Guest Teachers

Carla Otero began her classical ballet training at the Conservatory of Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico under the tutelage of the Carlota Carrera. As she advanced in her pre-professional training she had the pleasure of working with renowned ballet teachers from Latin America and abroad. As a student, Carla received scholarships to attend the summer intensives at The Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet and the 42nd Bartholin International Ballet Seminar of the Royal Danish Ballet (Copenhagen, Denmark). During these summers she trained under the guidance of Fernando Bujones, Laura Alonso and Martin James among others.

At age sixteen, Carla joined the company of Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico under the guidance of Artistic Director, Lolita San Miguel where she danced in the great classics of Giselle, Swan Lake, La Fille Mal Gardee, Copellia, Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker. In addition to her classical repertoire, Carla has danced in numerous modern and contemporary works by Jesus Miranda, Carlos Cabrera, Maria Julia Landa, Alberto Mendez and Kristen Duffy-Young. After being with the company for two years, she decided to move to Boston and pursue her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and International Relations at Simmons College. During her time as an undergraduate student, Carla was actively involved as a dancer in the Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Dance Project since it’s inception in 2006, and as a ballet instructor for LEAP (Lifelong Exercise and Activities Program) at Simmons College.

After graduating in 2010, Carla became an instructor for the COF Dance Project and is now the Assistant Director for the project. She has been invited as a guest artist to perform in the premiere of Anastasia and to dance in Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano Pas de Deux with Chambersburg Ballet Theater in Pennsylvania. Carla remains active as a dancer and choreographer and trains throughout the Boston and Cambridge areas. She also is resident ballet instructor for three studios in Massachusetts where her students have won awards at competitions throughout New England. On March 2016, Carla launched her blog series “In the Studio” where she actively publishes articles about dance on her website carlaotero.com.

With over twenty years of experience in dance and ten years teaching, Carla loves to impart her knowledge for movement to all levels and ages and work closely to develop each individual’s strengths to their highest potential.

Ballet Conservatory Director, Franklin School for the Performing Arts

National Training Curriculum examiner and ABT Young Dancer Summer Faculty.

Former company member with the Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Principal dancer for the Hartford Ballet.

Elena Martins grew up in Massachusetts and received her early training at Donna Miceli Dance Center and The Academy of Ballet Arts. She went on to graduate magna cum laude from SUNY Buffalo with a BA in dance and a minor in speech and hearing science. After graduation Elena moved to Boston, MA where she taught dance at many prestigious schools including The School of Classical Ballet, Jeannette Neill Dance Studio, Dana Hall Upper School, and Boston Dance Company, among others. She was a long time member of Prometheus Dance, as well as performing with Lorraine Chapman The Company, Luminarium Dance, Hyperbole Dance, and as a dancer in W.B. Mason television commercials. She relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2015 and has since had the privilege of working with LEVYdance, Robert Moses' Kin, Axis Dance Company, Sarah Berges Dance, RAWdance, CALI & CO dance, West Edge Opera and more. Elena continues to create, innovate and educate using dance as a means of expression for herself and her students. She is currently on faculty at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, CA. 

www.elenamartins.com

Elmer Martinez is a dance student at Emerson College. As a dancer Elmer has competed, battled, performed and taught in and around New England as well as the Midwest for the last 6 years. While his roots lie in the original Hip-Hop style of Breaking as well as Musical Theater he has trained and performed in various other styles both classical and within the Hip-Hop and Funk spectrum. Some of his favorite dance families to train and perform with include Strive for Change Lifestyle, The Expressive Movement and  Lakaï Dance Theatre. He has also received preliminary training in Ballet as well as Modern and Improv through his collegiate dance program. Elmer comes from a Salsa, Bachata and Merengue familial background and believes dance, art and music are the ultimate equalizers. 

