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Charles Maple began his training with Evelyn LeMone, the founder of Pasadena Dance Theatre. He continued his studies with Andrei Tremaine and Stanley Holden until 1972 when he received a Ford Foundation scholarship to the School of American Ballet. At the age of nineteen he joined American Ballet Theatre and rapidly rose through the ranks to become a featured soloist. In 1979 he made numerous guest appearances with the National Ballet of Mexico and danced the leading roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, and La Fille Mal Gardee. In 1983 Mr. Maple became a principal dancer with the Basel Ballet of Switzerland. His association with this company gave him the opportunity to dance in the works of Europe and America's most influential choreographers. He has appeared as a guest artist throughout the United States, in Europe, Mexico, and South Africa.
In 1992 Mr. Maple began creating his own works. He has since received a steady stream of commissions, awards and a growing reputation as a freelance choreographer. Companies in Regional Dance America have presented several of his works. Two of his works for Rosella Hightower's Ballet La Jeunesse were presented with top awards at the 1992 La Baule Festval in France. In 1993 he attended the Tokyo International Choreographers Competition where his works received international recognition and critical acclaim. In 1993 Mr. Maple's The Angel of the Abyss was created to open the televised Posada Aids Procession in Los Angeles.
In 1995, his new version of La Fille Mal Gardee for Pasadena Dance Theatre opened to rave reviews. In 1997 he created a new version of The Nutcracker for Black Hills Dance Theatre and Symphony. His work Latcho Drom was selected by Regional Dance America to be shown at the 1998 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Maple has set numerous works for American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive programs. Mr. Maple's choreography represents a diversity of dance styles that are firmly rooted in the traditions of classical ballet. He is also the former resident choreographer for South Bay Ballet.
In 1994 and 1995 Mr. Maple directed Pasadena Dance Theatre. He then founded Charles Maple and Dancers to concentrate on developing his own creations. Mr. Maple has been an active advocate for Regional Dance America. He has served as an adjudicator as well as a faculty member at numerous RDA Festivals. Mr. Maple has also acted as the artistic coordinator for the American Ballet Theatre summer intensive programs in Alabama and California. He is co-founder of American Ballet Intensives, a rigorous ballet workshop that provides serious students the opportunity to study with professionals in the field. Mr. Maple is also a certified American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum teacher.
Pili Doheny was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and began her training at age 3 under Maria De Varona, a former ballerina with the National Ballet of Cuba. Ms. Doheny became a member of Ms. De Varona's ballet company at the age of nine and was promoted to Soloist the following year. She also completed several levels of Ballet Examinations receiving top honors.
Her performance credits include The Nutcracker, the Petite Swan in Swan Lake, the Toymaker's Granddaughter in La Boutique Fantastique, plus several different roles in Sleeping Beauty. Her favorites included the Fairy of the Crystal Fountain and Act III Pas de Trois as Florestan's Sister. As a member of the Youth Company, Ms. Doheny had the privilege of dancing with members of Ballet de San Juan and had several television appearances for the Walter Mercado Show.
In 1985, Ms. Doheny graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Psychology with an emphasis in Child Development. In the 1990s Ms. Doheny trained and performed at The Ballet Academy of Northern Virginia under the direction of Madame Solange Binda. Here she helped the director in several areas with particular emphasis on administrative tasks and working with parents in preparation for their annual recital.
In 2001, after years of involvement as a dance parent, Ms. Doheny began teaching at the Irvine School of Dance/Pacific Dance. Over the past six years, Ms. Doheny has been able to combine her passion for ballet, children and learning to develop a program for her students that is age appropriate and technically sound. She likes to challenge each student to develop their fullest physical and creative potential. Ms. Doheny strives to inspire and enrich her students by exposing them to the benefits of dance. She considers her teaching a privilege and looks forward to the opportunity to inspire a new generation of young dancers.
