Rena Bernardini

“I am thrilled to be joining TWSB as its new Director and eager to bring my vast  professional experience to lead the faculty and students through this exciting time of change. As both a director and teacher, my goal has always been to offer the highest …

Zoica Tovar began her training at the age of nine at the Cuban Ballet School of Havana. Upon graduation she was accepted at Classical Ballet of Havana under the direction of Laura Alonso.  Ms. Tovar danced as a principal dancer in Orlando Ballet from 1998 to 2009…

Tammy Hurt, a native Washingtonian, started her dance training at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet and later became a member of the Capitol Ballet Company under the direction of Doris …

With 40 years of experience as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, founding artistic/executive director, and urban planner, Miya’s life has spanned two continents with a commitment to diversity and excellence in …

Parren Ballard, a graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts, was trained by Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski. He began his professional career at the age of seventeen with the Cincinnati Ballet. From there he went on to enjoy an internationally successful career of over twenty years as a Soloist Dancer…

Arron Scott was raised in State College, Pennsylvania, and started his training at the Ballet Theatre of Central Pennsylvania at age nine. He has danced on full scholarships at American …

Rena Bernardini is a versatile dance artist, educator, and arts administrator originally from New York. She began her formal training at the Westchester Ballet Center, where she studied a wide range …

Valentina Palladino is a professional dancer, choreographer, and educator from Sardinia, Italy. Ms. Palladino began her dancing career in 2003 at the School Ballet Arabesque, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, under the …

Edwin Aparicio is considered to be one of the most sought-after flamenco performers, teachers and choreographers in the United States. He has been described by critics as “the most amazing …

Brittany Bailey graduated high school from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where she studied in both the ballet and modern dance departments under the direction of Melissa …

Linda Baranovics began her ballet career as a young adult while attending Georgetown University in 1977. After graduating in 1978, she continued her training at The Washington School of Ballet. …

Jocelyn E. Cox is a dancer, educator, and author. Her theatrical performance credits include: The Wiz, Hairspray, Chicago, and FAME. Her teaching experience includes: Howard University, George Mason University, and American University’s dance programs. Her choreographic credits include: Kid Prince and Pablo and She A Gem at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Family Theater in DC. Before earning her MFA at SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Dance in NY, Jocelyn trained with the 2nd company at Philadanco (Danco2) and Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, among others. For her children’s book, “Jocelyn Learns to Dance”, Mrs. Cox received the Prince George’s County Maryland Arts and Humanities Council’s Artist Fellowship Grant for Literary Arts & Dance. 

Shu-Chen Cuff was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan where she established a well-rounded background in dance with training in Ballet, Modern, Chinese Opera movements, and various Chinese folk dances.  She immigrated to …

Chanel R. Dews is a native of Prince George’s County Maryland. She is an alum of Suitland High School where she majored in Dance in the Visual and Performing Arts …

Adrian Vincent James is a native of Washington, DC, who began his artistic guidance under director Mike Malone in 1970. This led him to win scholarships giving him the opportunity to study …

Sona Kharatian is a seasoned professional in the world of ballet, bringing over two decades of experience as a professional ballet dancer, instructor, and rehearsal director. Most recently, she held …

Ayano Kimura of Japan, is in 14th season with The Washington Ballet and seventh year teaching at The Washington School of Ballet. Kimura, born in Germany, went on a short-term …

Tamás Krizsa, of Hungary, is in his 13th season with The Washington Ballet. Krizsa graduated from the Hungarian Dance Academy with honors in 2002. During his school years, he was …

Kevin Thomas Malone, a native of Washington, DC,Founding Artistic Director / Artist Development Coach for ktm eXtremes dance project as well as is currently Artistic Advisor/Resident Choreographer at the Dance …

Kurumi Miwa from Tokyo, Japan.

She grew up in Tokyo and stated her training at age 3. She continued studies at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music in Kanagawa and graduated. She studied Ballet, Contemporary dance, Character dance, Jazz dance, Theater dance, Improvisation, Street Dance, dance choreography, Pilates, music, Ballet history, Nutrition , Anatomy for dancing, music history, Movement Studies, Exercise Physiology and Solfeggio.

Her second year in college, she was awarded a merit scholarship. She also trained at Joffrey Ballet School in NY, where she trained two years under direction of Era Jouravlev. She trained Balanchine techniques taught by Stacy Caddell former soloist with NewYork City Ballet. She danced Juliet from Romeo and Juliet (Choreography by Akop Akopian), Naina’s Magic garden as a principal (Choreography by Michael Fokine) and Stars and Stripes.

She went to summer training at Central School of Ballet in England, Royal Danish Ballet in Denmark, Milwaukee Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet and Maryland Youth Ballet. She won 1st place in the Jewels Festival Ballet Competition in 2019, 2nd place in the World Ballet Grand Prix in NY. And she got top 3 in World Ballet Competition. She performed contemporary solo, “Intrecci” choreographed by Mimmo Miccolis. She also won 1st place in the Japan Ballet Competition in 2018 and received Technical award, Artist award and Special judge award.

She has been performing with Manassas Ballet Theatre as a company dancer since March 2021. She has performed leading roles in several ballets. such as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Sugar Plum in Nutcracker, Can Can Doll in Laboutique Fantastic, Amy Wolfe in Colin, Spring Fairy in Cinderella and Gamzatti’s friends in La Bayadere. She also performed in Giselle, Dracula, Gaite Paeisienne. She performed contemporary works too, A Letter of Maria choreographed by Debora Greer, Deja-vu, Sleepy Hollow and Carmina Burana by Ahmed Nabil. She is also performing a lot of places as a guest dancer in the US.

