American Repertory Ballet

ARB Position: PBS Leadership

Samantha Dunster

Samantha Dunster began her ballet training with Cristina Pora in Toronto, Ontario. Then, at age 17, she traveled to Havana to train with the National Ballet of Cuba. She continued dancing with the company of Centro Pro-Danza, under the direction of Laura Alonso, where she also worked as Regisseur and Ballet Mistress.

In 1996, Samantha accepted the position of Artistic Director and Principal Dancer of Bale da Ilha in Brazil, where she staged numerous full-length ballets. By 2000, she became Ballet Mistress of Orlando Ballet, where, under the direction of the late Fernando Bujones, she re-choreographed La Fille mal gardée for the company. In 2004, she was commissioned by Orlando Ballet to create a world-premiere production of Camelot, the success of which broke ticket sales records. In 2007, she accepted the role of Assistant to the Artistic Director of Orlando Ballet, under the direction of Bruce Marks. The following year, the pair together staged the full-length Don Quixote.

In 2011, Samantha accepted the position of Chair and Artistic Director of the Hartt School Community Division Dance Department at the University of Hartford. During that time, she created and choreographed two new full-length ballets: Snow White and Peter Pan with original scores by Kermit Poling. She also founded the pre-professional company HarttWorks as well as created the summer ballet intensive program “From Studio to Stage,” which has attracted Guest Artistic Directors such as Bruce Marks, Laura Alonso, and Angel Corella.

Samantha has danced and taught in countries all around the world, including Sweden, Argentina, and Brazil. In 2003 and 2009, she set her staging of La Fille mal gardée for the National Ballet of Korea and the NBA Ballet Company in Tokyo, respectively. Additionally, she has staged several works by Bruce Marks, including Lark Ascending for Louisville Ballet, and in 2010, she served as the Canadian judge for the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS.

Samantha began her tenure as Ballet Mistress with Philadelphia Ballet (formally Pennsylvania Ballet) in November 2014 and was appointed Assistant Artistic Director in November 2015. During her time there, she choreographed Snow White, Prince Charming, and Fairy Rhymes for Philadelphia Ballet II and staged Peter Pan for the School of Philadelphia Ballet. She has also appeared on stage as ‘Carabosse’ in The Sleeping Beauty and ‘Berthe’ in Giselle.

Rebeca Maso

Rebeca Maso is a former professional ballet dancer from Cuba with over 30 years of teaching experience at both professional and pre-professional levels. She received her formal training and earned her Diploma as a Ballet Teacher from the Professional Ballet School of Cuba.

Ms. Maso was one of the founding members of the Professional Ballet Company of Santiago de Cuba under the direction of María Elena Martínez, where she also served as rehearsal assistant and maître. In 1995, she joined the Nuevo Mundo Ballet Company of Caracas, Venezuela, directed by Zhandra Rodríguez, and later came to the United States in 1999 as a guest artist with Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas, performing at the International Ballet Festival in Philadelphia.

In addition to her extensive performance career, Ms. Maso has been deeply dedicated to ballet education. She has taught at regional ballet schools in Cuba, guiding students through examinations and national seminars, and has since served as a guest teacher for institutions including the Milwaukee Ballet School Summer Intensive, San José Ballet Festival (Costa Rica), New Orleans Ballet Association, Martha Graham School, Kentucky Ballet Theatre, El Paso Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hispánico, Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the School of Philadelphia Ballet . She is also part of the substitute faculty at the Alvin Ailey Dance School in New York City.

Ms. Maso was invited by Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) to participate as part of Ballet Hispánico’s ballet faculty in the organization’s Mexico competition. She is currently a valued member of the ballet faculty at American Repertory Ballet/Princeton Ballet School and Evolution Dance Center in New Jersey.

An ABT® Certified Teacher, Ms. Maso has successfully completed the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum for Primary through Level 3.

Her performance experience spans classical, neoclassical, and contemporary repertoire, performing both principal and corps de ballet roles. Her repertoire includes Les Sylphides, Grand Pas de Quatre, Coppélia, Giselle, Swan Lake Pas de Trois, Napoli, Genzano Flower Festival, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Majísimo, Yakuruna, Manada, Joyas, The Nutcracker, Zapateo por Derecho, Nisi Dominus, Ritual de la Doblez, Carmen, Para Khachaturian, Bolero (Ravel), Impulsos Naturales, Secretos de un Amor Oscuro, Falla, Lorca, Carmen, Dracula, among others. She also had the opportunity to perform and worked with renowned choreographers such as José Parés, Paulo Denubila, Dennis Nahant, Alberto Méndez, Carlos Orta, Jorge Lefebre, Lázaro Martínez, Gustavo Herrera, Hilda Rivero, María Rovira, and Héctor Montero.

Ms. Maso brings to her teaching a deep passion for classical ballet technique, artistry, and mentorship, inspiring her students to develop discipline, confidence, and a lifelong love for dance.

Julie Diana Hench

Julie Diana Hench (Executive Director) has been a performing arts professional for nearly 30 years. Originally from New Jersey, Ms. Hench studied at the School of American Ballet where she was nominated for the Princess Grace Award. At age 16, she joined San Francisco Ballet as corps member. She became a principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet (now Philadelphia Ballet), performing and originating role in classical and contemporary repertoire. She appeared as a guest artist with New York City Ballet and several international touring groups, and participated in a dancer exchange with The Royal Ballet in London.

Ms. Hench was a private coach and guest teacher for renowned ballet schools across the country, and was appointed to the artistic leadership team at Pennsylvania Ballet. She received Isadora Duncan Awards for her dancing at San Francisco Ballet, and an Association Alumnae Award for her studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She served as Executive Director of Juneau Dance Theatre (JDT), a non-profit arts organization in Juneau, Alaska, where she facilitated collaborations with local artists and arts groups to enrich the dancers’ experience, grow audiences, and broaden the organization’s impact. At JDT, Ms. Hench helped the organization partner with the Kennedy Center’s “Any Given Child” initiative to expand arts education in Juneau public schools. She launched Juneau’s first-ever summer intensive ballet program and was honored to stage works for the George Balanchine Trust, enabling JDT to present Balanchine’s work onstage.

Ms. Hench has written for various publications such as Playbill, Dance, Dance Spirit, and Pointe, and was a Contributing Editor at Dance Teacher magazine where she wrote the monthly “Theory and Practice” column.

She earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude, and served as President of the University of Pennsylvania’s Association of Alumnae. She also completed the Executive Program in Arts and Culture Strategy, a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and National Arts Strategies. Ms. Hench has been the Executive Director of American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School since 2017.