Tanya Durbin was chosen to dance with the New York City Ballet for the opening of the Orange County Performing Arts Center. As the recipient for each Robert Joffrey scholarship offered, she performed for The Joffrey Ballet. Ms. Durbin won scholarships and studied at the New York City Ballet, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet.
Ms. Durbin was invited to work with Ivan Nagy as a guest artist for the Ballet Theatre of Chicago's production of Giselle; she was then invited as a guest to dance the role of the Snow Queen in Inland Ballet's The Nutcracker. She was also the Principal dancer in the production of the Glory of Christmas and the Glory of Easter. Ms. Durbin was asked to perform for the American Choreographers Awards In Hollywood as a guest performer to honor such artists as Rob Marshall for the movie Chicago, Allen Johnson, Sallie Whalen, Don Mischer and Gregory Hines.
Ms. Durbin has danced the leading role of the Sugar Plum Fairy with Stuttgart Ballet's principal Benito Marcelino for the Long Beach Ballet. Ms. Durbin also danced as a guest principal artist in Italy for ABT dancer Lorin Johnson and the famous historian John Bowlt of the University of Southern California.
Ms. Durbin has also performed for or been a guest artist for numerous companies including The Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Ballet Theatre of Chicago, Ballet Pacifica and Inland Ballet Theatre. Ms. Durbin has choreographed many works and performed for Orange County's Pacific Symphony Orchestra and has also been the Director of Ballet for the Defore Foundation for the Arts.
Currently Ms. Durbin is directing artistically as the Choreographer for the Glory of Christmas and Easter productions at the Crystal Cathedral. Ms. Durbin was asked by Carl St. Clair, Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra to choreograph a special work for the American Composer's Festival featuring world renowned composer George Crumb in his work Lux Aeterna which received high acclaim from the Los Angeles Times. Ms. Durbin just finished shooting a commercial with Britney Spears choreographer Brian Freedman (also from the TV show So You Think You Can Dance)for Häagen-Dazs®. Ms. Durbin also recently danced in the Academy-award winning feature film Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt.
Patrick Frantz was born and raised in Paris, France. He began his training at the Paris Opera Ballet School while simultaneously pursuing serious musical studies. At the age of 22 he became Premier Danseur with the Paris Opera Ballet, then shortly after, Pedagogue and Choreographer with the company — all the while continuing his second vocation as a concert pianist.
Later, Mr. Frantz moved to the United States where he became Principal Dancer and Resident Choreographer with the Pennsylvania Ballet and continued his career as choreographer and teacher. In 1975 he was named Artistic Director of Ballet Tucson and founded its company-affiliated school. Three years later, he was named Artistic Director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre where he also founded the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School.
Mr. Frantz’s critically acclaimed ballets have been performed internationally by companies including the Pennsylvania Ballet, the San Diego Ballet, Ballet Tucson, and the Ballet de l'Opéra national du Rhin. He has worked with the greatest names of the dance world including George Balanchine, Mikhael Baryshnikov, Maurice Behart, Yvette Chauvire, Kenneth MacMillan and Jerome Robbins.
Mr. Frantz is Artistic Director and Choreographer of La Danserie, a contemporary ballet company in Los Angeles and a faculty member of Idyllwild Arts Academy as well as his own La Danserie Conservatory. He also is a guest teacher at: the Colburn School's Trudl Zipper Dance Institute, Ecole Supérieure De Ballet Contemporain, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and the University of Utah. Mr. Frantz also guest teaches regularly in Montpellier, France, and has been invited to teach and choreograph for the Paris Conservatoire and the Dansheus in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Alicia Head began her dance training in Hollywood at the American School of Dance under the direction of Eugene Loring. She continued on with Sallie Whalen and later studied at the Stanley Holden Dance Center, Ballet Petit and Le Studio with Charles and Phillip Fuller.
