Artistic Staff
Director
Victor Trevino
Artistic Director/Founder
Ballerina Assoluta Nina Minimaximova
Mr. Trevino, the founding artistic director of Les Ballets Grandiva, has created various works for the company including Romeo and Juliet, Le Petite Nutcracker Suite, Spartacus, Swan Lake Act II, Bolero, Near the Middle Somewhat Below, Love Wrongs, Peridot, Minkus Gala, Pocahontas Pas, Dracula and The Changing Room, and he has staged numerous classical duets and solos. Beyond Les Ballets Grandiva his creations include The Adventures of Little Red Riding Hood, Peter and the Wolf and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Victor's extensive career as a Ballerina include most of the great female leads such as Odette, Odile, Giselle, Kitri, Aurora, Sugar Plum Fairy, Juliet and Carmen. One of the highlights of his dancing career was a performance of the Black Swan Pas de Deux with Julio Bocca in Buenos Aires.
Ballet Master
Paul Boos
Ballet Master
Mr. Boos began his ballet training at the age of nine in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and was offered a scholarship to study in NYC at the tender age of 15. He trained, first at the American Ballet Theater School, and later at the School of American Ballet.
The SAB was Paul's introduction, not only to George Balanchine, but to Jerome Robbins. In his graduation performance at SAB, Paul performed principal roles in ballets that were personally coached and supervised by both Balanchine and Robbins.
At 18, Paul was invited to become a member of NYCB and performed with the company for 13 years, in more than 60 ballets, in corp de ballet, as a soloist, and occasionally in principal featured roles.
Paul has enjoyed an international career teaching and staging ballet. Most notably, Paul has staged Prodigal Son at the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg and Apollo for the Joffrey Company in Chicago. Recently mounting Japan's K-Ballet production of The Prodigal Son, Paul portrayed the role of the Father, opposite Tetsuya Kumakawa.
Paul has been Les Ballets Grandiva's ballet master since its founding in 1996 and looks forward to developing its future in Japan and abroad.
Marcus Galante
Choreographer
Mr. Galante has worked extensively as a choreographer and teacher in various countries. He trained at the American Ballet Theater School and the School of American Ballet, and was also a trainee at the Harkness School of Dance.
His career includes dancing with the Chicago Lyric Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet and he was a soloist with both the National Ballet of South Africa and CAPAB Ballet Company.
His work on Broadway includes singing, dancing, and acting in A Chorus Line, Pippin and Carousel, and he has
created works for Ballet Chicago, Garden State Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, The Buffalo Opera and many more.
Mr. Galante has done film and television choreography, and in 1995 he was nominated for a Dance In Film Award by the Dance Film Association. He has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for
the Arts and five grants from the Harkness Foundation for Dance He is also the founder and artistic director of Les Grands Ballets de Loony.
As a teacher, Mr. Galante has been on faculty of some of the most prestigious schools in the country including the Alvin Ailey School, Pennsylvania Ballet School and Company, The Pacific Northwest Ballet, Lines Contemporary Ballet Company, Eglevsky Ballet, Ballet Chicago, Steps in New York, Broadway Dance Center and has also taught in Japan. As a musician he trained at the Manhattan School of Music in piano and has played for every major ballet school in New York.
Jose Coronado
Resident Costume Designer
Mr. Coronado has extensive experience designing and constructing costumes for dance companies and solo artists, and he has also run his own dance company and been a member of Ballet Folklorico of Mexico.
In addition to running his own recording studio he has performed with the Aspen Opera Theater, John Brownley Theater and the Bard Music Festival.
He has done collaborative work with several dance companies including the Amy Pivar Dance Company and with several short films. He is certified in Dalcroze Eurhythmics and teaches music at Greenwich Music House.
Dancers
Emanuel Abruzzo
Julie Clark Kent
Mr. Abruzzo was born in Rosario, Argentina. He started his studies at the young age of four with tap, jazz and ballet. He studied on scholarship at the Rosarito Tomatis Dance School, Cuballet Rosario, Julio Bocca's Ballet and Musical Theatre School, Fondo Nacional de las Artes, and at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. He has
worked with Julio Bocca's Sub 16 Ballet Company, Compañía Internacional de Teatro Musica (C.I.T.M.), Generación 2000, Baardar Danseteater (Norway) and as a dancer of Fundación
Julio Bocca.
