Guest Master Teachers

| Maria Konrad

Maria Konrad graduated from the Dreyfoos High School of the Arts in West Palm Beach and then earned her BFA in Performing Arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a teacher in Philadelphia, Mrs. Konrad created the early-dance-education curriculum for the school of the Koresh Dance Company, which has been featured in Dance Magazine. Ms. Konrad’s choreography has been presented nationally in such venues such as the Spoleto Festival in South Carolina, The School of Colorado Ballet, The Harid Conservatory, Florida Dance Festival, Miami Dade Cultural Center, Florida Atlantic University, The Kravis Center, Next Generation Ballet and has collaborated with artistic organizations such as Palm Beach Symphony and Palm Beach Pops. Her work has been picked up by choreographic workshops in NYC such as The STEPS Beyond Foundation at STEPS on Broadway and Uptown Rising Series at The Bridge. Her piece “Portraits” was chosen to perform in the 2018 Come Together Festival hosted by Koresh Dance Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has been recognized by organizations such as Young Arts and Youth America Grand Prix for “Outstanding Choreography” (2015, 2017) and YAGP Oustanding Choreographer at 2022 Finals. She is currently resident choreographer with The Next Generation Ballet (Dir. Philip Neal) and the director of the contemporary program at Florida School for Dance Education.

| Rolando Sarabia

Rolando Sarabia Oquendo is a Cuban -born American ballet dancer . He was an acclaimed Principal Dancer for The Washington Ballet under artistic director Julie Kent and former artistic director Septime Webre. He has danced with many companies including the Cuban National Ballet , the Houston Ballet , Miami City Ballet , and American Ballet Theatre as a guest artist in 2011. Erika Kinetz of The New York Times called him the "Cuban Nijinsky " and compared him to the young Mikhail Baryshnikov . In 2021 he was named the artistic director of Roanoke Ballet Theatre.

His awards & recognitions are: Gold Medal and Prize for Young Revelation (1994 - Competition at Mercosur in Brazil), Grand Prix 1995 International Encounter of Ballet Academies (1995 - Havana, Cuba), Grand Prix 1998 International Encounter of Ballet Academies (1998 - Havana, Cuba), Gold Medal 1998 International Ballet Competition (1998 - Nagoya, Japan), Junior Division, Gold Medal USA International Ballet Competition (1998 - Jackson, Mississippi), Grand Prix 1998, Varna International Ballet Competition (1998 - Varna, Bulgaria), Grand Prix 1998, Concours International de Danse de Paris (1998 - Paris, France) & Prix Benois de la Danse (2011 - Moscow, Russia).

| Dylan Smith

Dylan Smith is a Los Angeles based dancer, choreographer, teaching and visual artist and recipient of Broadway World San Francisco’s Best Choreography award. He recently was Assistant Choreographer for “Fairly Odd Parents” on Nickelodeon which can found streaming on Paramount+. Performing credits Include: Japan and North American Tours of 42nd Street, Bobby in A Chorus Line with Transcendence Theatre Company, Associate  Choreographer and Performer "Christmas in the Air" with MGM Entertainment, Principal Dancer on Holland America Cruise Line, and JUBILEE! at Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas just to name a few. Dylan is an accomplished teaching artist and choreographer that instructs all over the world at various colleges, universities and studios teaching master classes and setting original works including Broadway Dance Center, Alvin Ailey School of Dance, Rutgers University, Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College. Behind the table, Mr. Smith has worked with the Emmy Award winning RWS Entertainment Group as an audition choreographer/coordinator and assistant to the casting director. Dylan trains college bound performers on their dance technique, audition material and has successfully landed many of these said hopefuls into the colleges of their choice. As a passionate visual artist, Mr. Smith has had several successful solo exhibitions across California and has created two large scale pieces of public art for the city of Palm Springs. His line of original artwork on clothing, Hair Pop Out Mania, just launched and has been met with great interest and success. Dylan holds a Bachelors of Arts in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. 

| Joseph Gatti

Joseph Gatti is United Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director; he was formerly a Principal Dancer with the Cincinnati Ballet and Corella Ballet, and First Soloist with Boston Ballet. He was born in Warwick, New York and raised in Orlando, Florida, where he began dancing at the Orlando Ballet School and continued his training with Vadim Fedotov and Irina Depler. Joseph danced at Orlando Ballet as an apprentice from 2001-2003, under the direction of Fernando Bujones.

