Past ABB Dancers
(In Alphabetical Order)

2001-2002 Season

ELIZABETH BELTON was born and raised in Brooklyn NY. In her 6th season with ABB, she has performed in A Midsummer Night's Dream, danced with the ABB in the past, appearing in  Carmina Burana, Les Sylphides, Graduation Ball, Autumn, Our Town, as well solo roles in  The Nutcracker .   She received her training with the Neubert Ballet (Carnegie Hall) and the Princeton Ballet and Steps, studying with Philip Jerry and Septime Webre at Princeton and Evee Lynn at the Broadway Dance Center in New York.   Ms. Belton was awarded the Francis LeMoyne Prize at Princeton University for choreography.   She has also danced  with the Granite state Ballet and the Columbia Classical Ballet in Carmen, Charleston and Viviendicre. (12/01)

ALISON BERGNER - 

ALICIA A. GIRGENTl   received her dance training at the Berkshire Dance Theatre in Adams, MA and the Walnut Hill School in Natick, MA. In 1987 she placed first in the American International Girl Talent Competition, holding the title for overall dance achievement. Ms. Girgenti has had a long association with ABB, and has danced roles of the Kissy Doll, Dew Drop, and Snow Queen in the company’s "Nutcracker" production as well as  leads in "Marriage License" and "Rosie the Riveter" from the "Rockwell Suites", "A Life Un-lived" by Brenda Steady-Stygar, and "Carnival of Animals" by Robert Atwood.  In addition to her role as a performer, Ms. Girgenti is on the faculty of the Cantarella School of Dance. (12/01)

LISA IANNACITO, born in Albany, trained at the School of the ABB and received her BFA in dance at SUNY Purchase, with additional study at Walnut Hill, Boston Ballet, The Juilliard School's  first summer program and at Skidmore with the Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane Company Arnie Zane Company.  She has earned  scholarships to Walnut Hill and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, and has won the Academic Achievement Award at SUNY Purchase. and attended .  With the Purchase Dance Corps, she has danced in works by Paul Taylor, Josˇ Limon and Mark Morris.  With the ABB, she has appeared in The Nutcracker as Kissy Doll, Spanish and Dew Drop, as well as in Carmina Burana, Temple Caves and Graduation Ball.  A teacher in the ABB summer program, she has also served a rehearsal assistant for the Purchase Dance Corps' Nutcracker.(12/01) 

TIMOTHY JOHNSON, a native of Missouri, began his training "in the Kansas City area at Jo Noth's White Oak Dance Academy. Tim recently danced with Wylliams/Henry Danse Theatre. He has also performed with the Kansas City Ballet, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Missouri Repertory Theatre, the New Theatre Restaurant and several other Kansas City area dance companies. He has attended summer intensives at Milwaukee Ballet, the former David Howard Dance Studio, Joffrey Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, Steps, and Kansas Regional Ballet. Tim holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.    (12/01)

CHARLES KING began dancing at the State University of New York, College at Potsdam, where he concentrated on modern, improvisational, choreography and ballet. He has studied at the American College Dance Fesitval and with Dance Alloy in Pittsburgh, PA.  He has danced with the Albany Berkshire Ballet since 1999 and has performed in various productions such as Peter & The Wolf; Aesop's Fables, the Rockwell Suites, and The Nutcracker.   (12/01)

 DARREN McINTYRE

NICHOLAS PALIGA was born in Fort McMurray, Alberta and grew up in Ottawa. He trained at the National Ballet School of Canada (scholarship), Ottawa School of Dance, San Francisco Ballet School (scholarship) and Ecole Superieure de Danse du Quebec. He received the Celia Franca (Most Promising Student) Award and won a full scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet School. He appeared with ABB in 1997 in The Nutcracker and has danced with the National Ballet Company of Canada.  He also has appeared in the Summer 2000 production  "Marriage License" from Ms. Culpo's "Rockwell Suites".(8/00)

