FACULTY & STAFF

LASZLO BERDO

ACADEMY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Laszlo Berdo was born in Grand Rapids, MI, where he began dancing at the age of five and Laszlo later intensified his studies at the National Academy of Arts in Champaign, IL. Upon graduation, he first joined Ballet Austin and then the Louisville Ballet. He was later hired as a guest artist then later as a soloist with Cincinnati Ballet. Laszlo joined the 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, he danced numerous roles by Cranko, McMillan, Balanchine, Bournonville, Hynd Stevenson, Tharp, Taylor, Feld, Butler and York. Laszlo is honored to be the first to perform the lead role in Cranko’s Eugene Onegin in the United States. He began choreographing in 1993, creating the pas de deux Eternal Being which later was performed for a Boston Ballet gala. Four Hands premiered in March of 1998, and was performed in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS, and at a summer festival in Biarritz, France. In 1999, Laszlo created Below Down Under which premiered at the Shubert Theatre in February 1999. In March of 2001 he created Sanctuary for the Norwegian National Ballet in Oslo. He choreographed Bass Elements for the Boston Conservatory and participated in ChoreoPlan 2001 in which he created Concertante for the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Laszlo staged Four Hands for the Finnish National Ballet in Helsinki which premiered in October 2002. From 2000 to 2003 he was a faculty member for the Boston Conservatory and Harvard University. In 2003, he joined the faculty of CPYB full time. In 2008, Laszlo choreographed Snow White, premiered Peter Pan in 2009, restaged Swan Lake in 2011, and premiered Carnival of the Animals in 2011. In 2010, Laszlo was commissioned to choreograph for the Eglevsky Ballet, The Nutcracker premiered in December of 2010. He was appointed Artistic Director and School Director of Eglevsky Ballet in 2011. Under Laszlo’s leadership, Eglevsky Ballet opened its doors to the community with a brand new state-of-art facility in Bethpage, NY, reestablishing Eglevsky Ballet as the premiere ballet school and only professional company on Long Island.
EMAIL 704.414.2784

JOHANNA BUTOW

ACADEMY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – LOWER SCHOOL

Johanna Butow was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and began her dance training there with Irma Grant Millard. At age 13 she attended the Pennsylvania Ballet School, and at age 14 she entered the Joffrey Ballet School, receiving a full scholarship.

Ms. Butow’s professional career began at age 15 when she joined The Joffrey II as an apprentice. During the next four years she toured across the United States, performing roles in ballets by choreographers such as August Bournonville, Choo San Gogh, Marius Petipa, and Robert Joffrey. At age 19 she was asked to join the Joffrey Ballet to perform as the original Trepac in Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker.

During her six year career with the Joffrey Ballet, Ms. Butow performed major roles in such diverse ballets as Nijinsky’s L‚Apres-Midi D’un Faune, Nijinska’s Les Noces, Fokine’s Petrouchka, Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain, Trinity, and Suite Sainte Saens, Robert Joffrey’s Postcards and The Nutcracker, Laura Dean’s Light Field, and Eugene Loring’s Billy the Kid. She was in the cast of the Dance in America filming of Nijinsky’s Le Sacre Du Printemps, and was also an original cast member of the 1992 collaboration Billboards, with music by Prince.

In 1993, Ms. Butow joined American Ballet Theatre, where she danced for eight years. At ABT she has performed most of the major full-length classical ballets including Giselle, La Bayadère, Romeo and Juliet, Coppélia, 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.

Ms. Butow has also 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, 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 an original cast member of Twyla Tharp’s How Near Heaven.

Her teaching credits include, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre’s Children’s division, Pre-Professional Division, Young Dancer Summer Workshop, and ABT’s Summer Intensive. Johanna is an ABT Affiliate Teacher and is certified in ABT’s National Training Curriculum Primary through Level 7. She serves on the Artistic Board of Examiners.