Natalie is a native Washingtonian. She trained at the Washington School of Ballet under the direction of Mary Day and Choo San Goh. Her training also included Joffrey Ballet, Pennsylvania …

Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo is from Santiago, Chile. He began dancing at the age of 12 and has since received several awards and distinctions, among others, Chile’s Best Dancer Inter-American Circle of Dance Professionals Award. In Santiago, Mr. Moltedo ran his own company, which led to multiple national and international tours. He holds a B.F.A in dance, an M.A. in dance education with honors from the University of Chile, and an M.F.A. in dance from The George Washington University Department of Theatre and Dance. Currently, he is the Assistant Artistic Director and Dancer for Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company and teaches dance around the world on a regular basis.

As a native of Washington, DC, Jaday Myers began her dance training at the age of four at Divine Dance Institute in Capitol Heights, MD under the direction of Amanda F. Standard. The organization provided Myers a strong foundation in ballet, modern, jazz, and African techniques. Myers continued her pre-professional training at Towson University and graduated with a B.F.A in Dance Performance and Choreography as well as a B.S in General Psychology in Spring 2021. There she received superb training from Linda Denise Fisher-Harrell, Catherine Horta-Hayden, Vincent Thomas, Erin Du, and others.

Throughout her collegiate experience, Myers was able to train at various summer intensives at various summer intensives such as Earl Moseley Institute of the Arts, Pneuma Dance Project, and The Dance Institute of Washington where she attended on full scholarship. She has performed works by Will B. Bell, Vincent Thomas, Earl Mosley, Troy Powell, Fabian Barnes, Ray Mercer, along with many others.

Now her passion lies in developing the next generation of dancers to be technically sound and well-rounded artists. She is now a full time dance educator in the Anne Arundel County Public School System on faculty at Divine Dance Institute and The Washington Ballet. Most recently, Myers has become the founder of theStudio, a dance training center that aims to develop, inspire and connect with dancers who dream in both traditional and nontraditional dance education settings.

Svetlana V. Nikoloff holds an equivalent of MFA degree in ballet pedagogy Vaganova methodology and choreography from the South-West University “Neofit Rilski” in her native Bulgaria, EU. Svetlana danced professionally …

Born in Kanagawa, Japan, Maki enters her 20th season with The Washington Ballet after one season with The Studio Company. Before joining TWB, she danced and studied with Goh Ballet …

Dr. Elena Ovchinnikova graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy obtained her PhD in Pedagogic Science (Theory and Methodology of Professional Education in Choreography) and Master Degree in Ballet Pedagogy. Additionally, …

From Cali Colombia, An accomplished ballet dancer and teacher. Danced with The Washington Ballet for 13 years as a principal dancer, National Ballet of Venezuela for two years and the …

Originally from Asuncion, Paraguay, Marcela began her training at age six at Studio Nilsa Abraham and Ballet Academic Patricia Manavella. She has attended summer intensives and competitions in Brazil, Chile, …

Da’Shown Rawl studied Ballet and Modern at the Baltimore School of the Arts in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from the prestigious Dance Department of George Mason University (GMU). While at …

Bahareh Sardari graduated from the London Royal Ballet School and the Royal Academy of Dance. She was a soloist with the Iranian National Ballet Company, and has worked and performed …

A Wisconsin native, Cacciotti began her early training under the guidance of Marc Darling and Linda Bennett. She went on to study as a trainee at Joffrey Ballet School studying …

Katherine Smith a native Washingtonian, is a graduate from The Duke Ellington School of the Arts and received her B.F.A. from the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts [currently University of …

Françoise Thouveny-Doyle is a native of France. She started her classical ballet training in her hometown of Orléans and in Paris at le Centre de Danse de Paris training with …

Vincent Williams is an accomplished performing artist; he sings, acts, drums, choreographs, and dances in addition to being a celebrated dance educator. He has worked with renowned artists such as …

Margaret Giragosian Williamson received her early training at The Washington Ballet, the Maryland Youth Ballet, and the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. During this time, she was also privileged to spend …

Irina Wunder received her classical training in Turkmenistan, then a republic of the former Soviet Union. She performed with the Republic’s Theater of Opera and Ballet and toured with the …

Andrei Yemelianov has over 25 years of experience in the world of dance as a teacher, director, and choreographer specializing in classical ballet and original works. Born in Ukraine, Andrei trained at the Kyiv State Choreography College, where he studied the Vaganova ballet method. He holds a degree in Choreographic Art, focusing on ballet technique, partnering, and folk and character dances.

Throughout his career, Andrei has performed with the National Opera and Ballet Theater of Ukraine and the Donetsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. His repertoire includes classical ballet, character dance, contemporary, modern, and folk styles.

Andrei has dedicated much of his teaching career to roles as a Ballet Teacher and Ballet Master at the Academie de Ballet and Master Works Dance Company, where he has choreographed and staged both classical and original ballets.

A firm believer in nurturing talent, Andrei’s teaching philosophy prioritizes professional excellence while promoting individual well-being. He creates a supportive atmosphere that welcomes students from diverse backgrounds, passionately guiding them toward both physical and spiritual growth in their dance journeys.

Royce Zackery received a Master of Arts in Dance Education from N.Y.U. Steinhardt/American Ballet Theatre and is certified in the ABT National Teaching Curriculum with a concentrated degree in Ballet Pedagogy. He …

CECE FARHA began teaching on the faculty of The Washington School of Ballet in 1999 under the direction of Mary Day. She works within multiple levels of the school as …