KELLY WALSH born in Nyack, NY , and raised in Lee, MA, is a proud graduate of the Cantarella School of Dance, where she began her training at the age of five. With the ABB she has danced in productions of Coppelia, Petrouchka, and in The Nutcracker, where she has appeared as Flower, Snowflake, Chinese, White Mouse, and Soldier Doll. In 2001, she participated in the Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program. (12/01)

JAMES WEIDNER  received his dance training from the University of  Wisconsin Stevens Point, where he earned an award for the "Most Outstanding Achievement in Dance" in 1991. The recipient of summer scholarships with the Milwaukee, the Pennsylvania and the Richmond Ballets, he has also danced with the Feld, the Prejuol from France, the Nashville, the Oak Ridge and the Lexington Ballets. He has taught ballet and modern dance for the Academie de la Danse in Wisconsin, loves to sail and is an experienced practitioner of judo. (12/01)

2000-2001 Season

 AMY McCOY  was born in Cleveland, OH, where she attended the School of the Cleveland Ballet. She has also studied at Hillcrest Dance Center and Mercyhurst College. With Dance Erie, she as appeared in productions of Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Song of Norway, Joplin and in The Nutcracker as Snowflake and Spanish. (12/01)

1999-2000 Season

SAMUEL ABRAMIAM, a native of Armenia, emigrated to Canada in 1989. He is a frequent guest artist with the Albany Berkshire Ballet. He graduated with honors from the Bolshoi Academy in Moscow with a Master’s degree in Ballet and Choreography. As principal dancer and guest artist, he has danced worldwide with the Bolshoi Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, Les Ballets Classiques de Montreal, The Colorado Ballet, The Austin Ballet and The Polish National Ballet. He has taught master classes in the Vaganova and Tarasova methods. (12/00)

JULIE COHEN, born in Korea and raised in Albany, NY, has studied with Albany Berkshire Ballet since the age of four. She studied at the Boston Ballet’s Summer Dance program in 1997 and joined ABB in 1998.  She has performed in ABB’s productions of Carmina Burana, Les Sylphides, Graduation Ball, and has danced a variety of roles in The Nutcracker, including Clara, Waltz of the Flowers, Snow and Chinese. (12/00)
   

TRAVIS DENNIS - No bio or photo available (12/00).

ALLISON GEOFROY was born in Trinidad- Tobago and raised in Ontario Canada. She started her ballet training at age 5, and at 9 moved away from home to attend the Quinte Ballet School's Professional Training Program. After completing 8 years of training, she moved to NYC to join the Joffrey program. In 1996 Ms. Geofroy was invited to perform with 10 other dancers as "guests of honor" in a gala performance in St. Polten, Austria in a collaboration of many European dancers. This year she performed in two new original Joffrey works with the Joffrey Ballet School, And Now There's Three, staged by Meg Gurin, and she danced the principle role in Symphony in C for Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. (12/00)

REBECCA FAITH PRICE was born in LaGrange, GA and raised in Inman, SC. She studied at Ballet Spartanburg in Spartanburg, SC for 10 years and the Joffrey Ballet School for 2 years. She also attended summer dance programs at the Nutmeg Convervatory for the Arts, Virginia School for the Arts, Boston Ballet, and the Joffrey Ballet. She has performed various soloist and principal roles with Ballet Spartanburg, including original repertoire and familiar ballets such as Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Coppelia, and Peter and the Wolf. Ms. Price has also performed in Hansel & Gretel with the Washington Ballet, the New York Premiere of the American Jewish Ballet and in the Joffrey Ballet School's Original Repertoire works "Symphony in C" and "And Now There's Three." She has been featured in a DanceMagazine article on the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. (12/00)

EDWIN KINTER, in his fifth season with ABB, is a native of NYC. His training included the NY School of Ballet, Barbara Walczek, HS of Performing Arts, SAB (for 5 years), and the David Howard Dance Center. He first appeared with ABB dancing the role of Tybald in Francis Patrelle’s Romeo & Juliet and has returned for every summer season since.  He is a featured dancer with Dances...Patrelle (Firebird, Macbeth), and is Principal Dancer/Assoc. Director for Ballet for Young Audiences (NYC).  He has also danced with the State Ballet of Missouri, Pennsylvania Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera.   He has recently danced in Ms. Culpo's  "Rockwell Suites" and "Carnival of Animals" by Robert Atwood.  (8/00)

