Dance Department Head - Norma Pera
Ms. Pera has been teaching at Baltimore School for the Arts since its inception in 1980 and has been Dance Department Head since 1994. She began her studies on Long Island with Martha Manners and continued at the American Ballet Theatre School and the Joffrey Ballet School. While a member of the Maryland Ballet, she studied with Melissa Hayden and Elena Tchernichova. Ms. Pera has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Houston Opera Ballet, and with Nureyev and Friends. She began her teaching with private coach classes for students and company members of the New York City Ballet and with American Ballet Theatre. At the request of Kathleen Crofton, she began teaching at the Maryland Ballet before beginning her tenure at Baltimore School for the Arts.Instructor - Linda Denise-Fisher Harrell
Linda Denise-Fisher Harrell, M.F.A., is an Assistant Professor at Towson University. She began her dance training at the Baltimore School for the Arts under the guidance of Sylvester Campbell and Stephanie Powell. While still in high school, she was invited to be an apprentice with the Capitol Ballet in Washington D.C. She was a scholarship student at The Ailey School and attended The Juilliard School where she worked with Anna Sokolow (Lyric Suite) and John Taras (Designs with Strings). In 1989, Ms. Fisher-Harrell joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, performing extensively throughout the United States and Europe the works of many choreographers including Twyla Tharp, Margo Sappington, and Daniel Ezralow. In 1992, Ms. Fisher-Harrell joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater where she became a principal dancer. During her 13 year tenure at AAADT, she was featured in the works of Alvin Ailey (most notably Blues Suite, Cry, Hidden Rites, Masakela Langage, Memoria , Night Creature, Pas de Duke, Revelations, The River and Streams) Robert Battle, Talley Beatty, Ron K. Brown, John Butler, Donald Byrd, Ulysses Dove, George Faison, Rennie Harris, Geoffrey Holder, Judith Jamison, Louis Johnson, Alonzo King, Donald McKayle, Elisa Monte, Jennifer Muller, David Parsons, and Dwight Rhoden just to name a few. She has performed all over the United States as well as, Canada, Japan, China, Israel, Egypt, /South Africa, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Poland, The Netherlands, England, Brazil, and Chile. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dance at Towson University and on the faculty of the Baltimore School for the Arts, her Alma Mater. Ms. Fisher-Harrell received her MFA in dance from Hollins/ADF University and is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has been a guest teacher at the American Dance Festival (ADF), The Dance Institute of Washington, and the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Summer Intensive. Ms. Fisher-Harrell has received many awards including first place in the National ACT-SO Competition sponsored by the NAACP. She was a finalist in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search in Miami, FL and has received six Individual Artist citations from the state of Maryland. Some of her special performances include, the White House State Dinner for the president of Kenya (Mwai Kibaki), the 12th Annual Kennedy Center Gala with Nancy Wilson and Liza Minelli, The World Stars of the Opera International Ballet Gala in Budapest, Hungary (2001,2003,2005), Gala des Étoiles du XXI Siècle (Paris; and Toronto), the Black Dance Celebration in Genoa, Italy, Fall for Dance Festival in New York, NY, Symphony With a Twist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Extraordinary Life of Miss Katherine Dunham Tribute at Symphony Space, New York, NY and the 2009 Chicago Dancing FestivalInstructor - Sandy Lacy
Sandy Lacy is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dancing in London. She has performed with the Maryland Ballet, Impetus Dance Company, Path Dance Company, Phoenix Repertory Dance, James Hansen’s Assemblage Dance Company and Bill T. Jones /Arnie Zane and Company. Currently Ms. Lacy is Co-Artistic Director of Lacy& Shade Solo Duet Dance Works. Recent performances of Lacy & Shade include the Yes Virginia Dance Festival in Richmond, the Out of the Loop Theater Festival in Addison Texas, The Toronto Fringe Festival, the Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Series and Performatica, a Forum on Contemporary Dance and Movement Arts in Puebla, Mexico. Ms Lacy is a recipient of 6 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards in Solo Dance Performance. She is a member of the Dance Faculty at UMBC and the Baltimore School for the Arts. In 2008 Ms Lacy completed the Gyrokinesis teacher training program.Instructor - Paula Le Vere
Paula Le Vere was first introduced to dance 27 years ago through the art form of ballet. Over the course of her career, Paula has studied with some of the well known names of the ballet world: Sylvester Campbell with The Baltimore School for the Arts, Laura Alonzo with the Cuban Ballet Company in Cuba, Arthur Mitchell with Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Fredrick Franklin of the Ballet Russe. Through her intense studies, Paula was able to perform major ballets such as Giselle, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Firebird, and other notable ballets. Paula also appeared as a guest soloist on Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. In 1993, she earned a B.A. in dance from Point Park University where she was a positive influence in the lives of toddlers and young adults through her teachings of ballet. Most importantly, Paula has found a love in being a positive role model to the children she has guided and instructed throughout her profession. Paula has shared her knowledge and passion for the art of ballet through volunteer work with the inner city. Furthering Paula’s accomplishments, she formed a youth ensemble, Union City Youth Ensemble, for the inner city kids of New Jersey. Paula’s love for dance brought her back where it all began in Baltimore, Maryland. Paula was given a great opportunity to build the dance program at Meade Senior High School where she was director of the dance company. Currently, Paula is teaching for The Baltimore School for the Arts TWIGS program, and The Baltimore Ballet.Instructor - Samantha Ordaz
