About

Meet the Faculty and Staff

 

	Artistic Director, Bruce Simpson joined the Louisville Ballet in 2002, bringing with him over 30 years of experience in the international ballet world. He studied at the Scottish Ballet School in Edinburgh before joining the Wuppertal Dance Company in Germany. In 1970, he was recruited by the State Theatre Ballet in South Africa, where he rose through the ranks to principal dancer. In 1983, he was appointed ballet master. In that role, he was repétiteur, teacher, and coach, refining productions of the Company’s repertoire of over sixty ballets. Mr. Simpson has received numerous awards of distinction for his interpretation of the classics. He has staged works by some of the world’s leading choreographers and has coached and danced with some of the greatest dancers of our time. Mr. Simpson has been a guest of the major dance companies and schools throughout the world. In 2000, he was invited to lead Texas Ballet Theater, where he was commissioned to create new productions of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Mr. Simpson was the jury co-chair at the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS.
	School Director, Elena Diehl a native of Fallon, NV began her dance training at the age of 13. She studied with such distinguished instructors as George Zorich, Melissa Lowe, Jory Hancock, Michael Williams, Amy Ernst, Susan Quinn and Sam Watson. She graduated with honors from the University of Arizona, receiving both a BFA and MFA in Dance. Mrs. Diehl danced professionally with the Louisville Ballet, BalletMet, Colorado Ballet and most recently as a member of the Moving Collective. She has danced internationally with jazz dance companies QuinnWilliamsJazz and LaJAZDANZ and with the Space Dream Musical Theater production in Berlin, Germany. As a graduate student at the University of Arizona, Mrs. Diehl received the “Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award”. She has taught at schools across the country as a guest instructor and also at Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts. Mrs. Diehl was named School Director of the Louisville Ballet School in 2008.
	Senior Ballet Master, Harald Uwe Kern studied with the Ballet School of the Vienna State Opera and at the Academie de la Danse de Princess Grace, Monte Carlo. He has received many awards including the Rudolf Nureyev Scholarship Award, the Paris International Dance Competition – prix d’interpretation and an Award for Artistic Achievement from the New York International Ballet Competition. Mr. Kern has performed as a soloist and principal dancer with the Vienna State Opera Ballet, Basel Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Internationale and Charleston Ballet Theater. He has danced leading roles in most of the major classical and romantic ballets and won critical acclaim for his interpretation of roles in ballets by Ashton, Cranko, Massine, Nureyev, Neumeier, Spörli, Balanchine, Kilian and many more. Under the guidance of Irina Kolpakova and Vladilen Semyonov, he became a teacher and coach. He has been the Associate Artistic Director of the Channel Islands Ballet (California) and a guest instructor with schools, colleges and companies around the USA, Europe and Japan. Mr. Kern teaches ballet in the Pre-Professional level.
	Ballet Mistress, Mikelle Bruzina, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, is a graduate of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and has been dancing with the Louisville Ballet since 1995. Ms. Bruzina began teaching in Japan in 1991 and has extensive experience teaching ballet and pointe technique as well as rehearsing and coaching young dancers throughout the United States. Ms. Bruzina credits one of her first teachers with instilling a love for the arts and the discipline for lifelong success. She continues her tenure this season with the Louisville Ballet as Ballet Mistress and is thrilled to continue teaching ballet in the Intermediate and Pre-Professional Divisions of the Louisville Ballet School.
	Leigh Anne Albrechta Originally from Fremont, Ohio, Leigh Anne trained at Fremont Ballet under the direction of Ernst Hillenbrand and at Ballet Theatre of Toledo with Nigel Burgoine and Anne Marie Getz. She attended The Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts as a scholarship recipient and graduated in 2007. She danced with North Carolina Dance Theatre for two years as a trainee and apprentice where she performed in Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Romeo and Juliet and Dwight Rhoden’s world premiere of Othello. This is Leigh Anne’s third season with the Louisville Ballet. Since joining the Company she has especially enjoyed performing roles in Swan Lake, Smiling Underneath, Giselle and Rite of Spring. She joined the Louisville Ballet School Faculty in 2011, teaching Yoga for the Louisville Ballet School’s Adult Division.
	Ami Andersen recently moved from Minneapolis MN, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Northwestern College. Ami was introduced to ballet when she accompanied classes at the St. Paul City Ballet. She has also done freelance accompanying, taught private voice and piano lessons, and written music. Ami will be working the front desk and accompanying a couple classes and is excited to be part of the arts community here in Louisville.