MEGAN LONGWORTH is from Voorheesville, NY and trained for 9 years with the SABB. She danced as Clara as well as many other featured roles in Nutcracker productions. She also appeared as a Capulet girl in Romeo & Juliet.  She danced with ABB in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and "Carnival of Animals" by Robert Atwood. She is studying at SUNY Purchase. (8/00)

CATHERINE STEVENS has danced  "A Life Un-lived" by Brenda Steady-Stygar,  in "Marriage License" from the "Rockwell Suites" and "Carnival of Animals" by Robert Atwood. (8/00)

FRANCIS TOUMBAKARIS was born in Athens Greece, where he began his early ballet training. He received a scholarhip from the Friends of Music Foundation in Athens to study two years at Ecole-Atelier Rudra Bejart in Lausanne, Switzerland. While there, Mr. Toumbakaris danced in works by M. Bejart as well as original repertoire in performances presented in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and France. He received a second Friends of Music Foundation to study one year at the Hamburg Ballet School- John Neumeier, Germany. Mr. Toumbakaris went on to dance at the Kiel Opera Ballet for one year, before joining the Ballet of the Greek National Opera. He has danced a broad range of classical ballet roles including Paquita, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Cinderella, Don Quixote, Le Corsaire and works by M. Petipa. This is his first season with ABB. (12/00)

AUDREY VAN HERCK was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She attended the ballet program at Pierre Laporte High School and later studied three years' in the professional program with Ballet Divertimento and College Francais. She has received additional training in modern, contemporary, flamenco, and Latin dance as well as 8 years of training and competition in rhythmic gymnastics. Ms. Van Herck has been a guest artist at Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal's choreographic workshops; has twice been Laureate at the Danse. (12/00)

1999 Season

DANTE D. ADELA was born in the Philippines and received full scholarships to train at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and the North Carolina School of the Arts. He has danced with the State Ballet of Missouri, Southern Ballet Theatre, and Scottish American Ballet in the UK. His feature roles with the Albany Berkshire Ballet include Puck in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," the Newsboy in "Our Town" and the Prince in "The Nutcracker." (7/99)

DARA ADLER is from Brooklyn, NY and is in her third season with ABB. She completed her ballet training at The School of American Ballet, the High School of Performing Arts, School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and Chautauqua Institute.  She is the First Prize recipient of NFAA’s Arts Recognition Talent Search, and she received the Jerome Robbins Award for Merit and Achievement in Dance.   She appeared at Carnegie Hall for the USDAN Celebration Gala in A Nurturing of Dreams.  Ms. Adler has performed principal roles with the Pennsylvania Ballet including "Coppelia," Sugar Plum Fairy in "The Nutcracker," and Flower Girl in "Gaite Parisienne." She danced the role of Hellena in ABB’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Most recently Ms. Adler was a soloist with the  Granite State Ballet.  [Photo from Graduation Ball] (7/99)

LEYLA BAJRAMOVIC, born and raised in Sarajevo, Bosnia, received her ballet training at the Ottawa School of Dance, the National Ballet School, Ecole Superieure de Danse du Quebec (ESDQ), and studied privately with Natasha Jzbinsky. A recipient of the Celia Franca Scholarship Award (in Ottawa), Ms.’ Bajramovic has performed in the Ottawa Ballet’s production of Tin Soldier, Quebec City’s Nutcracker, and a variety of roles in ESDQ productions. (12/99)

LARA CARMELL is from Richmond, MA and is an alumna of the Cantarella School of Dance. She spent two consecutive summers with the Boston Ballet.  She has also appeared in Coppelia with the Performing Arts School in Worcester.  She recently won a 4-year dance scholarship at Southern Methodist University. Dancing with ABB, she has appeared in performances of Giselle and The Nutcracker since 1994,  dancing Dew Drop, Soldier Doll, Spanish Dancer, Arabian and other solos. (7/99)