In 2003, he was coached by Orlando Molina for the Youth American Grand Prix Ballet Competition in New York, where he was awarded the gold medal and a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London. Upon graduating with honors, he received the Dame Ruth Railton Award for Excellence in Dance in 2004. After attending the American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive in 2003, he joined the American Ballet Theater Studio Company for the 2004-2005 season. In 2005, he became the first American male dancer to win the prestigious gold medal at the New York International Ballet Competition.

Joseph was nominated as Best Male Dancer for the 2006 Benois de la Danse in Moscow, Russia. That same year, he became a bronze medalist at the USA International Ballet Competition and a silver medalist at the Seoul International Ballet Competition in Korea.

He was also chosen to be featured in a video entitled “The Male Ballet Dancer” presented by master teacher Finis Jhung. In 2007, Joseph was coached by Magaly Suarez for the first World Ballet Competition in Orlando, Florida, where he received the gold medal. Mr. Gatti also received the bronze medal at the 2010 Istanbul International Ballet Competition. In 2013, Joseph received the Mr. Virtuosity Award at the Dance Open Ballet Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2014, he also received the “Best Pas De Deux” award at the Dance Open Festival in St. Petersburg.

| Yekaterina Yurtayeva

Being engaged in classical ballet, either as a performer, or as an instructor, has always been my dream, ever since I was a child. I have never desired to be anything else. I devoted all my life to dance and consider dance as the most beautiful form of art and self- expression. I come from a family of artists, opera singers and concert pianists.

At the age of five, I started attending a ballet school for children that was run by Omsk (Russia) State Music Theatre. At the age of nine, I was among twelve students of the Novosibirsk (Russia) State Choreographic College who were selected out of 300 candidates to study there. During my ballet school years I performed in "Nutcracker","Swan Lake","Giselle","Don Quixote," as well in many other performances on the stage of Omsk State Music Theatre and Novosibirsk State Opera of Opera and Ballet.

I moved to the USA in 2001 to further my passion, and soon was offered a position at the New Mexico Ballet Company after my performance in "Nutcracker", but at that time I couldn't take any job, because I was a student at San Juan College (Farmington, NM) and was still learning English.

In 2004 I was offered a ballet instructing position in CO and soon moved to Denver to teach. Through out 2004-2013, I dedicated my time between Dance Boulevard and Belliston Ballet Academy. I was passionate about teaching dance conventions and focused a lot of my time and energy there. In late 2013 I was offered an opportunity to grow in my dance career that I couldn't turn down, at Dance Etc, where I moved to Boulder City, NV.

During all the years of teaching experience I prepared many dancers who took dance up to the professional level. I keep in touch with many of my former students who express their gratitude and acknowledge the positive impact I made in their lives. Along with love of ballet and proper ballet technique, they learned discipline and excellent work ethic, the skills that help them to succeed in their professional life.

| Sally Rojas Herrera

Sally Rojas Herrera is a respected ballet educator and currently instructs the upper level school with the Houston Ballet Ben Stevenson Academy. She also teaches at West University Dance Centre in Houston, TX.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Sally moved to Miami, Florida when she was ten and trained with Thomas Annour, Robert Pike, and Judith Reese Newman at the Miami Conservatory. She went on to study at the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, becoming a member of American Ballet Theatre II at the age of sixteen.

Ms. Rojas later joined the Houston Ballet Company and, as a soloist, danced the principal roles in Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Snow Maiden, Peer Gynt, Cleopatra, and Dracula; Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, Song of the Earth, Gloria, and Elite Syncopations; and Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow.

Ms. Rojas also danced leading roles in Stanton Welch’s Indigo, Garden of Mirth, and Bruiser; Ben Stevenson’s Miraculous Mandarin, Four Last Songs, Dusk, and Bartok Concerto; George Balanchine’s Serenade, Agon, La Valse, and Four Temperaments; William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated; Nacho Duato’s Without Words; Jiri Kylian’s Sinfonietta; Trey McIntire’s Second Before the Ground and Peter Pan; Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances, Rooster, Sargeant Early’s Dream, Land, and Cruel Garden; and John Selya’s Ingredients.

