SUMMER FACULTY
Deborah Abbott - Is returning for her 8th year as our Pilates instructor. Debbie is a graduate of Ohio University, with a BS in Education. Debbie received her Pilates training in January 2003 and currently teaching at Body Reformers in East Rockaway. Not only is Debbie an instructor for us she has also been a guest artist with EB.
Juana Cala’ - Dancer/Choreorapher, began her career with Seiskaya Ballet, where she was principal dancer and taught ballet and character classes regularly. Juana has been performing and teaching Flamenco in the United States and Europe for more than 20 years. She performed as a soloist in the Maria Benitez Dance Company under the direction of Mario Maya, and then went on to form her own company,”Ensemble Flamenco Juana Cala’”, touring Europe for 16 years. Juana has had the opportunity to work closely with acclaimed Flamenco artists such as; Antonio Canales, Javier Baron, El Junco, Alfredo Lagos, to name a few. She sat on the panel of judges ,3 years in a row ,for annual Flamenco Dance competitions organized by “La Pena Flamenca”de Milan. In 1999 Juana was professor of Flamenco in a Professional Arts Program for the European Community( a European equivalent to “The High School of Performing Arts”. She has been a resident Spanish Dance Professor in various universities across the United States.
Juana enjoys sharing her experience by teaching Flamenco and Spanish Dance, from introductory courses to Master workshops for professionals. She is presently teaching at Ballet Hispanico and Flamenco-Vivo. Juana is also a Teaching-Artist for both organizations.
Jenny Siu-kan Chiang - Jenny was born in Indonesia and went to China when she was twelve to study ballet on a scholarship at the Beijing Dance Academy. During the Cultural Revolution she was sent to labor in the rice paddies for two years before being called back to Beijing to dance as a soloist with the National Ballet of China. She made her way to England where she danced with the Northern Ballet Theatre as their prima ballerina for twelve years. During this time she guested at a number of companies and galas around the world. She was the first Beijing-trained ballerina to have a successful performing career in China and the West. Since her retirement from performing, she has taught ballet at a number of schools in the United States and abroad, including the Juilliard School, Dance Theatre of Harlem, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Vail International Dance Festival. She has coached students for international competitions, has choreographed and staged a number of ballets, has been ballet mistress for the Eglevsky Ballet, and assisted Andre Prokovsky in the new production of his Turandot for Guangzhou Ballet. She is presently teaching at Alvin Ailey School and Marymount Manhattan College, and guest teaching at Indiana University and the West Virginia Dance Festival.
Yaroslav (Slava) Fadeyev - Slava Fadeyev was born in St. Petersburg, Russia where he trained at the famed Vaganova Choreography Academy. Upon graduation he was invited to join the Kirov Ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre, where he danced soloist roles including: Giselle, Swan Lake, Walpurgis Night, La Bayadére, Fairy Doll, Legend of Love, Romeo & Juliet, Coppélia, Le Sylphide, Anna Karenina, and The Nutcracker. He also danced with Hartford Ballet in Connecticut under the artistic direction of Kirk Peterson. Additionally, Slava has danced with the New York Metropolitan Opera, Uralsky Dance Productions, Eglevsky Ballet, Sawnee Ballet Company, and other companies.
A meticulous professional skilled in classical ballet, theater and the performing arts, Slava’s fluency in Russian and English enable him to be precise and articulate in communicating ideas. He is accomplished in teaching classical ballet, partnering, character dance, and coaching for performances and competitions.
John Ferrintino
David Fernandez - Born in Mexico City, David Fernandez studied at the Centro de Arte y Ballet. He immigrated to the United States in 1989 after winning a scholarship to Giordano Jazz Dance in Chicago, where he performed with the company and received the Jeffrey Mildenstein Award. David began choreographing while studying at the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, creating contemporary works for performance in art galleries and alternative spaces.
David’s work has been featured in festivals and competitions including the Youth America Grand Prix, the Jackson Competition, and the New York International Choreographer’s Festival. In January 2009, two of his works premiered at Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera Festival; Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear starring New York City Ballet Principal Daniel Ulbricht, and Icarus APR, a Contemporary choreography created for New York City Ballet Soloist Ask La Cour. Objects in Mirror was selected as part of Ballet Builders 2010.