CYNTHIA D’ANGELO was born and raised in Pittsfield and studied under the Terpsichore Dance Center and the Cantarella School of Dance. She also studied in the Boston Ballet’s summer programs and graduated from Walnut Hill School of the Performing Arts. Besides numerous appearances with ABB she has performed in Paula Weber’s Carmina Burana and other University of Missouri, KC productions. (12/99)

BRANDI ELLIOTT is in her second year with ABB and is a native of Springfield MO and received extensive training with the Springfield Ballet, State Ballet of Missouri, Virginia School of the Arts, Joffrey Ballet (scholarship), 4 summers with Milwaukee Ballet (full scholarship) and U. of Missouri, Kansas City. She danced leading roles in The Nutcracker   with the Springfield Ballet and also danced with the State Ballet of Missouri in Swan Lake and Carmina Burana.  She danced the lead in ABB's production of Carmina Burana, and danced the Pigtail Girl in Graduation Ball and appeared also in Rhapsody in Blue and The Nutcracker . With UMKC she danced in Balanchine's Stars & Stripes. She has won numerous awards for excellence in dance. [Photo from Carmina Burana] [Photo from Graduation Ball] (7/99)

SARAH PORTER ESTEY , a native of New York City, received her dance training at the Royal Academy of Dancing in London and Maryland, the Pennsylvania Ballet and the David Howard Dance Center. She has danced with the Cincinnati Ballet, Lexington Ballet and the New Jersey Ballet, amongst others. (12/99)

DARYL FOWKES was born in Virginia and raised in California. He graduated from Interlocchen Arts Academy where he studied music, and went on to receive a B.A. from Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, TX. He has completed summer intensive training programs at Jacob’s Pillow. Mr. Fowkes has performed leading roles (in such ballets as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker) with the Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Dallas and the Santa Barbara Chamber Ballet. Most recently, he co-choreographed a pas de deux for Ballet Builders in New York City. (7/99)

NICHOLAS GABRIEL, a native of East Greenbush, NY, is presently a sophomore studying Musical Theater at the University of Michigan in Ann Harbor. He has studied ballet at the School of the Albany Berkshire Ballet since the age of four, and he has performed in numerous ABB productions, including "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," "Our Town," and "The Nutcracker" in which he has danced many roles including Fritz and Herr Drosselmeier. In the past five years, he has also performed with Capital Rep, Park Playhouse in the roles at' Mordrid in "Camelot," and Barnaby in "Hello Dolly," and Schenectady Light Opera. (7/99)

NICKO GIANNAKOS was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. He graduated from The Academy of Les Grands Ballet Canadiens and also studied at the Paris Opera Ballet school. While a student at The Academy, he won The Award of Excellence in 1996. He has worked with Maurice Bejart and Jean Grand-Maitre and has danced with Le Jeune Ballets du Quebec and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and joined Albany Berkshire Ballet’s 1998 Nutcracker production in which he danced the role of the Snow Cavalier. (12/99)

GAYLA GUTHRIE is from Kansas and won a full scholarship at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. She has danced at the Joffrey Ballet’s Summer Session on full scholarship and at The State Ballet of Missouri’s ‘Dance St. Louis’.  (12/99)

KATIE HICKEY, from Albany, NY, has studied with the Albany Berkshire Ballet for approximately 12 years. She has completed additional training at Boston Ballet Summer Camps, Walnut Hill (with a partial scholarship) and the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet. She has received a partial scholarship to attend the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Ms. Hickey has danced in the New York City Ballet’s production of Sleeping Beauty and in Albany Berkshire Ballet’s productions of Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, and The Nutcracker. Through her years at ABB, she has danced numerous roles in ABB’s Nutcracker, including Kissy Doll, Waltz of the Flowers, Snowflakes, Spanish, and Marzipan. (7/99)

