Tensia Fonseca began her training in her native Costa Rica at the age of 7, learning classical Greek and folklore dance. At 9 she began ballet training with Margarita Esquivel (founder of the National Ballet of Costa Rica) and Margarita Bertheau (dancer, artist, designer, and costumier). Mrs. Fonseca joined the National Ballet of Costa Rica at 15, dancing many solo and principal roles. She immigrated to New York in 1945, where she studied with Andre Eglevsky, and later moved to Washington, studying with Mary Day and Lisa Gardiner. Mrs. Fonseca holds a teaching degree from the Cecchetti Council. She has been teaching ballet for fifty years and is the founding artistic director of the Maryland Youth Ballet, incorporated in 1971. Mrs. Fonseca has been instrumental in cultivating professional careers for many students. In May, 2003 she was awarded the Pola Nirenska Award for Lifetime Achievement, named Teacher of the Year in 2004 by Dance Teacher magazine and the 2005 Montgomery County Excellence in the Arts and Humanities Education Award.

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Michelle Lees was born and raised in the DC area where she received her early training from Tania and Oleg Tupine. She graduated from the Washington School of Ballet and then joined the National Ballet at age fifteen and quickly rose to principal dancer. She was also a principal dancer with the American Classical Ballet and the Chicago Ballet. Ms. Lees has toured extensively throughout the US and Europe in the company of Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. In 1972 she and her partner won the top prize at the International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. Ms. Lees is the Associate Director of the Maryland Youth Ballet and is the choreographer of its award-winning highly acclaimed The Nutcracker. In January, 2006, Ms. Lees was named “Outstanding Teacher” at the Youth America Grand Prix Regional Competition.

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Stephen Baranovics began dancing at the age of twelve in New Orleans under Gale Parmelee. He continued his training at Harkness School of Ballet and The Washington School of Ballet, later performing professionally with the National Ballet of Washington, the Houston Ballet, Basel Ballet in Switzerland and the Dutch National Ballet. After retiring from the stage, Mr. Baranovics graduated from American University and worked for America's Most Wanted. He now devotes his time to teaching dance and using his talents in photography to portrait children, dancers and other artists. His photography has appeared on national television, in dance publications and in The Washington Post, where he has received two awards.

Kristin Brown-Maki received her early training from the Florida Dance Theatre and was a graduate of Howard W. Blake High School for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Florida. She continued her dance education on scholarship at the University of South Florida while performing as a guest artist with the Brandon Ballet. Ms. Brown-Maki has danced professionally with the Ballet Theatre of Maryland, United Nations of Dance, THINK Dance Company, and is currently a member of Bowen McCauley Dance.

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Deidre Byrne graduated from the Maryland Youth Ballet in 1985 and immediately entered the School of the Cleveland Ballet on full scholarship. She joined the Cleveland San Jose Ballet two years later where she danced for 13 years and was a soloist in much of the company’s repertoire. Ms. Byrne earned her BS in business marketing at the University of Maryland University College and is now the Administrative Director at the MYB. Additionally, Ms. Byrne is on the MYB faculty and teaches ballet to all ages and levels.

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Jennifer Cox began her ballet training in New Zealand and Australia with the British Ballet organization. She was a soloist with the Ballet Petite in New Zealand and later studied modern dance at the University of North Carolina. Mrs. Cox was associated with the Maryland School of Ballet in 1969, and was instrumental in the establishment of the school of the Maryland Youth Ballet in 1979. The Introductory Division of the MYB was formed under her direction at the time, and has grown to include almost 200 students. She also created and developed the Music and Motion classes for children with physical disabilities.

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Alison Crosby taught dance throughout the metropolitan area for over 15 years. Alison trained at the Maryland Youth Ballet in classical ballet and jazz, continuing in NYC at the Joffrey Ballet School. Her professional career spans classical ballet to musical theater. Local companies have included : Eric Hampton Dance; Rincones and Company; Dancesmith, nms and Bowen McCauley Dnace with whom she currently performs and is a founding member and reharsal assistant.

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Christopher Doyle was born in Boston, MA. He received his training at Boston Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School and from Hae Shik Kim in Fresno California. He was a member of the Washington Ballet for nine years where he danced many principal roles. Other companies he has performed with include the Milwaukee Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and the National Ballet of Korea. He also served as artistic director for the Fresno Ballet from 1994 to 2005.

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Susan Gresko began studying ballet with Janis Ray in Annandale, Virginia. She continued training on scholarship at the National Academy of Arts in Champaign, IL, Jacob's Pillow, and the Pennsylvania School of Ballet. She studied ballet and modern dance at George Mason University where she earned her BA degree in Dance with Highest Distinction honors and performed with the George Mason University Dance Company. Ms. Gresko is an avid yoga practitioner and is completing teacher-training through the American Viniyoga Institute. She is certified in the Zena Rommett Floor-Barre technique. She has taught ballet, yoga, and Floor-Barre throughout the Washington metro area. Ms. Gresko teaches beginner level adult ballet at the MYB.

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Austin St. John is a native of Pasadena, CA. He has danced with the Rudy Perez Performance Ensemble, the Sacramento Ballet, the Oakland Ballet, and the Cleveland Ballet. He is currently teaching and performing as a guest artist with various small companies. Mr. St. John performs with the Maryland Youth Ballet.