A mild mannered girl, Ms. Clark Kent has some super attributes. "She transforms into a new person on stage" says the daily news.
Marlon Altoe
Marcia Payday
Mr. Altoe is a native of Vitoria, Brazil. He got his training at the Houston Ballet Academy where he performed in many Houston Ballet productions. Upon graduating Mr. Altoe danced with the Hartford Ballet for two seasons and later joined Omaha Theater Company Ballet where he danced works by the world's leading choreographers.
Born in Rio during carnival made Marcia a nut for syncopated rhythms with a sunny disposition. Time put in with the Sugarloaf Dance Ensemble earned her a fortune of experience with bonuses. She has worked overtime to garner the respect of her peers and full medical/dental.
Ian Archer-Watters
Ashley Merrill-Lynch
Mr. Archer-Watters trained at the Alexandra School of Ballet in St. Louis and the San Francisco Ballet School before joining Paul Mejia’s Fort Worth Ballet dancing an extensive Balanchine repertory as well as many of Mr. Mejia's works. He performed with Dallas Opera in Aida and danced soloist roles with the Saint Louis Ballet from 1995 to 1997. Ian received a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Saint Louis University before joining the development staff of the Handel & Haydn Society and the Longy School of Music in Boston. In 2001, he accepted a development position at New York City Ballet where he worked in institutional support and major gifts for 3 ½ years.
Bullish on ballet, Ms. Merrill-Lynch has consistently outperformed critics' expectations, giving audiences an excellent return on their ticket investment. The Wall Street Journal says, confirming her status as a blue chip ballerina, "...her future's certain, her options endless." S&P has yet to rate her.
George Callahan
Jetta Nudalifta
Mr. Callahan trained at the School of American Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the Andre Eglevsky School of Ballet. and is a graduate of the Julliard School. As a Principal Dancer with The Eglevsky Ballet he danced leading roles in Coppelia, Don Quixote, Midsummer's Night Dream, Nutcracker, Raymonda, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. Additionally he has performed works of Gerald Arpino, George Balanchine, Eliot Feld, Martha Graham and Sir Kenneth MacMillan. Mr. Callahan also teaches ballet and has worked at the Cultural Arts Center of Long Island, the American Theater Dance Workshop, 92nd Street YMCA and Studio Maestro NYC. He frequently performs as a principal guest artist with several companies internationally and is a volunteer firefighter.
A former champion of the soviet women’s power lifting team, Yetta has brought a certain strength and charm to the dance. A handsome woman, her muscular form has inspired the new full-length ballet “Amazon Dot Calm.” Yetta’s upbeat personality is a boost to all that know her. Her long-range goals are to dance with the Bolshoi and to get the splits.
Bart deBlock
Tatania de Blockova
Mr. deBlock was a principal dancer with the Berlin Opera Ballet and with The Royal Ballet de Flanders. He has danced many principal roles including many created for him with other companies. He has worked with many major ballet choreographers including Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Maurice Bejart, John Neumeier, Valery Panov, Moses Pendleton, Bill T. Jones, Karol Armitage, Nacho Duato, Christopher Bruce and Peter Schaufuss . His award winning performance of "Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux" at the Prix de Lausanne can be seen on video. He made a guest appearance with the Kirov Ballet, as Albrecht in Giselle. Also, Bart has many awards to his credit including a silver medal at Jackson, 2 gold medals in France and also the Prix Professionale at the Prix De Lausanne. Several pointe ballets were created for him in the traditional ballet world including the lead featured role in a full length ballet at the Royal Ballet de Flanders.
Emotionally blocked, her cool style has been compared to the iceberg that sank the Titanic. One could say she has been around the block, having performed in America, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and both poles, which makes her bi-polar. After many stumbling blocks, she has broken through and now her life is squared away.
Allen Dennis
Karina
Born in Los Angeles, Mr. Dennis' first major public appearance was at age 14 on the television game show "The Joker’s Wild". He studied acting at Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, dance at Marin Ballet and holds a B.A. in dance theater from an insignificant college in California. He has toured the world as Karina for 23 years giving him the dubious distinction of being the "most senior" male ballerina absoluto in the world.
Long of leg, in the tooth and winded, Ms. cannot recall life before the dance or her last name. But she is more than happy to talk about it. Though her claims to being born a ballerina cannot be substantiated, a pair of pointe booties at the Smithsonian do support this arcane lore. Self-credited with originating many classical ballet steps and eschewing them as they came into style, Karina can truly be called a woman ahead of her time... or out of it.
