, Birgit Cullberg’s Miss Julie, and Balanchine’s Apollo and Divertimento No. 15. She has been a frequent guest artist in Europe, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. She teaches at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and is a frequent guest teacher with companies and schools including the Royal Ballet School in London, English National Ballet School, Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy, Scottish Ballet Company and Ballet Ireland. In addition, she coaches privately students and professionals.

Lawrence Pech was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join American Ballet Theatre in 1980. For the next six years, Mr. Pech worked with such choreographers as George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Antony Tudor, Agnes De Mille, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Jirąí Kylián, Carol Armitage, David Gordon, Natalia Makarova, Eric Bruhn, and Mark Morris. He has danced with such greats as Baryshnikov, Makarova, Ivan Nagy, Cynthia Gregory, Fernando Bujones, Gelsey Kirkland, Cynthia Harvey, Martine Van Hamel, Kevin McKenzie, among others. He has made numerous television appearances with ABT in Live from Lincoln Center as well as figuring prominently with Baryshnikov in the 1983 BBC movie, Dancer and the Dance. In 1986, Helgi Tomasson invited Mr. Pech to join the San Francisco Ballet and in 1989, was promoted to Principal Dancer. In 1991, Mr. Pech was the subject of a PBS/KQED special entitled, Blue Lair, a ballet about his victory over cancer. This special was awarded a 1991 Emmy for “Best Choreography”. To date, Mr. Pech has choreographed over forty-five ballets, forty musicals, thirty operas, and numerous self-produced evenings of original music, dance, and theater. He has garnered numerous awards such as the Bay Area Theater Critics’ Circle and Dean Goodman awards for “Best Choreography” and “Best Supporting Actor in a Musical”.

Christine Spizzo-Serrano 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 ABT 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 10 years before retiring from the stage. She is on the dance faculty at the 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.

Ronn Tice performed as a Soloist in European and North American ballet companies in a career that spanned 25 years. He has been a member of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Zurich Opera, Grand Theatre of Geneva, Pacific Northwest Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, and American Ballet Theatre. He was the founder and Artistic Director of his own company in Seattle, Washington. He has choreographed over 30 original works. He is currently on the faculty of the University of Minnesota, Ballet Arts Minnesota and the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive Program. Mr. Tice has a BFA from the University of Minnesota.

Orange County Summer Intensive

Melissa Allen Bowman 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 Ms. Bowman began her own ballet company, the Emerson Dance Theatre, which featured up-and-coming ABT dancers. From 1981 to 1988, Ms. 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 Mr. Scholz to Leipzig, Germany, where she danced many soloist and principal roles and became his associate director. Ms. 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, Ms. Bowman has taught at ABT Summer Intensive in Detroit and in 2007 became an advisor to ABT’s curriculum committee. She has also been an adjudicator for the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts for the past two years. Ms. Bowman is currently founder and artistic director of the Danse Conservatory in southern California and its youth ballet company, California Danse Theatre.

Alaine Haubert , 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, then joined the national touring company of Camelot. In 1965 after a year on the road with Camelot, Ms. 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: Tudor, De Mille, Robbins, Feld, Culberg, Lander, and Tetley, and also danced the classics. In 1969 Ms. 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 Ms. 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 Ms. Haubert moved to Hawaii where she was on faculty at the University of Hawaii for seven years. In 1993, Ms. 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. Ms. Haubert now makes her home in California where she was on faculty at California State, 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 eight years. In spring, 2002, Ms. Haubert had the honor of adjudicating the Pacific Region for Regional Dance America (RDA) and in 2003 was adjudicator for the Southwest Region. Ms. Haubert now continues to travel worldwide, offering master classes and workshops and scouting for future ballet professionals.

Leslie Browne received her early training from her parents, Kelly and Isabel Brown, who were both former members of American Ballet Theatre. She also studied during the summers with the ABT School and Walter Camryn and Bently Stone. Ms. 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. Ms. Browne joined American Ballet Theatre and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1986. Since leaving ABT in 1993, Ms. 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.


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, Ms. Chen was a Principal Dancer with the Washington Ballet. As one of ABT's most lyrical and versatile dancers, Ms. Chen performed many demanding leading roles. She received critical praise from The New York Times for her "refined and exuberant" rendition in all pieces.

Warren Conover, a former Soloist with American Ballet Theatre, performed a wide range of roles from classical to demi-character to modern in more than fifty ballets. He has also appeared on several Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts; a Dance in America presentation and he performed a feature role in the television broadcast of Baryshnikov’s The Nutcracker. He was a faculty member at the Ruth Page Foundation School of Dance, the Gus Giordano Dance Center and the Lou Conte Dance Studio in Chicago for thirteen years. For ten years, Mr. Conover was the Artistic Associate/Ballet Master for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, touring extensively throughout the United States, South America, and Europe. In 1994, Mr. Conover joined the faculty of the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he is Assistant Dean/School of Dance. Since that time he has staged and choreographed numerous ballets for the School of the Arts. In February 1997, he returned to American Ballet Theatre to restage Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs, which had been absent from their repertoire for twelve years. Mr. Conover continues to guest teach nationally, including the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive program, the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association, the Regional Dance America Northeast Festival as well as a long association with Chicago Dance Masters of America.

