ARB Position: Teacher

Maura Ryan’s primary training was under the instruction of Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz. She attended SUNY Purchase College’s Conservatory of Dance on scholarship where she received a BFA in Dance Performance and Composition. She performed many lead roles with the Purchase Dance Corps and graduated cum laude with extensive training in Ballet, Modern and Ballet Composition. Upon graduation, she completed the ABT® National Training Curriculum in levels Primary through Level 5. Ms. Ryan has had the privilege of working with hundreds of children and families throughout New Jersey. She was a guest teacher at Rutgers University, as well as an adjunct professor for The College of New Jersey. She enjoys teaching outreach programs within the community and provides a disciplined yet nurturing environment to connect with students in order for them to trust their training process.

Katrina has been training in classical ballet since she began at two years old. She studied tap dance for over eight years and has both taught and assisted in tap classes. In addition, her training in contemporary, modern, and jazz ranges over many years. Participating in numerous intensives and workshops, she also broadened her study of dance through several other dance forms. She trained for three years in Italy at the feeder school to Teatro alla Scala in Milan. While in Europe she performed in The Nutcracker with the Croatian National Ballet and attended an invitation-only summer intensive in Novi Sad, Serbia. Katrina has performed in many productions including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Snow White, and more. Several of these include Pas de Deux, soloist, and principal roles. Her favorite roles are White Swan in Central New Jersey Ballet Theatre’s White Swan Pas de Deux with internationally renowned dancer Fredrick Davis. Another is Dorothy in the Vacaville Ballet Company’s Wizard of Oz. Also, as The Fairy of Grace with the Contra Costa Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty. She trained under numerous distinguished instructors including Stefan Grebeldinger, Franca Desinia, Katarina Wester, Charles Anderson, Mishic and Valentine Liberatore, Emily Borthwick, and Shannon Bresnahan. Katrina has placed 3^rd and top 24 in YAGP Pre-Competitive Division and Junior Division respectively. Presently she continues as an ARB/Princeton Ballet School trainee under the direction of Aydmara Cabrera and Rebeca Maso. She has performed in the PBS Nutcracker as Marzipan, Willis corps in Giselle, and a soloist role in Raymonda. Katrina is excited to pass on her love for dance with the students of PBS.                         

Emily started her training at her mother Rebeca Maso’s studio in Somerset, NJ at a young age. At age 12 she attended Ballet Hispanico under the direction of Dr. Ana Maria Correa and later with current director Michelle Manzanales. Emily was part of the Pre-Professional program for her last three years there under a full scholarship. During that time she was able to travel to Cordoba Mexico for the Festival de Danza and to Havana Cuba for the Ballet Nacional Festival International de Danza. In 2019 Emily started studying under the direction of Aydmara Cabrera at the Princeton Ballet school and was later a trainee with the ARB/PBS in 2021. In December 2020 Emily left to Switzerland to study as a stagiare at Ecole Rudra Bejart in Lausanne with a full scholarship, under the direction of Micheal Gascard and Julio Arrozarena where she got to perform at Vaison la Roman, France and Martingy, Switzerland.

Carol Bellis received her training on scholarship at the School of American Ballet, official school of the New York City Ballet. She danced with the Garden State Ballet and has taught for Garden State Ballet School, Gloria Govrin’s New Hope Ballet Academy, the School of Performing Arts at Somerset Vo-Tech, and NJ Governor’s School. Ms Bellis has been a member of the Princeton Ballet faculty for over 30 years, and is the principal of the Cranbury studio and the Coordinator of Princeton Ballet School’s summer programs. She is a two time recipient of the Audrée Estey Award for Excellence in Dance Education. Ms. Bellis is also an Adjunct Professor of Ballet at Rider University.

Amanda Donato began her career at American Repertory Ballet in 2018 as a Dance Power teaching artist. The following fall she took on an additional position as the assistant children’s stage manager for the company’s annual Nutcracker. During her years of extensive dance, gymnastics and baton twirling training she found a love for all things behind the scenes involving studio management and spent most of her off dance hours learning how to run a successful school. That love will serve her well as she now takes on her role at American Repertory Ballet/Princeton Ballet School as Administrative Assistant and Children’s Coordinator. She is excited for this new chapter in her career while still being able to bring her 25 years of teaching experience into her classes during Dance Power. 

Born in Juneau Alaska, Anna McDowell received her ballet training at Juneau Dance Theatre under the direction of Julie Diana and Zachary Hench. As a student she danced the roles of Dew Drop Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Myrtha in Giselle, and attended summer programs at Carolina Ballet, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Atlanta Ballet, Indiana University and Cincinnati Ballet. She joined ARB/PBS as a trainee in 2018 and danced the roles of Snow, Flowers and Spanish corps in Nutcracker with ARB and danced in PBS’s production of Don Quixote in Seguidillas and Dryad corps. She started teaching for Princeton Ballet School in 2020. Anna has choreographed works for Harvard Ballet Company, Princeton Ballet School students and trainees, and has created several pieces for Juneau Dance Theatre including a work titled Blurred Visions created in collaboration with composer and conductor, William Todd Hunt.

Yuliya Rakova was born in Russia and began her ballet training at the age of ten at the Perm State choreographic college in Russia, home of the famed Russian ballet traditions, where her studies included classical ballet, history of theater, history of art and music, acting, stage makeup, history of European and American ballet, character, historic dance, and pas de deux. Upon graduation in 1995, she was invited to join the Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theater. Ms. Rakova danced with the company for five years before moving to Moscow. She joined the Moscow Dance Theater of Alexei Fadeechev as a soloist. She was featured in the modern dance choreographer Stanton Welsh`s world premiere Opus X. In 2001 she was invited to join Russian National Ballet and danced with the company until she moved to the United States to teach. She toured nationally and abroad, enjoying great success and quickly building a classical repertoire while performing such roles as Odile, the Sugarplum Fairy, Lilac Fairy and Maria Taglioni from Pas de Quatre. Yuliya has worked with notable choreographers such as Trey McIntyre, Ben Stevenson and Alexei Ratmansky. Her repertoire includes soloist roles in Swan Lake, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Paquita, Raymonda, Nutcracker, Chopiniana, The Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire and others. She taught for professional ballet schools such as Kirov Academy of Ballet, Ellison Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School, and Pennsylvania Ballet. Ms. Rakova continues to teach as well as stage classical productions and original works around the country and abroad. As an accomplished dancer and experienced teacher, Yuliya Rakova would like to share her knowledge with passion for young dancers.

Lindsay Jorgensen is a performing artist in the New York/New Jersey area. She currently dances with Buglisi Dance Theatre and Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater. She has performed at Lincoln Center, the David H. Koch Theatre, Asbury Park Dance Festival, and works by Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor, Robert Battle, Patrick Delcroix, Riccardo de Nigris, Blakeley Maguire, and Gabrielle Lamb. Her poetry was featured at APAP and Women/Create, and her choreography was premiered at Bell Works and Ailey Citigroup Theatre. Jorgensen is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. Dance Program, where she graduated summa cum laude with an honorable mention in Dance. She holds a dual degree in Dance and English. As a former ARB Trainee and PBS student, Jorgensen is so excited to continue her choreographic endeavors with American Repertory Ballet’s Trainees Program and fostering growth and creativity with the dancers at Princeton Ballet School. (www.lindsayjorgensen.com).