Roberto Forleo
Tamara Verde
Mr. Forleo is a native of Bari, Italy. His credits include being a member of Grupo Corpo, Bejart Ballet Lausanne, Rambert Dance Company and Ballet Bairritz. Roberto won first prize at the Taranto Danza Ballet Competition in 1996 and has performed as a guest with the La Parentheses in Marsaeille, Puglia Danza Festival and most recently with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Mr. Forleo has danced many lead roles and has critical acclaim for his performances including one in the Los Angeles Times for his role in Les Petit Reins.
Young of spirit and fresh like fish, Tamara radiates a sense of naivete with her "who, me?" countenance and her "why her?" competitiveness. Though detractors have criticized her as still being "green", she wants to once and for all to white-out that claim. The condition was long ago cleared up with antibiotics supplied by her Aunt Violet. Grandiva audiences will soon be able to appreciate this newcomer's virginal virtues in any role she can scratch and crawl her way into. Oh Tamara, Tamara...we love ya, Tamara.
Carlos Garcia
Imelda Hard Toes
Born in Quezon City, Philipines, Carlos began his training at Chameleon DanceTheater. He continued his training on scholarship at the Hong Kong Academy forPerforming Arts. Carlos has many years of experience dancing as a male ballerina andhas danced lead female roles that include Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, Paquita, Spring Waters and Odette in Swan Lake.
The former first lady of Philippine dance, Imelda left her homeland under dubious circumstances. This "Thrilla from Manila" was granted Artistic asylum by Grandiva and brings with her a wealth of experience and 4532 pairs of designer point shoes.
Scott Macdonald
Slyvie Gruyere|
Mr. MacDonald is Canadian born and studied dance at Micki's Dance Connection, The Academy Dance, St. John's College and Vlad's Dance Company in Ontario. Mr. Macdonald's Professional credits include "Beauty and the Beast" with Drayton Entertainment the Ontario Tour, Micki's Dance Connection, Lisa Naves Dance Company, Helix Dance Project, ASH Contemporary in Montreal and the feature film The Music Man. Scott has many awards and scholarships including Amercan Dance Awards 2004 Scholarship winner and Male dancer of the year, World Jazz Congress Gold Medal winner 2003, Dance Masters of America Teen Mister Dance of America 2002, World Show Dance Congress Silver medal and in the Canadian National Dance Champoinships for 2001 Winner of Ballet/Modern Champion, Canadian Jazz Champion and Canadian Acrobatics Champion.
This French/American hybrid has a distinct lactic flair. Her legs longer, prettier and always higher than required have become a trademark that her public has come to expect. Miss Gruyere takes offense at the attack by some of her colleagues that she is cheesy and tasteless. She graciously forgives these comments knowing they are rooted in understandable jealousy. Also she would like to forgive all her fellow ballerinas for not being French.
Ari Mayzick
Pearl Lee Gates
A Recipient of the Princess Grace Award of Excellence for 1999/2000, Mr. Mayzick recently danced with Scapino Ballet. He has also danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Sean Curran Dance Company, Pearl Lang Dance Theater, the Pascal Rioutt Dance Theater and with the Metropolitan Opera in their production of Aida. He has appeared in music videos, television series, Off-Broadway shows, movies and has also modeled. Ari thanks his mother for giving him all of her love and support.
There has been a great anticipation to see St. Petersburg's own Pearl Lee Gates. Her heavenly performances have created such a stir that audiences are dying to see her. Although she has been accused of being a bit judgmental, considering her lofty ideals she is deservedly the final arbiter of what is truly good. Pearl’s early career included appearances in fried chicken commercials where she sang, “look at this chicken, Honey.” Feeling she could rise above her poultry singing career Pearl took up toe dancing. The rest is history.
Momchil Mladenov
Felina Pordubravska
Born in Bourgas, Bulgaria, Mr. Mladenov was trained in the Vaganova Method with the National High School of Ballet in Sofia, Bulgaria from 1984 to 1993. In 1997 he earned a Bachelor of Arts in ballet from the National Academy of Music in Sofia. From 1993 to 1999 he was a principal dancer with the Bulgarian National Ballet. His honors and awards include the Laureate of the "Arabesque" competition, the prize for best dancer for his performance of the Sleeping Beauty in 1998, Laureate of Masako Ohya at the World Ballet Competition, Osaka, Japan in 1995, and prize for Best Partner in "Seniors" category at the National Ballet Competition, Dobritsch, Bulgaria. Currently he is a soloist with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet.
