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Alice Bergeson received her training at San Francisco Ballet, School of American
Ballet and North Carolina School of the Arts. She studied with Maggie Black in New York.
Bergeson has performed on Broadway in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway and Bob
Fosse’s Sweet Charity. Currently, Ms. Bergeson teaches ballet and jazz at Florida State
University and is a guest teacher at many studios in Florida.
Sara de Luis was born in New Orleans. She is of Spanish and French ancestry, and trained classically at the San Francisco Conservatory of Ballet and later with teachers in New York and Madrid. A performer of uncommon charisma and physical presence, she embarked upon a professional career in Spanish Dance with Luisillo and his Teatro del Baile Espanol, touring the Middle East and Europe. She subsequently worked with some of the world's greatest Spanish and flamenco artists, including Manolo Vargas, Roberto Ximenez, Juan Quintero, Juan Alba, La Familia Vargas, Lola Flores, Antonio Gades, Jose Granero and Luisa Triana. Her own recent productions include, in the Nineties, "Homenaje," "Pasion," and "Sara y sus Amantes," all to critical acclaim. As guest artist or choreographer she has worked with opera companies and symphony orchestras.
A distinctive aspect of Ms. de Luis' career was several years touring the world with The First Chamber Dance Company of New York. First Chamber had a varied repertory, and Sara retrained to perform classical ballet, modern dance roles, and jazz dance as well as bringing Spanish dance into the company's repertory. As a result she brings to her work as choreographer and teacher an unusual range and a unique syllabus for teaching Spanish styles to ballet students. She travels annually as a guest teacher, but calls Seattle home and is on the faculty of Pacific Northwest Ballet's school there.
Kari-Lee is the founder and director of the elite Seattle Hip Hop Dance Company “In-Effect”. Kari-Lee, has choreographed for artists as
well as produced and directed numerous shows such as Seattle’s own “Shameless” and choreograph/directed award winning
competition companies. Some highlights include: the Seattle production of the "The Wiz", KUBE Summer Jam, Bumbershoot , King County
Youth and Action, Choreographer/Dancer for Seattle’s WNBA Seattle Storm and half time for the Seattle Super Sonics, San Francisco Hip Hop
Festival, L.A. Underground Hip Hop, Nordstrom’s, Gameworks and Ikea. Kari-Lee has privately trained many dancers who have moved on to dance
behind artist’s such as Tyrese, P Diddy and Collin. Some of which have also toured with major Dance Companies. She still loves working with
dancers privately and is excited to see new fresh talent that she can challenge. Kari-Lee is currently teaching at the award winning # 1 academic
school in the nation, Holy Names Academy. She is the Director/Choreographer of Dance.
Mr. Herná
ndez made his debut in 1978 in the play Born Yesterday by Garzon Kanin, and some years later, obtained the graduation like a classical dancer from the Royal Academy of Dance in London. Mr. Hernández studied the actor's carrier on the National School of Drama "Instituto Andres soler de Teatro, Cine Y Radio-Televisión" in the city of Mexico D. F. finishing with excellent results.
Mr. Hernández worked in international tours with the Belgium company "Theater Frederik" directed by Frederik Van Melle in 1984 in Europe and the mid-orient. Since 1988 he worked for "Compañía Nacional de Danza" the official ballet company of the Fine Arts Institute of México. In this company, Mr. Hernández had the fortune of working and learning with distinguished choreographers and masters such as: Carlos López, Nellie Happee, Guillermo Valdéz (Compañía Nacional de Danza), Terry Ors (American Ballet Theater), Enrique Martinez (American Ballet Theater), Dina Biorn (Royal Danish Ballet), Alberto Méndez (Ballet Nacional de Cuba), Alberto ALsonso (Ballet Nacional de Cuba) among others.
Mr. Hernández studied the specialty in musical comedy in the city of New York with great teachers such as: Tomy Tune, Charles Goddertz, Robert Tucker, Cecilia Martha, Joe Lantery, Richard Pierlon, Wayn Cilento, and in the school founded by Lee Theodore "The American Dance Machine" where he acquired a lot of the knowledge about musical theater. In New York, Mr. Hernández took master classes in the "David Howard Dance Center" with Ms. Diana Cartier and Mr. Howard, and recently Mr. Hernández took the workshop on body kinetics and methodology in Mexico City with Mr. David Howard in 1997.
In 1991, Mr. Hernández won the "Sol de Oro" award of the drama critics for his successful performance in the musical "Cats" as the "Magical Mr. Mistoffeles" in the Mexican production. He was guest dancer in the "Fine Arts Dance Theater of Brownsville Texas" U.S.A. with the leading roll in the ballet "Rag Time in Two Steps" and there also dance in the ballets "Coppelia", "The Nutcracker", etc.
As a choreographer Mr. Hernández has more than twenty choreographies, of ballet, opera, operata, zarzuela, musical comedy and television shows.
In August 2005, Mr. Hernández was a guest teacher for Sonia Dawkins/Prism Dance Theater training her company inside the "International Festival of Contemporary Dance" in Guadalajara, Mexico.
June 2006, Mr. Hernández presented his professional exam and he obtains the title of "Licenciate in Classical Ballet" by the Imperial Ballet Faculty of the "Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing of London" and he had the honor of being examined by the Vice Chairman of the faculty Miss Heather Fish.
Davida Kagen, a native Philadelphian, sang for many years as the leading lyric soprano for the Wuppertal Opera in Germany and guested at many other
major opera houses throughout Europe and regionally around the US. Her roles include Constanze in Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, Susanna in
Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Alicina in Handel’s Alicina, Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, as well as over 30 other leading Roles. Davida
received her musical education and opera training at Temple University in Philadelphia and the International Opera Studio in Zurich, Switzerland. Currently
she is a faculty member of the Western Washington University Music Department teaching voice as well as maintaining a private voice studio in Seattle,
Washington
Stephanie Saland was invited by George Balanchine to join the New York City Ballet in 1972 and in a 21 year career with City Ballet; she was showcased
in leading roles under Balanchine’s direction as well as principal roles in Jerome Robbins’ repertoire. Guest performances included Nureyev
and Friends, Giselle with Alexander Gudonov and numerous Live From Lincoln Center and Dance in America films. Before moving to
Seattle in fall of 1993, she taught movement for student actors at Playwrights’ Horizons and helped develop a body-awareness class for actors
with theater teacher Caymichael Patten.
Since finishing her performance career, Ms. Saland has been a freelance instructor traveling to teach in NY, San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Kansas City, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Madrid, Mallorea and Mexico City. Some of her strongest influences were from teachers such as Stanley
Williams, Maggie Black and Tina Bernal. She is equally inspired and informed through other non-ballet sources including Gyrotonics, Pilates, Zeena Romett
floor barre and years of a variety of modalities including cranial-sacral, physical therapy, network chiropractic, soma and Aston Patterning.
Photo courtesy of Nevada Ballet Theater. |
