Performers Workshop 2010  June 7th - June 25th 

Guest Faculty - 

Andrea Basile, Catherine Batcheller, Lee-Wei Chao, Mireille Favarel, Luis Fuente, Christina Woodard, Lisa Woods, Sasha Yapparov

Deborah Hanna and Dan Boudewyns are this year's pianists.

Pursuing Excellence...

The mission of this summer workshop is to present an intensive training experience with a foundation in classical ballet, administered by professionals selected for their excellence in teaching.  This workshop is proud to offer the finest quality and versatility of dance classes such as:  ballet, pointe, variation, jazz, hip-hop, and stretch and strength.

Auditions are not required for admission.  However, dancers attending the workshop for the first time must submit a DVD for the purpose of placement.  The DVD should be a maximum of 15 minutes long, and include barre, floor, and pointe work.  Instead of a DVD, an in-class evaluation can be arranged with the Artistic Director.  Please call to schedule an evaluation.  Final class placement is determined on the first day of the workshop.

Tuition

A $100  registration fee  is due by February 11, 2010 and is applied to the cost of the  tuition.  The balance of the tuition is due by Thursday, May 6th. The registration fee and the tuition are  non-refundable and non-transferable.

For more  information please call Karen Alwin at (505-298-5551).  

Venue

Our workshop will be hosted at the spacious studios of Alwin School of the Dance, 10410 Comanche Rd NE (corner of Comanche and Morris), Albuquerque, NM 87110.

Artistic Director Karen Alwin has taught dance for more than 40 years.  She is the owner of Alwin School of the Dance and the founder of The Performers Ballet & Jazz Company.  She takes great pride in the quality of this workshop and the training and experience it offers both her students and guests.

This project is made possible in part by the New Mexico Arts, a Division of the Office of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Performers Ballet & Jazz Company will use its best efforts to keep the Summer Workshop as described in its publications, brochure and website, but it reserves the right to make changes, including but not limited to class schedule, curriculum, and faculty.  

Andrea Basile has performed with such companies as The San Francisco Ballet, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, The Foundry, Kate Weare Company, and was a company member with ODC Dance for four years.  She is currently a freelance dancer, photographer, and dance teacher for bay area companies and schools.  Andrea is also co-owner of a new business in the SOMA district of San Francisco called Tao Barber Salon.  Andrea is an Alumni of Alwin School of the Dance and The Performers Ballet & Jazz Company.  She has taught ballet, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary ballet at our past summer workshops.

Born in Maine, Catherine Batcheller’s training began in California, continuing with the Cleveland Ballet, the Washington School of Ballet under Mary Day and the San Francisco Ballet School.  She joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1981 where she danced a variety of contrasting roles.  In 1985, she joined the Stuttgart Ballet where she extended her classical repertoire.  She was invited under the direction of Sir Peter Wright to join Birmingham Royal Ballet in September 1994, where she danced many principal roles. Ms. Batcheller is also co-founder of Configuration Dance and co-directed the company for 7 years.  At present, Ms. Batcheller is the Artistic Director for the Ballet Conservatory of South Texas, a ballet academy and pre-professional company.  She has taught master classes at Boston Ballet, Walnut Hill, Portland (ME) Ballet, and all over the states and Europe.

Lee Wei Chao received early ballet training from Xiao Lee, who brought from Russia the Vaganova ballet method to Taiwan.  His training continued at the National Institute for the Arts in Taipei.  He came to the U.S. in 1996 and danced at The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and the Festival Ballet of Rhode Island before joining the Milwaukee Ballet Company from 1998 through 2005.  Since 2001, Mr. Chao has been guest choreographer and teacher in various parts of the states.  In 2002 and 2003 he was commissioned for new works by the Milwaukee Ballet Company, Beyond Invisible and Edge of Silence, which premiered in 2003 and 2004 respectively. He also designed the stage sets and costumes, which gave him the opportunity to incorporate other aspects of his creative ability.  Currently based in San Francisco, CA, Mr. Chao is on the faculty of The School of the Arts San Francisco Dance Center (Lines Ballet), Lines Ballet School and ODC San Francisco.