In December 2010 and 2011, Ms. Butow was ballet mistress of the children’s cast for Alexei Ratmansky’s new Nutcracker. In 2012, she staged the child children’s cast for their Kennedy Center’s performances. In 2016, she also staged the children’s cast performed at the Segrestrom Center.

EMAIL 704.414.2768

KATI HANLON MAYO

ACADEMY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR – UPPER SCHOOL
Kati Hanlon Mayo began her dance training at The Boston School of Ballet and went on to study as a scholarship student at The Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and The School of American Ballet. At the age of 15, she became a member of Boston Ballet 2 and performed regularly with The Boston Ballet. Kati attended The University of Massachusetts/Amherst as a Chancellor’s Award Scholarship recipient for two years before moving back to Boston to dance soloist roles with Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre. In 1992, Kati began working as a principal dancer with Charlotte Ballet, and that same year, she was invited to join The Chautauqua Ballet Company. Throughout her career, Kati had many ballets created on her including the female lead in Mateo’s Schubert Adagio and Salvatore Aiello’s ‘Chosen One’ in The Rite of Spring. Kati performed principal roles in ballets choreographed by George Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Jean- Pierre Bonnefoux, William Forsythe, Violette Verdy, Agnes DeMille, Jacqueline Buglisi, Dwight Rhoden, Nacho Duato and Alonzo King. 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 Advanced and Pre-Professional Division as well as the main company of Charlotte Ballet. Kati has been a guest teacher for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and she is a repetiteur for the Salvatore Aiello Trust. Kati 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 in 2016.
EMAIL 704.414.2206

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.

AUDREY IPAPO BARAN

Audrey Ipapo Baran is a Filipino-American dance performer, maker, and educator based in Charlotte, North Carolina. She holds a MFA in Dance from Hollins University and a BA in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she is the Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance. She is the founder / artistic director of Baran Dance and apprentice company BD2 and on the faculty of Charlotte Ballet Academy. Audrey has presented work through Sites in the City, FEMMEfest, the National Dance Educators Organization Conference, Bill Evans Somatic Dance Conference, the North Carolina Dance Festival, Tobacco Road Dance Productions, Triangle Dance Project, Ladyfest CLT, Charlotte Dance Festival and numerous self-produced productions. She was the 2019 UNCC Department of Dance Distinguished Alum, an inaugural recipient of the Creative Renewal Fellowship from the Arts and Science Council, a selected choreographer for Charlotte Ballet’s Innovative: Direct from the LAB 2021, and has received recognition for her work from the Movies by Movers Festival, Charlotte Emerging Dance Awards, and Carolina Arts & Theatre Awards. Audrey is also a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher and thrives on sharing her love of movement and mindfulness throughout the Queen City and beyond.

EMILY BOWEN

Emily Bowen was born and raised in Harrisburg, PA. She received her dance training at Cumberland Dance Company in PA, the School of North Carolina Dance Theater (now Charlotte Ballet) and Houston Ballet Academy. While in Houston Ballet II, Emily competed in the prestigious Prix De Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland. During her 10 year career as a performer with Houston Ballet, she was featured in many works by world renowned choreographers including: George Balanchine, Sir Kenneth McMillan, Anthony Tudor, William Forsythe, Stanton Welch, Wayne McGregor, Jiri Kylian and Nacho Duato. In 2013, she was one of the featured dancers in Jordan Matter’s print work Dancers Among Us photographed in New York City. After retiring from the stage in July 2016, Emily is excited to begin this new chapter in her ballet journey.

LEAH BURGE

Leah Burge 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.

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.

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.