Since her retirement in 2004, Ms. Rojas has taught master classes for the Regional Dance America Southwest Festival, Southern Methodist University, and the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Sally Rojas has also served as an adjudicator for the Children’s Foundation for the Arts and Sam Houston State University. Ms. Rojas was involved in a three-year project that included traveling to Guatemala to hold workshops for teachers and master classes for dancers.

| Yelena Borisova

Yelena Borisova was born in Russia. She received her ballet training at the Moscow Ballet Academy, the prestigious school of the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre.  She graduated in 1987, and in 1988 entered the Moscow State Choreographic Institute and received a Masters degree in teaching Dance and majored in Ballet , Character, Folk dancing , Variations, French Terminology, and Pilates . Her teacher was the renowned Sofia Golovkina, who also taught Bolshoi Prima-Ballerina Natalie Bessmertnova and Marina Leonova, Galina Stepaneneko, Nadegda Gracheva the present director of the Moscow Ballet Academy.  While majoring in teaching and choreography Ms. Borisova studied ballet, character dance, duet and historical dance; she graduated in 1992. Following her training, she was a First soloist dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre in Russia. With the Bolshoi she received critical acclaim for her roles in Le Bayadere, Le Corsaire, Swan Lake, DonQuixote, Coppelia, Paquita, Raymonda, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Spartacus, Romeo and Juliet, and Paquita.While preparing for these roles, she had opportunity to work with some of the greatest teachers in Russia including: Rima Karelskaya, Natalia Bessmertnova, Raisa Struchkova, and Irina Kolpakova. Choreographers: Grigorovich, Vasiliev, Petit, Caniparoli, Lavrovsky, and Balanchine. Ms. Borisova immigrated to the United States in 1996, and she became a principal dancer with Indianapolis Ballet Theatre in Indiana.

She moved to Arlington, TX in 2001, and she assumed the position of Director of the Ballet Academy in the summer of 2002. Ms. Borisova also staged productions of the Metropolitan Ballet Academy including Don Quixote, Paquita, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Swan Lake, Coppelia. She has also assisted in staging many productions of Metropolitan Classical Ballet: Carmen, The Nutcracker, Spartacus, and Creation of the World. Ms. Borisova received the Award - Outstanding Teacher YAGP in 2007.

Ms. Borisova currently works as The Head and Senior Lecturer of the Choreography Department of the City of Moscow in the “College of Musical and Theater Art” named after G.P. Vishnevskaya .

| Hazel Sabas

Ms. Sabas received her MFA from Tisch School of Arts at New York University, as well as numerous grants and awards for her choreographic efforts. She is currently a Fulbright Specialist Scholar. Ms. Sabas has taught internationally and domestically at the collegiate and the pre-professional level as a ballet mistress and a lecturer. Her training includes certifications in yoga and pilates.

Ms. Sabas received her dance training at Royal Academy of Dance in Phillippines. She was a Principal Dancer with Ballet Philippines and her repertoire includes Kitri in Don Quixote, Lise in La Fille Mal Gardee, Carmen in Carmen, Gamsatti in La Bayadere, and many more principal roles.

| Mikhail Tchoupakov

Mr. Tchoupakov was born and raised in Moscow Russia and graduated from the acclaimed Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Mikhail danced as a soloist and principal dancer with many renowned companies including the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre for 9 years, Sarasota Ballet of Florida, Vienna State Opera Ballet, Los Angeles Classical Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and State Street Ballet.

In addition to an extensive career as a performing artist, Mr. Tchoupakov also has almost 30 years of experience teaching Classical Ballet. He has taught for schools such as the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, the Royal Ballet School, and Salt Lake City Ballet, was a principal teacher for Elmhurst School for Dance, and also served as Ballet Master and Repetiteur for the Colorado Ballet and State Street Ballet.

Mr. Tchoupakov is a resident Master Teacher with Youth America Grand Prix and is currently on faculty with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Mr. Tchoupakov holds an M.F.A in Dance Pedagogy and Choreography from Moscow State Academy, a B.S. in Political Science from Moscow State University of Marxism, and a B.A. in Dance Performance with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy.

| Alexei Moskalenko

Mr. Mosalenko is a former dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet and has more than 20 years of teaching experience in classical ballet, technique, pointe technique, men’s ballet technique, variations, pas de deux, contemporary dance, character dance, and choreography. He is committed to delivering excellence in dance training and education through the Russian Vaganova Method while also adapting to each student’s individual needs and abilities. He has a proven record in advising and guiding students through career options and choices, and has mentored students who have continued their dance training at colleges, universities, and professional companies. Mr. Moskalenko currently serves as the Director of Day Program and as Master Teacher and Coach Indiana Ballet Conservatory.