Gabriela was born in Mcallen, Texas, and began dancing at the age of three. There she danced with South Texas Dance Theatre under the direction of Babil and Jill Gandara and later on began to train with Joan Manuel Reyes with Royal Dance Studio. She has been dancing for 15 years and in all types of dance such as: ballet, tap, jazz, flamenco, modern, and contemporary. Outside from the studio, she has attended various summer intensives which include Ballet Pensacola (Pensacola, Florida), Western Ballet Theatre (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico), Centro Prodanza (Havana, Cuba) and Ballet Austin (Austin, Texas). After high school, she moved to Boston to train with the Boston Ballet School and had the opportunity to work with their City Dance outreach program in which the elementary students explore all kinds of dance and movement. Aside from teaching, Gabriela is currently training to pursue her professional career in dance.

Gianni Di Marco joined the Conservatory in 2006 as an instructor in partnering and advanced ballet technique. He also teaches somatic and advanced partnering repertoire. In 2016, he started Step by Step!, a dance program for children with autism.

Di Marco began his dance career with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where he was promoted to first soloist. He has also performed with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, Opera Leipzig Ballet, Boston Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence, and Tony Williams Dance Company. His roles include Romeo and Mercutio in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet and pas des deux in Petipa’s Don Quixote, as well as works by Balanchine, Nacho Duato, J. Kylián, Hans van Manen, Cranko, Danny Pelzig, and others.

Di Marco has choreographed more than 50 original works, including Muñecas (2009), On the Brink (2007), and In the Window (2012) for Boston Conservatory, La Rondine (2003) for the Boston Lyric Opera, and Orpheus (2012) for Boston Baroque. He has created works for Boston Ballet, including The Nutcracker (1996), Dance on the Top Floor (1998), Raw Dance(2002-2005), and various gala balls (1999-2016), as well as multiple works for Festival Ballet, including Lady of the Camellias(2016), Scheherazade (2005), and El Amor Brujo (2009). 

Di Marco has been teaching ballet and movement to children and adults since 2000. In addition to Boston Conservatory, he has taught at Boston Ballet Center for Dance Education, Harvard University, University of South Carolina, and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. He was the principal of Citydance, a Boston Public Schools outreach program. In 2002, he founded Adaptive Dance with Michelina Cassella, a program for children with Down syndrome and autism, at Boston Ballet Center for Dance Education.

Di Marco is a graduate of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. He has studied with the National Ballet of Cuba and the National Ballet of Canada. He has completed Cecchetti certification (intermediate level), certification for Gyrotonic® and Gyrokinesis®, and certification for Burdenko water therapy.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Hee Seo began her ballet training in her hometown at the Sun-hwa Arts Middle School. She was awarded a three-year full scholarship to continue her training at the Kirov Ballet Academy in Washington, D. C. In 2003, Seo won a scholarship to train at the John Cranko Ballet Academy in Stuttgart. She is the recipient of the 2003 Prix de Lausanne Award and the 2003 Grand Prix at the Youth American Grand Prix in New York.p>/P

Seo joined the ABT Studio Company in 2004 and the main Company as an apprentice in May 2005 and the corps de ballet in March 2006. Her repertoire with the Company includes Polyhymnia in Apollo, Nikiya, Gamzatti, the Lead D'Jampe and a Shade in La Bayadère, Cinderella in Frederick Ashton's Cinderella, Twig in James Kudelka's Cinderella, Prayer in Coppélia, Mercedes and a flower girl in Don Quixote, the Glove Seller in Gaîté Parisienne, Giselle and Zulma in Giselle, Caroline in Jardin aux Lilas, Olympia in Lady of the Camellias, The Moor's Wife in The Moor's Pavane, Natalia Petrovna in A Month in the Country, Clara, the Princess and one of the Nutcracker's Sisters in Alexei Ratmansky's The Nutcracker, Natalia in On the Dnieper, Tatiana in Onegin, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Princess Aurora, the Lilac Fairy, the Fairy of Sincerity and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, Odette-Odile, the pas de trois, the Polish Princess and a big swan in Swan Lake, the Sylph in La Sylphide, the Prelude in Les Sylphides, Ceres in Sylvia, Thaïs Pas de Deux and roles in Ballo della Regina, Birthday Offering, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Chamber Symphony, Dark Elegies, Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes, Duets, From Here On Out, The Leaves Are Fading, Monotones II, Overgrown Path, Raymonda Divertissements, Seven Sonatas,Thirteen Diversions and Valse Fantaisie. She created a leading role in With a Chance of Rain.

