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Guest Faculty

Texas Youth Ballet has had the following Instructors as former instructors, guest artists, and temporary artists in residence. We are grateful to them all for sharing their love of dance with our students:


Sebastion Viney - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Sebastian Vinet
Ballet

Born in Santiago de Chile, Vinet began ballet training at Escuela de Ballet del Teatro Muncipal de Santiago. After two years under full scholarship he moved to Houston, Texas to finish his training at Ben Stevenson Houston Ballet Academy. In 2009 he joined theHouston Ballet and in 2010 the San Francisco Ballet. Vinet danced principal roles by renowned choreographers including Marcia Haydée, Kenneth Macmillan, William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon, Helgi Tomasson, Stanton Welch, Mark Morris, Ben Stevenson, Demis Volpi, Val Caniparoli, John Cranko, among others. He has been invited to dance at international ballet galas in England, Denmark, China, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Ethiopia, Colombia, Japan, Australia, the United States, Hungary,Canada, Peru, Paraguay and Switzerland – where he was one of the winners and an apprenticeship recipient at the 2009 Prix de Lausanne. Vinet also was a recipient of the Premio Jovenes Líderes del diario El Mercurio (2009) – an award to Chilean artists, presented by the ambassador of Chile in the United States. Vinet appeared as a special guest dancer at the 2009 Grammy Awards and holds a parallel career as a model, appearing in campaigns for brands like Armani, Burberry, Newman and Dolce and Gabbana, and has been featured in Vogue. In 2017 Vinet was the artistic director and creator of the first international ballet gala to be presented at the emblematic theater in Chile Teatro Oriente. In 2018 he was mentioned in Dance Australia as one of the best performances of the night during the premiere of FORTE in Melbourne, Australia and in 2020 he directed and founded the digital show interMission, a production filmed in three continents gathering some of ballet’s biggest stars all coming together digitally to raise funds for the international charity Save The Children.

Most recently, Vinet was honored to be a 2020-22 Prix de Lausanne competition jurist in Switzerland, being the youngest person in the history of the prestigious competition to be invited tojoin the panel of judges


Michelle Dulin - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Michelle Dulin
Ballet, Company Manager

Michelle began assisting Mrs. Dulin in class when she was 11 years old. She taught her first class at 13, and has been teaching steadily for the last 8 years. She knows every student’s birthday, is well-versed in the Marcia Weary training method©, and has observed Marcia’s classes at CPYB. She performed Swanhilda in “Coppelia” at the age of 17, and was accepted into the traineeship for Avant Chamber Ballet in Dallas in Spring 2021. A theatre triple-threat, Michelle has appeared in the DFW area in musicals as Bella Dova in Phantom, Dream Laurie in Oklahoma, Victoria in Cats, the Apache Dancer in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Buttons in Newsies, Andrina in Little Mermaid, and others. She is currently dancing for Six Flags over Texas in their entertainment division, where she has been featured dancer in Deep in the Heart and performed with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders in their Six Flags 4th of July appearance.



Deb Jones - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Deb Jones
Luigi Jazz

Deb began her teaching career in dance in 1984 and became the Artistic Director of DJ’s Dance Studio which she owned and operated from 1989 through 2009. During this time she co-founded the Legacy Tap Project whose mission is to preserve historical tap choreography through education, documentation, master classes, and performance. Certified by the American Tap Dance Institute, Deb Jones has been a guest teacher from the Midwest to the West Coast as well as the Riviera Maya area of Mexico. She earned her graduate degree in dance from Texas Woman’s University. Deb was recently certified to teach Luigi-style jazz.



Margaret Wilkerson - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Margaret Wilkerson
Musical Theatre and Voice

Margaret was classically trained in voice and majored in history in college. She began performing locally at Six Flags and Casa Mañana, and her musical theatre skills brought her to Broadway, where she appeared in the revival of Sound of Music, toured as Rachel York’s understudy in the national Broadway tour of Kiss Me Kate, with the national Broadway tour of South Pacific. She has performed lead roles at Paper Mill Playhouse and many other theatres nationwide. She teaches our Musical Theatre summer intensive, and offers private voice lessons.




Glen Dawson - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Glen Dawson
Modern

Ms. Dawson has a wealth of expertise. She received her BFA in Dance and Theatre from the University of Texas in Austin and her MFA in Dance from SMU. She received additional training under such greats as Agnes De Mille, Marcel Marceau, and Alvin Ailey, among others. Ms. Dawson has taught in public and private school settings, and she taught at McCallum Performing Arts High School in Austin where she developed the dance curriculum and dance program for the school and for Austin I.S.D. She has served as an adjunct professor at several local colleges and taught dance and yoga at local studios. She is also an avid athlete. Ms. Glen teaches adults and childrens classes at Contemporary in ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary and acting.



