Teaching Artists:
Elayna Waxse, Interim School Director
Kaylie Bullock
Leanne Campbell-Noonan
Dexter Carlson
Helen Hatch
Alejandra Iannone
Krista Langberg
Jill Lile
Jennifer Mack
Blake Nellis
Christina Onusko
Erin Drummond
Carissa Bolante
Megan Rezac
Aloe Ao Liu, Guest Artist
Emilia Garrido Vasquez, Guest Artist
Laura Greenwell, Guest Artist
Accompanists:
Amelie Banks
Martha Brown
Michael Koerner
Pat Lyles
Sally Reynolds
Melanie Safar
Joe Strachan
ELAYNA WAXSE, Interim School Director
Elayna joins St. Paul Ballet after recent appointments at Minnesota Dance Theatre (Interim Artistic/School Director) and Threads Dance Company (Managing Director, current). They are also currently faculty at Carlton College and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, providing unique academic perspective for St. Paul Ballets pre-professional ballet training program, Youth Company. Elayna, a licensed mental health therapist, holds an M.A. in Counseling Psychology with a background in developmental psychology, a major asset within community work. Their experience will advance St. Paul Ballet's culture of inclusive, excellent, and holistic ballet education. Originally from Overland Park, Kansas, Elayna trained at the Kansas City Ballet School, followed by School of American Ballet (NYC) and Pacific Northwest Ballet School (Seattle, WA). Their professional experience includes performing with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Colorado Ballet/Colorado Ballet Studio Company, Black Label Movement, and BodyCartography Project. From 2012 to 2019, they were a member of TU Dance, where they were notably part of the original creative team for Come Through, a collaboration with Grammy Award–winning group Bon Iver. They have performed across the world, from the Hollywood Bowl and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, to ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festiva and São Paulo, Brazil. Elayna is a 2019 recipient of a McKNight Fellowship in Dance, through which she worked with choreographer Bobbi Jene Smith on an original solo. Previous choreographic commissions include Minnesota Dance Theatre, University of Minnesota Dance Department (2022 Cowles Visiting Artist), Carleton College Dance Department, Threads Dance Project, St. Paul Conservatory fo Performing Artists, University of MInnesota Opera Theatre, and Zenon Dance Zone, among others.
KAYLIE BULLOCK, Teaching Artist - Ballet
Kaylie Bullock just moved to the area to join James Sewell Ballet. She recently completed her seventh season with Central Illinois Ballet as principal dancer. During her time with CIB, she had the privilege of debuting roles in many of the company’s original works. Some of her favorite featured roles include Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Cinderella as the title role, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, both Christine and La Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera, Lucy, Van Helsing, and Renfield in Dracula, Black swan pas de deux, Myrtle in Gatsby and Edith Frank in Anne Frank. Kaylie received her early training at Kansas Dance Academy under the direction of Diane Gans. As a student she had the honor of being named a recipient of the Koch Cultural Trust. Ms. Bullock attended the School of Classical and Contemporary Dance at Texas Christian University on scholarship, graduating with honors. She has also performed with Ad Deum Dance Company, Storling Dance Theater, and Common Thread Contemporary. Ms. Bullock has been teaching dancers of all ages for the past decade. She is thrilled to be joining St. Paul Ballet’s faculty and for the opportunity to share her experiences with the next generation of dancers.
LEANNE CAMPBELL-NOONAN, Teaching Artist - Ballet
Leanne has been a dance educator for over 25 years. She currently teaches at Dance Works Performing Arts Center in Lakeville and previously at St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Before moving to Minnesota, she taught in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Leanne has a special interest in sharing ballet movement with adults of all ages.
DEXTER CARLSON , Teaching Artist - Ballet
Dexter Carlson (she/her) received her BFA in Dance from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and trained with Metropolitan Ballet of Tacoma. She has studied with The Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theater, The Joffrey Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Czech Republic). She has had the honor of learning from and performing works by Renee Redding-Jones, Deborah Jowitt, Robert Moses, Kendra Porteir, and Maurya Kerr and has been a collaborator and performer with Eros Movement Company, Chris Ferris and Dancers, and Ellis Wood Dance, Jagged Moves, Willmeng Dances, and Laurie Van Wieren Projects. Dexter's work has been presented at Green Space, Actors Fund Arts Center, Jack Crystal Theater, and Arts on Site in New York City and Norton Clapp Theatre in Tacoma, Washington. Dexter has taught dancers of all ages for more than 15 years, with a special focus on young children developing their love for movement and creativity.