Seo was appointed a Soloist in August 2010 and a Principal Dancer in July 2012.

Seo made Guest appearance at Mariinsky Ballet for her well known repertories Giselle and Sleeping Beauty and dance most prestigious stages In Italy, Brazil, Japan, China, Korea, Mexico,United Kingdom Russia and many more.

Seo also is a founder of non-profit foundation called "HeeSeo foundation" and a representer of YAGP Korea.

Ms. Seo's performances with American Ballet Theatre are sponsored by Pamela and David B. Ford.

Argentine born Herman Cornejo is one of the most celebrated dancers of our present age.

He was admitted to study at Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires at the age of 9. At age 14 he received a scholarship from the School of American Ballet, after which he was summoned by Julio Bocca to join the Ballet Argentino, alternating the major roles of the repertoire with him during the world tour of the company. At 16 he won the Gold Medal at the VIII International Moscow Competition, being the youngest dancer to get this award in the history of the competition until now. In 1998, at 17, he was invited to join ABT Studio Company. In 1999 he was selected to perform Bronze Idol in Makarova's La Bayadere with the American Ballet Theatre in Japan. He was promoted to soloist in 2000 and to Principal Dancer in 2003. Since then, he has been one of the greatest stars of the company.

Considered a prodigy by teachers and critics alike, he has received numerous awards and honors: he was appointed Messenger of Peace by UNESCO; "Dancer of the Year" by The New York Times; Star of the 21st Century in 2005; ”Mr. Expressivity" in the International Ballet Festival "Dance Open" in St. Petersburg in both 2010 and 2013; Bessies Award presented by the "NY Dance & Performance League" in New York; and the Positano Prize 2014 in Italy. In 2014, he was also awarded the prestigious Benois de la Danse Prize, which defined him as the best dancer of the year.

In 2012, he began an intense artistic collaboration with the great Italian ballerina Alessandra Ferri, beginning with the production of "Cheri", directed by Martha Clarke. This collaboration has given impulse to various other projects, such as "Trio ConcertDance" and "Evolution".

In 2015, he debuted as artistic director of the "Latin American Stars" Gala, as a part of "BalletNOW", organized by the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Throughout his career, Herman has become one of the favorite artists of the most famous international galas. Major companies in the world, including the Ballet Estable of Teatro Colón, Ballet of Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Barcelona Ballet, Contemporary Dance Company of Cuba, Martha Graham Ballet Company, Pennsylvania Ballet, Boston Ballet, New York City Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Dortmund Ballet, National Ballet of Japan, among others, also regularly invite him as Guest Artist.

He has also donated his time to perform in charity events for several organizations, such as The Rainforest Fund Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall, where he performed with Sting and Alessandra Ferri, and in events raising funds for medical research to fight Cancer, Down Syndrome and Poliomyelitis.

His repertoire consists of more than ninety roles of classical, modern and contemporary ballets. Basilio (Don Quixote), Albrecht (Giselle), Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake), Romeo (MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet), Solor (La Bayadere), Jean de Brienne and Abbederakhman (Raymonda), Prince Désiré (Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty), Aminta (Sylvia), Johann (Roland Petit’s La Chauve-souris), Ali and Conrad (Le Corsaire), Franz (Coppélia), Ivan (Ratmansky’s The Firebird), Henry (Christopher Wheeldon’s VIII,) 3rd Sailor (Robbin’s Fancy Free), Rose (Spectre de la Rose), workwithinwork by William Forsythe, Rubies (Balanchine’s Jewels) and Apollo (Balanchine.

