| Faculty & Staff Bios |
Artistic Director, Tish Cordova began her training in 1976, with Tania and Oleg Tupine, and performed many featured roles with the Virginia Ballet Company until 1986. She then accepted a contract to dance with the Tulsa Ballet Theatre. As a soloist for Tulsa, Ms. Cordova performed principal roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Lev Ivanov’s Nutcracker, the Rancher’s Daughter in Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, and the High Priestess in Arthur Mitchell’s Rhythmetron. While with Tulsa her repertoire expanded to include George Balanchine’s Mozart Violin Concerto, Lew Christensen’s Filling Station, Ruth Page’s Carmen and The Merry Widow, and Frederic Franklin’s Tribute. She has worked with many distinguished choreographers such as Frederic Franklin, Peter Anastos, Larry Long, and Esmerelda Agogliev. Ms. Cordova also has numerous years of managerial and office experience and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree. Back to Faculty List
Choreographer, Paula Tennyson began her ballet training in Texas with Alexander Kotchetovsky and later with Nikita Talin. At the age of fourteen she joined the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet Company, Ballet Theatre, and at age seventeen joined the famous Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. There she rapidly rose to the rank of first soloist. Ms. Tennyson has been featured as a guest artist on many occasions, including several network television appearances. She has staged four ballets for Virginia Ballet Company: Giselle, Chopiniana, Raymonda Variations, and Pas de Trois. Back to Faculty List
Maria Kacan is a graduate of the Ballet School for the Theater of Opera and Ballet in the former Soviet Union. Ms. Kacan is an internationally renowned coach and choreographer of rhythmic gymnastics and trained the U.S. and Korean Champions for the 1988 Olympics. Back to Faculty List
Jessica Braxton danced with Virginia Ballet from 1990-1997 performing roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker and traveling to Russia with Virginia Ballet in 1995. Ms. Braxton continued her training at Goucher College where she had the opportunity to take classes from renowned guest artists from American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, and Stuttgart Ballet. She has taught ballet and lyrical at Metropolitan Fine Arts Center. Back to Faculty List
Tracy Doyle trained with Tania and Oleg Tupine from 1977-1990. She danced principal and solo roles in numerous Virginia Ballet productions including Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Don Quixote, Faust, and Raymonda Variations. Ms. Doyle went on to Northern Virginia Community College and earned two Associate Degrees in Art and Fine Art. Back to Faculty List
Sharon Mansur is a Washington, DC area based contemporary dance artist and a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst. Her artistic work has been presented throughout the East Coast, England and Argentina, and is being supported this season by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the John F. Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Project. Ms. Mansur has collaborated and performed with various contemporary dance and music artists in DC and New York and performed for two seasons with Sara Rudner. She has taught at numerous DC area studios and colleges including Dance Place, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, George Washington University and American University, and is currently teaching at George Mason University as she pursues a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance. Back to Faculty List
Matthew Jensen has trained with Virginia Ballet since 1989 and has performed a variety of principal roles in Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, and The Red Shoes, as well as Coppelia for Twinbrook Ballet Company and Interdance. Mr. Jensen is currently a student at George Mason University, majoring in music. Back to Faculty List
Patricia Milavickas is the registrar for the school. Back to Faculty List |
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