Armed with a great knowledge of classical ballet, Felina has elbowed her way to stand shoulder to shoulder with the great ballerinas of our time. But she would give her right arm to reach superstar status, which is well within her grasp.
Oswaldo Muñiz
Costume Designer
Ginger Snapps
Trained at the School of American Ballet on full scholarship Mr. Muñiz has performed as a principal dancer with the Eglevsky Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Edward Villella and Dancers, Ballet Oklahoma, Richmond Ballet, Ballet Chicago, The Garden State Ballet, Les Grands Ballets de Loony, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet and has been a guest artist with many other companies. As a costume designer Mr. Muniz has created costumes for soloists from the New York City Ballet, Ballet Chicago, The Garden State Ballet, Les Grands Ballets de Loony and most recently for the Pennsylvania Ballet. He has received excellent notices in magazines and newspapers including the New York Times. His work can be seen in magazine print ads as well as in television commercials. Muniz designed costumes for American figure skater Sarah Hughes and was featured on ABC television creating and executing the costume
Ginger "Cookie" Snapps is a former member of the Colonel de Keebler Company where she became popular dancing the full complement of Ballet Suites. Her metabolic rise to stardom resulted in her becoming too big for the company. After a 12 step residency she triumphantly returned to Keebler to dance the Sugar Plump Fairy. A failed coup attempt created a sticky situation landing her on her bun. It was at this point that Grandiva picked her up (no small feat) and is proud to include her as a major ingredient in their recipe for success.she wore in competition.
Brian Norris
Natalia Macabre
Trained at the Jefferson School of Performing Arts in Portland, Oregon, Brian has danced in the male comedy field for 8 years and is featured on film as Odette in a program that aired internationally on the Bravo channel. Currently he is ballet master for Rochester City Ballet and his teaching credits include The Draper Center and Nazareth Academy. Brian has choreographed the musicals "Drood" for the Lamplight Players and "The Secret Garden" for The Young, Open and Honest Players.
For reasons neither she nor herself choose to disclose, Natalia has been banned for life from all International Ballet Competitions, disqualified from giving or taking blood and has restraining orders filed against her by every major dance company, mortuary and poultry farm. When not working with Grandiva she can be seen in her solo show "Macabre and Friends", the Goth tour. Ms. Macabre is proud to be afflicted with Multiple Personality Disorder.
Giovanni Ravelo
Carolina Picasso
Born in Colombia, Mr. Ravelo has been dancing professionally for ten years. He trained at the Anna Pavlova School in Bogotá for six years, the School of the National Ballet of Cuba for two years, and the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA. Mr. Ravelo was a principal dancer for the National Ballet of
Colombia, (one of the most important folkloric companies in the world) performing in Italy, Brazil, Israel, Chile, Germany, Panama and the United States. Mr. Ravelo has danced as a principal and soloist with Anna Pavlova Ballet Company, Ballet Theatre of Scranton, Northeast Youth Ballet, Contrast Dance Theater and Roxey Ballet Company in productions of Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, The Death of Cleopatra, The Rose and The Pearls, Bach's Tribute, Cinderella, Symphony in C, Stars and Stripes, Manon, Dracula, Othello, Swan Lake, and a wide variety of modern and contemporary pieces.
Carolina was not always the beautiful swan you see today. When the term "’cubist’ was first attributed to her it was a physical description. A firm believer that ‘dysfunction follows deformity’, she decided to re-define and re-design herself. Meticulously selecting color texture and fabric, Carolina embarked on a never-landish journey (of Jacksonian proportions) in pursuit of physical perfection...i.e. plastic surgery. Beginning with instep augmentation, she worked her way from the ground up, and is now waiting for her Liz Taylor Irises, which are on back order. A step-by-step chronology of her numerous procedures can be found in The Silicone Valley of the Dolls, a tell-all expose of herself and various gal-pals. Here the Bionic Ballerina writes, "I am an artist...I am my canvas...I seem to have misplaced my left eye..." In addition to ballet and doctor’s appointments, Carolina is a full-time defendant in multiple lawsuits which make claim to her name.