He also works regularly with the today’s finest choreographers. Mauro Bigonzetti, Jorma Elo, Alexei Ratmansky, Twyla Tharp, Stanton Welch, Ana Maria Stekelman, Oscar Aráiz, Margarita Fernández, Martha Clark, Natalie Weir, Russell Maliphant, Mark Morris, Demis Volpi and Fang-Yi Sheu, among others, have created leading roles especially for him.

Cornejo has also choreographed for himself: “Tango y Yo” for Dance Open Festival 2010 in Saint Petersburg, “Two sunsets” for the “Dance against Cancer” event in 2012, “Transcendence” in collaboration with bandoneonist JP Jofre for the Kings of the Dance Tour 2014 and “Dentro” with pianist Bruce Levingston for “Trio ConcertDance”.

Originally from Stoneham, MA Janelle developed her skills and expertise through studies at Harriet Hoctor Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, Broadway Theater Project, Concord Academy, Dance Theater of Harlem, and the Hartt School in Connecticut where she earned a BFA in Dance. Ms. Gilchrist’s training led to roles as a company dancer with the Hartford Ballet, the New Jersey Ballet, Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, the “Urban Nutcracker,” and Tony Williams Ballet.

Outside of ballet, Janelle showcased her versatility in other dance forms with Legends in Concert, Celebrity Cruises, Anna Myer, David Parker, and Island Moving Company. Ms.Gilchrist served as choreographer and casting director of two flash mob performances for Media Direct Productions in Boston and Las Vegas. She also flew to Riga, Latvia with Ballet Rox to perform and teach the Urban Nutcracker to Dzirnas Dance Troupe.

She was on the staff at Moses Brown School in Providence, RI where she taught dance and choreographed musicals such as “Hello Dolly,” “The Music Man,” and “Cabaret.” Janelle was also the director of in school programming with BalletRox for the Boston Public Schools.

To her dance credits, Janelle added appearances in small roles in several major movie productions, including “27 Dresses” produced by 20th Century Fox and “What’s your Number” produced by Contra-films.

Currently, Janelle keeps a very busy schedule dancing, teaching, choreographing, and organizing. She will be a full time dance instructor at Boston Arts Academy and will be dancing with Tony William’s new company City Ballet Boston beginning in the fall.. She is principal of the Jose Mateo Ballet School in Dorchester. For the past 6 summers, Janelle taught ballet and choreographed for Boston University’s Reach program, a dance intensive/service program for teens and also taught at Step by Step Dance in Waltham for 6 years.

Janelle leads her own troupe called: Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe. Janelle choreographs original works for the troupe and they have performed at the Oberon Cambridge, Dance For World Community, Dance Complex, Somerville Dancing in the Streets Series, and the Mills Art Gallery.

In addition to her professional pursuits, Janelle is a local choreographer, and a champion for the local dance community, working tirelessly to elevate dance appreciation and support for the arts. http://www.janellegilchrist.com

Julian De Las Nieves is a professional salsa dancer born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He trained under Rumba y Timbal dance studio for 8 years until he started working as a solo artist. He now travels to teach and perform around the country and is also the founder and director of a local Men's Salsa Team called, Azteca. He is serious about his craft and he is excited to spread his wisdom while getting to know you! 

