FACULTY & STAFF

LASZLO BERDO

ACADEMY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – PRE-PROFESSIONAL TRAINEE DIVISION

Laszlo Berdo, born in Grand Rapids, MI, began his dance training at age five and furthered his education at the National Academy of Arts in Champaign, IL. His professional career started with Ballet Austin and Louisville Ballet, before joining Cincinnati Ballet as a guest artist and later a soloist. He joined Boston Ballet in 1990 as a corps de ballet member, was promoted to soloist in 1993, and became a principal dancer in 1995. As a principal, Laszlo danced in numerous roles by renowned choreographers including Cranko, McMillan, Balanchine, Bournonville, Hynd, Stevenson, Tharp, Taylor, Feld, Butler, and York. He had the honor of being the first to premiere the lead role in Cranko’s Eugene Onegin in the United States.

Laszlo began choreographing in 1993 with Eternal Being, performed at a Boston Ballet gala. He created Four Hands in 1998, which was featured in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS, and at a summer festival in Biarritz, France. His work Below Down Under premiered at the Shubert Theatre in 1999. In 2001, he created Sanctuary for the Norwegian National Ballet in Oslo. Other choreographic works include Bass Elements for the Boston Conservatory, Concertante for the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Four Hands staged for the Finnish National Ballet in Helsinki in 2002.

From 2000 to 2003, Laszlo taught at the Boston Conservatory and Harvard University. He joined the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) faculty full time in 2003. Notable works include Snow White (2008), Peter Pan (2009), Carnival of the Animals (2011), and Swan Lake (2012). In 2010, he choreographed The Nutcracker for the Eglevsky Ballet, where he was later appointed Artistic Director and School Director in 2012. Under his leadership, Eglevsky Ballet opened a new state-of-the-art facility in Bethpage, NY, reestablishing it as Long Island’s premier ballet school and professional company.

EMAIL 704.414.2784

KATI HANLON MAYO

ACADEMY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – UPPER SCHOOL

Kati Hanlon Mayo trained at The Boston School of Ballet under the direction of E. Virginia Williams & Violette Verdy. At the age of 15, she became a member of Boston Ballet 2 and performed regularly with The Boston Ballet. In 1992, Kati was invited by Salvatore Aiello to join North Carolina Dance Theatre (now Charlotte Ballet) as a principal dancer. That same summer, she also became a member of The Chautauqua Ballet Company under the direction of Jean Pierre Bonnefoux.

Throughout her 17-year career at Charlotte Ballet Kati performed principal roles in ballets choreographed by George Balanchine, Alonzo King, Alvin Ailey, William Forsythe, Dwight Rhoden, Agnes DeMille, Jacqueline Buglisi, Jean Pierre Bonnefoux and Nacho Duato. In 2000 and 2004, Kati was named Best Performing Artist by Charlotte Magazine. The New York Times reviewed that she “ruled the stage with benign classical authority” and Dance Magazine heralded her as a “performer of stunning versatility and dramatic power.”

Kati began teaching at the Charlotte Ballet Academy upon its inception in 1993. She is currently an instructor for the main company along with the Advanced and Pre-Professional Division. Many of her students have gone on to professional careers with companies throughout the world, including: New York City Ballet, Nederland Dans Theater, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet and Houston Ballet. Kati has been a guest teacher for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Chautauqua Institution, Regional Dance America and she is a repetiteur for the Salvatore Aiello Trust. She is a certified instructor of Dance for Parkinson’s Disease through The Mark Morris Dance Group and she also completed her instructor certification with Progressing Ballet Technique.

EMAIL 704.414.2206

SOPHIE MERCURE

ACADEMY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – LOWER SCHOOL

Sophie Mercure is a rare Charlotte, NC native! Sophie began her dance education at Charlotte City Ballet under the instruction of Melissa Hale Coyle at 5 years old before coming to Charlotte Ballet Academy at 8 years old. In high school, Sophie moved to NYC to study on full scholarship at Gelsey Kirkland Academy’s year round training program. Sophie performed in Gelsey Kirkland Ballet’s full length classical ballets, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, Harlequinade as well as GKB’s performance excerpts from Giselle, and August Bournonville’s Enchainements.

