Ballet Austin Academy

Academy Staff

William Piner, Academy Director

bill.piner@balletaustin.org

Bill Piner graduated from Butler University’s prestigious dance program in 1982 and had a wide and varied professional performing career with companies such as Ballet Austin, the Hartford Ballet and Dance Kaleidoscope, Indiana’s only professional modern company. A member of Actor’s Equity Association, Bill also enjoyed a career in musical theatre before retiring to direct Ballet Austin Academy. He has been teaching extensively since 1982, including seven years on faculty at Butler University’s Jordan College Academy of Dance in Indianapolis. In 1992, Bill was appointed director of the Ballet Austin Academy. Under his direction the Academy has grown to become one of the largest classical ballet schools in the country.

Katelyn Yeary, Programs Manager & Resident Faculty

katelyn.yeary@balletaustin.org

A native of Beaumont, Texas, Katelyn began her dance training at Beaumont Ballet Theatre and continued through Beaumont Civic Ballet and Texas Ballet Theatre. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Oral Roberts University in 2012. After graduation, Katelyn went on to teach ballet at Tulsa Ballet’s Center for Dance Education, and most recently, she has spent the last three years on the faculty at the School of Nashville Ballet where she was the Children’s Program Coordinator and taught ages 2 and up through Level 3 in the Academy. Katelyn strives to make every child feel seen, known and wanted in her classroom.

Emily McLaughlin, Academy Registrar

registrar@balletaustin.org

Emily McLaughlin joins Ballet Austin as the Academy Registrar. She oversees enrollment for Ballet Austin Academy and the Young Children’s Division, leads communication with parents regarding scheduling and tuition, and overall nurtures the ballet dreams of young dancers.

Emily holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance from The University of Utah and while completing the last year of her studies, began her professional career with Ballet Austin. Emily danced professionally with Ballet Austin II, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and Dominic Walsh Dance Theater. Upon the conclusion of her career, she pursued a 500 R-YTT Yoga Teacher Certification to help others attain a positive mind-body connection to lead happier, healthier lives. Emily moved on to use her ballet and yoga background to manage a local Austin fitness studio and was influential in its continued success.

Joshua Piper, Pianist Coordinator

pianistcoordinator@balletaustin.org

Since 2011, Joshua has worked as Pianist Coordinator for Ballet Austin where he accompanies dance classes and manages accompanist schedules for the Company, Academy, and the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness. In addition to his work as a ballet pianist, he tunes and maintains the studio pianos, and trains pianists in the nuances of playing for dance. Joshua has released six albums of ballet class music which can be found online. His work has been commissioned for choreographic projects for the Butler Fellows, Ballet Zaida, SUNY Purchase, and Ventana Ballet. Outside of dance, Joshua has worked for The Vintage 15 big band, Doctor Mistuh Productions, River City Pops, and Asbury United Methodist Church. In 2020 he composed and recorded an original soundtrack for the documentary “Finding Light.” Joshua holds a B.A. in Piano Performance from Bethel College. When he is not playing for ballet classes, Joshua regularly uploads original piano arrangements and tutorials to his YouTube channel, heavypiano.

Academy Faculty

Michelle Martin, Associate Artistic Director and Academy Curriculum Director

Michelle Martin had her early dance training at the Alberta Ballet School and danced with the Alberta Ballet Company for four years before joining the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre (IBT) in 1982. While with IBT and, subsequently, the Hartford Ballet in Connecticut, she performed leading and soloist roles in Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and The Moor’s Pavane as well as creating roles in many original works. Martin’s teaching credits include guest-teaching engagements at schools and universities in Canada, South Carolina, Michigan, and throughout Indiana and Texas. She was on faculty at Butler University in Indianapolis for five years. Martin began her tenure with Ballet Austin in 1991 as a dancer with the Company and in 1992 she was appointed ballet mistress and curriculum director of the Academy. In 1999 she founded Ballet Austin II, Ballet Austin’s apprentice program, providing professional development for the 10-member second company and designing educational programming for presentation in schools. Martin has served on the Texas Commission on the Arts advisory panel for Arts Education and is a recipient of the Austin Under Forty award for contributions in the area of the Arts and Entertainment. Martin was appointed associate artistic director of Ballet Austin in 2000.