While studying the Liberal Arts at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo she performed in featured roles with the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo in such ballets as Die Fledermaus, The Nutcracker and Alice in Wonderland. Ms. Head continued her training in San Francisco at the Academy of Ballet with Richard Gibson and Zory Karah and performed with their Chamberdance San Francisco ensemble in its inaugural season.
Ms. Head also began her Pilates education at St. Francis Memorial Hospital's Center for Sports Medicine, one of the pioneering institutions in the emerging field of dance medicine. She worked with Elizabeth Larkham and others on the faculty learning about biomechanics, kinesiology and injury prevention.
Ms. Head continued her Pilates education with Marie-Jose Blom Lawrence at Long Beach Conditioning Center (LBDC) as a student in the internationally recognized teacher training program where she learned to apply cutting-edge information about anatomy and kinesiology to dance and movement. She also began her 13-year affiliation with Diane Lauridsen and the South Bay Ballet. Since 1996 Ms. Head has been on the faculty of both Long Beach Dance Conditioning and the Lauridsen Ballet Centre, specializing in assisting highly talented and motivated dancers and teachers reach elite levels in their work.
While at LBDC Ms. Head began studying the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM™ and GYROKINESIS™. She studied with Master Trainers Lisa-Marie Goodwin, Juergen Bamberger and Sebastian Plettenberg. Since 2000, Ms. Head has become a certified GYROTONIC™ instructor in Level 1 and Level 2, and also received certification for some of its specialized apparatus. In 2004 Ms. Head became a Master Trainer for GYROKINESIS working with the creator of the system himself, Juliu Horvath.
Currently Ms. Head is a senior faculty member at Lauridsen Ballet Centre and Long Beach Dance Conditioning. She also leads teacher training courses in GYROKINESIS and coaches dancers and teachers privately.
Steven Inskeep has an extensive background in dance, including performing, choreography, and teaching. He has trained and been accepted to prestigious companies such as Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco School of Ballet, Ballet West School in Aspen, Washington Ballet School, Ballet Pacifica, Ballet Austin, and Indianapolis Ballet Theatre.
Mr. Inskeep was a founding faculty member of the former Ballet Pacifica Conservatory. He has choreographed many ballets, including Jack and the Beanstalk, In the Garden, and Ferdinand the Bull, all showcased in the former Ballet For Children series at Ballet Pacifica.
Mr. Inskeep has performed leading roles such as Valse Fantasy, Allegro Brilliante, and Concierto Baroquo by Balanchine, Snow King and Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet Pas de Deux and Copellia, Don Quixote by Petipa, and the Prince in Firebird.
Jan Need graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts in Choreography from Mills College in Oakland, CA in 2007 and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a certificate in Arts Management from Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, VA in 2005. While at Sweet Briar, Ms. Need taught in the children’s class as a Creative Movement instructor and was the Director of the Children’s Dance Company. Ms. Need has also taught at the California Conservatory of Dance in Mission Viejo, The Ballet Conservatory in Aliso Viejo, and the Webby Dance Company. Ms. Need has administrative experience with Artichoke Dance Company in New York City, The Society of London Theatre Awards in the UK, Los Angeles Choreographers & Dancers, and most recently with Backhausdance.
Ms. Need grew up in Lafayette, Indiana taking tap, ballet, and jazz classes with Laverne Mckhail. After several years of study, she was given the opportunity to work with younger dancers as a youth leader teaching and choreographing 4 & 5 year old dancers. Ms. Need was introduced to modern dance, creative movement and choreography at Sweet Briar College where she studied with Mark and Ella Magruder. Other instructors include: Sonya Delwaide, Molisa Fenley, Petrus Bosman, Anne Westwick, and Li Chao Ping. Ms. Need has also had the opportunity to take master classes with Donald McKayle, Bill T. Jones, Clay Taliaferro, and David Dorfman.
In addition to being on faculty at the Maple Conservatory of Dance, Ms. Need is an Adjunct Professor at Soka University, teaching modern, jazz, ballet and choreography methods.