Sophie started her teaching career in 2015 with Miller Street Dance Academy. In summer 2016 Sophie attended ABT’s National Teacher Training program for levels Pre-Primary to level 3. Sophie joined the faculty at Charlotte Ballet Academy in Fall 2016 where she has instructed Beginning Ballet through Ballet 3 and taught Conditioning in the Pre-Professional Division. She has served as Assistant Rehearsal Director for the Academy’s children’s cast in Charlotte Ballet’s productions of Nutcracker and Peter Pan.

A certified personal trainer for 5 years, Sophie received her Personal Training Certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine in 2018 and became a NASM Certified Nutrition Coach in October 2020. After completing her PT Certification, Sophie launched a successful dance based fitness concept, Ballet Fit Theory in October 2018 (2018-2021) in Southend Charlotte allowing her to combine her passions for dance and fitness. Sophie enjoys bringing her knowledge of the body and fitness into her classes at Charlotte Ballet Academy to help build strong and healthy dancers.

EMAIL 704.414.2768

PATRICIA MCBRIDE

CHARLOTTE BALLET ACADEMY MASTER INSTRUCTOR

Patricia McBride has been celebrated as the outstanding American ballerina of our day and a star of international stature. In 1959, she joined the company of New York City Ballet and, in 1961, became its youngest principal dancer. Patricia danced for five American presidents, performed with many of the great male dancers of our time and had numerous master works created for her by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She joined Charlotte Ballet in 1996 as associate artistic director and is a master teacher with the Charlotte Ballet Academy. She also serves as associate artistic director and master teacher at the Chautauqua Institution in NY. Patricia has received awards from Dance Magazine Award, the New York City Mayor’s office and Mademoiselle Magazine, as well as the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest civilian honor. In 2014, she was named a Kennedy Center Honoree. Patricia and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux have two children and three grandchildren.

BELLA ASSANTE

Bella Assante started her training in Columbia, SC at the age of four. When her family moved to Oklahoma, she continued her training at various small studios, ending up finding her dance home at the Oklahoma City Ballet. She attended the pre-professional program there for seven years, dancing with the professional company in a number of ballets. At the age of seventeen Bella was offered a position at the Charlotte Ballet as a Pre-Professional Trainee, and is excited to begin her third season with the program.

Bella has had the opportunity to perform in a number of ballets with Oklahoma City Ballet including such performances as Robert Mills’ The Nutcracker, Septime Webre’s Alice (In Wonderland), Robert Mills’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and August Bournonville’s La Sylphide. She has more recently had the pleasure of performing with Charlotte Ballet in Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Nutcracker, as well as Christopher Stuart’s Peter Pan and Ib Andersen’s Swan Lake. Bella has been an assistant ballet teacher since she was eight and has recently started her teaching journey.

TAMMY RHOADES-BALDWIN

Tammy Rhoades-Baldwin trained in Indianapolis at the Jordan Academy of Dance with Peggy Dorsey and Colette Kaufman. For two years, she participated in Butler University’s early enrollment program as a high school student where she also performed with the Butler Ballet. Tammy received her BS in Ballet from Indiana University in 1988 under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Jacques Cesbron, and an MFA in Dance from the University of Arizona in 1992 where she studied ballet with Jory Hancock and Melissa Lowe and modern dance with Ellen Bromberg. She also studied with Bud Kerwin, Marina Svetlova, and Jurgen Pagels. From 1989-1995 Tammy danced professionally with the Tucson Ballet in Arizona and the Lexington Ballet in Kentucky.

Tammy has taught ballet at the University of Arizona, University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, the Tucson Ballet, and the Lexington Ballet. She was director of the ballet program at Town and Village School of Dance in Paris, KY from 1995-2000. Locally she has taught at Dance Davidson. She’s published a book of ballet combinations and is the administrator of the LinkedIn group Teachers of Classical Ballet. Tammy is excited to be teaching at the Charlotte Ballet Academy.

