Tatiana
Berenova - Premiere Instructor
Tatiana Berenova
Born in Gorky, Russia, Tatiana received her training with Ludmila Bogomolova in the Moscow Choreographic Ballet Academy, the official school of the world renown Bolshoi Ballet.
During a very interesting and successful career as an international ballerina, Ms. Berenova attained the rank Prima Ballerina at the National Academic Bolshoi Ballet Theatre of The Republic of Belarus and the Moscow Renaissance Ballet , she was a guest principal dancer with The Mariinski Theatre , The Bolshoi Theatre , The National Ballet Of Denver, Philadelphia Ballet , Moscow Imperial Ballet and many others Russian and American Ballet theatres and companies. Her repertoire includes principal roles in 52 ballets Classical and contemporary choreographers .
In 1995, Ms. Berenova was awarded the Grand First Prize and Gold Medal at the Third International Ballet Competition in Luxembourg.
During her professional career, Ms. Berenova has worked with legend of Russian Ballet Maya Plisetskaya and great masters of Russian Ballet such as Raisa Struchkova, Nikolai Fadeyechev, Nina Ocipyan,Irina Kolpakova , Michael Lavrovsky as well as many other international ballet stars.
Ms. Berenova has toured North America, Europe, and Asia :as -England, France , India, Germany, Norway, Spain, Luxembourg , China, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Italy, Thailand, Denmark, Hong Kong, Taiwan and United States and has performed as a guest artist with many of the world's leading ballet companies.
Her TV appearances include international networks such as CBS and a 25-min film entitled " The Dance of Tatiana Berenova" created by Belarus National Television.
As a Guest Star Ms. Berenova has also participated in numerous worldwide Festivals and Ballet Galas including " Gala di Balletto " in Spinea ,Venezia / Italy , "Gala des Etoiles" (Gala of the Stars ) /Luxembourg , "A Night of Stars" /United States , series of Gala perform in Paris , Moscow( at the Bolshoi Theatre) and in St.Petersburg (at theMariinsky Theatre).
Ms. Berenova has always received great acclaim from dance critics and the public : in Spain her portrayal of Carmen in Alberto Alonso's " Carmen-Suite" received critical acclaim , during her China and Taiwan " Swan Lake " tour Chinese critics described : " her movements as light, fluent and graceful, just like a true swan . Her steps flowed like poetry, and her passion and energy traveled straight from her heart to the hearts of her audience."
Wilor
Bluege - Premiere Instructor
Wilor has taught classical ballet and character dance
since 1969 and has been choreographing since 1978. During
her 25+ years as a dancer, she worked with Andahàzy
Ballet, St. Paul Civic Ballet (Jo Savino), Children's
Theater, and Branitski Ballet, performing corps, soloist,
and principal roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty,
Les Sylphides, Pas de Quatre, Nutrcracker, Don Quixote,
Scheherazade, Legend of Love, and in many other classical,
character, modern, and jazz works created by other Twin
City choreographers. As a choreographer, Ms. Bluege has
created a large body of original work for the stage, showing
an ability to generate quality dance pieces in a variety
of styles: classical ballet, character, and contemporary.
Ms. Bluege is the author/illustrator and artistic director/choreographer
of the hour-and-a-half long ballet, The Golden Bough,
A Fairytale Ballet for Children. In addition to that tour
de force, she has taught dozens of excerpts from works
by the world's greatest choreographers, including small
and large ensemble pieces and solo variations from The
Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, Raymonda, La Esmeralda,
Swan Lake, and Don Quixote. Wilor has a comprehensive
knowledge of Vaganova syllabus and offers the additional
(and rare) specialty of being an accomplished teacher
and choreographer of character dance (i.e., dances of
various ethnic and cultural origins).
Vitali
Krauchenka - Special Guest Instructor,
born in Minsk, Bealarus, started his ballet training at
six years old with National Ballet School in Belarus.
After graduation he joined the National Ballet Theatre
of Belarus, and then performed solo roles with the Latvian
National Opera. He has also danced with Canada’s
Atlantic Ballet Theatre and Ballet Jorgen of Canada. His
repertoire includes classical and modern ballets like
Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The
Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky by Boris Eifman, Carmen and Le
Sacre du Printemps by Kchistof Pastor, 3X by Chao Jeki
Hua, Petrushka by Ben Jorgen. Viali has been dancing with
American Ballet Theatre since 2004 and has performed as
a guest artist throughout Europe, Asia and North America.
Shannon
Corbett - Instructor
Shannon began her training in her hometown of Stillwater,
Minnesota. She later attended Ballet Arts Minnesota under
the direction of Bonnie Mathis. While there, she attended
summer programs such as Milwaukee Ballet, Minnesota Ballet,
Boston Ballet, Extreme Ballet at Kaatsbaan International
Dance Center, and City Ballet of San Diego—all on
scholarship. Upon graduating from high school, Ms. Corbett
received a scholarship to attend Point Park College as
a dance major. She later joined Ballet Arts Minnesota
for their Springboard Apprentice Company for three years.
Ms. Corbett began her professional career as a guest artist
for Peoria Ballet, and later joined Ohio Dance Theatre
as an apprentice. Since her launch as a professional dancer,
she has spent seasons with the Augusta Ballet, Artisan
Dance, Northern Plains Ballet and now Metropolitan Ballet.
She has been privileged to dance the principle role in
Ron Cunningham's Incident at Blackbriar and was most recently
seen as Lucy in Northern Plains Ballet's Dracula.
Maureen
Haworth - Premiere Instructor
Ms. Maureen Haworth is an Advanced Member
of the Royal Academy of Dancing. She has been registered
and accredited with the Royal Academy of Dancing since
1988. She is also a fellow of the National Association
of Dancing. Ms. Haworth directed dance schools in London,
England and Frankfurt, Germany before moving to the United
States and joining the faculty of Ballet Arts Minnesota.
She is now an instructor at The Metropolitan Ballet &
Academy.
Katherine
Krieser - Instructor
(University of Minnesota) Katherine Krieser brings performance
and choreography experience, which includes principal
roles as Princess and the Arabian pas de deux in the Nutcracker,
and performances with Matthew Keefe, Peggy Seipp, Danny
Buraczeski, and others. Katherine has also choreographed
work for adjudication, which was accepted and performed
in the annual RDA festival in Chicago. Her dance training
and education includes the American Ballet Theater, University
of Minnesota, Ballet Arts, Youth Ballet Company, and the
Minnetonka Dance Theater and School, where she trained
since 1988. She is the recipient of full dance scholarships
from the Washington School of Ballet and Alexandra Ballet.
She has studied with David Howard, John Meehan, Rebecca
Wright, Bonnie Mathis, Ronald Tice, Marianne Simmons,
and others.
Jennifer
Conkey - Instructor
Jennifer has been dancing with Minnetonka Dance since
she was four. Growing up in the studio she was in the
first production of the MDTS Nutcracker and was also in
the Youth Ballet Company for four years. Jennifer graduated
from Alma College in 2006 with a B.A. in theatre and dance
with distinction and a B.S. in mathematics. She is very
thrilled to back teaching this year. Besides teaching
dance, Jennifer is working on becoming a math teach by
getting her Masters of Teaching through Hamline University.