Samantha Ordaz received her early training through Baltimore Ballet and Peabody Preparatory doing the strict Royal Academy of Dancing syllabus. In 1985 she was accepted to the RAD summer camp in London, England, which she attended. In 1987 Ms. Ordaz was accepted into the Baltimore School for the Arts where she studied under Norma Pera, Sylvester Campbell, Stephanie Powell and Debra Robinson. In 1997 Samantha was awarded the only Distinction for the RAD Grade 8 syllabus in the United States. Samantha performed with the Stephanie Powell Danse Ensembles I and II for five years. She recently performed with Movement Addiction in How to Disappear Completely. In 1997 Ms. Ordaz began teaching privately and at various dance schools around Baltimore including the Carroll County School for the Performing Arts and the Dance Academy of Baltimore. She then went on to pen her own school, the Northwest School of Dance based in Finksburg, Md. Her students have been accepted to the Baltimore School for the Arts and North Carolina School for the Arts. They have also won numerous top ten soloist and group awards at local and National Dance competitions. In the summer of 2006, Ms. Ordaz studied the first three years of Russian Vaganova Syllabus under Mr. John White, and returned with a small grant from the Baltimore School for the Arts Foundation to finish the syllabus with Mr. White the following summer. Ms. Ordaz has been on faculty at the B.S.F.A since 2002.Instructor - Debra Robinson Deckelbaum
Debra Robinson Deckelbaum began studying dance in Baltimore with Ellen Gniazdowska and Wally Saunders, supplementing her studies with Oleg Tupine. Following high school, Ms. Robinson-Deckelbaum studied at the Joffrey Ballet School and with Joyce Trisler at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. Debra returned to Baltimore in 1974 to dance with the Maryland Ballet, under the direction of Kathleen Crofton. After dancing with Maryland Ballet, she attended Goucher College graduating in three years under the support of the Rosenberg Scholarship, majoring in Dance/Performance and Choreography. Following college, Debra began to teach alongside Ms. Wendy Robinson, both at Baltimore Ballet and the Peabody Preparatory. Under Wendy Robinson’s teaching, Debra earned her ARAD, studying pedagogy of the RAD system. Ms. Robinson-Deckelbaum is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7& Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has been on the faculty at The Baltimore School for the Arts since 1988. In addition to BSA, she continues to teach at Peabody Preparatory as well as at Ballet Royale, and Goucher College Summer Dance Institute.
Instructor - Emily Socolinsky
Emily Socolinsky holds a MA in Education from University of Maryland at Baltimore County as well as an Advanced Professional Certificate for grades K -12 and a BA in Visual and Performing Arts/Dance from UMBC. She is a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts where she studied ballet with Norma Pera and Sylvester Campbell and modern with Stephanie Powell and Debra Robinson. She began her early ballet training with Wendy Robinson at the Baltimore Ballet where she studied the RAD method. Emily has danced with the Phoenix Dance Company, Nancy Romita and the Moving Company, Doug Hamby Dance, The Collective and Kinetics Dance Theatre. She is currently working with The Moving Company again under the direction of Dana Martin.Instructor - Anton Wilson
A graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, Anton T. Wilson was born in Annapolis, MD where he began his studies with Anne Waugh Allen and Edward D. Stewart. He has performed with: Ballet Theatre of Maryland; Parnassus Dance Theatre, Japan; Djazzex, Holland; Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo; Martita Goshen’s Earthworks; Jennifer Muller/The Works, New York, among others. He has taught, choreographed and toured internationally for twenty-three years. Anton is a 2007 and 2009 recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artist Award for choreography. He currently teaches ballet and contemporary dance at the Baltimore School for the Arts, as well as training horses and riders for competition.Instructor - Sarah Williams
Sarah Williams graduated from BSA in 2007 where she performed in The Nutcracker, Tapping Santas, and various spring productions. Sarah is currently a junior at Towson University working on her BFA in dance.Accompanists - Lawrence Bowie
Concert organist, joined BSA in 1987 as accompanist for ballet, T.W.I.G.S., and musical theatre classes. He studied harpsichord with Sally Bauer, organ with Margaret Sayre, and keyboard performance with Rachel Mahue at Bradley University School of Music. Mr. Bowie has been heard as soloist in major venues in the United States and Europe, including Washington National Cathedral, Round Lake Auditorium in Round Lake, NY, Organ Historical Society National Convention, Charles Cathedral in France, Alexander Palace in London, St. Peter’s Cathedral in Germany and has recorded for WCBU “Pipes on the Prairie”, a Public Radio program in Illinois. He is currently organist at St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church in Alexandria, VA.Accompanists - Irina Dvoynoy