KATARINA DIMITRIJEVIC

Katarina M. Dimitrijevic is a graduate of The State Ballet Academy of Belgrade, Serbia. Katarina danced with the Simionov Ensemble and instructed classical ballet at three different ballet institutions in Belgrade. She then spent several years in Italy as a ballet instructor, choreographer and dancer at ballet schools in Ragusa, Comiso, Acate and Grammichele. In 1997, Katarina opened her own dance school, KAYA, in Belgrade. She also completed a four-year course in Ballet Pedagogy at the University of High Culture and Arts in Rome, Italy, where she improved her knowledge in the Vaganova method. She served as assistant to Professor Ivan Goliandin in the Character Dance Department. While studying in Rome, Katarina taught classical and character dances at several dance studios and also worked as a dancer. Katarina immigrated to the United States in 2003 and obtained a position as a classical ballet instructor with the Fort Wayne Ballet Academy. She and her family moved to Charlotte in July 2005.

HEATHER FERRANTI FERGUSON

Heather Ferranti Ferguson is a native of Rochester, NY, where she studied with Luba Gulaeva at the Botsford School of Dance, and later with Timothy Draper at the Rochester City Ballet. She has danced professionally with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Colorado Ballet, and Chautauqua Ballet Company. While at Charlotte Ballet, Heather has danced featured roles in ballets such as Alonzo King’s MAP, Alvin Ailey’s The River, Mark Diamond’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Salvatore Aiello’s The Nutcracker and many Balanchine ballets. Heather spent five seasons with Charlotte Ballet.

KRISTEN FLOCKE

Kristen Flocke began her dance training at Connecticut Ballet and The Ballet School of Stamford, under Stephanie Marini. In 2007, she won a bronze medal at the Youth America Grand Prix in South Carolina, and went on to compete in the New York City Finals. She graduated from the Greenwich Ballet Academy under Sara Knight & Michael Shannon, and has studied at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Nutmeg Conservatory, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. In 2013, she attended Colorado Ballet summer program on full scholarship, where she was offered a position with the Studio Company. Kristen has danced professionally with Configuration Dance Theater, Connecticut Ballet, and Thomas Ortiz Dance, as well as with Hudson Valley Ballet, which she founded and co-directed with Rebecca Tew. Kristen has taught ballet for over 12 years in Connecticut and New York — most recently at New England Academy of Dance, where she had the opportunity to establish and oversee their YAGP program. Over the past four years, Kristen’s students have consistently placed and received scholarships are various competitions. She currently has students dancing with the Joffrey Trainee Program in Chicago, Miami City Ballet School, and in college dance programs across the country.

She recently moved to Charlotte in December 2020 and is looking forward to working with students of the Charlotte Ballet Academy!

VICTORIA JAENSON

Originally from Kampala, Uganda, Victoria began her formal dance training at the age of seven at the Brattleboro School of Dance in Vermont. She continued her training at the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on full scholarship. Victoria has competed in Youth America Grand Prix and was recognized in the Top 12 of the Classical Division at the Boston, MA Semi-Finals in 2016. She was also invited to compete in the New York City Finals. While still a student at the Rock School she joined the faculty as a pre-ballet 1 and level 1 instructor. Victoria studied at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford as a Ballet Pedagogy and Dance Performance major. In the spring of 2018, Victoria signed her contract to join Charlotte Ballet II under Artistic Director Hope Muir and second company Program Director Mark Diamond. With Charlotte Ballet II Victoria has had the opportunity to perform excerpts from Alonzo King’s Map and Medhi Walerski’s Petit Cérémonie. She performed in productions with the full company such as Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Nutcracker, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Peter Pan, Christian Spuck’s Leonce and Lena, and worked on Matthew Hart’s Sleeping Beauty last season. Victoria is excited to be on the faculty this season at Charlotte Ballet Academy.

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.