Jennifer Hart, Ballet Instructor and Curriculum Director for Levels 1-5

As curriculum director, Jennifer Hart oversees syllabus for the Ballet Austin Academy’s lower school. She also teaches all levels of the school as well as Ballet Austin’s Fellowship post-graduate program and its second company.

In addition to teaching, Hart pursues an active career as a choreographer. Hailed as a choreographer “with an imagination so exuberant that one could not be sure how one movement led to the next” and “not only inventive but heart-rending,” Jennifer Hart has been commissioned by Ballet Austin, Ballet Austin ll, Ballet Nouveau Colorado (now Wonderbound), James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theater, The Walker Art Center’s Momentum Series, The McKnight Fellowship for Dancers, Metropolitan Ballet Project, University of Kansas, University of Massachusetts, Lawrence Ballet Theatre, and Merick Strategies for its production of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” and “Icons of Broadway Holiday Spectacular.” Upcoming commissions include Ballet Austin and Halcyon Dance Project in San Francisco, California.

In 2011, Hart was awarded a New York City Ballet Fellowship and won third place at the Saint-Sauveur International Choreography Competition. She received second place at Ballet Nouveau Colorado’s choreography competition, and was one of three winners of the University of Kansas’ competitive choreography competition. She was chosen three times to present work at Ballet Builders, New Choreographer’s on Point in NYC. She was commissioned by University of Massachusetts in the fall of 2013; the work was chosen for the National College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center, June 2014.

In 2014, she formed Performa/Dance with Ballet Austin dancer Edward Carr. Performa/Dance launched its inaugural show. Ignite: Three Works, in June, 2014. Her work for Performa/Dance was awarded four Austin Critic’s Table awards for Best Short Work (“On Truth and Love”and “Camille: A Story of Art and Love”), Best Choreographer  (“Fellow Travelers” and “Murmuration”), and Best Dance Concert (Ignite: Three Works). Along with her work in concert dance, she has choreographed and performed cabaret shorts for nightclubs and television. She recently choreographed and co-directed the epic Bernstein’s Mass, a work involving 300 performers.

She trained at Minnesota Dance Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. Her performing career includes Minnesota Dance Theater, Ballet of the Dolls, and L.A Chamber Ballet, as well as independent choreographers.

Joan Wolfe, Creative Movement Curriculum Leader

Joan Wolfe (“Miss Joan”) began dancing at the Corpus Christi Ballet Academy at the age of 7, and has been moving ever since.  She received a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Dance with an emphasis in early childhood dance education from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  She furthered her dance training in the Bay Area, teaching modern dance and performing with independent choreographers.  In the 1980s, she apprenticed with a protégé of Anne Leif Barlin, considered a pioneer of creative movement for children. Miss Joan has been teaching children’s dance, writing curriculum, working with diverse abilities, and directing performing arts camps for more than 30 years.

Ian J. Bethany, Company Dancer and Ballet Instructor

Ian J. Bethany is from Long Island, N.Y. He started dancing as a tap and jazz student at Robert Mann Dance Centre. He started ballet at the age of 12 at Tap to Pointe Dance Center. Ian then went on to train at the Frank Ohman School of Ballet, at the School of Ballet Chicago with Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair, at Ballet Academy East with Darla Hoover and Francis Patrelle, and then as a full scholarship student in the Professional Division of Pacific Northwest Ballet School with Peter Boal, Elaine Bauer, Marjorie Thompson, Bruce Wells, and Nicholas Ade. With Ballet Austin, Ian has enjoyed performing in George Balanchine’s Agon and Allegro Brillante, Nicolo Fonte’s Lasting Imprint, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Requiem for a Rose, Gabrielle Lamb’s Dovetail, Bradley Shelver’s The Last Just, Stephen Mills’ Carmina Burana, The Magic Flute, and The Nutcracker, and the Bluebird Pas de Deux in The Sleeping Beauty. Ian has performed with project-based company Performa/Dance, has sung with the Austin Opera, was seen as Dream Curly in Zilker Theatre Production’s presentation of Oklahoma!, and does numerous juggling gigs around Austin. He also teaches in the Ballet Austin Academy. Ian would like to thank Jesus Christ, his wife, Grace, and his family for the support they give him each day.