	Theresa Bautista trained in Southern Indiana and Louisville, gaining experience in both dance and musical theatre. While earning her biology degree from Indiana University, she continued her dance studies in a program headed by Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. Theresa is a freelance dancer, choreographer and teacher and has danced with the Anna Sapozhnikov’s MOYAMO DANCE, Gordon Dance Projects, jan street dance theatre, and as a soloist with Art! Art! Barking Dog Dance Company. In 2006, she created and continues to co-produce Moving Collective, a venue to promote the works of independent choreographers and contemporary dance to the Louisville Region. Theresa was the Associate Director of Courtney Weber School of Dance and is currently teaching at several dance studios in the Louisville area. Theresa has been featured in several Louisville publications as a next generation of performers to watch, and her choreography has been presented at the Southeast Regional Ballet Festival in 2005 and 2009. Theresa teaches tap in the Youth Open Division.
	Tamara Begley is a graduate of the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, and earned her B.F.A. in Choreography and Performance from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Upon graduation, Tamara was awarded an internship in Washington, D.C. at Dance Place, one of the nation’s most prolific presenters of dance. She has performed with Jessica Marchant in Washington, D.C., John Gamble Dance Theater in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Louisville’s Art! Art! Barking Dog Dance Company and jan street dance theatre, and is currently a member of Beth Rodriguez Dance Projects. Tamara co-produces Moving Collective, a venue to promote the works of independent choreographers and bring greater awareness of contemporary dance to the region. In addition to her work as a producer, dancer and choreographer, Tamara joined the Louisville Ballet School faculty as a modern dance instructor in 2006 and teaches modern in the Youth Open/Elective Division.
	Tiffany Bovard was born and raised in Charles Town, WV and began her dance training at Vostrikov’s Academy of Ballet. She graduated magna cum laude from Butler University, receiving a BFA with honors in dance performance and business. Professionally, she has danced with Elements Contemporary Ballet under the direction of Mike Gosney. This will be Tiffany’s second season with Louisville Ballet and her first year teaching on faculty.
	Helen Daigle is a native of Louisiana and returns for her twelfth season with the Louisville Ballet. She has trained with the Decatur School of Ballet, the Dancer’s Workshop, The Joffrey Ballet School and The School of American Ballet. Prior to turning professional, she danced with the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre for eight years. Helen began her professional career with Feld Ballets/New York and has performed with Ballet Hispanico and the Miami City Ballet. She has performed featured roles in a range of works including Lark Ascending, In the Glow of the Night, Cold Virtues, Who Cares?, Scheherazade, Company B and The Magic Flute. Helen joined the faculty of the Louisville Ballet School in 2009, teaching ballet in the Intermediate Division.
	Amy Trier Delaney, a Louisville native, holds a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Pedagogy from Indiana University, Bloomington. She has studied with, among others: Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, Jacques Cesbron, Nancy Bielsky, Finis Jung, Robert Barnet, and Jurgen Pagels. Mrs. Delaney has been a teacher, choreographer and Director in places such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky. She directed the dance department at Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in New Jersey for four years, where she produced shows for the Center and the local community. Mrs. Delaney also taught for the Indiana University Ballet Program. She was an instructor at Ursuline School for the Performing Arts for their dance program and was on the faculty at Sacred Heart Academy as their dance instructor. Mrs. Delaney also served as a choreographer for both USPA and SHA productions. Mrs. Delaney founded, owned and directed The A.R.T. Centre – an Academy of Dance here in Louisville. She currently teaches ballet in the Elementary division.
	Erica De La O, born in Los Angeles, California, trained at Le Studio under the direction of Cynthia Young, Phillip and Charles Fuller and continued studies with Stephan Wenta, Alicia Head and Daylena Ruiz. Erica danced with Columbia City Ballet before joining the Louisville Ballet as a First Soloist in 2003. She has performed the lead roles in works such as Simpson’s Giselle and Swan Lake; Jones’s Cinderella, Coppelia and Nutcracker; Balanchine’s Theme and Variations; Prokovsky’s The Three Musketeers; Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker and Four Seasons; and Heather Maloy’s Vampire. De La O’s repertory includes Hougland’s Cold Virtues, Fragile Stasis, Fleeflow, and Rite of Spring; Gamonet’s Nous Sommes; Stevenson’s Four Last Songs; McDowney‘s Group Therapy and Por El Fuego; Ashton’s Les Patineus; Cipolla’s Breathless; Picket’s Etesian; Choo-San Goh‘s In the Glow of Night; Taylor’s Company B among others. De La O was awarded 2nd place at the Music Center Spotlight Awards of Los Angeles and is a recipient of the 1999 John Orr Award from the Pasadena Arts Council. She was a finalist at the New York International Ballet Competition in 2003 and was invited to perform in the NYIBC Gala Performance at Lincoln Center receiving a favorable review from The New York Times.