JAMES C. LACEY was born and raised in Chicago. He has performed with Ballet Chicago, The Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center, Milwaukee Ballet, among others. In addition, Mr. Lacey has completed his B.A. in Philosophy from Loyola University in Chicago; he toured nationally with the musical, "Your Arm’s Too Short to Box with God," starring Jennifer Holiday and Stephanie Mills; and he was a principal dancer in the movie "Hoodlum," starring Andy Garcia and Lawrence Fishburn. (7/99)

REBECCA LINK, born and raised in Maryland, began her early training at the National Ballet School in Grafton, MD. She received scholarships to the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, the School of the Cleveland Ballet, and the Nashville Ballet School, and has completed passage of Grades I through VI of the Cecchetti Council of America, and teachers’ grades I and II.  Ms. Link has danced many principal roles, including Odette in Swan Lake (Act II) and Swanilda in Coppelia for American Repertory Ballet Co. and the National Ballet Company of Maryland, and the role of the Snow Queen in the Ballet Theatre of Boston’s production of "The Nutcracker." (7/99)

DEREK SAKAKURA studied with Lareen Fender, Madam Darvash, and received scholarships to train at the San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, and the Joffrey Ballet. He has performed in the San Francisco Opera Ballet’s production, Betrothal in a Monastery and in The King and I First National Tour. (7/99)

MATTHEW SLY hails from Sooke, British Columbia. He received his dance training from Ecole Superieure de Danse du Quebec, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School and the School of Canada. A recipient of Dance Works, Victoria Scholarships for studies in Ballet, he has performed a variety of feature roles with Ballet Ouest, Le Jeune Ballets de Quebec, and the Banff Festival Ballet as well as in the National Ballet of Canada and Les Grand Ballets de Canadian.  He recently danced in the company’s 1999 "Nutcracker" production. (12/99)

PETER STRAND is from Colorado Springs, CO. He trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Rocky Mountain Ballet, and the David Taylor Dance Theatre and also holds a BA from the University of Colorado. He has been a principal dancer with "Pirouettes" International Tour and the Granite State Ballet, dancing such roles as the Black Swan Pas, Sugar Plum Cavalier, Corsair Variation, the Prince in Cinderella, as well as contemporary solos. He has also performed as a soloist with the Connecticut Ballet, Lexington Ballet, and the David Taylor Dance Theatre. (7/99)

ALFIE SUPAN, in his second season with ABB, was born in Legaspi City, Philippines. He received his training at the Marrion Tonner Ballet Center, Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Washington School of the Ballet. He has performed with the Washington Ballet, Albany Berkshire Ballet’s production of Carmina Burana, the Columbia City Ballet, International Ballet Theatre, and American Repertory Ballet. In addition, he danced in "Suzanne Farrell Stages Balanchine" at the Kennedy Center, and also toured the U.S. with the Philippine Dance Company. (7/99)

AMY SYBIL, from Bellport, New York, received her early training at the Vincent Orlando School of Dance in Huntington, NY and the American Academy of Ballet in Williamsville, New York. She also attended the New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs, New York, and obtained her BFA in Dance from the University ot' Akron in Ohio, Before joining ABB, she danced with the Granite State Ballet, including various roles in "Cinderella" and the "Nutcracker." She also performed with the Mid-Illinois Ballet, in which she danced excerpts from Don Quixote and Coppelia. (7/99)

JANE YABLONSKY is from Lenox, MA and has been studying ballet at the Cantarella School at Dance and the Albany Berkshire Ballet for 10 years. She studied at the Hartford Ballet’s Summer Program in 1997 and at the Boston Ballet’s Summer School in 1998. Touring extensively with ABB’s production of "The Nutcracker," Ms. Yablonsky has danced various roles, including Clara, Kissy Doll, Waltz of the Flowers, Snowflakes, Spanish, and Marzipan.(12/99)