A native Californian, Teresina Mosco began her training at the California Institute of the Arts with Mia Slavenska, Donald McKayle and Bella Lewitsky. Later, she received her formal ballet training at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Germany, then with the renowned Marika Besobrrasova at the Ecole de Danse Classique in Monte Carlo (now the Princess Grace Academy of Classical Dance).
In 1975 Ms. Mosco was invited by Stuttgart Ballet Artistic Director Glen Tetley to join the company during its "golden age" when John Neumeier, Jiri Kylian and WIlliam Forsythe were dancers in the company. During this time, she created & performed leading roles in works of many of the twentieth century's master choreographers including: George Balanchine, Glen Tetley, Kenneth MacMillan, William Forsythe, John Neumeier, Jiri Kylian, Maurice Bejart and Hans van Manen.
In 1985 Ms. Mosco joined Nederlands Dans Theatre under the direction of Jiri Kylian. There she toured worldwide performing principal and soloist roles with this extraordinary company, including Forgotten Land, Moves, November Steps, Dream Dances, Symphony of Psalms and Orpheus. Ms. Mosco was also involved in the creation of numerous ballets with Kylian, including L'histoire Du Soldat and Kaguyahime.
Upon retirement from the stage, Ms. Mosco moved to Spain where she became Ballet Mistress for the Ballet de Teatres de la Generalitat in Valencia before arriving in the U.S.
Ms. Mosco is active as an international guest teacher at leading classical, contemporary and modern dance companies. She has conducted master classes and workshops at universities, conservatories and dance festivals throughout the world. This recently included the Institut de Theatres Dansa in Barcelona, the Ballet de Teatres, the California Institute for the Arts, University of California-Irvine, Chapman University and the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute at the Colburn School.
Ms. Mosco is currently on the adjunct dance faculty at Chapman University in Orange, California.
Kim Olmos began her ballet training in Torrance, Calif. with Diane Lauridsen where she danced leading roles in original works by Charles Maple, Jon Crisafori and Terri Lewis. Later, while earning her B.A. in Dance from California State University, Long Beach, Ms. Olmos continued her dance training by studying with Gloria Newman, Gus Solomon and Rebecca Wright.
Ms. Olmos spent five seasons as a company member with the former Ballet Pacifica, where she performed in ballets by Peter Pucci, Ann Marie De Angelo, Choo-San Goh, Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Molly Lynch. She was also a faculty member and the school's Registrar at the former Ballet Pacifica Conservatory where she taught ballet and modern and choreographed for the conservatory. Ms. Olmos's choreographic credits include On The Third Day…, Brother’s Keeper, This Mystery I Pose, Summer Sunday and Le Do Gra — all of which were chosen to be performed at Regional Dance America, Pacific Region's annual dance festival.
Ms. Olmos was formerly the associate director of a pre-professional dance studio in Mission Viejo and Co-Artistic Director of B-2, a pre-professional dance company. Ms. Olmos is currently the Rehearsal Assistant and Ballet Mistress for Backhausdance, Orange County’s award-winning contemporary dance company, which is in residence at the Maple Conservatory of Dance.
Noelle Snavely holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from University California, Irvine and is currently seeking her Master’s Degree. Her formal training includes studying with dance masters David Allen, Donald McKayle, Loretta Livingston, Linda Sohl-Ellison and Molly Lynch. Dancing since the age of three, Ms. Snavely has been teaching and choreographing for the past 13 years. Her teaching styles include ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, modern, swing and Latin dance. As a diverse dancer, she has performed with Ballet Pacifica, Dance N' ETC, Fiesta Latina, Orange Coast College and UCI Jazz Ensemble.