Alexa Capareda, Ballet Master — Ballet Austin II and Butler Fellows, and Ballet Instructor

Alexa was born in the Philippines, where she began her dance training at Ballet Regina, following the Royal Academy of Dance curriculum. At age 16, Alexa started a three-year traineeship with Ballet Austin while attending college at the University of Texas. She attended the study program of the Ecole Superieure de Ballet Contemporain de Montreal in Canada, where she trained under renowned classical and contemporary artists and performed with Le Jeune Ballet du Quebec in works by Gioconda Barbuto, Shaun Hansell, and Jean-Louis Morin. While in Montreal, she performed as a guest soloist with Ballet Ouest in their production of “The Nutcracker.” In 2011, Alexa joined Mario Radacovsky’s newly formed contemporary company, Balet Bratislava, in Slovakia, as one of 16 original company members. Aside from working with Radacovsky on the company’s repertoire of neoclassical and contemporary works, Alexa had the privilege of performing Jiri Kylian’s Falling Angels and Six Dances and performing creations by Libor Vaculik, Sarka Ondrisova, and Jan Durovcik.

Alexa has extensive training in dance and choreography, having participated in top-notch summer programs and workshops at Springboard Danse Montreal, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Northwest Dance Project. Shortly before leaving Balet Bratislava, Alexa received 3rd place in the 2013 Festival of Choreographic Miniatures choreography competition held in Belgrade, Serbia.

Alexa has been teaching ballet and contemporary at Ballet Austin’s Butler Center for Dance & Fitness since 2013. She also dances professionally with Austin-based Arcos Dance, and has performed with Andrea Beckham Dance Collaborative and Jennifer Hart’s Performa/Dance. Alexa received a BA in English with high honors from the University of Texas-Austin in 2015.

Casey Cisler, Young Children’s Division and Pre-Ballet Instructor

Originally from Houston, Texas, Casey began training in many styles of dance at the age of 3 at Ann Moody Sill Dance Studio. She began training pre-professionally at Fort Bend Academy of Dance under the instruction of Michael Banigan, Diane Jarrell, and Erin Duncan. In 2018 she was offered a position in the Butler Fellowship program at Ballet Austin where she danced during the 2018-2019 season under Stephen Mills and Michelle Martin. She then began assisting and teaching in the Young Children’s Division during the 2019-2020 season. Casey is thrilled to be working with Ballet Austin and continue sharing her love for dance.

LB Flett, Young Children’s Division Instructor

LB (Laura Beth) is a performer, choreographer, and dance educator from Louisiana currently residing in Austin, Texas. She has been training in all types of dance, primarily ballet and contemporary, for 17 years. She recently graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Business Foundations certificate. As a member of UT’s Dance Repertory Theatre, she has performed in works by renowned choreographers such as Ananya Chatterjea, Charles O. Anderson, and Adrienne Hurd. More recently, she has choreographed pieces for UT’s Dance Repertory Theatre, and is now choreographing and performing with interdisciplinary performance group TC Superstar. LB is dedicated to teaching and inspiring young dancers to be healthy, creative, and conscientious individuals.

James Fuller, Company Dancer and Ballet Instructor

James Fuller is from Irvine, Calif., and was trained at Ballet Pacifica Conservatory. In 2004, James received a Youth America Grand Prix scholarship to study at the Boston Ballet School, where he completed his final year of training. James apprenticed with Oregon Ballet Theatre for a year before enrolling at Harvard University. At Harvard, James performed works by choreographers such as Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, George Balanchine, and Alvin Ailey. In the summers, James studied modern dance with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, American Dance Festival, and Beijing LDTX. James directed the Harvard Ballet Company in 2009 and graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of the Arts in Philosophy, a secondary field in dramatic arts, and a language citation in Urdu-Hindi. Since joining Ballet Austin, James has performed in original works by Stephen Mills, including Though the Earth Gives Way and Four Mortal Men, danced the role of Albrecht in Giselle and the main pas de deux in Christopher Wheeldon’s Ghosts, performed with the National Choreographers Initiative, and choreographed for Houston City Dance.