ERIN DRUMMOND, Teaching Artist - Modern and Composition
Erin is a director, artist and educator—carries over two decades of professional experience in performing arts as a dancer and choreographer. She cultivates creative inquiry through interdisciplinary and collaborative projects, ever turned on by embodied research as a catalyst for personal, societal and environmental shift. She trained at Ballet Arts Minnesota and Zenon Dance School before earning a BA from Columbia University and an MFA in Dance through Hollins University, in collaboration with institutions in Frankfurt, Germany. She performed for many years with Dancing People Company, based in Ashland, OR, toured with them throughout the Pacific Northwest and to St. Petersburg, Russia, and served as interim Artistic Director in 2016. She danced with a number of companies and collaborators in NYC, Minneapolis, along the West Coast and abroad. As a teacher—most recently as Assistant Professor and interim Dance Program Director at Winona State University—she loves mentoring student development, nurturing radical creativity, and expanding the possibilities of pedagogy.
HELEN HATCH, Teaching Artist - Ballet
Helen Hatch is a dancer, choreographer and director based in Minneapolis. Named as one of Minnesota Monthly’s “10 Artists to Watch” in 2012, Helen was a member of Minnesota Dance Theatre from 2011-2017, dancing an eclectic range of repertory while also creating her own work. Since then, she has worked with various artists in the Twin Cities on projects as a performer, choreographer, and producer. Helen is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA program where she was awarded Dance Departmental Honors. Her choreography has been presented at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, the 2011 Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Festival, 2014 MN Fringe Festival, The Southern Theater, throughout Mexico and Guatemala by the Juntos Collective, and commissioned by Minnesota Dance Theatre, Saint Paul Ballet, Penelope Freeh, Aveda, and The Cowles Center. Helen is the Founder and Director of Hatch Dance, whose debut performance Isotope was named a “2018 Top Ten Twin Cities Dance Performance” by the Star Tribune. In 2022, Helen was in residency at University of North Carolina School of the Arts Choreographic Institute. Helen has taught extensively throughout the Twin Cities and is a teaching artist at Saint Paul Ballet and Community Movement Collective.
ALEJANDRA IANNONE, Teaching Artist - Ballet and Modern
Alejandra was classically trained in the Cecchetti method and obtained her B.F.A in Dance performance from the Fordham University/ Ailey School. She is an ABT® Affiliate Instructor who successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Levels 6, 7 & Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Alejandra is certified in Balanced Body Pilates (Mat 1 and 2)., IM=X Pilates, and Leap ‘N Learn Creative Movement. She also holds an M.A. in Philosophy from Temple University. She has had the honor of performing at venues throughout the United States and abroad. Her favorites have included The Ordway Center for Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, Jacob’s Pillow, the Versace Mansion, and The Armory, where she got to be part of Jennifer Lopez’s Super Saturday Night during Superbowl LII. Alejandra is thrilled to be joining the Saint Paul Ballet faculty this year! Prior to this position, Alejandra was a member of the faculty at Minnesota Dance Theatre and The Ailey School in New York City. She has also had the pleasure of guest teaching at private and public schools throughout the U.S.A. and in Argentina. When she isn’t at Saint Paul Ballet, Alejandra serves as the Creative Director of Minneapolis-based immersive theatre company Sparkle Theatricals, as a member of the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council’s Board of Directors.