Mr. Moskalenko also holds the distinct honor of being the New York Director of Rehearsals, Master Teacher, Judge, and Tour Director for the world’s largest ballet scholarship competition – the Youth America Grand Prix.

| Natalia Bashkatova

Natalia Bashkatova was born in Russia and trained at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow and Bolshoi Ballet University. She became a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Theater Grigorovich Ballet from 1989-1994 and in 1994 she became a guest principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Her repertoire included many title roles in the great classics including "Aurora" in Sleeping Beauty, "Kitri" in Don Quixote, "Swanhilda" in Coppelia, and "Odette/Odile" in Swan Lake among many others. Natalia received the award for "Best Ballerina of the Festival" at the 1992 Spoleto International Arts Festival held in Spoleto, Italy and has toured worldwide to countries including Greece, Egypt, China, France, Belgium, and Japan among many others. After moving to the United States, Natalia joined the Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas as the lead dancer in Mystere. In 1998, she moved to Orlando to show in Cirque du Soleil's "La Nouba" where she currently still performs. Ms. Bashkatova  has been featured in numerous television commercials, interviews, and videos with Cirque du Soleil and continues to work in the entertainment industry. Natalia is also the founder of ARTASTAR, a management and production company based out of Florida.

| Nikoloz Makhateli

Mr. Makhateli received the highest qualification as a Ballet Master and Choreographer in 1987 from the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg where he obtained a Master’s Degree as Teacher/Repetiteur of Choreography. His areas of expertise include the full Vaganova syllabus, the entire Petipa repertory, and the eight-year syllabus of classical ballet (including character, pas de deux, music, history of theatre and art).

Mr. Makhateli was a principal dancer with the National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi, Georgia, where he danced leading roles in Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Flames of Paris, and Raymonda among others. Mr. Makhateli also has extensive experience as teacher and choreographer. He was head of the dance department at the Institute of Fine Arts in Tbilisi, Georgia. For three years he was the Master Teacher and Choreographer of the National Ballet School, Madras Africa, in Senegal. He was also the Master Ballet Teacher of the National Ballet School in Nicaragua. He was the Artistic Director of “Makhateli Ballet” which received the “Most Outstanding Ballet School in Colorado for 2005” by Youth America Grand Prix. Mr. Makhateli was awarded “Outstanding Teacher” in Colorado for 2006 at the Youth America Grand Prix. He also taught at the Ascot Ballet Academy in Colorado where several of his students received first place in the semifinals of Youth America Grand Prix and went on to the final competition in New York City. Most recently, he taught at the Kirov Ballet Academy in Washington, DC and at Michigan Ballet Academy in Grand Rapids Michigan. Nikoloz is now a freelance Choreographer and Master Teacher.

| Carlos dos Santos, Jr.

Carlos dos Santos, Jr. is a recognized dancer, choreographer and teacher. He has performed as a principal dancer with major Brazilian and U.S. dance companies, including the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, Complexions, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (US); Grupo Salto, Bale Folclorico da Bahia, Bale Teatro Castro Alves, and DanceBrazil (Brazil), where he also served as a rehearsal director.

Mr. Dos Santos' choreographic credits include works for Colorado Ballet, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, American Dance Festival, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and Dance Brazil, as well as his own solo performances around the world. Mr. dos Santos has been featured in numerous TV programs as an actor, dancer and model. His TV credits include appearances on PBS (US) and SBT TV (major Brazilian TV network), as well as coverage as a performer and choreographer in news programs around the world.

His acting career included Medea Materialis for the New York Fringe Festival, Dream on Monkey Mountain with the Denter Center Theater Company, Chaplin with the Edison Souto Theatre Group, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands with the Fernando Guerreiro Theatre Group, and Yalorixa, a popular Brazilian soap-opera.

Mr. dos Santos has taught at dance festivals, schools and universities around the world, including the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, The Ailey School, Steps on Broadway, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance School and International Summer Institute, Dance Brazil, Academy of Colorado Ballet, Youth America.

