Faculty
Victor Kasatsky
Artistic Director
Choreography, Ballet Technique, Point, Variation, Partnering
Mr. Victor Kasatsky started his career as a ballet dancer in 1972 as a principal dancer with the Moscow Classical Ballet Company. He was taught by such masters as Naum Azarin, Azari Pilsetski, Igor Uksusnikov, and Yuri Zdanov.
He danced title roles in Creation of the World, Romeo and Juliet, The Rite of spring, Swan Lake, Gayane, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, Albinoni Adajio, St. Petersburg Twilight, Daphnis and Chloe to name just a few.
Tatiana Kasatsky
Artistic Director
Choreography, Ballet Technique, Point, Variation, Repertoire
Ms. Tatiana Kastasky was educated at the Moscow Bolshoi Academy under the tutelage of Nina Chistova.
After graduation in 1978, she joined the Moscow Classical Ballet Company, where she worked with the great ballet masters like Marina Semenova, Naum Azarin, Marina Kondratieva and Azari Pilsetski and danced both classical and contemporary ballet until 1990.
Her repertoire included Creation of the World, Romeo and Juliet, The Rite of Spring, Swan Lake, Gayane, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, Albinoni Adajio and many more.
Ms. Kasatsky worked with world famous choreographers such as Pierre Lacotte (in his setting of Natalie for Moscow Classical Ballet), Roland Petit (Sonata and L’Arlenne), Alberton Alonso (Bahiana El Guijo), Balanchine (Symphony #5), and Kasyan Galeizovski (Mimoletnosti).
Charles Maple
Instructor
Ballet Technique
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.
Over the course of his 20 year career as a dancer, Mr. Maple has worked with such choreographers as George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Agnes De Mille, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Jirí Kylián, Michael Baryshnikov, William Forsythe, Natalia Makarova, Erik Bruhn and Nacho Duato. He has danced and been coached by such greats as Baryshnikov, Makarova, Ivan Nagy, Cynthia Gregory, Fernando Bujones, Gelsey Kirkland, Rudolf Nureyev, Cynthia Harvey, Martine Van Hamel, Kevin McKenzie, Mikko Nissenen and Helgi Tomasson, among others.
He has made numerous television appearances with ABT in the Dance in America and Live from Lincoln Center T.V. series as well as figuring prominently with Baryshnikov in the 1983 BBC movie, Dancer and the Dance. In 1982, Mr. Maple was selected by Jerome Robbins to perform with Barysnhikov in Fancy Free and Opus Jazz at the Spoleto Festival in Italy. He also joined Helgi Tomasson and Violette Verdy and the Stars of American Ballet for tours to South Africa and Belgium in 1976 and 1978 and he has appeared as a frequent guest artist with dance companies throughout the U.S. and Europe.
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 Festival 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 created numerous original 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 a recipient of the Outstanding Choreography Award for Youth America Grand Prix in Los Angeles in 2005. To date, Mr. Maple has choreographed over eighty-five ballets.
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 teacher in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum in all levels, Primary through Level 7.
In 2007 he co-founded with Kathy Crade the Maple Conservatory of Dance, a classical ballet school with a curriculum that combines state-of-the-art scientific principles with choice elements from the classic French, Italian and Russian schools of training. The school and its performing entity, the Maple Youth Ballet, are dedicated to nurturing dancers with the highest standard of excellence in a caring and healthy environment.
Over the span of 20 years, Mr. Maple has earned a well-deserved reputation for cultivating and nurturing talented young dancers through his comprehensive and rigorous training principals that are designed to teach dancers the techniques and discipline to hone and apply their talents. Students Mr. Maple has trained or coached have gone onto successful careers in many of the world’s major dance companies including American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, as well as: Aalto Balletto Theatre Essen, Ballet Idaho, Ballet West, Corella Ballet, The Dutch National Ballet, The Eifman Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Miami City Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Sacramento Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Smuin Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, The Washington Ballet and Zurich Ballet. Mr. Maple’s students have also successfully competed in prestigious international dance competitions including finalists in the Prix de Lausanne, the USA International Ballet Competition, the Youth America Grand Prix and ten Grand Prize Finalists in the Los Angeles County Music Center Spotlight Awards.