Award-winning choreographer Marsha Parrilla is the founding Artistic Director of Danza Orgánica. Born and raised in San Juan- Puerto Rico, she moved to NYC in 1998 where she pursued a Master's degree in Dance Education from New York University. Parrilla is a Luminary Artist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. She is a proud recipient of the Creative City Grant, and the New England Dance Fund- awarded by the New England Foundation for the Arts; a Festivals Grant awarded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and a LAB grant awarded by the Boston Foundation, towards her annual production: We Create! Celebrating Women in the Arts. Most recently, Parrilla was awarded a Creative Development Residency at the prestigious Jacob's Pillow, and has been nominated for a Brother Thomas Fellowship through the Boston Foundation. Marsha has taught Dance in NYC and Boston Public Schools, Boston University, the State University of New York in Stony Brook, the Roxbury Community College, and Green Street Studios. She is the founder of the Dance Research Online Forum- a site dedicated to free and progressive dance education, and is an active member of the Boston Dance Alliance Board of Directors, and the National Dance Education Association.

Marsha's production history includes several evening-length company concerts, as well as the award-winning annual festival: We Create! Celebrating Women in the Arts. 

Priscilla Hunt Ph.D., member of the American Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (AmSAT), trained with Missy Vineyard in Amherst MA and has done advanced post-graduate training in Europe and the USA.  She has served on the AmSAT board of Directors, and as faculty on the ATCNE training course (Alexander Technique Center New England).  She has a private practice in both Amherst MA and Jamaica Plain, MA and offers classes and workshops in both areas. For more, see her website www.phuntalexandertechnique.com.

Ruth Whitney is a Boston based dancer who received her early training and performance experience with Boston Ballet, studying under Tatiana Nikolaevna Legat and Laura Young. She has performed regionally and internationally with companies including Boston Ballet, Teatrul De Balet Sibiu, and most recently as a principal dancer with Festival Ballet Providence. Her classical repertoir includes Odette/Odile, Aurora, Juliet (in Pavel Rotaru's Romeo and Juliet), Marguerite (in Gianni Di Marco's Lady of the Camelias), Firebird, and principal roles in The Nutcracker, George Balanchine's Apollo and Agon, Etudes, Carnival in Venice, Grand Pas Classique, Paquita, Les Sylphides, as well as featured roles in contemporary works by Gianni Di Marco (including Orpheus and Euridice with the Boston Baroque), Mihailo Djuric, Lorraine Chapman, Viktor Plotnikov (most notably Orchis and Coma), and Andrew Kelley's 1:2 "An Intimate Abstraction", among others. In 2005, Ms. Whitney graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English and Dance from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She now teaches privately and has taught classes regionally including Jeannette Neills Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Elite Feet Artists Company and Wilmington Dance Academy.

Savannah Lee started her professional training with Atlanta Ballet. At age fourteen, she reached the top of the pre professional division, dancing corps de ballet roles with the company. Savannah was one of twelve Americans to attend The Royal Ballet in Covent Garden, London the summer she studied. She furthered her training spending summers with American Ballet Theater, Kirov Ballet Academy, Washington Ballet, CPYB, and English National Ballet. Savannah has performed professionally with Nashville Ballet’s second company, Brooklyn Ballet, Nomad Contemporary Ballet, Portland Ballet, Boulder Ballet, and a guest artist in many states. She continued sharing her passion, teaching for Manhattan Movement Arts Center, Portland Ballet, and Boulder Ballet to name a few. Additionally being an aerialist, it opened opportunities to teach dance workshops for Simply Circus and Circus Maine. As a choreographer, she has created for Portland Ballet, Boulder Ballet, and her contemporary company, Lightning Dance Collective.

Stephanie's principal teachers were Ana Roje, Tatiana Babushkina, E. Virginia Williams and Violette Verdy. In addition to her 14 year tenure with Boston Ballet as a soloist with Boston Ballet Company , Ms. Moy has danced with Spokane Ballet Company, Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, and the Boston Dance Company. She has been guest artist with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and Ballet Theater of Boston. Her performance resume is complemented by staging, choreography, costuming and extensive teaching experience. She has taught at Boston Ballet School, Harvard Summer dance program, Boston Conservatory, Ohio Ballet & Festival Ballet of RI. and been owner and director of American Academy of Dance-Mansfield MA.

Stephanie is dedicated to sharing her passion for the art of dance which is an expression of life.