JENN JONES

Jenn Jones is a Georgia born dancer who has worked professionally in the many facets of the dance community after studying dance performance at Columbia College in Chicago, Barry University in Miami, and at the University of South Florida in Tampa. While residing in Tampa, Ms. Jones performed for shows at Busch Gardens and with professional companies including Bella Danza Collective, an eclectic modern dance company directed by Maria Capitano-Pardo in Ybor City. Jenn has coached and choreographed for competitive dance teams at the high school and collegiate level. Further teaching experience has included programs at Tampa Preparatory School and the Academy of Holy Names and a
variety of programs at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center’s Patel Conservatory. Such programs included Community Arts Ensemble, which brought professional dancers into recreational facilities to teach classes, School of Rock, instructing musicians how to move on stage, Arts Sampler Camps, and Orlando Ballet School’s Summer Intensives. After relocating to South Florida in 2011, Jenn continued to teach in local studios while also performing with the TOC Project, a contemporary ballet company directed by former Twyla Tharp company member, Lara Tinari, and Karen Peterson and Dancers, a modern dance company that features performers with and without disabilities. Jenn moved to Waxhaw, NC in 2017 with her husband, Dennis and three kids, Suki, Will, and AJ and is excited to continue pursuing her love of dance. Jenn continues to set choreography for theatre and choir programs, including Charlotte Christian Theatre under the direction of Ms Tammy Butt. She has performed with Sarah Council Dance Project, and is ecstatic to teach for Charlotte Ballet’s REACH program and for the academy. In addition to dancing, Jenn has worked as a professional event planner since 2005, and continues to coordinate weddings, DJ, and officiate.

NAIMAH KIOSKI

A native New Yorker, Naimah began her dance training at age 8 at Ballet Tech – formerly known as The New Ballet School – in New York City, under the direction of Eliot Feld. After becoming a member of the Ballet Tech professional company, Naimah was invited to join the Dance Theatre of Harlem under the direction of Arthur Mitchell where she had the pleasure to perform works by Sir Frederic Franklin, Goeffrey Holder, Michael Smuin and resident choreographer Robert Garland. Naimah has performed repertory by George Balanchine including: The Four Temperaments, Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Agon and Apollo. In 2007, she became a member of the Gazelle national touring cast of the Broadway production The Lion King. She and her husband Yani moved to Charlotte June 2015.

BEN KUBIE

Ben trained on full scholarship at the Joffrey School of Ballet in New York City and The David Howard Dance Center. His professional dancing career spanned over fifteen years where he danced leading roles by George Balanchine, Choo Sah-Goh, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, William Forsythe, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, John Clifford, Kirk Peterson, Graham Lustig, Jean Grand-Maitre, Sal Aiello, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Donlin Foreman, Mark Diamond, Alonzo King and many others. In 2004, he retired from the professional stage as a principal dancer with the Charlotte Ballet and was featured in Dance Magazine’s September edition that year for professional dancers in career transition. Ben is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Ben is a full-time dance teacher and private coach in both North and South Carolina and a frequent guest teacher for the Charlotte Ballet.

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.

KYLE GARRISON SHAWELL

Kyle Garrison Shawell received his training at the University of the Arts, Theatre West Virginia, Winthrop University and the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts. His training includes the dance styles of Lester Horton, Martha Graham, Paul Taylor and jazz taught by renowned teachers such as Ruth Adrien, Ronen Koresh, Milton Myers and Pat Thomas. He brings together a wide breadth of knowledge, expertise and experience in a diverse style of movement for the community. Shawell has been a teaching artist for North Carolina Dance Theatre and North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, and a dance educator for the Governor’s Award-winning Janice Wyatt Summer Arts Institute at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. His choreography has been seen at Gaston Dance Theatre, Girl Talk Foundation of Charlotte, NC, KAOS Dance Company, SCDA, SCAHPERD, Winthrop Dance Theatre and Valley Forge Dance Theatre, and he choreographed the summer musical production of Once on this Island at Delta State University. He has been a guest teaching artist in several Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, most recently at Northwest School of the Arts. As a Lecturer of dance, Shawell taught modern, jazz, hip-hop and musical theatre for several years at Winthrop University. Shawell’s performance career includes such classic works as: Doris Humphrey’s Life of the Bee, David Parson’s The Parson Etude, Charles Weidman’s Christmas Oratorio, and he was a soloist for Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Etude. He has been a member of KAOS dance company of Charlotte, Martha Connerton/Kinetic Works, Theater West Virginia, Philadanco II and the Valley Forge Dance Theater, and has performed for the American Dance Festival, Charlotte Dance Festival and North Carolina Dance Festival. He has appeared in performances for Opera Carolina and in musical theatre productions of Anything Goes, Bye Bye Birdie, Bubbling Brown Sugar and West Side Story.