ROBIN GRAY BISHOP

Robin Gray-Bishop is a Julliard graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and has also graduated from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte with a teaching certificate in Dance Education. Currently, she is teaching for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Waddell Language Academy. She has studied at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Her performance credits include being a featured dancer in the films; The Wiz and Fame and principal dancer for Jubilation! Dance Company which toured in the US and abroad. Robin highly trained in modern, ballet and jazz with over twenty-five years of dance, teaching and choreographic experience within the private and public school sector in New York City and throughout the United States. Robin has over fifteen years of experience as Director of the St. Paul Community Baptist Church Dance Ministry choreographing and teaching for a congregation of 2,000+ children, men and women. Her most prized accomplishment was starting the Leaps and Bounds School of Dance as Director and Founder, a performing arts program for gifted and low-income inner-city youth for over thirteen years.

ASYIA CUTTS

Asyia Cutts is a Charlotte native. She has been dancing for 20 years and teaching dance for six years. She began her competition dance training at Dance Productions and finished her training at Havilah Dance Company. She continued her dance education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, obtaining her BFA Degree in choreography and performance. Along her journey she has trained with and performed works with Janet Lily, Duane Cyrus, Clarice Young, and many more. Currently Asyia is an instructor at Havilah Dance Company and Charlotte Ballet Academy.

JAMIE DEE CLIFTON

Jamie, a native of CA, received her training at Orange County Regional Ballet. After receiving the California Alliance for Arts Education’s 2000 Emerging Young Artist Award, she joined the American Repertory Ballet in New Jersey where she spent two seasons. Jamie accompanied Nai Ni Chen Dance Company on their 2002 China Tour and has been a guest artist with L.A. Chamber Dance. She danced for seven years with BalletMet Columbus where she received the 2008 Violetta Boft Award. Some of her favorite roles include Juliet in David Nixon’s Romeo and Juliet, Odette in Nixon’s Swan Lake and Daisy in Jimmy Orrante’s world premiere of The Great Gatsby. She has had the pleasure of dancing works by such choreographers as Jiří Kylián, George Balanchine, Dwight Rhoden, Twyla Tharp and Stanton Welch. Jamie danced with Charlotte Ballet for seven seasons before retiring as a principal dancer in 2016.

TARA WINSTON-CONRAD

Tara Winston-Conrad’s dance training began as a young girl in Washington, DC. She studied at The Bolshoi School of Ballet in Bethesda, MD, and then later at The Bethesda School of Ballet. Tara continued her dance education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she worked towards a major in drama and a minor in dance. After two years, she transferred to Catholic University in Washington, DC. While studying drama and teaching dance, she commuted to New York where she performed in an Off Broadway Showcase. Later that year, she traveled to the Middle East and abroad as a featured dancer in the 1982 USO tour. Tara graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from the prestigious Drama program at Catholic University and moved to New York City. While in New York, Tara studied and later taught at many major dance studios, including Broadway Dance Center, Steps, and David Howard. She also performed as a Zigfield Folly dancer and was featured in several VH1 music videos. Tara’s dance training led her to the fitness industry where she became National Spokesperson for The Body Bar and presented at many national and international fitness expos. During this time she was a member of “Team Danskin” and appeared on several talk shows as a fitness expert. Tara has worked extensively in television, appearing in TV films, soap operas and national commercials.

HEATHER FERRANTI FERGUSON

Heather Ferranti Ferguson is a native of Rochester, NY, where she studied with Luba Gulyaeva at the Botsford School of Dance, and later with Timothy Draper at the Rochester City Ballet. At the age of 15 she was invited to join Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as an apprentice. After several years of dancing professionally with various companies, including working with Jean Pierre Bonnefoux at the Chautauqua Ballet Company, he invited her to join Charlotte Ballet. While at Charlotte Ballet, Heather had the privilege of dancing in several of George Balanchine’s greatest works and being coached by Patricia McBride, as well as ballets from choreographers including Salvatore Aiello, Alvin Ailey, Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, Mark Diamond, Nicolo Fonte, William Forsythe, Mark Godden, Alonzo King, Dwight Rhoden, and Paul Taylor. Heather spent six seasons with Charlotte Ballet, during which time she began teaching for the academy. For more than two decades she has been an instructor and choreographer for the Intermediate and Advanced Divisions, with many of her students going on to professional careers.