Irina Dvoynoy started studying music as a child in Russia. She then graduated from Odessa College of Music and Odessa Conservatory of Music. Ms. Dvoynoy teaches private piano lessons and teaches piano at Olenka School of Music as well. Ms. Dvoynoy not only accompanies here at BSA, but at L’Etoile de Danse in Ellicott City as well.Accompanists - Inessa Liberman
Inessa Liberman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts specializing in piano from the Conservatory of Music in Mogliev, Belarus. She has taught piano and music theory and has accompanied ballet classes in Belarus. In addition to accompanying at BSA, she is also on faculty at Sudbrook Arts Center.Accompanists - Rob Reid
Rob Reid has been banging on things ever since he was a kid, graduated from Musician’s Institute- P.I.T., Hollywood, CA. in 1992. A multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer, Rob’s versatile skills include many styles of drumset and hand percussion. He has worked as an accompanist at The Baltimore School for the Arts, as well as The Pennsylvania Regional Ballet , since 2005, and the TWIGS program since 2008. He was an accompanist at the Regional Dance America Festival 2005, 2009 and National RDA Festival 2007. Rob is also a member of Adinkra, McDaniel College’s West African drum ensemble. You can see him performing all over the Baltimore /DC. area with The Levee Sheiks, Alona, The Right Nows and The Aftereffekt ,among others.Accompanists - Susan Wincek
Susan Wincek is passionate about both music and dance. As a young lady she received her piano certification at Peabody Preparatory, then went on to study dance at Butler University graduating with a BA in dance. Susan then started her professional career as a Spanish dancer with Maria Morales and continued on with various companies touring the Middle East, Spain, the United States and Canada. These companies included Raquel Peña and José Malina. It was a great pleasure for her to be able to combined her two loves when she started to accompany ballet class for the Carter School in Severna Park. Susan has been BSA faculty since 2008.Accompanists - Mark H. Williams
Mark H. Williams recent projects include music directorship for 2009 productions of "Pinocchio" at the Pumpkin theatre in the fall and of "Little Shop of Horrors" at the Baltimore Theatre Project in the summer, both directed by James Kinstle. Mark was also the composer, musical director, and pianist for "Puss in Boots," a musical comedy-pantomime with script, lyrics, and direction by Roger Brunyate, director of the Peabody Institute's opera department. "Puss in Boots", a production of the Baltimore Theatre Project (2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons), featured current and former members of Peabody Opera Theatre, as well as the choreography of Carol Bartlett, director of Peabody Dance. The Baltimore Sun reviewer (Jan. 2008) wrote that the show "had the quality you'd expect of serious opera" and that the "the zesty music by Mark Hanson Williams supports the singers well". Mark also organized and composed all music for a summer 2008 concert at Baltimore's An Die Musik, featuring coloratura soprano Jessica Lennick, in honor of the 90th birthday of Baltimore artist Jane Frank. He collaborated with choreographer Lauren Withhart and drummer Rob Reid to create "Action Sculpture", presented in October 2008 at the Baltimore Museum of Art as part of "Free Fall Baltimore" festival. All of these projects have involved the use of toy pianos, which Mark collects. He has a masters degree from the Indiana University School of Music and won the 1999 composition prize at Fontainebleau (France).Instructor - Bat Erdene Udval
Bat Udval is a graduate of the Perm Choreographic School in Perm, Russia. From 1990-1998 Mr. Udval was a principal dancer with the Russian State Ballet in Moscow, Russia where he performed in many classical roles. During this time he appeared in galas honoring Vladimir Vasiliev in 1992 and Leonid Vavrovsky in 1995. After performing as a principal with the San Jose Ballet in Cleveland, Ohio from 1998-2000, Mr. Udval performed as a guest principal dancer throughout the United State and Internationally until 2009.Instructor - Evgenia Singur
Evgenia Singur began training as a rhythmic gymnast, a figure skater, and as ballerina 1993-2001 at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. In 2002-2006 she attended the Bolshoi Ballet choreographic Institute studying to become a ballet and character dance teacher. In 2001 she joined The Russian State Ballet as a soloist; soon she was promoted to principal dancer where she performed principal roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, Spartacus, Coppelia, Les Sylphides, and the Nutcracker etc. She won the 2004 International Dance Festival in Korea and the 2002 Europe Dance Magazine Award. She toured 25 countries with the Russian State Ballet. Also she performed for the Queen of England, President of Russia, King of Dubai, President of Indonesia and stars like Michael Jackson, and Pierre Cordin. She has choreographed a full length Nutcracker, Bolero and over 30 international character dances.
Instructor - Dmitri Malikov
Dmitri Malikov graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in 1987. After graduating, Dmitri performed as a soloist and principal dancer with Lvov Ballet, Donetsk Ballet, Moscow City Ballet, Young Audiences of Maryland, and the Ballet Theatre of Maryland. Mr. Malikov also appeared as a guest artist with Baltimore Ballet, Peabody Preparatory and the Baltimore Opera. In 2002, while performing as a soloist with the First State Dance Company, Dmitri began teaching. He has taught Sudbrook Magnet School, Severna Park Dance Academy, MidAtlantic Center for the Performing Arts and the Chesapeake Ballet Company. He joined us as last year setting excerpts from La Bayadere for our Spring Dance Concert and as an instructor for the young boys in the TWIGS program.
