Stanislav Belyaevsky, from Saint Petersburg, Russia, received his ballet education at the Vaganova Ballet Academy. Upon graduating in 1991, he joined the ranks of the world-renowned Kirov Ballet (Mariinsky Theatre). In his first season with the Kirov Ballet, he danced the lead of Albrecht in "Giselle". This led him to perform all the major male roles in the company's classical repertoire. From 1995 to 1997 Stanislav Belyaevsky was a Principal Dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre. He partnered many of the world's most renowned ballerinas, including Altynai Asylmuratova, Zhanna Ayupova,Yulia Makhalina, and Ulyana Lopatkina. From 1997 to 2000 he was a Soloist at the Staatsoper in Berlin. From 2000 to 2015 Stanislav Belyaevsky was Principal Dancer at the Finnish National Ballet in Helsinki, Finland. In 2015, Stanislav joined the teaching staff  at the Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. In 2017 he joined the Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, DC, USA 

Amy Brandt has been the editor in chief of Pointe magazine since 2014, following a 19-year dance career. She received her initial dance training at Dancenter North in Libertyville, Illinois, and at the Milwaukee Ballet School. She later joined the Milwaukee Ballet, where her repertoire included 19th century classics as well as works by Antony Tudor, George Balanchine, Mark Godden and Alonzo King, among others. She joined The Suzanne Farrell Ballet in 2003. In 2005, she performed in honor of Ms. Farrell at the nationally televised Kennedy Center Honors. She has written extensively for several dance publications, including Pointe magazine's "Ask Amy" advice column, since 2009. She joined Pointe's editorial staff in 2014, and has also served as an associate editor for Dance Teacher and Dance Magazine.

Kelly Boal trained at the

School of American Ballet and

joined New York City Ballet in

1984, earning a promotion to

soloist in 1989. She left NYCB in

1993 to pursue guesting

opportunities that included

performances with Dutch

National Ballet and Ballet Manila

and participation in Le Gala des Étoiles in Montreal, Canada.

She taught at the School of American Ballet and is a part-time

faculty member at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, teaching both

the Professional Division and the Company.

Ms. Chen was born in China

where she started her dance

training at the Shanghai dance

school. She later continued her

studies at San Francisco Ballet

School. In 1987, she won the

first prize at the Prix de

Lausanne International

Competition. She then joined The Washington Ballet and rose to the

Principal rank. In 1993, Ms. Chen joined American Ballet Theatre and

was promoted to soloist in 1994. As one of ABT's most lyrical and

versatile dancers, she has performed numerous leading roles. Ms.

Chen has performed as a guest artist throughout the world and has

been invited to perform at many prestigious dance festivals. She also

appeared in PBS Great Performance Program for television and video:

"American Ballet Theatre Now." In 2004, Ms. Chen became a faculty

member with the American Ballet Theatre and has also been a guest

teacher with Orlando Ballet since 1994. Ms. Chen lives in Orlando, and

serves as Ballet Master for the Orlando Ballet. Ms. Chen is also a

faculty member with the American Ballet Theater's summer intensive

program and an ABT Certified Teacher.

Edward Ellison has traveled the world as a dancer, teacher, choreographer and ballet master. Companies he has taught for include American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, Alvin Ailey and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. He has been a guest teacher with The Juilliard School and Joffrey Ballet School, and continues to teach open classes at STEPS on Broadway. As a ballet master, he has worked for such companies as the Boston Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet and Alberta Ballet, as well as staging Helgi Tomasson's Nutcracker for San Francisco Ballet's annual tour.
A former soloist with the San Francisco Ballet and guest artist with many companies in the U.S. and abroad, Mr. Ellison's repertoire spans the great classical works of the 19th century to neoclassical and contemporary choreography of the 20th century and today. Mr. Ellison has crafted an intensive study program to meet the needs of gifted ballet students from around the world who wish to dance professionally. The classes emphasize development of strong classical ballet technique, the exploration and discovery of the student's full artistic potential, and individual attention from the ballet master.

Marjorie Grundvig was appointed Director of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School in August 2005, where she has been a part of a leadership team that has managed to increase total school enrollment by more than 30%. Marjorie has enjoyed a long performing career as Soloist for the Boston Ballet & Tulsa Ballet.

Christopher Hird is from

England and studied at The

Royal Ballet School. He toured

Europe as part of a company

headlined by the internationally

acclaimed ballerina, Sylvie

Guillem. After retiring from the

stage, Hird worked as the

Assistant to the Development Manager at The Royal Ballet School.