Ms. Snavely began her teaching career at age 16 at Irvine Dance Academy, where she continued to teach for eight years until its closure. For five years, Noelle assisted the administration office and was a faculty member of the Ballet Pacifica Conservatory. She collaborated with the annual Ballet Pacifica production of The Nutcracker, the Ballet for Children Series and other company productions. While choreographing for Ballet Pacifica’s Summer Intensive program, Ms. Snavely facilitated summer enrollment and Nutcracker auditions. Before Ballet Pacifica’s retirement, Ms. Snavely performed in Robert Sund’s production of Alice in Wonderland.
Ms. Snavely has studied acting with South Coast Repertory and performed in SCR's Much Ado About Nothing with Tony nominee, Douglass Sills. She has appeared on the television production The Great Pretenders and has been featured in Orange Coast Magazine as well as Dance Magazine. Ms. Snavely competed in the professional division of Palm Desert's Dance Under the Stars festival dancing in Blue Java. Ms. Snavely was also honored as a top solo performer with the original choreography of The Awakening which continues to be requested by audiences. Ms. Snavely's awards for teaching and choreography include the Karen Shanley Scholarship, Anita Mann Grossmann Memorial Scholarship, Tremaine Dance Scholarship and the OCC Dance Award.
Ms. Snavely is also on faculty at Focus Dance Center where she is Assistant Head of their ballet department, Assistant Co-Directory of the Focus Ballet Conservatory and teaches a myriad of other forms of dance. Ms. Snavely is also a member of the Orange County-based ArchiTexture Dance Company which has performed in various sites such as The Pilgrim in Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano Mission and in San Francisco.
Stela Viorica is a former principal dancer with National Ballet of Romania. She is a graduate of the National Academy of Ballet in Bucharest and has had the privilege to be coached by Maestro Umrihin, a teacher from the Vaganova Institute. During her career as a professional dancer, Ms. Viorica toured extensively throughout Europe with the National Ballet of Romania and has been featured in principal roles in various ballets such as Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Coppelia, La Fille Mal Gardee and Swan Lake, among others.
After traveling throughout Europe, Ms. Viorica relocated to California in 1985 where she began to extend her work into choreography, staging, teaching and coaching. As the residential choreographer & founding artistic director of the Stella Dance Company, Ms. Viorica created seven full-length productions including Alice and Wonderland, Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol and Open Audition. Ms. Viorica has also created numerous other works including Black and White in 1994 to celebrate the opening of Hoag Hospital's Cancer Research Center. She received a special award, Outstanding Choreographer, at the prestigious Grand Prix Ballet Competition in 2000 in Long Beach and at the Festival of Dance in Laguna Beach in 2003.
Ms. Viorica believes that art nourishes the soul. Her goal is to promote, preserve and de-mystify the art of dance in the community, to teach aspiring dancers, and to be a resource for performing arts education and entertainment in Orange County.
Rochone Anderson started out in Musical Theatre and was introduced to the world of dance at the age of 12 by his best friend's sister. From there on the rest is history! He attended the Orange County High School of the Performing Arts as well as West Coast School of the Arts. He also attended Dance Precisions during his final year in high school where he was one of the top senior soloists of the season.
Soon after graduating Mr. Anderson began working in the industry fulfilling his first love in theatre and his newly found love in dance. His professional credits include Stiletto Entertainment (Holland America Cruise Line), Fame, Aida, Dreamgirls (the movie), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (Judah), and his most inspiring role as Mr. Misstoffelees in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats. He has also worked for the Huntington Beach Union School District as a dance instructor for Fountain Valley High School where he led the dance team to a first place national award. Mr. Anderson is also the Artistic Director of Atlantis Dance Theater, a contemporary dance company which is in residence at the Maple Conservatory, and has recently taught at the American Ballet Theatre's Orange County Summer Intensive program. Most recently, Mr. Anderson was cast in the musical production of Cats at Baltimore's Hippodrome Performing Arts Center.
Mr. Anderson is passionate about the arts and enjoys sharing his love of dance with his students. He feels that being a part of the arts has truly shape his life as well as his dancing. He is thrilled to be part of the Maple Conservatory of Dance!