Isabelle Green, Young Children’s Division Instructor

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Isabelle moved to the United States as a young child and began her dance training in Philadelphia, Penn.  She received full training scholarships to the Kirov in Washington, D.C., Walnut Hill, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, and The School of American Ballet. Isabelle danced with the Brandywine Ballet, Tthe Wilmington Ballet, and the Pennsylvania Ballet while she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania. Isabelle currently performs with local groups in Austin and enjoys teaching to all ages and levels. She is delighted to be working with the Ballet Austin Academy.

Libby James, Ballet Instructor

Libby James graduated magna cum laude with a B.F.A. in Ballet from Texas Christian University. She danced with the Colorado Ballet for two years, performing in ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, Serenade, Stars and Stripes, and Alvin Ailey’s The River. Libby was a member of Texas Ballet Theater (formerly Fort Worth/Dallas Ballet) for three years. She performed roles such as the Spring Fairy in Cinderella, Clara in The Nutcracker, and one of the couples in Ben Stevenson’s Four Last Songs.

Victoria (Tori) Johnson, Young Children’s Division Instructor

A native of Houston, TX, Tori began her ballet training at Adamson Ballet School and continued to train at The Washington of Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Boston Ballet. Tori graduated from the University of Utah in 2019 with an Honors Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet and a Minor in Nutrition. While at “the U,” she performed in Les Sylphides; Swan Lake Act III; Women, if Possible by Luc Vanier; and Bloom by Penny Saunders. Her honors thesis, Classicism Has No Color, was an ethnographic and archival research paper that examined the unacknowledged contributions of dancers of color to the American ballet canon. This paper helped her achieve the designation of Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher for the College of Fine Arts 2019, the first-ever from the School of Dance. Tori also holds a 200-hour yoga teaching certification that she earned through Yoga Alliance.

As a dance educator, Tori strives to make every child feel seen, heard, and loved.

Tori also serves as Ballet Austin’s Community Education Assistant.

Allyson Morales, Young Children’s Division Instructor

Allyson Morales began her training at the age of 7 at Ballet San Antonio Academy in San Antonio, Texas. She went on to pursue a dance degree from the University of Texas at Austin where she developed a passion for dance education. While a member of UT’s Dance Repertory Theatre, Allyson got the opportunity to work with various professional dance artists in the Austin community and outside including; Charles O Anderson, Andrea Beckham, Yacov Sharir, Mark Morris, Millicent Johnnie, and the Cunningham Trust. Allyson later studied with Alito Alessi, founder of DanceAbility, who developed and promoted inclusive methods to connect people with and without disability through movement. Allyson received her DanceAbility instructor certification in December of 2016 and continues to be a part of Austin’s inclusive dance community through Body Shift. Allyson graduated from the University of Texas in August of 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, a Bachelor of Sciences in Communication Studies, and a Teacher Certification through UTeach-Dance. In the summer of 2018, Allyson graduated from New York’s Dance Education Laboratory Summer Institute as an Arnhold Fellow. Allyson works for Austin ISD as an elementary educator where she teaches dance.

Grace Morton, Company Dancer and Ballet Instructor

Grace Morton is from Seattle, Wash. She received her early training from Vivian Little and Mary Reardon, school directors of Dance Fremont. In 2010 she began training under the direction of Damara Bennett in Oregon Ballet Theater’s professional division. She had the chance to tour to Korea and performed in company productions of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and Nicolo Fonte’s world premiere of Petrushka. As a member of Ballet Austin II, she enjoyed performing featured roles in Stephen Mills’ Luminaria, Jennifer Hart’s Wavemakers, and Nelly Van Bommel’s Snow White. After joining the company, Grace has performed roles in classical ballets such as French in Stephen Mills’ The Nutcracker, Puss ‘n Boots in The Sleeping Beauty, and Four Little Swans in Swan Lake. She has also had the pleasure to appear in George Balanchine’s Agon, Stephen Mills’ One/the body’s grace, Gabriel Lamb’s Dovetail, James Gregg’s The Space Between, and Jennifer Hart’s To Here. Grace has danced in project-based company Performa/Dance, and appeared in Zilker Theatre Production’s presentation of Oklahoma! as Dream Laurie. She is also a teacher in the Ballet Austin Academy.