ZOE FREAS

Zoe Freas is a passionate and dedicated dance professional born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. With a lifelong love for dance, Zoe began training at a young age, immersing herself in various dance forms and techniques.  By the age of 15, she had already begun teaching, sharing her knowledge and skills with the next generation of dancers.

Throughout high school, she had the privilege of traveling nationally and internationally to perform in locations such as Washington D.C. all the way to Israel.

In 2024, Zoe graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a degree in Applied Dance Studies, where she honed her craft and developed a deep understanding of dance theory, history, and practice. Her academic background, combined with years of hands-on experience, has shaped her into a well-rounded and insightful dance educator and choreographer.

With a profound commitment to the art of dance and a passion for fostering creativity in others, Zoe hopes to inspire and guide aspiring dancers in their journey toward excellence.

TRACY HEIM

Tracy Heim is a graduate of University of North Carolina at Charlotte receiving a B.A. in Dance Performance and B.S. in Exercise Science. Throughout her dance journey, Tracy had the opportunity to perform Martha Graham’s “Steps in the Street”, along with Paul Taylor’s “Esplanade” and the revival of “Tracer”. While developing her skills in dance, along with athletic training, Tracy stayed involved in the community by volunteering to teach dance in low-income areas and working for UNCC’s Disability Services as a Movement Mentor for visibly impaired dancers. Tracy received her Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) certification, a program that uses ballet-technique exercises to train skill acquisition in a graded and progressive manner, including injury prevention and rehabilitation; and continued to expand her education by becoming an ABT® Certified Teacher completing Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Dedicated to providing proper technique, Tracy also strives to create a fun, supportive and inclusive environment in the studio for all age groups; she loves to build relationships and find connections with her students, using a balance of encouragement and discipline to safely set the students up for their own success.

HART ISAACOFF

Hart Isaacoff began his training in the 4th grade through Richmond Ballet’s outreach program ‘Minds in Motion.’ Shortly after, Hart started training at the School of Richmond Ballet. In 2018, Hart attended Houston Ballet Academy’s Summer Intensive, and in 2019 he joined the Academy’s full time professional training program. There, he spent three years before joining Houston Ballet II.

In his time with HBII, Hart has been given the opportunity to perform leading roles with the Academy such as the Bluebird Pas de Deux and the Double Bass in Stanton Welch AM’s A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. In 2023, Hart toured with HBII to Chautauqua, NY where he performed Three Boys in the third movement of Stanton Welch AM’s Clear as well as Welch’s Play, Bruiser, and A Time to Dance. In February of 2024, Hart participated in the Prix de Lausanne’s Partner School Choreographic Project where he performed in Kinsun Chan’s SCHRAAAG. Hart has also performed in numerous corps de ballet roles in Houston Ballet’s main company productions. Hart could not be more excited to continue his career with Charlotte Ballet!

GRETCHEN JAX

Gretchen Jax graduated from Winthrop University with a BA in Dance Performance. She performed in Meredith Monk’s Obie Award winning Quarry at the 2003 Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. She has also studied and performed the works of Sandra Neels, David Parsons, Marjorie Palmer Perry, Mary Beth Thompson and Duke Young. She was the recipient of the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Alpha Psi Omega Best Choreography Award from Winthrop University. In 2006 she was one of eight selected to study at the School of Jacob’s Pillow Choreographer’s Lab. Gretchen is the co-founder of Sinergismo, a group of dancers, artists, poets, and musicians using collaboration as a means to produce choreographic works. Sinergismo has performed at venues throughout the southeast including the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Sumter Museum of Art, Southern Holiday, NC Dance Festival Saturday Series, Winthrop University and the Charlotte Dance Festival. Gretchen currently teaches modern at Davidson College and choreographs for their dance company The Gamut. Gretchen has been a faculty member at the School of Dance since 2003.