Hird joined Boston Ballet School in 2003 and was promoted to Artistic

Manager in 2009. He was a main teacher for students in the Pre-

Professional and Classical Ballet Programs as well as being part of the

Senior Leadership Team. Hird has staged numerous ballets for the

Boston Ballet School. In 2013, Hird was appointed Head of Adult

Programming, and has led the artistic vision for the redesign of the

program. Hird has served on the  international jury of the Japan Grand

Prix, the Surrey Festival of Dance in Canada, and the Goiania Dance

Festival in Brazil. The Sarasota Ballet appointed Christopher Hird as

Director of Education and  Principal for the Margaret Barbieri

Conservatory in July 2016.

Rinat Imaev, Company Teacher

and Senior Faculty at The

Washington Ballet was

previously a company teacher

with ABT for 15 years. Born in

Oufa, Russia, Imaev studied at

the Vaganova Ballet Academy in

St. Petersburg & later danced

with the Mariinsky Ballet. He was a principal dancer with Sofia National

Ballet in Bulgaria and Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium. Imaev has

been a guest teacher throughout the world including: Boston Ballet, The

Washington Ballet, Oklahoma Ballet, The Royal Ballet of Flanders, The

Bruxelles, Sofia Opera and Ballet, Victor Ullate Ballet, Gelsey Kirkland

Academy of Classical Ballet, The Carreño Festival, Salt Creek Ballet,

The Rock School, Joffrey Ballet School, Southland Ballet Academy,

Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy, The State School of Antwerp, Le

Ballet de Bruxelles, Nafsika Dance Company, Jeune Ballet de France,

Ochi International Ballet, among more. Imaev is the distinguished

recipient of the Gold medal at the International Ballet Competition

Varna; Grand Prix of the Bulgarian National Ballet competition; Golden

Lire of the Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria and Special Partner Prize at

the Madame Oya International Ballet Competition in Japan. He has also

been a jury member of YAGP since its founding and a jury member at

international ballet competitions in Nagoya, Japan. He is the artistic

advisor of IBstage in Barcelona, Spain.

Alexey Kulpin is a graduate of

the University of Culture and Art

in St. Petersburg, Russia. He holds

both bachelor's and master's degrees

in ballet methodology and

choreography. In 1998, he was

the Grand Prix winner at the

Muse of St. Petersburg Ballet

Competition. As a professional dancer, Mr. Kulpin has performed

soloist and principal roles in both classical and contemporary ballets in

Russia, Israel, and the United States. He danced professionally with

St. Petersburg State Opera Ballet, St. Petersburg State Male Theatre

by Mihailovsky, Ballet Israel, City Ballet of San Diego, Grand Rapids

Ballet, Charleston Ballet Theater, Stars of St. Petersburg Municipal

Theater of Music and Dance, and Krasnoyarsk Dance Ensemble. Mr.

Kulpin specializes in teaching classical ballet, male and female

variations, and character dance. Mr. Kulpin joined The HARID

Conservatory's faculty in August 2016.

Peter Merz was appointed as the Ballet West Academy Director in 2015. Merz has choreographed over 40 original ballets across USA and internationally. In 2002, Peter served as the Artistic Administrator for the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS. In 2004, Peter joined the faculty of Point Park, where he was the associate professor of dance and head of ballet until Spring of 2015.

Mimmo Miccolis, an Italian born

dancer and choreographer, is the

winner of the Outstanding 

Choreographer Award at YAGP

Finals 2015 at the Lincoln Center in

NYC. In 2011 he was also one of

the winners of the BBC Performing

Arts Fund Dance in London, UK. 

Currently, Miccolis is a

contemporary teacher and choreographer at The Washington Ballet.

Miccolis's creation "END" on "domestic violence" has been presented at

the World Bank in Washington DC and "CRISIS" has been

commissioned by The Washington Ballet for the "New Works Festival".

His work has also premiered at: the Italian Embassy in DC, the Inter

American Development Bank, Smithsonian American Art Museum in

DC, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the UN General Assembly

among more.

Dierdre Miles Burger was

appointed Director of Orlando

Ballet School in July 2010.

Miles Burger became an

apprentice with Boston Ballet at

age fourteen. Following high

school, she joined Boston

Ballet as a full-time member.