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.

OLIVIA STUART

Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Olivia began her training with Metropolitan Ballet Academy under the direction of Lisa Collins Vidnovic. She spent her summers studying at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, and the Juilliard School. She danced with Pennsylvania Ballet II in 2008 before attending SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Dance. There, she performed works by Twyla Tharp, Jessica Lang, Matthew Neenan and George Balanchine. In 2011, Olivia studied abroad at the London Contemporary Dance School. In 2012, Olivia graduated with honors and holds a B.F.A in dance performance and choreography. Olivia joined Nashville Ballet II in 2013 and danced in performances such as Paul Vasterling’s Peter Pan, Ben Folds Project and Nashville’s Nutcracker, as well as Christopher Stuart’s Under The Lights. 

Olivia became a Balanced Body Comprehensively certified Pilates instructor in 2014 and her focus shifted from ballet, to working with dancers and athletes to better educate and prepare them for the rigors of their sport. She has had the pleasure of teaching at Belmont University, the School of Nashville Ballet and for numerous ballet schools around the county. In 2020 Olivia became a Balanced Body Master Instructor and began teaching teachers as well as maintaining her small business teaching various movers of all kinds. 

ALISSA WALLER

A native of metro Detroit, Alissa received her early ballet training from Rose Marie Floyd and continued her classical studies at the schools of the Cleveland Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and the New School of the Arts in Amsterdam. Alissa performed with the Detroit Contemporary Civic Ballet for four years performing soloist roles in the Nutcracker, Giselle, Coppelia, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Swan Lake. After moving to Chicago in 2000, she joined the Chicago Ballet under the direction of Paul Abrahamson and was an original member of Elements Contemporary Ballet under the direction of Michael Gosney. While in Chicago she performed original works by choreographers Randy Duncan, Susan Quinn, Paul Abrahamson and Christina Ernst. In 1997, Alissa earned her BFA in Dance (Ballet Performance emphasis) at the University of Arizona, graduating summa cum laude. She is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. In 2015, Alissa completed her Advanced Professional teaching examination in the Cecchetti Method with honors and was awarded the Jane Carol Miller teacher’s scholarship. She has been teaching ballet for over 24 years for ballet studios in metro Detroit, Chicago, and Charlotte. Many of her students have gone on to perform with professional companies such as American Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, and even Cirque de Soleil. Alissa is also an accredited Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher, a licensed Master Teacher for the GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Methods and a Pilates for dancers specialist.  She is thrilled to continue to share her love for Ballet, Pilates, and movement with the students of the Charlotte Ballet Academy.

ROBIN 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.

ASHLEY SUTTLAR MARTIN

Ashley Suttlar Martin is an independent artist and educator with a MFA in Dance from Temple University and a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She danced professionally for companies based in Philadelphia and New York City. Ashley’s creative works have been acclaimed and presented nationwide. She is director of 4thrightdance, designer of Embellish handcrafted accessories and founding co-producer of FRESH, a touring performance series. Ashley developed the dance minor curriculum at Morehead State University (KY), was guest faculty at QCC – City University of New York, has served on faculty at Central Piedmont Community College (NC), Coker College (SC), Winthrop University (SC) and the Governor’s School of Arts & Humanities (SC). She has also worked in arts-integration programs as a Teaching Artist for various school systems and outreach organizations. Ashley’s passion led her to exploring many avenues as an artist, educator, administrator and advocate. She was a corporate representative for a dancewear retailer, has obtained dance fitness teaching credentials and recently, earned certification as an Instructor of the Umfundalai Contemporary African Dance Technique. Currently, Ashley teaches dance to all ages from preschool, to college, and beyond for various organizations and colleges in the Carolinas.