Most recently, David was commissioned to create a new ballet for Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble to be premiered in 2011 and his ballet “The Raven” was premiered by the New Jersey Ballet Company in October 2010. In November 2010 The Vassar Repertoire Dance Theatre Directed By John Meehan premiered a special version of David's choreography to the music of J.S. Bach title "White Shirt, Black Tie, and Black Pants"
In 2008 he was commissioned by Sergei Danilian to create a solo for New York City Ballet Principal Joaquin de Luz for the celebrated Kings of the Dance Tour that premiered at the National Opera House, Kiev, Ukraine, November 2008, and continued to tour in 2009-10. The solo, Five Variations on a Theme, has been performed on tour in Europe and in the USA at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and New York’s City Center. Also at the Youth America Grand Prix 2010 Gala - Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow.
David has also choreographed for companies across the US including Opera North, Staten Island Ballet, and Westchester Ballet Company.
During his dance career, David performed with Chicago’s Boitsov Classical Ballet dancing roles in Le Corsair, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Specter de la Rose, and Pinocchio. He danced with the Lyric Opera of Chicago for several years, performing in Aida, Faust, Ghost of Versailles, and as a soloist in Un Re in Ascolto. David was also a guest artist with the Ballet Theatre of Chicago and in Indiana University’s production of Don Quixote, directed by Susan Jones of the American Ballet Theatre. A highlight of David's later career was performing alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov in the play The Doctor and The Patient at the 2004 Lincoln Center Festival.
David is also part of the faculty at the Joffrey Ballet School, Scarsdale Ballet Studio in New York, and Westport’s Academy in Connecticut. He also teaches several Ballet and Contemporary Summer programs in USA and in Mexico City.
Andres Neira - was born in Cali, Colombia. He started his dance education at the Colombian Institute of Classical Ballet (Incolballet). Eight years of intense training provided him with the opportunity to work with teachers, choreographers and coaches of national and international notoriety. Classical ballet, repertoire, modern and contemporary styles, along with pedagogy of ballet and pedagogy of partnering were part of the main focus such training had to offer.
After graduating Mr. Neira joined the Ballet de Cali Company, where he became the youngest soloist in the company’s history to date, performing a wide variety of classical and contemporary roles worldwide.
Mr. Neira’s carrier in the U.S.A. begun when in 1996 he was awarded the first ever Lefkowitz Award for Outstanding Performance of a Solo at the New York International Ballet competition, then he went on to participate as guest dancer and guest ballet master for numerous companies in the U.S. and abroad such as New Jersey Ballet, Connecticut Ballet center, Granite State Ballet, Gainesville school of the arts, The Renval Project (Johan Renval director). As well as Danza Hoy (Caracas,Venezuela) Ballarte (Bogota, Colombia), Bejart Ballet Lausanne, to name a few.
Yuka Omori – Yuka Omori is originally from Japan. She received her professional training in Cannes, France, with Ms. Rosella Hightower, and was chosen to perform in George Balanchine's Minkus Pas de Trois for a film project for The Balanchine Foundation. Ms. Omori is a silver medalist of Itabashi Ballet Competition in Japan and has danced professionally with David Taylor Dance Theatre, Corpus Christi Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theatre and Brooklyn Ballet. As a guest artist, she danced soloist and principal roles with various companies throughout the United States and Switzerland.
Jeanne Solan - Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Ms. Solan began dance classes with Albina Hall and later Kiernan School of Ballet with Francis Kiernan ex-dancer of Ballet Russe. She also trained with Margaret Lee-Sinclair, choreographer and ex-dancer with Royal Ballet and trained at the Harkness School of Ballet. Some of her other teachers were Maggie Black, Hans Brenaa, Jack Cole, Benjamin Harkarvy, David Howard, Hans Knill, Ivan Kramar, Matt Mattox, Simon Mottram, Lawrence Rhodes, Zena Rommett, Patricia Wilde, Hector Zaraspe. She joined Princeton Ballet and later Harkness Ballet Company, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and the Netherlands Dans Theatre under the direction of Jiri Kylian. Some of the choreographers Ms. Solan worked for are George Balanchine, Christopher Bruce, John Butler, and Jack Cole, Rudi van Dantzig, Nacho Duato, Lar Lubovitch, Hans van Manen, among others. Currently Mc. Solan stages ballets including those of Jiri Kylian and she free lance teaches internationally.