From 1978 until 1982 Miles Burger danced in New York City and with

Houston Ballet before returning to Boston Ballet in 1983. During her

career she danced countless Principal roles in the classical and

contemporary ballet repertory. In June of 1993, Miles Burger retired

from performing and joined Boston Ballet Artistic Staff. Miles Burger

was promoted to Artistic Coordinator in 1998. In 2002 Miles Burger

was appointed Principal of  Boston Ballet School. 

Under her leadership, Orlando Ballet School has grown and

developed programming, most notably Adaptive Dance for students

with Down Syndrome and the OBSA which develops young dancers

for professional careers. Most recently Orlando Ballet School was

awarded Outstanding School at YAGP NY Finals and was named a

Certified School of America Ballet Theatre.

Claudio Munoz filled principal roles in Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, and New York with a variety of choreographers including John Cranko, George Balanchine, Ivan Nagy, Ben Stevenson, among more.
Mr. Munoz joined Houston Ballet as Ballet Master in 1999. As Houston Ballet II Director, he is responsible for the artistic leadership, teaching, choreography, curriculum syllabus development, and supervision of all HB II students to promote the studio performance of Houston Ballet.

Dean Story is currently in her 21st

season with Atlanta Ballet. She

joined Atlanta Ballet after a

professional dance career that

spanned more than 20 years,

including tenures with Joffrey Ballet,

the School of American Ballet, New

York City Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and

ten years with Boston Ballet. In 1996, in addition to her role as ballet

mistress, John McFall's vision and mentorship brought Sharon to her

current position as dean of the Centre for Dance Education, which has

rapidly grown to one of the largest dance schools in the nation. The

Centre for Dance Education is nationally recognized for great

accomplishments in its programs and community initiatives. Under

Sharon's direction, the Centre achieved accreditation with National

Association of Schools of Dance (NASD). Sharon is a member of the

Board of Directors for NASD and is delighted to serve on many

community and national boards. Sharon received the 2015 Women

Making a Mark award from Atlanta Magazine. She is very proud of the

dancers who have studied at the Centre for Dance Education and

continue to share their experiences on stage in the Atlanta Ballet

company and around the globe. 

Born in Madrid, Spain, Maria Torija

at the age of thirteen  was

awarded a Fulbright scholarship to

study for three years at the School of

American Ballet in New York. After a

short stint with the Ballet Nacional de

España Clásico, in 1987 she began

her 20-year career as a dancer with

the Deutsche Oper Berlin ballet

company, currently the Staatsballett Berlin. During her time in Berlin,

Maria performed in solo and principal roles in numerous classic ballets,

including works choreographed by George Balanchine. She holds a

Bachelor's degree in Ballet Teaching, and graduated summa cum laude

with a Master's and PhD in Performing Arts from the Universidad Rey

Juan Carlos, in Madrid. She also has an extensive teaching resume.

Beginning with the Opera Ballet of Deutsche Oper Berlin, she has

served as a faculty member at the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz,

Dresden. Maria has participated in seminars and has been invited to

teach classes throughout Europe, Japan and Hong King and the United

States. While on the faculty of the Miami City Ballet and Miami City

Ballet School, Maria taught dancing as well as classes on the history of

ballet and other associated topics. Maria became the Director of the

BalletMet Academy in May 2017.

Iain Webb started ballet at the

age of 14 and moved to

London at 16, where he trained

for 2 years with The Rambert

School of Ballet and a year at

The Royal Ballet School. He

further spent a year as an

apprentice with The Sadler's

Wells Royal Ballet, where he was offered a full time position. During

his 18 years with both The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and The Royal

Ballet, he performed an extensive principal repertoire.

In 1996 Webb retired from The Royal Ballet but was invited back as a

guest artist to give three farewell performances at Covent Garden. After

retiring as a dancer, he was invited by Matthew Bourne to be

Rehearsal Director for The West End, L.A. and Broadway Seasons of

Swan Lake. In 1999 Webb was asked by Tetsuya Kumakawa to join

his newly formed K-Ballet Company in Japan as Ballet Master and, 2

years later, was appointed Assistant Director. During this time, he

worked with Kumakawa on building the company into one of Japan's

leading ballet companies. In 2013 he became an Ashton Associate for

the Sir Frederick  Ashton Foundation. Iain Webb was appointed as The

Sarasota Ballet's  third Director in 2007. With his background and

experience Webb has taken The Sarasota Ballet to an unprecedented

level of national and international recognition.

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