	Diana Dinicola holds a diploma for the advanced level intensive training program at the Fundacion Cristina Heeren de Arte Flamenco in Sevilla, Spain. She has attended the National Flamenco Institute at the University of New Mexico (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006) and returns to Spain yearly for continuing professional development. Diana trained as a theatre major at Northwestern University where she received a BS in Communications and her teaching certification. Diana is a veteran arts administrator and holds an MBA from Emory University. She performs regularly and has appeared with Antonio Vargas, Angel Munoz, Arturo Martinez and Jesus Montoya. Diana is a co-founder of Flamenco Louisville and an active educator, teaching flamenco dance in Louisville, Lexington, Cincinnati and for the Governor’s School for the Arts. In addition, she is a Showcase Kentucky and Kentucky Arts Council Education Roster artist taking flamenco into the schools as a medium for teaching core Arts & Humanities curriculum. She also works with underserved communities in Louisville and throughout the state through ArtsReach.
	Tracy N. Fischer, is a native of Northern Kentucky. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kentucky. While in college, Tracy cheered for the University of Kentucky Wildcats for three years. While on the squad, Kentucky won two of the nineteen UCA College Cheerleading National Championships titles that Kentucky holds presently. During the summer college months, Tracy worked as staff member for UCA traveling throughout the country teaching cheer camps for high school and elite college cheerleading squads.After a career in the pharmaceutical industry, Tracy began taking Pilates classes. Tracy believed in benefits of Pilates so much, she became a certified Pilates instructor. Currently, Tracy works with clients with a variety of fitness levels. She helps clients to utilize their core, increase performance, increase mobility, and control mobility where they need stability. Tracy explains to her clients, that Pilates promotes flexibility along with working on a range of muscle and joints helping clients to move more freely. Last benefit? Creating long, lean muscles resembling those of professional dancers.
	Autumn George, originally from Oregon,  she received training from the School of Oregon Ballet Theater and continued dance training at The Portland Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet School and North Carolina School of the Arts. In 2007 she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Dance from Western Oregon University. She has taught in Oregon, Arizona, and Texas. Since 2000, Autumn has also been a member of the Oregon, Arizona, Texas and Kentucky National Guard and has served a combat tour during Operation Iraqi/Enduring Freedom.
	Emily Gorman, a Louisville native, holds an MFA in Performance and Choreography from Mills College in Oakland, CA, a BS in Business from Murray State University, and is a graduate of the Youth Performing Arts School and a former member of the Louisville Ballet Civic Company. While living in California she performed in works by Molissa Fenley, Margaret Jenkins, Sonia Delwaide, DOUBLE VISION, Ballet Counterpointe, and P.U.S.H. Emily served as a faculty member at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco for six years, teaching ballet, modern, tap and jazz to adults and children as young as two. Emily has served as a choreographer and instructor in Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and California. Emily teaches ballet in the Primary and Elementary Divisions.
	Claire Horrocks is a recent graduate with a BFA in Ballet Performance from the University of Oklahoma School of Dance. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she trained in ballet, jazz, and tap for fifteen years under the primary instruction of Zippora Karz. In 2008, Claire danced nationally in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Arena Tour, and performed with the Oklahoma Festival Ballet throughout her four years at the University of Oklahoma. She is certified in both Mat and Standing Pilates with The Method Physical Mind Institute, and has recently completed a Physical Mind workshop with an emphasis on the human gait cycle. Claire recently moved to Louisville to join the Louisville Ballet Company as a Trainee for the upcoming season, and is thrilled to teach ballet and Pilates in the Primary and Adult Division.
	Margie Kathleen has been teaching Ballet for over 12 years. Her credentials include Director of the Harmony Elementary Dance Club, Dance Designs, 360 Dance, New Castle Regional Ballet Company, and the Louisville Ballet School. Ms. Kathleen holds a B.F.A. from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music where she attended on scholarship; performing Principal roles in Original Ballets and Contemporary pieces choreographed by Faculty and guest Artists from the Cincinnati Ballet and Houston Ballet. Her training started with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, New Castle Regional Ballet, and Mansur Kamaletdinov – former Ballet Master of the Kirov Ballet. Upon graduation; Ms. Kathleen retired from dancing due to chronic knee injuries; and is a dedicated mother and teacher. Promoting healthy children and dancers by becoming a Pilates instructor; to help young dancers and disabled children and adults prevent and rehabilitate injuries.