Jennifer Backhaus is the Founder and Artistic Director of Backhausdance, Orange County’s award-winning contemporary dance company which is in residence at the Maple Conservatory of Dance.
Ms. Backhaus was included in OC Metro’s 40 Under 40 in 2009 and was recently honored by Chapman University, where she is a faculty member of the dance department, as Alumni of the Year for her success with Backhausdance. As a choreographer, Ms.Backhaus’ works have been commissioned and produced by the Los Angeles Ballet, Orange County Performing Arts Center, Utah Regional Ballet, Chapman University, Impact Dance Theatre, TDC of the Bay Area, Brigham Young University, among others.
Many of Ms. Backhaus’ works have been honored by Regional Dance America and her piece Disintegration was selected for national performances with the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. For Backhausdance she has created twelve pieces, three of which (Sitting on January, Love and Other Impossibilities and Shift) have received multiple Lester Horton Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography. At the McCallum Theatre’s Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival, Ms. Backhaus has been the recipient of three consecutive choreography awards for her work with Backhausdance.
Ms. Backhaus is currently on the dance faculty at Chapman University and she is a certified Pilates instructor and teaches modern dance technique and dance conditioning. She is also a teaching artist for the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Education Programs where she shares her love for dance and choreography with local students.
Kay Burton has been a practioner of Pilates since 1980 and is a fully certified Pilates instructor with over ten years experience. She has taught at Pilates studios, at seminars and for Pilates certification programs, and has presented workshops at various Pilates and physical therapy facilities throughout Orange County. At the request of the U.S. Synchronized Swimming organization, Ms. Burton introduced Pilates as a training technique at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, which lead to the adoption of Pilates by synchronized swim clubs throughout the U.S.
Ms. Burton was introduced to Pilates at the Ron Fletcher Studio in Los Angeles as a technique for rehabilitating injury. In 1986, she earned her first Pilates instructor certificate from the PhysicalMind Institute, studying under Rael Isacowitz, the creator of Body Arts and Science. Ms. Burton continued her study of Pilates by studying with Karen Clippinger, Brent Anderson, Jillian Hessel, John Garey and Elyse McNergney. In 1996 Ms. Burton studied floor barre technique as a complementary system to Pilates. She studied under Marie de la Palme as well as the creator of the system, Zena Rommett. In 2002 Ms. Burton became an Instructor Trainer under Master Trainer Moira Stott Merithew and has trained new generations of StottPilates instructors.
In 2006 Ms. Burton began her certification in GYROKINESIS under Master Trainers Alicia Head and Serafina Pechan. She continues to study GYROKINESIS and GYROTONIC with Master Trainers Juergan Bamberger and Donna Place as well as with Ms Head and Ms Pechan.
Ms. Burton is currently Head Coach of the Meraquas of Irvine, a nationally recognized synchronized swim team. Ms. Burton has taken swimmers to national and international competitions and has coached individuals at the trials for the U.S. National Team.
Ms. Burton originally studied ballet under Sheila Rozann at the Rozann-Zimmerman Ballet Center in Chatsworth, and continues to study ballet today as an adult.
Patricia Davis was born in Los Angeles, California. At an early age, she was awarded a Ford Foundation Scholarship to the School of American Ballet. At age 17, Ms. Davis joined Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, learning the Cranko repertory. Later, she returned to New York where she danced with Harkness Ballet, American Ballet Theater and Ballet Repertory. Marrying Paris Opera Choreographic & Premier Danseur Patrick Frantz, she joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theater in 1978 as a Soloist and was promoted to Principal Ballerina in 1980.
Ms. Davis has danced many of the lead roles in the classical repertory including Giselle, Odette/Odile, and Swanhilda in Coppelia. Rave reviews followed her moving rendition of Michael Smuin’s Harp Concerto Pas de Deux. Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times stated, "Davis...has a special purity of classical dancing. She is so extremely well placed and schooled, with a beautiful floating jump and an effortless technique." These qualities inspired many of the leads in Patrick Frantz’s contemporary ballets, among them Firebird, Romeo and Juliet, and The Triumph of Dance.