Sebastian Scolari
Lucia Mascara
Mr. Scolari-Rinaldi hails from La Plata, Argentina. He studied at the Teatro Colon and danced with Ballet del Mercosur. He studied at the School of American Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet School among others. He has performed with the Roxey Ballet, Voorhees Ballet Theater, The NY Ballet Theater and with the Dance Theater of Harlem. His repertoire includes major roles from the Nutcracker, Dracula and La Bayadere.
Lasting beauty best describes this "new and improved" ballerina developed in Spain. Mascara's attributes are clearly evident in the diverse roles she has covered: In Ondine, she proves she could withstand water and not run; in Giselle her interpretation is fuller, darker and thicker than "the others"; in Dances at a Gathering she stands out, separating herself from the clump; and in the Balanchine repertory she appears long, longer, longest!! And throughout all of these tests, not one animal was harmed!!!
Tetsushi Segawa
Sue Nami
Mr. Segawa began his dance training in Japan with Motoko Hiragushi and continued at Sadamatsu Hamada Ballet Company in Kobe. He was a scholarship student at Osaka University of Arts where he received his degree in dance in 2001. In the United States he studied at the Joffrey Ballet School as a scholarship student and danced with the Joffrey Ensemble and with the Mobile Ballet in Alabama. He has many prizes to his credit including second prize at the 57th All Japan Ballet Competition in Tokyo. His teachers include Toru Sadamatsu, Yoko Hanada, Shoichiro Sadamatsu, Yoshiko Nagao, Shigeru Yokoi, John Magnus, Francesca Corkle, Eleanor D'Antuono and Elie Lazer.
Having been named as the ballerina to watch by the theater critic for the weather channel, there is great anticipation for Sue Nami's arrival. Unless the tide changes, Grandiva expects Sue Nami to have a great impact on our audiences.
Juan Carlos Sole
Mr. Sole is a native of Spain. His professional credits include Ballet de Teatres de la Generalitat Valenciana under the direction of Mauro Galindo and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Mr. Sole's teachers include Victor Ullate and has worked with and danced roles by Ramon Oller, David Brun, Leonardo Santos, Thomas Nonne, Patrick de Bana, Goyo Montero, Inma Rubio and the legendary Alicia Alonso.
Benjamin Timothy
Benjamin hails from London and trained two years with the Royal Ballet's Junior Associates and three years with Millennium Dance 2000 Theater School. His credits are varied and include opera (La Scala’s production of La Forza del Destino and Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s production of Giulio Cesare), theater (Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Richard III and two productions of Dick Whittington), dance (The Birmingham Royal Ballet and Millennium Dance 2000), Music videos (Razorlight’s In The Morning) and film (Kenneth Branagh’s Magic Flute).
Jai Williams
Maria Sarowski
A native of Las Vegas, Mr. Williams began his formal dance training. with Winston DeWitt Hemsley at the age of 16. He went on to win scholarships at Nevada Dance Theater, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and Houston Ballet Academy where he studied under Clara Cravey and Steve Brule. He has danced with Eglevsky Ballet, Ballet Dallas and has danced as a Male Ballerina for over a decade. He brings with him a wealth of experience and has performed nationally and internationally doing a variety of comedic lead roles. Jai has also become a sought after make-up artist in the fashion industry.
Maria is not just another ballet Barbie. Long legged and possessed of crystalline technique her brilliance has helped move this lovely beauty from small town to uptown. It is clear that her artistry is multi-faceted and also that she has realistic nontoxic moveable parts.
Production Staff
Choreographers
Peter Anastos
Marcus Galante
Brian Reeder
Victor Trevino
Matt Williams
Music
Philip Carroll
Costume Designers
Jose Coronado
Tom Augustine
Kate Carroll
Steven Epstien
Christina Giannini
Oswaldo Muniz
Laurel Parrish
Christine Pascall
Clara Poteau
David Paulin
Thom J. Peterson
Katherine Shak
Set Designers
Cobalt Studios
Jorge Gallardo
Martin Izquierdo
Ambun Mori
Photography
Steven Caras
Eduardo Patino
Legal
Barry Gilman, Jennifer M. Cowan, Hayes Stover of Kirkpatrick Lockhart & Nickolson, Graham
Publicity
Kevin Mcanarney
Official Studios
Official Rehearsal Studios
The New 42nd Street Studios