JENNIFER MACK, Teaching Artist - Ballet
Jennifer’s 20+ year career in dance includes receiving several notable roles, awards & grants for her work as a dancer/performer, choreographer, instructor and adjudicator internationally in dance, theater, opera, music, film, and commercially with numerous companies, competitions, festivals, schools, studios and universities. Including: Alternative Motion Project (founding dancer), Collide Theatrical Dance Co., Continental Ballet, Curio Dance, Eclectic Edge Ensemble, James Sewell Ballet, Kim Robards Dance Co., Live Action Set, MN Opera, Offleash Area, St. Paul Ballet, Szeged National Ballet, Vox Medusa Dance Co., Deborah Thayer, Dwight Rhoden, Jodi Melnick, Rosy Simas, Vanessa Voskuil, Aby Wolf, Cathedral Dance Festival, Harvest Contemporary Dance Festival, Milwaukee & MN Fringe Festivals, Rhythmically Speaking, Twin Cities Film Festival, Ballet Academy Youth Ensemble, Children’s Dance Theater, Phipps Art Center & Dance Co., Rochester Dance Company (former Assistant Director), St. Paul Conservatory for the Arts, Zenon Dance Co. & School. She holds a certification in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), a BFA in Dance, BS in Arts Management & International Studies with minors in Art, Music & Biology (Magna Cum Laude) from UW-Stevens Point under a Bukolt Scholarship. She also studies Alexandra, Freldenkrais, Gyrotonic, Pilates and Yoga movement philosophies. Most recently her choreographic work appeared in MN Opera’s Flight at the Ordway (Feb ’20) and was awarded a Cowles Center Generating Room Residency (’20-21). She resides in North Minneapolis with her fiancé and daughter who greatly inspire her. She believes dance can be a very transformative and powerful tool for individuals/communities to participate in and enjoys watching where it takes those who do.
JILL LILE, Teaching Artist - Ballet
Jill began her training in Omaha NE with teacher, Valerie Roche and continued her studies in summer programs at Banff and San Francisco ballet schools, the Royal Academy of Dancing in London and in various schools in New York City. She has a BFA and an MFA in dance from and Texas Christian University and the University of Illinois. She has danced with a variety of companies in both ballet and modern including Ft. Worth Ballet, Ballet Omaha, Madison Ballet, Illinois Dance Theatre, Ballet Arts Minnesota, and Beverly Blossom and Company. She has worked with Anna Sokolow, Sally Wilson, and has danced in many of the classic ballets and in Tudor works. Ms. Lile has taught at Ballet Arts MN and University of Minnesota/Mankato, University of NE/ Lincoln, and Creighton, and is currently teaching at St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, Macalester, and MDT. Ms Lile is also a practicing chiropractor and acupuncturist specializing in the treatment and prevention of dance injuries.
KRISTA LANGBERG, Teaching Artist - Boomer Ballet
Krista is originally from Long Island, New York and currently lives in Saint Paul, MN. Her professional dance career spans more than thirty-five years, and she was a recipient of the McKnight Dancer Fellow in 2017. She is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner (GCFP), a method of Somatic Education, which combines her passion for movement and learning with helping others find ease, grace and respite from pain and chronic issues. She currently teaches Awareness Through Movement (Feldenkrais) classes at the Jewish Community Center, East Lake Aikido, Macalester College, and on Zoom, along with working individually with clients. She is an adjunct faculty member in the dance department at Macalester College since 2007, and holds a BA in Dance and the Science of Somatics from Metropolitan State University, and an Associates degree in Occupational Studies from the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences in New York. A majority of her career has been spent performing: she was a creative collaborator and performer in the work of Karen Sherman (Soft Goods), Emily Johnson and Ain Gordon (SHORE) and Chris Schlichting (Stripe Tease and Matching Drapes). Krista was a principal dancer with Susan Marshall & Company in New York from 1994-2002, performing and teaching nationally and internationally. Previous to that, she was a member of New Dance Performance Laboratory (MN), Zenon Dance Company (MN), and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (CO).
