The BalletHub team is made up of passionate individuals coming together to share their expertise and experience in ballet with the world. From current and former dancers, ballet masters, choreographers, directors, and teachers, our view points cover a wide spectrum of ballet. Check out our biographies below or click on a name to see more contributions.
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Adam spent 10 years as a professional ballet dancer. He received his formal ballet training from the Harid Conservatory and went on to dance with the Eugene Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and Ballet Met. Aside from his role as operations manager with BalletHub.com, he is pursuing a double major in Finance and Accountancy.
Alex was trained under government scholarship for eight years on the Palucca Schule Dresden in his native (then communist) Germany. His performance career spanned from 1986-2000 with companies in Germany, France and the USA. Since then he is a successful choreographer, teacher and coach. Alex is the ballet master for Ballet Idaho since 2008.
Beth has been teaching ballet for 15 years with many different facilities including Trinity Valley School of Ballet, Clayton Youth Enrichment Services, Denton Parks and Recreation, St. Mary’s Catholic School and Professor of Dance at Tyler Junior College. For the past 10 years, she has participated in as well as directed many ballets and liturgical dance performances in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Beth currently lives in Edmond, Oklahoma with her husband Kyle and children Alex, Avery and Audrey Bennett. She is currently on faculty at the Dance Center at Oklahoma City Ballet.
Chris was a professional ballet dancer for 12 years, dancing at Orlando Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and BalletMet, where he enjoyed performing a variety of soloist and featured roles in classical and contemporary ballets. He trained at Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in Atlanta, GA. Currently, Chris is the Editor of BalletHub.com.
Connie Flachs grew up in Massachusetts, studying classical ballet under her parents Rose and Charles Flachs at the Massachusetts Academy of Ballet. After graduating from high school she furthered her studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet under the fantastic tutelage of Margarita de Saá and Vaganova pedagogue John White. After winning the regional Grand Prix award and competing in the 2010 YAGP finals in New York City, Connie was offered a contract with Grand Rapids Ballet under the direction of Patricia Barker where she is currently in her 7th season. She has performed in a broad range of works, from classical to contemporary. Some favourite roles include Juliet in Mario Radacovsky's Romeo and Juliet, Clara in Val Canaparoli's Nutcracker, Spy in the Envelope, and the I Can Dream solo in Paul Taylor's Company B. Connie also recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from University of Massachusetts Amherst with a concentration in Food, Culture, and Sustainability, a degree she pursued while dancing professionally through UMASS Amherst's University Without Walls Program.
Katie Slattery was a professional ballet dancer for 10 years and is most proud of the time she spent dancing for Fernando Bujones during his directorship of Orlando Ballet. She is currently a full-time faculty member with Orlando Ballet School as well as Artistic Assistant with the professional company, and she is certified in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum. Katie is the mother of a beautiful daughter named Grace!
Marrisa Ayala is a graduate of Allan Hancock College as a dance major. She has also studied at Roland Dupree Dance Academy and Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. She also holds a secretarial diploma from Santa Barbara Business College. She has been a dance and musical theatre instructor, choreographer, and director for over twenty-five years. She currently works for Ballet Idaho.
Matthew C. Donnell, a native of Mt. Airy, North Carolina is the Director of the Preparatory Dance Program of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he is also received his early childhood and formal training. After graduating from UNCSA in ’99, he trained at the Rock School in Philadelphia, and while there, he performed with Pennsylvania Ballet and placed second regionally in the inaugural season of Youth America Grand Prix. From there, he enjoyed a ten-year career with the Kansas City Ballet, where he performed soloist and principal roles by the great ballet and contemporary masters to critical acclaim, and was named “30 under 30 artists to watch” by the Kansas City Star. Following his time in Kansas City, he moved to New York City to focus on acting. His theater credits include Kansas City Starlight Theatre, Kansas City New Theatre (where he also served as Dance Captain and Assistant Choreographer), Houston Theatre Under the Stars, and the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). Together with partner Alana Niehoff, he wrote, produced, and performed in his first one-man clown/physical comedy show The Chapeau Show in NYC benefitting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. His silent short film series, The Adventures of Jim has been screened in film festivals based out of Winston-Salem and Los Angeles. He is a contributing writer for the online publication DIY Dancer, and currently sits on the board of governors for the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), the union that represents ballet and opera performers and the board of The Arts Based School, Winston-Salem. As an instructor he has taught for and rehearsed professional ballet companies and schools across the country including UNCSA, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Dance Festival, Montgomery Ballet, Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, The University of Alabama, and Alabama Dance Theatre. He is an ABT® Certified Teacher who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Rainesford Stauffer is a former dancer, and current writer, yogi, and student. She has been published by The Huffington Post and Forbes among others, and has given two TEDx Talks on learning. In addition to writing, Rainesford currently works in media for a dance-related organization, and looks for ways to bring the arts and academic learning together.