	Lisa Lamar Konar returns to Louisville after teaching ballet for 22 years in San Diego, CA. She has earned a Master of Fine Arts in Dance and is a registered Royal Academy of Dance instructor. Lisa was Assistant Director at Jean Hart Academy of Dance in San Diego where she taught ballet, pointe and musical theatre dance; stage-managed and planned all recitals, and choreographed extensively for children from the age of 4 through 18. Lisa trained on full scholarship at the National Academy of Arts in Champaign, IL and Gus Giordano’s Jazz Dance Chicago. She also danced with the Louisville Ballet Company while in high school and has come full circle now to teach at the Louisville Ballet School where she originally trained as a student.
	Jenny LaWall began her training in Monona, Wisconsin. She was a member of Dance Wisconsin that participated in the Regional Dance America Mid-States Festival. She then graduated cum laude from Butler University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. While at Butler, she had the opportunity to perform a variety of soloist roles in Cinderella, Giselle, Serenade, and in Paul Taylor’s Cloven Kingdom. She then spent two years dancing with the Louisville Ballet where she was able to perform in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, and Cinderella. Jenny is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Louisville Ballet. She is excited to be teaching Zumba in the Adult Open Division!
	Daniel Mallott joined to the Louisville Ballet School faculty in 2008. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Daniel trained with Inwood Dance Company, St. Paul’s School and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School before joining the Louisville Ballet in 2001. As a member of the Louisville Ballet for seven years, he performed leading and soloist roles in ballets such as In the Glow of the Night, The Golden Section, Beauty and the Beast, The Sleeping Beauty and Lark Ascending. Daniel has taught throughout the eastern United States and attended teaching seminars given at the American Dance Festival and by the Royal Academy of Dance. Daniel currently teaches in the Intermediate and Advanced divisions and serves as Ballet Master for the Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration – Computer Information Systems with a Minor in Mathematics from the University of Louisville.
	Kristen Noonan is a 2009 graduate of Anderson University where she earned a B.A. in Music and helped to pioneer the Dance program as one of the first minors. A native to Indianapolis, her professional performance credits include Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Motus Dance Theatre, and Actors Theatre of Indiana. In 2011, she was selected as an Emerging Choreographer for the Regional Dance America National Festival. In addition to her dance and musical theatre background, Kristen spent five years as a nationally competitive rhythmic gymnast. Currently, Kristen trains as an aerial artist and is a performer with Indy-based group, AirKISS Arts. In November 2012, she will premier an aerial piece for Motus Dance Theatre’s Cultivate. This is Kristen’s first year with the Louisville Ballet School. She is pleased to be teaching in the Primary, Youth Open, and Adult Divisions.
	Robert Morrow began his ballet training in New Orleans, Louisiana with Delta Festival Ballet and went on to train at renowned schools such as Virginia School of the Arts and The Joffrey Ballet School of NYC. Professionally, he’s danced for Nashville Ballet, Delta Festival Ballet, and Dayton Ballet. Some of his favorite roles include ‘Smee’ in Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, ’Renfield’ in Stuart Sebastion’s Dracula, as well as being featured in Alan Hineline’s Thresholds II. This is Rob’s second season with the Louisville Ballet.
	Ben Needham-Wood,  born in Massachusetts, returns to the Louisville Ballet for his third season as a company artist. While his dance education focused primarily on classical ballet technique, Ben has studied a variety of dance forms including modern, jazz, tap, hip hop, character dance, and acrobatics. Since joining the company he has appeared in such classical ballets as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and Cinderella, and has performed principal and featured roles in contemporary works by Adam Hougland, Amy Seiwert, and Helen Pickett. As a choreographer, Ben has created works for the Louisville Ballet’s Choreographers’ Showcase, the Louisville Ballet School’s Youth Ensemble, Impact Dance Project, and the College-Conservatory of Music’s Winter Showcase.In June of 2009, Ben competed in the 10th New York International Ballet Competition where he was invited to perform Paul Taylor’s “Aureole” pas de deux in the Gala performance, receiving a favorable review from The New York Times. Ben has also recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from the College-Conservatory of Music, earning his BFA in Ballet.
	Jonathan Paul was born in Rochester, NY where he studied ballet at theDraperCenterfor Dance Education. He then relocated to the Central Pennsylvanian Youth Ballet to train under Marcia Dale Weary. He was then asked by Suzanne Farrell to join The Suzanne Farrell ballet in 2010 and then joined Nevada Ballet Theater. This will be his first season with Louisville Ballet, and as a faculty of the Louisville Ballet School.