RICHARD YE began his career training with Paul Chambers and Clifford Kirwahjh in Kansas City. He received scholarships to study at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and the Milwaukee Ballet, and received his BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, the Milwaukee Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and most recently appeared as the Court Jester in the Granite State Ballet’s Cinderella. He has also appeared with Wylliams/Henry Danse Theatre, Chicago Festival Ballet, Ballet Theater at Chicago, Milwaukee Dance Theatre, Westport Ballet Theatre, and Wisconsin Ballet Theater, to name a few. (7/99)

ADRIENNE ZETTERBERG, a native of Poughkeepsie, NY, received her training at the School of American Ballet and the North Carolina School of the Arts. While with North Carolina Dance Theatre, Ms. Zetterberg performed in productions of "Serenade," "The Nutcracker," "Spartacus," and "Sleeping Beauty." In addition, she has performed in the New York City Ballet’s and the Eglevsky Ballet’s production of "The Nutcracker." She joined the Albany Berkshire Ballet last year, dancing in the company’s 1998 "Nutcracker" production. (12/99)

1998 Season

JENNIFER CLAGETT, a graduate of the Cantarella School, gained her BA from U. Penn and her MFA in Dance at Smith College. She is on the faculty of the SABB, where she formerly served as the school administrator. She has danced with ABB for several years, performing in Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and in many of the Company’s repertory works. She also has danced with Dance Fusion, a modern dance company in Philadelphia. In addition to her performance roles this season, Ms. Clagett is ballet mistress for the company's summer season. (6/98)

TODD FOX is currently a Principal Dancer with the "Cleveland San Jose Ballet." He has also danced as a Principal Dancer with the "Los Angeles Classical Ballet and the Ballet Metropolitano deCasacas. Other company credits include the Joffrey Ballet and the Pennsylvania Ballet Co.  Todd's TV credits include "The Drew Carey Show," "Regis and Kathy Lee Live," "Lois and Clark," and most recently, the PBS national broadcast of Dennis Nahat's "Blue Suede Shoes." Mr. Fox danced with ABB in the summer of 1996, when he danced the role of Harlequin in Coppelia. (6/98)

ALICIA GILBERT is from Cohoes, NY and is an alumna of the School of the ABB and has performed in many of the Company’s productions including The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Our Town and Temple Caves. She is now a faculty member of the School of the ABB and is currently majoring in Physical Therapy at Russell Sage College with a minor in Dance. (6/98)

MORGAN GODDARD   is a native of Rhinebeck, NY,  her busy schedule has included engagements with the New Jersey Ballet, Ballet Chicago, the Boston Dance Company, Dances...Patrelle, Eglevsky Ballet, Dance as Ever, Ballet for Young Audiences as well as several seasons with ABB in which she danced Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and extensively in the highly-successful Summer Dance/96. [Photo 1 from Graduation Ball], [Photo 2 from Graduation Ball] (6/98)

SARKIS KALTAKCHIAN comes from Yerevan, Armenia where he received his training at the Choreographic Institute of Yerevan, majoring in classical dance. He has danced leading roles in many classical and contemporary productions for companies throughout the world, including: the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Les Ballets Classiques de Montreal, Ballet Quest de Montreal, Banff Festival of the Arts, Ottawa Ballet, National Ballet of Costa Rica, and the Hartford Ballet.  He first appeared with ABB as a Guest Artist in the Company's 1997 Nutcracker production. [Photo 1 from Les Sylphides], [Photo 2 from Les Sylphides], [Photo 3 from Les Sylphides], [Photo 1 from Carmina Burana],[Photo 2 from Carmina Burana],[Photo 3 from Carmina Burana], [Photo 4 from Carmina Burana], [Photo from Rhapsody in Blue] (6/98)

STEVEN LUMADUE is from Altoona PA.  He received his training with the Allegheny Ballet School, Central Penn Youth Ballet, David Howard, and has danced with ABB, Milwaukee Ballet and State Ballet of Missouri. With ABB he danced the role of George in Philip Jerry's Our Town, and Snow Prince in The Nutcracker. With the Milwaukee Ballet, Mr. Lumadue appeared in Stars 69 Stripes, and many SBA productions including Four Temperaments, Scotch Symphony, Swan Lake, Rodeo, Swedish Songs and others. [Photo from "Nutcracker"] (6/98)