Luis Fuente received his early training in Madrid, Spain.  In 1969 he was selected as Best Male Dancer at the Dance Festival of Vienna.  He joined Joffrey Ballet as a leading dancer at age eighteen.  He was a Principal Dancer with the National Ballet of Washington, National Ballet of Holland, and London Festival Ballet dancing leading roles in their classical, neoclassical and contemporary repertoires.  Mr. Fuente has been co-director, choreographer, and ballet master for the Spanish National Ballet and has choreographed for ballet companies throughout Europe and the United States.  He was ballet master for the Joffrey Ballet for many years.  He currently does freelance teaching around the country. He has recently relocated to Houston and is currently teaching at the Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre.

Lisa Woods is best known for her passion for dance and creative choreography.  She earned a full scholarship to Robert Joffrey’s School of Ballet in NYC.  Lisa chose to utilize another scholarship from Joe Tremaine and at the age of 17 moved to LA. She has appeared in videos, television productions, and national commercials for McDonalds and Diet Coke. She has danced with Paula Abdul, tapped with Tony Danza, and was the Dance Club Barbie.  She is proudest of her husband, and her three children.

2010 Summer Workshop Registration Form

Download here

Schedules: Level 1, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5

Christina Woodard -TEACHER/CHOREOGRAPHER/DIRECTOR Christina's unique style and challenging classes have put her in demand as a master teacher and choreographer throughout the world. Her extensive knowledge of anatomy, allows her to provide exciting and educational classes with a deep focus on stretch, strength and placement; while her incredible energy and compassion has made her popular with dancers of all ages. She is a faculty member of EDGE Performing Arts Center (Hollywood, CA), Dance Masters of America, Groove Street Dance Conventions and Harbour Dance Center in Canada. Christina's TV and FILM credits include: Motion City Soundtrack "HER WORDS" Music Video, iCARLY (Nickelodeon), GARY UNMARRIED w/ Rob Riggle (CBS), The STEVE HARVEY SHOW (WB), SUDDENLY SUSAN w/Brooke Shields (WB), FAME (Sony), and THE NIKKI COX SHOW (WB). She has also done Industrials for GUESS, DISNEY, NESTLE AND NIKE. Currently Christina is teaching all over the country, and choreographing on the new show "Victorious" with Victoria Justice, scheduled to air in March on Nickelodeon.

Sasha Yapparov was born in Russia and received his academic and ballet training at the Perm State Ballet School, Russia.  Mr. Yapparov studied with some of the finest teachers in his country such as Julius Plahkta student of the celebrated Professor A. Y. Vaganova, founder of the present system of Russian ballet training.  Mr. Yapparov danced with the Sverdlovsk Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, the Bolshoi Theater in Uzbekistan.  During his performing career, Mr. Yapparov worked with such prominent teachers and artists such as Plisetskaya and Gordeev. He was invited as a guest principal throughout the former Soviet Union, Europe and Canada.  He has won numerous prestigious awards for highly creative works and for artistic performances.  Mr. Yapparov was a ballet master for the Sarasota Ballet of Florida for 11 years.  He was a guest faculty member in the prestigious school of Dance at North Carolina School of the Arts in 2007-2008.  Currently Mr. Yapparov is teaching at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C.

Mireille Favarel was born in Toulon, France. After studying at the Centre de Danse International in Cannes, France, Ms. Favarel began her professional career at the age of 17 with the Ballet du Rhin in Strasbourg, France and subsequently joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium as a soloist. She later joined the Ballet der Deutsch oper anm Rhein in Düsseldorf, Germany as a soloist and the Ballet du Nord in France as a principal dancer.
Besides appearing with the Ballet du Nord during many of its international tours, Ms. Favarel represented France in the first New York International Ballet Competition, and was invited back to teach and perform in the competition's gala performance for two years after that.
Ms. Favarel joined the Milwaukee Ballet in 1989 as a principal dancer where she performed all the major roles in the company repertoire. The most famous are her interpretation of Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, Coppelia, and Giselle. In 1990, Tom Strini from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel named her “Dancer of the Year” for her interpretation of Swan Lake, Serenade, and Coppelia. In May 2000, Ms. Favarel gave her farewell performance performing Jean Paul Comelin’s Mozart’s Requiem and the Dying Swan for the first time. She became Ballet Mistress for the Company in August that same year.
Ms. Favarel is currently Assistant Director of MBII and the principal teacher of the highest level of the Milwaukee Ballet School, Academy II.