BLAKE NELLIS, Teaching Artist
Bio to come
CHRISTINA ONUSKO, Teaching Artist - Ballet
Christina began her training in her native Pennsylvania. She performed with the Hartford Ballet and principal roles with Ballet West Virginia including Cinderella and the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty. For five years she served as the Assistant Artistic Director at Ballet West Virginia. She has been a classical ballet instructor for over 35 years. She was trained in the pedagogy of the Vagonava method, studying with John Barker, during her tenure as an instructor at the School of the Hartford Ballet where she also served as the school director for one of two branch schools of the Hartford Ballet. Christina has also taught for Ballet West Virginia and the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet. She spent a fulfilling 15 years as a core ballet instructor and choreographer for Ballet Arts Minnesota. Using her design and costuming skills, she has created costumes for many different Twin Cities and national dance companies. During her time at Ballet Arts she created most of the costumes, including those for the City Children’s Nutcracker, which was a joint collaboration between Ballet Arts Minnesota and the Minneapolis Parks Recreation Program. Christina also created and directed the Maypole Dances for the Minnesota Renaissance Festival for 13 years.
ALOE AO LIU, Guest Teaching Artist from CAAM Chinese Dance Theater
Ao (Aloe) Liu, Dance Artist, Choreographer, Dance Instructor from Yunnan Province, China Ao Liu graduated from Denmark International Youth leader Education graduate program and holds a Bachelor of Dance Performance degree from Yunnan Arts University and a Master of Education from Renmin University in China. She performed professionally for 8 years in China’s famous dance company founded by Yang Liping, known as the “Peacock Queen” in China. Since then she continues to professionally perform, choreograph, and instruct dancers of all levels. She has founded her own dance studio, developed multiple curriculums for children including “Awakening the Artist Within Me” and “Physical Play”, and taught at university level for Yunnan Arts Institute. Dancing since age 4, Liu has performed in more than a thousand shows and was the principal dancer in several well-known dance drama productions such as “Dynamic Yunnan”, “A Shangri-La Spectacular”, ” Beautiful South “, as well as modern dance dramas “Bed” and “Lost”. In addition, she has performed at large-scaled national events such as the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games and Shanghai World Expo. She has choreographed and directed many contemporary dance dramas, including ” Lost in Dream “, “Hidden Emotion “, ” It will pass ” and “You”. Between 2018 and 2021, she was invited as a guest artist to various international art festivals including “Over the Cloud International Live Art Festival”, “MIPAF Macau International Live Art Festival” and “Up On International Live Art Festival”. Recently, she held a Liu Ao Personal Contemporary Art Exhibition “Feed” at the Kunming Kong Space Art Museum.
EMILIA GARRIDO-VASQUEZ, Guest Teaching Artist
Emilia embarked on her dance journey at age 3 in Ecuador. At 14, after relocating to the U.S., she joined the school of St. Paul Ballet, graduating from their pre-professional program in 2019. Prior to her college years, she was awarded a fellowship from James Sewell Ballet. Emilia pursued a major in Psychology at St. Kate’s and another in Theater and Dance at Macalester College. Professionally, she danced with Continental Ballet Company. Emilia has choreographed several pieces, including "Matilda Jr." at Highland Park Community Center Theater. At Macalester, her honors piece, "A Place in Between," earned her the David Wick Choreography Award. Emilia's recent focus is on fostering inclusivity and accessibility in dance education through her community project, Ballet Explorers. Partnering with SPB and collaborating with local nonprofits and businesses, offers free introductory ballet classes to children from minoritized communities.
LAURA GREENWELL, Guest Teaching Artist
Laura is trained in classical dance from Ballet Arts Minnesota, under the direction of Bonnie Mathis, Christina Onusko and Lirena Branitski. She continued her studies with the Butler Ballet, the dance department of Butler University in Indianapolis. For more than ten years she has been teaching Vaganova-based Russian ballet and pointe, and has been creating classical and contemporary ballet works for various dance schools. Laura is an American Ballet Theatre® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level Seven of the ABT(R) National Training Curriculum. She is also a designated Project Plié ABT ballet teacher, with the ability to identify promising young dancers in order to expand racial diversity and inclusion in the classical ballet community. Laura was a Sage Awards panelist for the Twin Cities community from 2013-2014, guest taught for the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, and danced as a company member with St. Paul Ballet. In addition to ballet experience, she has extensive character dance training, and has been privately coached by Lirena Branitski. She focuses her teaching of ballet and character dance on the unique combination of proper technique, artistry and passion for dance.