LEANDRA MARCHESIN

Leandra Marchesin began her studies at the age of seven at Cadencia Ballet in Rio Claro/SP, Brazil, and graduated in classical ballet and jazz in 1994. She became a professional dancer when she joined the “Cisne Negro Compania de Dança” (Black Swan Professional Dance Company – Contemporary) in 1996 in São Paulo, Brazil. During her career as a professional dancer and soloist she has worked with the great names of Brazilian and international contemporary dance. Leandra also has performed classical pieces such as Swan Lake, Paquita, The Nutcracker, Le Corsaire, Raymonda, and was awarded in the most important competitions in Brazil such as: Joinville Dance Festival, Danca Ribeirao, Promodanca Solo a Cinq, RV Promocoes, Grand Prix Brazil, Festidanca, Bravo Festival de Danca, Passo de Arte, Sao Paulo Dance Festival and others. As a classical ballet teacher took over the coordination of “Grupo Cadencia de Classico Avancado” (Advanced Classic Amateur Group) from 1998 to 2019, where was responsible for teaching the daily classes of classical ballet, developing choreographic projects (classical, freestyle, and contemporary), revising, or adapting classical ballet repertoire in groups or with soloists.

Leandra worked for more than twenty five years as a classical ballet teacher at Cadencia Ballet, having extensive experience in teaching this art to children over nine years old (3th grade) up to the advanced level. Leandra worked with the management of the Cadencia Ballet school, organizing the teaching system applied to the classical ballet course and co-directing the recitals from the definition of themes, music and working with the costume department. Leandra has specializations in several other modalities like XtendBarre (2016), Balletpilates (2017) and Progressing Ballet Technique – PTB Level 1 (2023) where acquired different body languages, cultural knowledge and several options for specific work with muscle strengthening and flexibility for dancers. Leandra was accomplished performer and is a teacher passionate about developing talent in her students!

MAURICE MOUZON JR.

Maurice, a Baltimore native, was first introduced to dance at age 14 and started his formal training at Baltimore School for the Arts. After graduating, Maurice continued his dance training at Purchase College State University of New York. After completing a year at SUNY Purchase, Maurice joined Charlotte Ballet II. While in the second company, Maurice had the opportunity to dance the solo in Ohad Nahrin’s Minus 16, which lead to his promotion to the first company. Maurice has also performed works by Johan Inger, Filipe Portugal, Javier de Frutos, Brian Arias, Sasha Janes, Robyn Mineko Williams and Myles Thather. He attended summer intensives with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Miami City Ballet.

Maurice is now a First Company Dancer with Charlotte Ballet.

VERONICA MORETTI NIEBUHR

Born and raised in Cranston, Rhode Island, Veronica, affectionately known as “Ms. V”, started her dance training at the age of 7 after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The Doctor’s advice was to “keep moving,” and she has. She received her early training from Bette Ann Rossi at Atwood Performing Arts, Festival Ballet of RI, and Boston Ballet and furthered her training with scholarships in NY with Wilhelm Burhman, Finis Jhung, Peff Modelski, Alexander Filipov and Joe Lanteri at STEPS on Broadway. While in NY, Veronica started teaching professional children who performed on Broadway, Choreographed for the first Boston Aids Benefits, performed with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and worked with independent choreographers in music and industrial videos, on stage and film. After beginning a family, Veronica was the Director of Ballet South in Savannah, GA, a faculty member at Armstrong Atlantic University, was a contributor on www.thewinger.com and ran her own school, the STUDIO, for seven years. Many of her students have gone on to professional careers and have won national and international recognition at the Youth America Grand Prix including the top prize-the coveted Youth Grand Prix award, and honored at the National High School Dance Festival. She has been on faculty of Charlotte Ballet since 2011.