Charles Maple danced with American Ballet Theatre and the Basel Ballet of Switzerland. His association with these companies exposed him to the cutting edge choreography of Europe and America’s most influential choreographers. In 1992 Mr. Maple began creating his own works. He has since received a steady stream of commissions, awards and a growing reputation as a freelance choreographer. Mr. Maple’s choreography represents a diversity of dance styles that are firmly rooted in the traditions of classical ballet. He is resident choreographer of the South Bay Ballet and is on staff at Southland Ballet Academy, Ballet Pacifica, and the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensives.

Collegiate Summer Intensive

Melissa Allen Bowman 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 Ms. Bowman began her own ballet company, the Emerson Dance Theatre, which featured up-and-coming ABT dancers. From 1981 to 1988, Ms. 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 Mr. Scholz to Leipzig, Germany, where she danced many soloist and principal roles and became his associate director. Ms. 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, Ms. Bowman has taught at ABT Summer Intensive in Detroit and in 2007 became an advisor to ABT’s curriculum committee. She has also been an adjudicator for the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts for the past two years. Ms. Bowman is currently founder and artistic director of the Danse Conservatory in southern California and its youth ballet company, California Danse Theatre.

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 and retired from dancing in 2004. He currently is an ABT Company Class teacher and is on the faculty of the ABT Summer Intensives in New York City and Bermuda. He is on the faculty of The School at STEPS and regularly guest teaches at STEPS on Broadway in New York City. He teaches master classes and judges ballet competitions for Youth America Grand Prix and regularly guest teaches and coaches for Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Hilary Cartwright performed as a Soloist and Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet of England before becoming the company’s Ballet Mistress and Repetiteur. After leaving Royal Ballet, Ms. Cartwright became the associate artistic director of Royal Winnipeg Ballet and director of Netherlands Dans Theatre II. Ms. Cartwright co-founded White Cloud Studio, New York with Gyrotonic and Yoga for Dancers and is currently an international guest teacher of ballet and Yoga with various companies. Ms. Cartwright has been teaching at ABT Summer Intensives since they began.

Tina Fehlandt appeared in the debut performance of the Mark Morris Dance Group in 1980 and was a featured dancer with the company for twenty years. Ms. Fehlandt is a respected teacher of both ballet and modern dance and has been acclaimed for her stagings of Mark Morris ballets on San Francisco Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, English National Ballet, Royal Ballet Covent Garden, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre.

Jessica Lang is a graduate of The Juilliard School and a former member of Twyla Tharp’s company THARP! Ms. Lang has choreographed on companies including American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company, New York City Ballet (selected for the Choreographic Institute), Colorado Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Richmond Ballet (Choo-San Goh Award 2003), Hubbard Street 2, Ballet de Monterey in Mexico, among others. She has also choreographed on The Juilliard Dance Ensemble, The Ailey School/Fordham BFA Program, Princeton University, Texas Christian University, Bucknell University, Mesa State College, Barat Conservatory and commercially for BMW International Industrials. Ms. Lang currently teaches modern at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. She is also on faculty, teaching modern and composition/improvisation, for ABT Summer Intensives in New York and Bermuda and is a choreographer for the company’s Make a Ballet program. You can learn more about Ms. Lang’s work at www.jesslang.com.

Brian Reeder, born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, began his training with Marcia Dale Weary at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. After attending American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Program, he studied at the School of American Ballet. Before joining American Ballet Theatre (1994-2003), Mr. Reeder performed as a Soloist with William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt (1990-1993) and also danced with New York City Ballet (1986-1990). Over a four-year period, Mr. Reeder created five original works for American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company (now ABT II). In 2005, he choreographed a full-length The Nutcracker for Ballet Pacifica. In collaboration with the Washington Ballet, Mr. Reeder was the recipient of the New York Choreographic Institute Fellowship Grant (2005). He has created works for the Washington Ballet and its Studio Company including a production of Peter & The Wolf. In 2006, he was commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum in New York to create two new works for their Works & Process series. Mr. Reeder was artist in residence at Brown University, Emory University, and St. Paul’s School where he taught and created works for student dance companies. He was involved with the ABT Education Department’s Make a Ballet program (2004-2006), and is currently on staff at ABT Summer Intensives program in NYC. He served as the Coordinating Director of the ABT International Summer Dance Intensive in Bermuda (2006), and has been a guest teacher at the Alvin Ailey School, Icelandic National Ballet Company and school.