Summer Ballet Workshop 2023

Welcome to our annual Summer Ballet Workshop! The program is designed to meet the needs of aspiring serious students from intermediate to advanced levels ages 10 through 18 as well as professional dancers who come to train or perform in our outdoor SUMMER DANCE CONCERT. While it offers young students the opportunity to receive daily ballet training with additional dance forms, some students may be invited to participate in the SUMMER DANCE CONCERT. Daily classes in ballet will be held as well as classes in pointe, flamenco, and jazz. Company class for professional dancers will begin May  31 and advanced student workshop will begin June 1 and run through June 24. Evening classes in flamenco and adult ballet will be offered as well.

 

Each summer distinguished guest faculty are invited to teach. Throughout the history of this school, guest teachers that have been invited to teach have included Bruce Marks, Li Chou Cheng, David Howard, Igor Youskevtich, Tatiana Grantzeva, Mia Slavenska, Elizabeth Carroll, Ron Sequioa, James Debolt, Myrtha Rosello, Sallie Wilson, Katharyn Horne, Eugene Collins, Andrea Vodenhal, Michael Vernon, Randy Newsom, Kirt Hathaway, and Kim Abel.

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This year we will have several guest master teachers.  Ruben Gerding, MFA graduate from TCU, formerly with Eugene Ballet and Texas Ballet Theater and currently Associate Professor of Dance from Southeast Missouri State University, will be here to teach as well. Resdient faculty member Liuba Paterson, a graduate of the Vagonova School in St Petersburg, Russia, former dancer with St Petersburgh Classical Ballet, will be here to teach as well and Webster Dean, Ballet Concerto Associate Artistic Director, former soloist with Ballet West, Milwaukee Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and Royal New Zealand Ballet. Christen Ashley, former student of Margo Dean and former Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Black Dance Academy, and founder and director of dance at I.M. Terrell Academy, will teach classes in Horton technique modern dance.

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Possible performance opportunity for selected students in Ballet Concerto's 41st annual outdoor SUMMER DANCE CONCERT, to be held on an outdoor stage at Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork, will be held on June 22, 23, 24, & 25.

 

"Interaction with professional companies is an essential experience for young persons desiring professional dance careers. This exposure motivates students to drop past concepts of their limitations and stretch toward new goals."
Bruce Marks, Artistic Director Emeritus, Boston Ballet

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College Credit is available through Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA.

 

Class Schedule

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Enroll by May 1 and receive a 10% discount.

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Intermediate Ballet for ages 10 – 16 8:50 am - 11:30 pm 1st two weeks; 3rd week 9:20 am – 12:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Ballet technique class followed by Flamenco, Pointe, Variations, Modern Dance ........ $560

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Advanced/Intermediate Ballet for ages 13 and up - 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Monday through Friday; Ballet technique class followed by Flamenco, Modern Dance, Pointe/Boy’s class, or Variations...........................$560

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Company Class - Professional Ballet Technique Class - 11:30 - Monday through Friday, Saturday time tba; Professional level Ballet Class followed by rehearsals for those involved in performance.........................$400

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Evening Classes

​Adult Ballet - 6:30 & 7:45 pm, beg/intermediate & intermediate, Tuesday and Thursday

    

 

 

Registration: Class size is limited to maintain quality instruction. Registration fee of $40 for students not already enrolled in the school. To enroll, register online or send in a non-refundable deposit of $100.00 applicable toward tuition plus registration fee of $40. Balance of tuition is due by May 15.

 

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Dress

Girls and Ladies: Solid black leotard; no lace, spider backs, or stringed leotards. No rubber pants or T-shirts are allowed in class.

Boys and Men: White T-shirt, black tights, black ballet shoes or white ballet shoes with white socks.

Flamenco Dance: Shoes with heels: Girls wear skirt and leotard: Boys wear shirt and pants.

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Faculty

RUBEN GERDING, guest teacher, received his early training from the Louisville Ballet and danced professionally with the Eugene Ballet and Texas Ballet Theater. He received his BFA in Ballet Performance from the University of Oklahoma and his MFA in Classical & Contemporary Dance from Texas Christian University. Rubén is currently Assistant Professor of Dance at Southeast Missouri State.

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TAUNA HUNTER, guest teacher, is Professor Emeritus and Chair of Dance Mercyhurst University, former principal Ballet West, Dallas Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Concerto. She began her dance training with Willam F. Christensen and continued at the University of Utah where she earned B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees in ballet performance and choreography.  She performed as a principal dancer with Ballet West and Dallas Ballet and appeared as a guest artist with Ballet Concerto and numerous regional companies throughout the United States.  During her affiliation with Ballet West, she worked under the guidance of Bruce Marks and Toni Lander and received critical acclaim as one of the company’s leading ballerinas.  In 1982, she placed as a semi-finalist at the II International Competition in Jackson Mississippi.  She was a Guest Artist in Residence for the Interlochen Arts Academy summer dance program. She has been honored with the Chautauqua Artist Teacher Award, Erie Arts and Culture Life Time Achievement Award, the University of Utah Legacy Award and was highlighted in the July 2017 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine.

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BRANDON NGUYEN, guest teacher, found his love for dance at the Margo Dean School of Ballet. He furthered his training on a full scholarship at Houston Ballet Academy. He danced with Orlando Ballet under direction of Bruce Marks and later, Robert Hill. While in Orlando he also became an artist with Cirque du Soleil as a lead male dancer in La Nouba. In 2010 he performed with Mariah Carey for the Disney Christmas Day Parade. He subsequently was a dancer with Atlanta Ballet.