LEAH RATTENBURY

Leah Rattenbury is a native of Pompano Beach, Florida, and trained under Magaly Suarez at The Art of Classical Ballet. She received numerous awards at Youth America Grand Prix, including gold in classical at the semi-finals, and silver in pas de deux at the NYC finals, and was additionally selected to perform with her partner, Jeffrey Cirio, in the Stars of Today Meet The Stars of Tomorrow gala held at New York City Center. She also received silver at the American Ballet Competition and The Frances Rands Beery Award. Leah danced with The Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami for three seasons and was invited to perform in the XI, XII, and XIII International Ballet Festival of Miami. Having completed her training, she went on to dance professionally with The Joffrey Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Florida Classical Ballet, Columbia City Ballet and Columbia Classical Ballet. Her range of repertoire spans from Petipa’s Don Quixote to George Balanchine’s Serenade to Paul Taylor’s The Cloven Kingdom. During her career, she has instructed ballet and contemporary to all ages and levels, drawing from her influential Cuban and Russian training. Leah moved to Charlotte in 2016 and has taught classes for local studios including Caroline Calouche & Co. and Jena Burgin-Peters Entertainment.

MELISSA REED

Melissa Reed is originally from New Hampshire, where she began her early dance training. At age 15, she was invited to attend the Harid Conservatory, where she studied with Svetlana Osiyeva, Victoria Schneider, and Olivier Pardina. She spent summers at Pacific Northwest Ballet and The Chautauqua Institution.

Upon graduating, Melissa spent two seasons at North Carolina Dance Theatre (now Charlotte Ballet) under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. She also danced at Richmond Ballet for one season and as a guest artist at Eglevsky Ballet in New York with Laszlo Berdo. In 2012, Melissa joined The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, based at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where she danced for six seasons. Under Ms. Farrell’s direction, she toured across the United States and abroad, her favorite location being the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman. Her repertoire includes numerous Balanchine ballets, such as Allegro Brillante, Danses Concertantes, Divertimento No. 15, Emeralds, Chaconne, Gounod Symphony, Serenade, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Stars and Stripes, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Who Cares? and Mozartiana, among others.

Melissa spent seven seasons as a faculty member with Boston Ballet School. She taught within the Classical Ballet Program, as well as BB’s Summer Dance Program and Summer Workshops each year. Between 2018-2020, she served as the Assistant Children’s Ballet Mistress for Boston Ballet company productions, staging George Balanchine’s Coppélia, Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker, and Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella. Additionally, Melissa received her certification in Adaptive Dance training at Boston Ballet for children with disabilities, and taught and collaborated with the youth community program, Citydance. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Northeastern University in Massachusetts, and is currently attending Northeastern’s Accelerated Bachelor of Nursing program in Charlotte.

TIL SCHMIDT-RIMPLER

Till Schmidt Rimpler founded Moving Poets in Charlotte in 1996, together with visual artists MyLoan Dinh, actor and director Randell Haynes and NC Poet Laureate Chuck Sullivan. In 2011 he and his wife and painter MyLoan Dinh opened Moving Poets in Berlin and in 2014 NOVILLA, international center for arts, creativity & exchange.

Till studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich and at Codarts University of the Arts Rotterdam. He was a member of the Dutch National Ballet and a principal artist with the North Carolina Dance Theatre, USA.

Since starting Moving Poets, Till’s focus has been to bring together artists from different fields, cultures and age groups, to jointly create art that transcends in content and in form familiar ideas and norms, while inspiring and challenging both the artists and the audience.

He has conceived and produced numerous collaborative works, human rights programs and projects for teenagers as well as music concerts and choreographies for several operas. He has taught professionals and amateurs and was a lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a professor at the Universidad Miguel Hernandez in Altea, Spain.