CAMILO ANDRE RODRIGUEZ received his ballet training at the Taller de Varones de Puerto Rico and the San Juan Ballet schools, the Conservatorio de Ballet Concierto, the Eglevsky Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School, National Ballet of Cuba and the Erick Hawkins School of Dance. Professionally he has appeared with numerous companies, as a soloist with the Eglevsky Ballet and with the Virginia Ballet Theatre, and as a guest artist with the Palos Verdes Ballet, Mobile Ballet, North Star Ballet, Ballet Arts (Minneapolis), Children’s Ballet Theatre (San Juan, PR).  (6/98)

DANI SOON CHAN SEUK is from Seoul, S. Korea and received her training at the Sunhwa Arts HS, (Seoul), Kirov Ballet Academy (Washington DC), Ewha Womenis University (Seoul), and NYU Tisch School of the Arts (NYC). She has danced with the Batang-Gol Theater Group (Seoul) and the Universal Ballet Company (Seoul), founded the CDS Children’s Dance School in Seoul and is an MFA candidate at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts (NYC).  (6/98)

JULIE SIERRA was born in Florida and raised in Augusta GA.  She now resides in NYC where she is a Scholarship Student with the Joffrey Ballet Trainee Program. She also received training with the Augusta Ballet School, South Carolina Governor's School of the Arts and the Kelsey Kirkland Workshop, Columbia SC. With the Augusta Ballet she performed as a soloist in The Nutcracker, Carmen, Romeo & Juliet, Coppelia and Wynton Marsalis Encore. She has also performances with the ABB during the 1998 Summer Season include Carmina Burana, Les Sylphides and in Graduation Ball, where she soloed as the Mistress of Ceremonies. She also appeared last year in The Nutcracker in many of the divertissments including the Kissy Doll solo. She danced in Nocturnes in ABB’s appearance in Albany's ‘First Night' program.  (12/98)

STEPHANIE THOMAS is from Orem, UT and trained at the University of Utah’s Department of Ballet, the Classical Ballet Conservatory and with Colleen Smith. She has danced in many productions by the University of Utah, including the Character Dance Ensemble, along with showcase and ensemble productions. She danced in the Utah Ballet’s tribute performance of Coppelia for William Christensen. She is currently a Senior at the University of Utah, majoring in ballet, focusing on teaching, performing and character dance. (6/98)

LISA THORN is originally from Dryden, NY and began her early training at the Ithaca Ballet School at age 8. Four years later she was accepted by NCSA where she received most of her training through scholarships. She is currently a principal dancer with the State Ballet of Missouri and has danced a number of diverse roles – Cowgirl in Rodeo, Adele in Alvin Ailey’s Feast of Ashes, and Girl in Red in Paula Weber’s Carmina Burana. She has danced with ABB in previous summer productions - pas de deux in Hineline’s To the Eternity, and Dawn in Coppelia. She has appeared with the Chautauqua Festival Company, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. [Photo from To The Eternity], [Photo from Rhapsody in Blue]  (6/98)

PAULA WEBER has been the ABB's principal dancer since 1988. She received her undergraduate degree from Butler University and her Master's from Smith College in Northampton, MA. She was a principal dancer with the Milwaukee Ballet, a soloist with the Lyric Ballet Opera Company and has danced with The Chicago Ballet and The Indianapolis Ballet Theatre. Today she is on the faculty of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.  More on Paula Weber   [Photo from "Giselle"], [Photo from "Coppelia"], [Photo from "Nutcracker"], [Photo 1 from "Midsummer"], [Photo 2 from "Midsummer"], [Photo 1 from Les Sylphides], [Photo 2 from Les Sylphides], [Photo 3 from Les Sylphides]   (6/98)

SARAH WINTERS comes from Norwalk, CT and trained under Laura McLean with Ballet Stamford, and with a scholarship at Steps on Broadway under Dawn Hillen, Simon Dow, Zena Rommett and Myrthra Rosello. She has performed with the East Coast Youth Ballet as Lilac Fairy (Aurora’s Wedding) and Dew Drop, also in the Lubo Opera Company's Aida. (12/98)