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LIUBA KOZEREVA PATERSON, resident ballet faculty (company class, intermediate and advanced ballet), is a graduate of the Vaganova Ballet School in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has toured Europe and America with the St. Petersburg Classic Ballet. She has been associated with this school and Ballet Concerto since 1993. She is a free-lance guest teacher and a frequent company teacher at Nevada Ballet Theater.

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CATHY KIEFER, guest teacher, (intermediate ballet) began her ballet training at the Margo Dean School of Ballet in Fort Worth where she was a member of Ballet Concerto. She trained with Harkness House and School of American Ballet in New York, at the San Francisco Ballet School, and with Rosella Hightower in Cannes, and has performed with the Fort Worth Opera and with the San Diego Ballet. Cathy currently teaches at the San Diego School of Ballet and for the San Diego Ballet Company and at other schools in the San Diego area.

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WEBSTER DEAN, associate artistic director, is a former soloist with Ballet West, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and has danced seasons with Ballet Oregon, the Milwaukee, Colorado, and Richmond Ballets and also in musical theater. Teachers and choreographers he has worked with during his career include Bruce Marks, Toni Lander, Denise Schultze, Fernando Bujones, David Howard, and Michael Vernon. He holds a BFA from University of Utah. He has taught at this school for the past twenty three years and is repetiteur and associate artistic director for Ballet Concerto. He has been a guest stager of Bruce Marks’ works for Nevada Ballet Theater, the Orlando Ballet, Ballet West, Charleston Ballet Theater, and Kansas City Ballet. He has been a guest instructor of ballet at Texas Christian University.

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ROSE MARIE MILLER (adult ballet) is a graduate of Notre Dame University, has been with this school for twenty one years and is and specializes in teaching young children and adults.  She has also performed with Ballet Concerto.  She brings expertise and a clear knowledge of teaching to her classes along with skill and patience.

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KATHLEEN STEINER (intermediate ballet), is the founder/director of Trinity Valley School of Ballet in Keller. She holds a BFA from the University of Akron and is a former soloist with Ballet Concerto. She danced professionally for 20 years with numerous companies including the Nevada Festival Ballet, the Ohio, Birmingham, Tyler, Denton, and Coshocton Ballet Companies.

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CHRISTEN ASHLEY is a Fort Worth native, and a BFA recipient from Howard University, and a proud legacy of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and certified in teaching the Lester Horton Technique. She began her formal training at Margo Dean School of Ballet. Mrs. Reyes performed with Dallas Black Dance Theatre: Encore! for 3 seasons, simultaneously serving as the rehearsal assistant for 2 seasons. She is the Founder & Director of Dance at I.M. Terrell Academy STEM & VPA. 

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MARGARITA BRUCE (flamenco/Spanish dance) is an experienced professional in the world of Spanish dance, in both flamenco and classsical Spanish dance.  She has been a featured dancer working with such luminaries as Jose Greco, Jose Molino, Manolo Rivera and Luis Montero and has been guest soloist with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony Orchestra and the Portland Opera.  Her teaching skills have included colleges, ballet companies, and private schools.  She has been a principal Spanish dancer with Ballet Concerto and teacher for Margo Dean School of Ballet over the past 20 years.

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PERLA MONTOYA (flamenco/Spanish dance) began her Flamenco studies at age 9 and has studied and performed Spanish dance with such notables as Jose Greco, Nana Lorca and Jose Molina, and has performed Compania de Arte Espanol, Gisela Noreiga's Ballet Espanol, Eduardo Montemayor's Ballet Fantasia Espanol, La Presy, at the Kennedy Center  in Washington, D.C., and is a principal Spanish dancer with Ballet Concerto. She has taught for Margo Dean School of Ballet over the past 10 years.

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The following choreographers have been engaged to choreograph and stage ballets for Ballet Concerto's annual outdoor SUMMER DANCE CONCERT:

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LUIS MONTERO, guest choreographer, is an international Spanish Dancer and Choreographer and has been choreographing and performing with Ballet Concerto for over twenty years. Born in Granada, Spain, Luis studied Spanish Classical, Folkloric and Flamenco dancing with many of Spain's masters. He will re-stage one of his works previously created for Ballet Concerto's  SUMMER DANCE CONCERT. 

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ELISE LAVALLEE, resident choreographer, is a former student of Margo Dean and a former member of Ballet Concerto and the Bruce Wood Dance Company. She has performed and choreographed in numerous productions at Casa Mañana and has received awards for her choreography. She has taught for Margo Dean, Kids Who Care, at Texas Wesleyan University, All Saints Episcopal School, and for the Arlington Heights High School Dance Program and is in much demand as a choreographer and director in the metroplex. Most recently she created a new work for both years of Ballet Concerto's 2016 & 2017 SUMMER DANCE CONCERT and was director and choreographer of Theater Arlington's Cinderella.

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WEBSTER DEAN, associate artistic director, is a former soloist with Ballet West, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and has danced seasons with Ballet Oregon, the Milwaukee, Colorado, and Richmond Ballets and also in musical theater and opera. Teachers and choreographers he has worked with during his career include Bruce Marks, Toni Lander, Denise Schultze, Fernando Bujones, David Howard, and Michael Vernon. He holds a BFA from University of Utah. He has taught at this school for the past twenty three years and is repetiteur and associate artistic director for Ballet Concerto. He has been a guest stager of Bruce Marks’ works for Nevada Ballet Theater, the Orlando Ballet, Ballet West, Charleston Ballet Theater, and Kansas City Ballet. He has been a guest instructor of ballet at Texas Christian University.

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