MAVIS SCULLY

Mavis comes to the Charlotte area from Philadelphia where she was on faculty with the prestigious Rock School for Dance Education and the Walnut Street Theatre – teaching Ballet, Musical Theatre, Life Skills for Performing Artists, and Acting for Dancers. Prior to that, she taught Ballet and Musical Theatre at Samford University and Acting and Movement at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. A 25+ year member of Actors’ Equity Association, she has performed in just about every genre of the performing arts. Mavis began her dance career in Ballet, with early training from Nels Jorgensen, Pamara Perry, Frank Bays, Patricia Sorrell, David Mclain, and Oleg Sabline. She studied at the School of American Ballet, NYSSSA, Cincinnati Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, and was coached by her beloved Bojan Spassoff and Stephanie Wolf (directors of the Rock School), while she was a soloist with the Savannah Ballet and Ballet Oklahoma. Mavis also danced for the Cincinnati Opera before changing gears and receiving her BFA in Acting from Philly’s University of the Arts. She has choreographed for Stage One – the Louisville Children’s Theatre, Seattle Opera, Birmingham Music Club, Alabama Shakespeare Company, and City Equity Theatre (for which she won the 2015 Broadway World’s Best Choreographer Award for Peter and the Starcatcher). Her nationwide performing career includes ballets, plays, musicals, cabaret, performance art, Renaissance fairies, commercials, voice-overs, play-writing, and directing. She brings to the studio an intense love of “the Work” required in creating a true artist – knowledge of Ballet and Musical Theatre history, emotional connection/ investment as well as technique.

LAUREN E. SKRABALAK

Lauren graduated cum laude and earned her BFA in Ballet (Performing and Teaching Emphases) from the University of Utah in 2002. While on scholarship, her undergraduate performing career included a guest artist role with Ballet West and dancing with the Utah Ballet. This allowed for an opportunity to travel abroad to Taipei, Taiwan performing a soloist role in Balanchine’s famed ballet Concerto Barocco. She also danced on the Medals Plaza stage during the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. After graduation, Lauren danced professionally, choreographed and taught for Bodiography Contemporary Ballet in Pittsburgh. As a principal dancer, she was privileged to have worked with choreographers like Ze’eva Cohen, Emeritus Chair of Princeton University’s Dance Department, Tony nominated Lynne Taylor-Corbett, and former principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre Johan Renvall, among others. During her tenure with the company she held multiple roles as Rehearsal Director and the Assistant Director of the conservatory. Her works have appeared at the Byham Theater, Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, as well as Johnson Theatre, and she has extended her teaching talents to the following schools: University of Utah, Point Park University, Carnegie Mellon University, West Virginia University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Washington & Jefferson College, McDaniel College, La Roche College, and now Winthrop University where she is an Adjunct Professor within the Department of Theatre and Dance. Lauren earned her MFA in Dance (Performing Arts) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and graduated Spring 2013 with honors. She is a certified Pilates mat teacher and is currently working towards her apparatus certification as well. Presently, Lauren also sits on the Board for the Charlotte Dance Festival as Treasurer.

BECKY TIMMS

Becky has been literally dancing her whole life.  From a very early age she knew that dance and theatre had her heart.

She graduated from Point Park University, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance.  She continued her training (as all good dancers should) after college and studied at the Joffrey Ballet and San Francisco ballet schools as well as with the great Finis Jung and David Howard.

She has taught all around the country including the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School in New York City and the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School.

Becky has extensive professional experience on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and National Tours and has worked with some of professional theatres’ finest legendary directors and choreographers. She has worked with such legends as Jerome Robbins, Harold Prince, Michael Bennet, Bob Fosse, Susan Stroman, and Trevor Nunn to name a few.

Becky has directed and choreographed more than 70 productions for professional theatres all over the country: La Jolla Playhouse, NJ Shakespeare, The Cort, and MTC, among others.

In addition, she was the associate choreographer for the Tony Award winning show Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002.

Becky performed on Broadway / National tours of Cats, Chess, West Side Story, Pippin, Showboat, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat (starring Donny Osmond).  As well as dozens of Equity regional theatres around the country.

She is married to Actor/Director Paul Carlin and her favorite “production” is her son Payton.