ALLISON THOMAS WOLSEY received her BFA from the University of Utah where she was a scholarship student majoring in Dance with a Teaching and Performing emphasis. She also studied at the Classic Ballet Conservatory. A former member of the faculty of the School of the Albany Berkshire Ballet, Ms. Wolsey has performed with ABB and Northeast Ballet, with solo roles in Cinderella and The Nutcracker. She has also danced with the Utah Ballet Ensemble. (6/98)

1997 Season and Earlier

Russell Baker is originally from Ames, IA and trained at Vassar College with Jean Periolat-Czula, and obtained his MFA in Ballet Teaching/Choreography at the University of Utah. He has danced with The Utah Ballet and the State Ballet of Missouri. He has performed with the ABB in Alan Hineline's To The Eternity pas de deux, and in Shakers and Mary Giannone Talmi's Temple Caves. [Photo from "To The Eternity"]

Alex Bayo was born in Madrid, Spain where he began his training and moved to NYC for 5 years under an SAB scholarship. His teachers have included Peter Martins, Stanley Williams, Adam Luders and many others. He has danced as a soloist and as a principal dancer with the State Ballet of Missouri, (Principal Dancer in the Balanchine/Bolender production of The Nutcracker), 'Night of the Stars' (France), SAB and the Central Penn. Youth Ballet, with works by Todd Bolender, Michael Vernon, Susan Pilarre and Sean Leavery (Balanchine's Mozart Serenade as Principal Dancer). [Photo from "Coppelia"]

Karen Knerr is a native of Allentown, PA and began her dance career with Alexei Ramov's Lehigh Ballet Guild. She received her BFA from the Juilliard School.  She has danced the title role in Cinderella and was a soloist in The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Nurse in Patrelle's Romeo & Juliet and has appeared with numerous ABB productions over the past 5 years including the title role of The Girl in the Mirror in ABB's Rockwell Suite.

Pamela Cooke-Langevin grew up in Pittsfield, MA, received her early training at the Cantarella School and danced with the Berkshire Ballet from 1976 to 1980. She was in the BB's first production of Igor Youskevitch's Coppelia. Since then she has been a principal dancer with the Lido in Paris, has been a guest artiste with Les Ballet Montreal and the North West Florida Ballet, Principal Dancer with the Opus Dance Ensemble in Las Vegas.  [Photo from "Nutcracker"]

Michelle Noel was born in North Adams and is a recent graduate of Skidmore College. She trained with the Cantarella School and has appeared as a soloist in The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter & the Wolf and Cinderella. She was selected in a highly-competitive nationwide search to tour major Russian cities in the Jacob's Pillow Russian Exchange Program. [Photo from "Nutcracker"]

Juan Carlos Penuela is a native of Cali, Colombia and received his training at the Colombian Institute of Classical Ballet. He has danced with the Colombian Ballet of Cali, New Jersey Ballet, The Connecticut Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and Steps, (NYC), as a soloist and principal dancer in a broad spectrum of classical ballets. His teachers have included Michael Uthoff, Violette Verdy, Willi Burman, Michael Vernon, Simon Dow and many others.[Photo from "Love Fools"] (97)

Lisa Tachick is a native of Albuquerque, NM and trained in the RAD method in Denver. She obtained her BFA degree at Marymount Manhattan College, NYC. There she danced in Ahk-matova, Density and Subterraneans. She has performed with the David Taylor Dance Theatre in Denver, and the MMC Dance Company. Last summer with the ABB she danced the part of Myrthe in Igor Youskevitch's staging of Giselle, and the title role in Rosie the Riveter, the fourth of Madeline Cantarella Culpo's Rockwell Suite 'animations' of Norman Rockwell's paintings. She danced as the Snow Queen in the ABB's Nutcracker.   [Photo from "Giselle"], [Photo from "Love Fools"] (97)

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