Grand Prix Ballet and Contemporary Dance Competition for Students, as well as master classes in the U.S., Italy, Switzerland, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Chekh Republic, Argentina, and Brazil.

| Amy Fote

Amy Fote began dancing at the age of four in her hometown of Manitowoc, WI under the direction of Jean Wolfmeyer.  She continued her studies on scholarship at the National Academy of Arts, Interlochen Arts Academy and at the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, FL , where she graduated with honors.  Immediately following her senior year, Ms. Fote accepted a position in the Milwaukee Ballet trainee program and entered into the company the following season. She rose through the ranks to become a principal dancer and performed with the company for 14 years. During her tenure in Milwaukee, she was regularly invited to perform at the famed Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY where she was coached and encouraged by NYCB luminaries, Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride and Violette Verdy. In 2004, she was invited to dance the title role in  Stanton Welch's 'Madame Butterfly' for the Royal New Zealand Ballet's two month tour. The following season she accepted Mr. Welch's invitation and joined Houston Ballet where she held a principal position and danced for eight seasons.

Ms. Fote retired in 2013 after a twenty-two year career in dance and was graciously honored in Houston Ballet's Jubilee of Dance gala celebration.  She was again invited to dance Hana in ’The Merry Widow’ with Houston Ballet the following season before accepting a Ballet Master position with Ballet San Antonio from 2014-2016. In 2003, she was featured in a PBS documentary entitled 'Dancing Anna Karenina', focusing on her portrayal of one of the great heroines of Russian literature.  She was also featured on PBS, performing Alonzo King's 'Map', in a moving 9/11 performance.

Ms. Fote's classical repertoire includes principal roles in 'Swan Lake', 'Romeo and Juliet', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Giselle', 'Don Quixote', 'Taming of the Shrew', 'Onegin', 'Manon, 'The Merry Widow', 'Cinderella', 'Carmen', 'Scheherazade', 'La Fille Mal Gardé',  'The Nutcracker' and 'Coppelia'.   She has also performed works by Juri Kylian, William Forseythe, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Choo San Gogh, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Sir Antohony Tudor,  Sir Kenneth MacMillian, Twyla Tharp, Glen Tetley, Mark Morris, Christopher Bruce and Hans van Mannen, among others.

| Katrina Blose

Katrina Blose began studying  dance at a young age in Northern Illinois, where she trained  at Rockford Dance Company (Vaganova Technique), Metropolitan Ballet (Cecchetti Method), Northern Illinois University (French and American Classical Techniques), and Forest Hills (Competitive Jazz, Lyrical, and Contemporary). She then relocated to North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Katrina later moved to New York where she danced  with the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School and soon after began a freelance dance career that led her to Europe. Following her return to the United States, Katrina worked as a guest artist up and down the East Coast, soon finding a home at Columbia City Ballet.

Katrina's quest for knowledge about other dance techniques took over led her to pursue further study at University of North Carolina at Greensboro and she graduated with her B.F.A. for Dance in December 2011. In addition to teaching for the Dance Project at City Arts and at Artistic Motion, Katrina continues to perform as a guest dancer and aerial artist. She also works as a private coach to help students compete, audition, and achieve their dreams, as she did herself

| Aliaksandra Sasha Krukava

Ms. Krukava is originally from Minsk, Belarus. She graduated from Minsk Ballet Academy in 2012. She completed an internship in Manchester, United Kingdom. Ms. Krukava danced many roles with the Minsk State Theatre of Opera & Ballet and the Russian National Ballet.

Some of the lead roles in her classical repertoire include: Odillia in Swan Lake, Kitri in Don Quixote, Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Giselle in Giselle, Mary in The Nutcracker, Cinderella in Cinderella & many others.

| Nurlan Kinerbayev

Mr Kinerbayev, is from Taraz, Karakhstan. He received his training from Almaty Choreographic College and University of Ballashak. He danced with State Academic Opera Ballet Theatre, Samara Academic Opera & Ballet Theatre, Moscow City Balla and the Russian National Ballet.

Some of his lead roles include; Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Basilio in Don Quixote, Prince Desire in Sleeping Beauty, Albert in Giselle, The Prince in The Nutcracker, The Prince in Cinderella, Don Jose in Carmen Suite & many others.