Since moving back to Los Angeles, Patti and Patrick acquired the 36-year-old Rozann Zimmerman Ballet Center where they taught for nearly 20 years. After enjoying a fulfilling career as a ballerina, Ms. Davis launched rzbcPilates in October 2004, a Pilates Reformer studio which offers certified Pilates instructors, all trained in the classical New York style.
Marci Tuttle comes to the Maple Conservatory from the University of California, Irvine where she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance. Originally, Ms. Tuttle is from Utah where she earned her undergraduate degree in Dance Education at Brigham Young University and was actively involved in dance education in the public school systems as well as Utah Valley University as an adjunct faculty member.
Ms. Tuttle has performed in a wide range of choregraphed pieces with various professional and pre-professional companies including: the Merce Cunningham Dance Project (which resulted in a documentary titled "A Merce Happening in the Making" that aired on KOED); an untitled collaborative improvisation with New York's Corbin Dance at the Laguna Dance Festival; Vacant House with Loretta Livingston and Dancers; Persuasion and Vacant House in the Dance Vision concert at UC Irvine; and the NYU Telematic Performance in New York.
Ms. Tuttle has choreographed numerous dance creations including: Two to Support and Facing which were performed at the Rocky Mountain Dance Experience; Shadows and Surfaces which was performed at the Laguna Dance Festival; and Voise, Dance Escape, To The Extent Of and 2007 which were all performed at UC Irvine's graduate concert,
Ms. Tuttle has won numerous awards & scholarships both as a teacher and as a dance student at UC Irvine and BYU including Provo High School Teacher of the Year, a full fellowhsip & teacher assistant at UC Irvine, and BYU's Dance Department scholarship for three consecutive years.
Adrienne Weidert began her Pilates training in 1994 with one of Orange County's first certified instructors, Audrey Wilson, who was certified through the Pilates Guild of New York and who trained under Master Instructors Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens. Ms. Weidert used Pilates for dance conditioning, to build core strength and as a rehabilitation tool. She began her Pilates teaching career, gaining further understanding of proper body biomechanics, human abnatomy, and the injury rehabilitation benefits of Pilates while student teaching under Miss Wilson.
Later, Ms. Weidert entered Long Beach Dance Conditioning's Pilates Teacher Training Certification and Continuing Education program under the directorship of Master Instructor Marie-Jose Blom Lawrence. It was the faculty at Long Beach Dance Conditioning's studio who introduced Ms. Weidert to GYROKINESIS and GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM. Adrienne began delving into these systems during her private sessions with Alicia Head, GYROKINESIS Master Trainer. Under Ms. Head's guidance, Adrienne completed her GYROKINESIS certification. Adrienne continued by certifying on the GYROTONIC Tower in the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM under tutelage of Master Trainer Donna Place and physical therapist and Master Pre-Trainer Suzie Mann.
Currently, Ms. Weidert teaches GYROKINESIS, GYROTONIC and Pilates at studios on Balboa Island, in Tustin and in Irvine. She previously administrated the Core Pilates Studio at Laguna Dance Theatre, working with classically-trained dancers.
Due to her passion for dance, Ms. Weidert has dedicated the majority of her life studying and developing movement quality. As a classically trained dancer she had the opportunity to integrate GYRO and Pilates Mat instruction into dance company warm-ups. She studied ballet at Laguna Dance Theatre, Milwaukee School of Ballet, Boston Ballet School, London's Royal Academy of Dance, Urdang Dance Academy, and Pineapple Dance Studios in Covent Gardens, England. As well as her classical ballet training Ms. Weidert also studied jazz, modern, tap and continues to compete, perform and choreograph historical American social dances such as Lindy Hop, Charleston and Swing.
