|
Karla Sweeney, the director, graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA in Ballet. She danced with Ballet West and several regional companies in the Southwest, performing in the Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, Coppelia, and others. She then toured the United States and Mexicio as the featured dancer with Disney on Parade Mary Poppins show, and then traveled to England and South Africa with other Disney productions. She, her husband Brian, and a long-time colleague, Kate McGhee, founded St. Croix Ballet as Stonebridge Ballet in 1991.
Cheri Bell brings a very special gift for working with little ones, and has been teaching for twenty-plus years, during which time she hsas studied the French, Italian and Russian methods of ballet instruction. She also studied locally with numerous professional companies in the Twin Cities area, including Andahaczy and Joe Savino before studying in Chicago with some of the Windy City's top instructors.
Susan and Robert Hovey are recently returned from a 17-year visit to Germany! Originally from the Twin Cities area, they danced here and in Tennesee and Nevada before going to Germany to dance with several state ballet companies there. After years of performing productions such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Nutcracker, and Coppelia, they decided to open their own studio. Lo and behold, 17 years passed before the call to return to the United States brought them back. We're delighted to have them working with our studio.
Grigoriy Ilyevskiy performed Russian folk dance throughout Asia and Europe before coming to the United States. Since arriving here, he has danced many principal parts with Ballet Minnesota, James Sewell Ballet, Ballet Jubilate, the American Russian Dance Company, as well as with the Stillwater Nutcracker and Coppelia.
Nesiyan Tobak hails from Ukraine where he danced professionally with a variety of theater, opera, and ballet companies. In addition to being a first-class character dance instructor, he is also the artistic director of the American Russian Dance Company. For several years, he has performed Drosselmeyer in the Stillwater Nutcracker and the role of Coppelius in Coppelia for Ballet Jubilate.
| |
