Vincent Williams
Lower Division Faculty
Pre-Ballet & Lower Division Head, NW Campus
pbjerknes@washingtonballet.orgPamela Booth Bjerknes, a former member of American Ballet Theatre (ABT), brings extensive teaching, directing, and performing experience to The Washington School of Ballet. Performing classical and contemporary ballets throughout …
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 …
Rafael Bejarano Vidal, from Guadalajara, Mexico, began dance training at the age of 11 at the Royal Academy of Dance in Mexico with Ana Torquemada. He has studied intensively throughout …
Rena Bernardini is originally from Somers, New York. She began her training at the Westchester Ballet Center, studying everything from Ballet, Modern, Tap, and Jazz to Flamenco, Hawaiian, and Bharatanatyam. She then …
Jennifer Johnson Buchanan is native of Seat Pleasant, MD. She began her training at the age of two at Incarnation Dance Group in Washington, DC under the direction of Katherine …
Deborah Chen is originally from Arlington, VA, and grew up in St. Petersburg, FL. She began her ballet training with Elena Martinson at the age of 6. From there, she …
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 …
School Principal, SE Campus
thurt@washingtonballet.orgTammy 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 …
Fondly known as “Mr. Yao”, Yao E. Odamtten (pronounced oh-DAM-tin) is passionate about the healthy physical and psychosocial power of dance to transform both lives and society. Mr. Yao’s rich …
Full-time Faculty
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, …
Assistant to the Pre-Ballet and Lower Division Head
vpalladino@washingtonballet.orgValentina 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 …
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 …
Receptionist
Sydney B. Wiggins is a native Washingtonian and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) graduate with a BFA in Dance and Choreography. Sydney has been training in dance since the age of …
Artistic Administrator, SE Campus
mwilliamson@washingtonballet.orgMargaret 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 …