	Brandon Ragland, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, received his early training from Jacqueline Crenshaw Lockhart and continued his dance training at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. He graduated from Butler University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Dance-Arts Administration. He danced with Alabama Ballet for three seasons and had the opportunity to perform principal and soloist roles. He also served on faculty at The Alabama Ballet School, where he taught classes in Ballet technique, Jazz and Hip Hop. This is Brandon’s third season with Louisville Ballet and the Louisville Ballet School.
	Nicole Sikora graduated cum laude from Bellarmine University receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Arts Administration. Nicole received most of her dance training in Lexington, Kentucky with Kentucky Ballet Theatre and the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, where she attended high school. She also studied dance at the Governor’s School for the Arts in 2004 and Cincinnati Ballet in the summer of 2005. In college, Nicole continued to perform with the Bellarmine University Dance Team for two seasons. Nicole has most recently performed with Moving Collective in March 2009, February 2011 and November 2011. Ms. Sikora joined the Louisville Ballet School staff as the School Administrator in 2011.
	Tawnee Thompson, born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, trained at the North Star Ballet School under the direction of Norman Shelburne and Sue Perry. She spent 5 seasons with the Louisville Ballet. While with the Company, she performed in such ballets as Paquita,Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Graham Lustig’s Between Stillness, Lila York’s Celts, Val Caniparoli’s Vivace, Adam Hougland’s Right of Spring, and Swan Lake. Tawnee is also a choreographer, whose most acclaimed work, Fly Trapped in a Jar, has been performed several times in promotion of the Company. Tawnee is excited to begin her teaching career with the Louisville Ballet School this year.
	Ashley Thursby is a native of Richmond, Missouri and returns for her third season with the Louisville Ballet. While she trained primarily with the Kansas City Ballet School, she also studied with the San Francisco Ballet School, School of American Ballet, LINES Pre-Professional Program and Jillana, all on scholarship. In 2008, she graduated from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with a BSOF in Ballet and Journalism and an outside certification in Pilates. While at IU she was coached by Violette Verdy in numerous roles, including Divertimento No. 15, in which she won 2nd Place in the National Society of Arts and Letters Competition.Ashley taught Creative Movement through Advanced Ballet classes within Indiana University’s Pre-College Ballet Program. She is happy to be a new addition to the Louisville Ballet School, teaching ballet in the Primary Division.
	Emily Bond Van Bogaert, a Louisville native, graduated magna cum laude from Bellarmine University with a Bachelor’s degree in Arts Administration and completion of an Honors Program senior thesis. Emily trained pre-professionally with the Louisville Ballet School and graduated from duPont Manual High School / Youth Performing Arts School as a valedictorian. As a student and member of the Louisville Ballet Civic Company (now known as the Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble), she performed children’s and corps de ballet roles in various productions with the Louisville Ballet. She has also performed throughout the region at Southeast Regional Ballet Association and Regional Dance America Festivals as well as several summer intensive programs. Emily joined the staff of the Louisville Ballet School as School Administrator in 2008. She welcomed the birth of her daughter in 2011, and now works part-time as the School Coordinator.
	Brienne Wiltsie grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She spent her high school years training with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and also spent a season in their graduate program. In 2005, Brienne was offered a job with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and spent two years as a company member there. While dancing with PBT, she particularly loved performing in Balanchine’s Who Cares, Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, and her all-time favorite classical ballet, Swan Lake. Brienne then spent two years teaching in PBT’s school before joining the Louisville Ballet for the past two seasons. She loved having the opportunity to perform in Val Caniparoli’s brand new Brown-Forman Nutcracker, as well as The Seasons, and enjoyed every moment of performing classics (Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote, Coppelia) with the Louisville Ballet. Brienne was thrilled to start teaching with the Louisville Ballet School in 2011.
	Amber Yates is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and has over 19 years of dance performing experience in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, hip hop, and musical theatre. She has danced at several local prominent studios, performed at the Barnstable-Brown Derby Eve Gala for 2 consecutive years, studied with the U of L Ballet Academy and is a graduate of the Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS). Darrin Henson and Stepp Stewert are just a couple of the many prestigious performers under which she has studied dance.Amber has over 7 years teaching experience in creative movement, tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, musical theatre, and modern dance, from 2 1/2 to adult levels – recreational and competitive. In 2011, Amber received a Choreographer’s Award for a competitive routine, among many Judge’s Awards. Sharing her passion for dance has always been a dream of Amber’s, which she is excited to further pursue. She is currently working on a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at McKendree University.

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