Tim Fox - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Tim Fox
Ballet

Tim Fox was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He received his early training from Moscelyne Larkin and Roman Jasinski who danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. At the age of 13 he was awarded a Ford Foundation Scholarship and he studied at both The School of American Ballet (SAB) and American Ballet Theater School (ABT) in New York City.

While at the School of American Ballet he trained with Stanley Williams, Andre Kramarevsky, Alexandra Danilova and Suki Schorer. He was chosen to perform lead roles in Divertimento #15 (Balanchine), Scenes du Ballet (Danilova) and Jerome Robbins ballet Interplayfor the annual year end Workshop Performance. Following the performances he was personally invited by George Balanchine to join the New York City Ballet. As a member of New York City Ballet he performed original works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins.

In 1986 Mr. Fox joined the San Francisco Ballet under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. As a principal dancer he performed roles in Symphony in C, Four Temperaments, Serenade (Balanchine), Fancy Free, Interplay (Jerome Robbin), Forgotten Land (Jiri Kylian), Mercutio in Michael Smuin’s Romeo & Juliet, Paul Taylor’s Sunset, Ballet d'Isoline (Tomasson) as well as works by Val Caniporoli. After retiring from performing Mr. Fox pursued a teaching career working with The Washington Ballet, The Boston Ballet School, Ballet Academy East (NYC), Maryland Youth Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet-Summer Faculty. He has choreographed works for Huntsville Ballet, Nittany Ballet, Allegheny Ballet, Midland Festival Ballet as well as competition pieces for YAGP.



Matt Rivera - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Matt Rivera
Ballet

Matt Rivera has spent the better part of the past 30 years dancing and performing throughout the country and around the world. He began his career on the concert stage performing with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago,and then in NYC with the companies of Eliot Feld (Feld Ballets/NY) and Twyla Tharp (THARP!),and later on with The American Dance Machine for the 21st Century. On the theater stage Matt worked with several Broadway touring companies including Movin’ Out, Swing!(Assistant Dance Captain),and CATS; his off-Broadway work includes Martha Clarke’s Garden of Earthly Delights(Dance Captain) and Lynne Alvarez’splay Romola & Nijinsky. Also, Matt’s Las Vegas performing credits include Cirque Du Soleil’s Viva ELVIS and MAMMA MIA!(Dance Captain). Currently, Matt is a company instructor for Bruce Wood Dance and is on faculty at several schools in the Dallas area.




Michael Blake - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Michael Blake
Jazz

Michael Blake holds an MFA in dance from Purchase College, and a 2010 Bessie Award for Dance and Performance. He began his dance career in the Murray Louis Dance Company where he danced from 1982 - 1984. In 1985, Michael moved to Osaka, Japan to become to manager of Studio Dancin'. In 1986, he joined the Jose Limon Dance Company, dancing principal roles until 1991.Michael danced with Donald Byrd/The Group from 1991 - 1998. He has also danced with PARADIGM Dance, Joyce Trisler Danscompany, Shapiro and Smith, and Netta Yerushalmy. He has appeared on stage in Vinnette Carroll's, What You Gonna Name That Pretty Little Baby?, choreographed by Talley Beatty at the Supper Club, NYC, a national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the Public Theater's rock-musical, Lenny and the Heartbreakers, toured with Cab Calloway in Cab Colloway's Cotton Club Review, and danced in the films The Adventures of Cri Cri (Murray Louis/Alwin Nikolais), and Unsettled Dreams (Donald Byrd).

He has taught numerous workshops both nationally and internationally. He was Artistic Director of the Jazz and Contemporary Trainee Program at the Joffrey Ballet School from 2011- 2017. Michael currently teaches open Contemporary dance classes at Stepson Broadway, and Peridance Capezio Center in New York City. He is on the dance faculty at Hunter College, teaching Jazz Dance for The Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program, and the BA Undergraduate Dance Program.