Irina Shabanova
Instructor
Ballet Technique
Education:
Novosibirsk State Choreographic College (2006-2014)
Professional experience:
Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (2014-2017)
Performances:
“Swan Lake” (big swans), “Giselle” (Two Wilis), “Nutcracker” (Arabian dance), “Sleeping beauty” (Fairy of Kidness: Tenderness), “Cipollino” (Magnolia), “Spartacus”(chor. Grigorovich), “Romeo and Juliet”, “Flames of Paris”, “Corsair”, “La Bayadere”, “Cinderella”, “Spartacus” ( chor. Kovtun), “ Don Quixote”, “Coppelia”, “Paquita”, “Chopiniana”, “Scheherazade”, “Polovtsian Dances”, “Faust” (Walpurgis night ), “Juno and Avos”, “Dream under the leaden sky”, “Carmen” (chor. Roland Petit)
Workshops with:
Igor Zelensky, Alexander Kurkov, Oleg Vinogradov, Nacho Duato, Mikhail Messerer, Georgy Kovtun, Henrih Mayorov, Emil Faski, Denis Matvienko
Concert tour:
South Korea (“Swan Lake” 2014), India (“La Bayadere” 2014), Thailand (“Swan Lake”, “Paquita” 2015)
Karen Woo
Instructor
Little Me, Pre Ballet, Ballet Technique, Contemporary Dance, Stretch
Karen specializes in our youngest dancers, ages 3 and up. Originally a business major, she found her true calling and graduated with an MFA in dance from CSU Long Beach. Upon graduation Karen danced and toured with the Bella Lewitzky Dance Company and the Gloria Newman Dance Theater. She worked with renowned choreographers Doug Varone, Trishia Brown, Donald Byrd, Joe Goode and Mark Haim. Karen’s choreography placed in the top three for YAGP regionals in the ensemble category, and several of her pieces went to YAGP’s New York finals. In addition to teaching dance she loves being a children’s leader for bible Study Fellowship.
Dasha Tertova
Instructor
Ballet Technique
Dasha is a Founder and Artistic Director of MDC Company Millennium Dance Complex LA. She received Outstanding Choreography Awards at the Youth America Grand Prix Competitions in 2016, 2017, and 2018. She is a professor at the American Music and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles. Her professional credits include Beyonce, Madonna, The Black Eyed Peas, Pharrell, Daft Punk, Cirque Du Soleil, Burn the Floor, Cats, Chicago, Mamma Mia, MTV Music Awards, and the Billboard Awards. She has also worked with the Moiseyev Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and Riverdance.
Dasha was born in Moscow, Russia. She attended the Russian Academy of Theater Arts GITIS, where she studied Classical Ballet, Modern Dance, Historical Dance, Tap, Flamenco, Jazz, Composition, Directing, and Music Studies. She has a Master’s Degree from the Russian Ballet Academy, Russian Theater Company.
Abby Sheehan
Instructor
Ballet Technique
Abby is a current honors student at Cal State Fullerton majoring in Speech Pathology with a minor in Spanish. She has been a ballet dancer for 14 years now. She danced for Laguna Ballet, performing roles such as Little Alice (Alice in Wonderland), Clara, Snow Queen, Sugar Plum Fairy, and others (Nutcracker). She was honored to have the opportunity to dance with professionals such as Joan Boada (former principal of San Francisco Ballet), Rainer Krenstetter (former principal of Maimi City Ballet – Staatsballett Berlin), Harrison Coll, (soloist at NYC ballet), and others. She has also taken classes in contemporary, modern, and jazz. She taught elementary and middle school ballet classes and was a dance teacher assistant for many years. Most recently, she helped teach advanced ballet students at Saddleback College and choreographed several dances for her end-of-semester showcase. She is excited to be joining V&T Dance!
Ally Helman
Instructor
Ballet Technique
Ally Helman was born and raised in Southern California where she began dancing at a young age. Her professional training led her to The School of American Ballet in New York City. Ally danced professionally with New York City Ballet. Ally along with her sister Emily launched Ballet Project OC and the streaming platform Ballet Project TV out of sheer determination in 2019. Since its inception, Ally has taken on artistic leadership as well as choreographer and dancer roles. Ms. Helman has created over twenty new works for Ballet Project OC and continues to lead the company towards a successful future.
Waldemar Bartkowski
Instructor
Ballet Technique
Born in Poland, Waldemar Bartkowski trained at the National Academy of Dance in Poznan. Hired as a dancer at the Grand Theater of the city, he collaborated with the Polish choreographer Conrad Drzewiecki, director of the Polish Dance Theater (Poznan).
Leaving his native country to pursue a career abroad, he arrived in France in 1981. He was hired as a dancer at the Lille Opera under the artistic direction of Mr. Boris Tona and took part in several dance festivals in Italy. In 1984, he joined the Ballet du Nord de Roubaix where he played soloist roles for twenty years. He then had the opportunity to be the partner of the Étoile dancer Elisabeth Platel on several occasions. If Waldemar Bartkowski works more specifically in the repertoire of George Balanchine and Alphonso Cata, he also serves other contemporary classical choreographers such as Jean-Christophe Maillot, John Teras or Roland Petit.