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Lisae C. Jordan received her early training in classical ballet with Marilyn Ramsey in upstate New York and with the School of the Hartford Ballet in Connecticut. She worked as a principal dancer with Womenwerks and regional ballet companies in her home state of New York. Since moving to the D.C. area, she has danced with the Washington National Opera under the direction of Placido Domingo, the Baltimore Opera, Artefacts, and other local dance companies. She has taught ballet and stretch throughout the DC metro area and is delighted to join the faculty at the Maryland Youth Ballet. Her stretch class emphasizes relaxation as well as alignment and length.

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Cecilia Jordan received her training from Roberta Fera, and Richard Brown (formerly with the Royal Ballet), and has been a regular adult student at Maryland Youth Ballet for many years. Her professional credits include dancing for Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, Virginia Ballet, a modern dance collective in Houston, TX, and various local modern dance productions.

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Rhodie Jorgenson received her training at the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) School. She spent the majority of her career dancing with ABT, performing on stage and TV, and in movies, throughout the US, Europe, and the Far East. She has worked with choreographers Balanchine, Tudor, Robbins, Ailey, Smuin, and Feld. Ms. Jorgenson has been responsible for rehearsing many children’s roles for ballet productions at the Kennedy Center, including setting the children’s roles for the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago’s Nutcracker. In June 2002 and 2006, she was on the faculty at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS.

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Alvin Mayes teaches dance at the University of Maryland. His performing and choreographic experience extends throughout the world. Mr. Mayes is a recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington’s Dance Place, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and the Prince Georges Arts Council. He brings modern dance instruction and choreography to the MYB.

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Lucy Bowen McCauley was trained in Indianapolis, at Interlochen, and on scholarship at the Joffrey Ballet School. She has performed with the Joffrey Concert Group, the Maryland Ballet, the Virginia Ballet, Daniel West Dancers, and was a founding member of Eric Hampton Dance. Since 1996 Ms. McCauley has been the artistic director of the critically acclaimed Bowen McCauley Dance which performs locally, nationally, and internationally, most recently at the March 2006 Schrittmacher Festival in Aachen, Germany. She has choreographed over 40 ballets for her own and other companies and has been a guest teacher throughout the U.S. and Mexico. Ms. McCauley has been honored with the Alumni Path of Inspiration Award from the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Arlington VA Commission for the Arts Star Award for Artistic Excellence, and the prestigious AAUW Elizabeth Campbell Award for the Advancement of the Arts in Arlington. She is a pioneer in stretch technique, and teaches ballet and stretch at the Maryland Youth Ballet.

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Julie Miles was a founding member of the Washington Ballet and danced with that company for twenty seasons. She danced many principal roles in the Balanchine repertoire, as well as leading roles in many other classical ballets, including The Nutcracker, Pas de Quatre, and Paquita. Ms. Miles is well known for the variety of roles created for her by choreographer Choo San Goh. In addition, she was Choo San Goh’s rehearsal assistant and has staged many of his works for the Washington Ballet and other companies in this country and abroad.

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Daniel Phoenix Singh has earned his MFA in Dance from the University of Maryland as well as an advanced certificate in Movement Studies from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute based in New York. He continues training with several leading Yoga teachers in the area. Mr. Singh is the Artistic Director and resident choreographer for Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh & Company. He continues to explore stretch, yoga, Bharata Natyam, modern dance, salsa, merengue and other dance forms as time and opportunities allow. He credits his journey into dance to Ms. Pamela Matthews whose guidance and support have been invaluable to him. Mr. Singh brings his varied background to adult stretch and yoga classes at the MYB.

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Roberta Stiehm was principal dancer with the Minnesota Dance Theatre for 12 years. She performed solo roles with the Bat-dor Dance Co. of Israel and DC Contemporary Dance Theater. She played “Bebe” in the International Company of A Chorus Line and “Cassandra” in Cats on Broadway. Ms.‑Stiehm teaches movement for actors at the Academy of Classical Acting at Shakespeare Theatre. She has been certified in Authentic Pilates since 2000.

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Harriet Moncure Williams has been on the faculty of the Maryland Youth Ballet since 1982, teaching at all levels. She received her early training at the Richmond Academy of Ballet in Virginia and later with Eric Hampton in Washington. She was a leading dancer with Virginia Ballet Theatre and performed with Perlo/Bloom & Company for many seasons. Ms. Williams taught dance at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA and ballet at The George Washington University. She is a 1975 graduate of the University of Richmond. Ms. Williams serves as the Conservator of the choreographic work of the late Eric Hampton.

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Kristina Windom was trained at the Washington School of Ballet, under the direction of Mary Day. After graduating from WSB, she joined the Washington Ballet, dancing classical and contemporary roles from Balanchine to Choo San Goh. Ms. Windom danced professionally with Cleveland Ballet, Alonzo King's Lines Ballet, Eric Hampton Dance, and is a founding member of Washington-based, DanceSmith. She also holds a B.S. in Business Management.

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Jo Ann Zinn brings her experience and knowledge as a chiropractor and dancer to her stretch classes. Before getting her chiropractic degree in 1988, she danced with various modern companies in the DC area. Since opening Zinn Chiropractic in Takoma Park in 1990 Jo Ann has studied stretch (with Lucy Bowen McCauley) and ballet at MYB for 15 years.

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