Andrea Hill - Tedas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Andrea Hill
ballet

Andrea Hill is founder and Artistic Director of City Ballet, which has almost 150 students enrolled exclusively in classical ballet – the only school of its type in the region. Celebrating a 30-year teaching career (1992-2022), Andrea’s students have received numerous awards and recognition: four accepted into the School of American Ballet year-round; five accepted into the UNCSA year-round; two students receiving the prestigious Rudolph Nureyev Foundation Award (2002-2003 and 2018-2019), two recipients of American Ballet Theatre's "National Training Scholarship" in 2003 and 2004, Jerome Robbins Scholarship, and three recipients of the NSLI for Youth Moscow (invited to study at the Bolshoi in Moscow) in 2011, 2014, and 2016 (awards are given to only 15 to 20 dancers among thousands worldwide). Andrea’s former students have danced professionally with American Ballet Theatre, Miami City Ballet, Ballet Magnificat!, Peridance Contemporary Dance Co. (NYC), Ballet Memphis, Smuin Ballet, Nicolas Andrea Contemporary Company (NYC), Avant Chamber Ballet (Dallas),and many others.





Fredrick Davis - Texas Youth Ballet Guest Faculty

Fredrick Davis
Ballet

Fredrick Davis was born in New York and moved to Chatanooga, TN at a young age.His journey from the streets of Chatanooga to Dance Theatre of Harlem was chronicled in the documentary “From the Streets to the Stage the Journey of Fredrick Davis” directed by Emily Compton in 2015. Fred trained at Ballet Tennessee and Dance Alive Program, then at Joffrey Ballet School (New York). He attended Summer Intensives at ABT, Boston Ballet and other organizations on Full scholarship.

Fredrick joined Dance Theatre of Harlem in May 2008 and remained until June 2015.While there he danced Agon, Lark Ascending, Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, Vessels, The Greatest Pas De Deux, Raymonda, New Bach, Le Corsair, and many more works.

Fredrick had the honor of dancing in Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Vision Gala for Arthur Mitchell, along with Misty Copeland (ABT), Matthew Prescott (Freelancer), and Ashley Murphy (Washington Ballet).

Fred has appeared as a guest artist with many ballet companies including: Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, The Kennedy Center (DC), Albany Berkshire Ballet, Balasole Dance Company, Northeast Ballet, Tennessee Association of Dance (TAD), 2016 Ballet Fest in Atlanta, GA, Benjamin Briones Ballet, Brooklyn Ballet, Winston-Salem Festival Ballet, Balethnic Dance Company, Ballet Fantastique, New Haven Ballet, Roanoke Ballet Theatre, Style Pointe, Ballet Tennessee, Southern New Hampshire Dance Theater, Indiana Ballet Theatre, Northern California Ballet, Huntington Dance Theatre, Southwest Virginia Ballet, North Star Ballet (Fairbanks, AL), American Midwest Ballet Company, Graceful Expressions Dance.

Fred has been a guest instructor at: Ballet Tennessee, Huntington Dance Theatre, Music and Dance of French Guiana (Cayenne, French Guiana), Central New Jersey Ballet, Ballet Fest (Atlanta, GA, BalletForte at Wings Conservatory, Collierville Ballet, Dance Impressions, Berkshire Pulse, Glen Dance Studio, Artistry Dance project, Southwest Virginia Ballet, Brooklyn Ballet, Texas Youth Ballet, and the Chattanooga Department of Parks and Recreation.



Linda Brown - Ballet
A beloved instructor in the Dallas area, Linda has been a staple of the Dallas dance community for many years and taught at TYBC for six years.

Ballet Magnificat! Company Dancers - Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Worship Dance

Kathy Thibodeaux - Ballet
Silver medalist in the International Ballet competition in Jackson, Mississippi, Prima Ballerina of Ballet Magnificat!

Anastasia Bradbury - Character/Folk Dance
Masters in Choreography from State Academy of Culture and Arts - Luhansk, Ukraine

Debra Bale - Ballet
Former Principle dancer in Atlanta Ballet, guest artist at several dance companies.

Yulia Ilina - Ballet
St. Petersburg Ballet, Avant Chamber Ballet.

Michael Mayes - Contemporary
Former Dancer with Alonso King Lines Company

Alexis De Nure - Flamenco
Alexis made her professional debut with The José Greco Company (under the stage name Lola Zalamea as Mr. Greco had me change my name for stage when she started with his company), dancing flamenco, folk dances, and Classical Spanish Dance with a high proficiency in castanet playing.Alexis also danced in Madrid, Spain, with La Tati’s Flamenco Dance Theater Company and at the tablao, Casa Patas.While she lived in Spain, shewas chosen to dance in the documentary “Flamenco Women”, directed by Mike Figgis (director of Leaving Las Vegas).She also danced with The Washington National Opera under Plácido Domingo at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

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