Francis Rodriguez, Young Children’s Division Instructor

Originally from Brownsville, Texas, Francis began her dance training across the lower Rio Grande Valley and now holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from The University of Texas at Austin. During her time at UT Austin, she was a performer and choreographer for Dance Repertory Theatre, studied abroad at the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine in Angers, France, and completed the UTeach Dance educational program. As a teaching-artist, Francis strives to facilitate opportunities for all students to make meaningful connections in and between dance making and the larger world around them.

Melissa Roetker, Young Children’s Division Instructor

Melissa began her dance training in San Diego, California. She first performed professionally with City Ballet of San Diego and began teaching children’s classes locally. She furthered her training with summer programs at the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, Miami City Ballet, and NW Dance Project. Melissa relocated to Miami to dance with Miami City Ballet in their pre-professional division where she had the opportunity to perform several ballets by George Balanchine and August Bournonville. After attending a summer program at Ballet Austin, Melissa was invited to join Ballet Austin II for the 2012/2013 season as an apprentice and performed works by Stephen Mills, Jennifer Hart, Nelly van Bommel, and August Bournonville. Since 2013, Melissa has been teaching dancers of all ages throughout Austin and the surrounding areas. She joined the Ballet Austin Academy in June of 2019 and is excited to share her love of dance with her students.

Lisa del Rosario, Pre-Ballet and Ballet Instructor

Lisa del Rosario began her dance studies at the Margo Marshall School of Ballet and the Cleveland San Jose School of Ballet. She continued her training as a Heywood “Woody” McGriff Presidential Scholarship student at the University of Texas at Austin where she received her BFA in Dance. She also studied classical piano and violin for many years and in her later years Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, qigong, Droznin System, Vipassana Meditation, and the Feldenkrais Method® of movement education. She currently is a member of DA! Theatre Collective and Sheep Army/Elsewhere Dance Theatre, and also performs her own solo work, along with independent choreographers, locally, nationally, and internationally. Lisa has taught and choreographed at the Dougherty Arts School, the McCallum High School Fine Arts Academy, Tapestry, and the Texas Arts Project at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. Lisa is thrilled to be teaching at Ballet Austin Academy.

Jessica Stroh, Young Children’s Division Instructor

Jessica Stroh is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher originally from Ocala, Fla. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of South Florida in 2015. Under scholarships, Jessica further trained with Bodytraffic, Repertory Dance Theatre, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, and USF’s Dance in Paris Program. In 2016, Jessica moved to New York City where she had the honor of working and collaborating with Colleen Thomas Dance, Dugal Dance Projects, Alexeya EM, Rosie DeAngelo, Bryce Dance Company, and BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance. In NYC, Jessica had the privilege of teaching with Greenhouse Arts Center and Global Community Charter School. Jessica has choreographed, performed, and taught in NYC, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Paris, France. She is the recipient of Brooklyn-based Spoke the Hub’s 2018 People’s Choice Award where she presented an evening-length work with collaborator Laura Mobley. Jessica now resides in Austin, Texas, and joyfully teaches and creates with her performance company, Alt Project, alongside co-founder, Laura Mobley and is thrilled to be joining the Ballet Austin Young Children’s Division.

Christopher Swaim, Ballet Austin Rehearsal Director and Ballet Instructor

Christopher Swaim is originally from Bryant, Ark., where he began his training with Kirt and Linda Hathaway at the Academy of Ballet Arkansas. He then went on to graduate with distinction from the University of Oklahoma with a B.F.A. in Ballet Pedagogy. Swaim has danced a variety of soloist and principal roles across classical, contemporary, and modern repertory, including works by Stephen Mills, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Justin Peck, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Nicolo Fonte, Amy Seiwert, Ben Stevenson, Miguel Terekhov, Pam Tanowitz, Sidra Bell, and Septime Webre. While at Ballet Austin he had the pleasure of touring the globe, performing at the Kennedy Center in our nation’s capital with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet and again with Ballet Across America III, and guesting with Ballet Arkansas and Amy Seiwert’s company, Imagery. In May of 2019, he retired from the stage after 15 years with Ballet Austin as Albrecht in Giselle. Swaim teaches in the Ballet Austin Academy and has guest taught across the country.