Artistic Staff
Director
Victor Trevino
Artistic Director/Founder
Ballerina Assoluta Nina Minimaximova
Artistic
Director/Founder
Mr.
Trevino, the founder and artistic director of Les Ballets Grandiva and current
director of Les Ballets Eloelle, Men in Tutus and Men in Pink Tights, 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. Mr. Trevino
also was an original member of Ballet Florida under Marie Hale and danced with
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo for ten years.
He is currently the artistic advisor for New England Ballet and is the
Performance Coordinator and Liaison for Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Dancers
Walter Battistini
Mariana Moroarlas
Walter was born in Argentina on National
scholarships in dance from the
Foundation for the Arts. He was a
finalist for the Prix de Lausanne and has graduate and post graduate work in
dance at the Superior Institue of Art of the Teatro Colon.
He continues his dance studies at the prestigious Universidad Nacional
de Cuyo, Mendoza of Argentina.He has danced with Akjun Ballet Theater of New
York, Vendimia de Godoy Cruz Dance Company,
and is featured in Les Ballets Eloelle’s “Men in Pink Tights”
video.
George Callahan
Anita Pickmeyup
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.
Anita Pickmeyup
A former champion of the soviet women’s power lifting team, Anita 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.”
Anita’s upbeat personality is a boost to all that know her. She is best
known for her portrayal of the Friendly bar girl in the ballet "100
Bottles of Beer on the Wall", where she incorporates common bar gestures
into a poignant portrayal of a thirst quenching wench. Her long-range goals are to dance with the Bolshoi and to get the splits.
Mauricio
Canete
Mauricio Cañete is a native of Santiago, Chile where he began his dance
training. In 1995 he was invited to join Houston Ballet by Artistic Director
Ben Stevenson, and in 2000 he was promoted to soloist. Mr. Cañete’s title
roles include Peter Pan, The Pied Piper, The Jester in Cinderella, Renfield in
Dracula, Ugly Stepsister in Cinderella, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and The
Bugle Boy in Paul Taylor’s Company B. He has also been featured in Five
Poems, Four Last Songs, and danced the title role of Ptolemy in the world
premiere of Ben Stevenson’s Cleopatra. His Contemporary repertoire includes
Ghost Dances, Sergeants Early’s Dream, and Land by Christopher Bruce. He
also danced in Second Before The Ground, Touched and Bound by Trey McIntyre.
While dancing with Houston Ballet, Mr. Cañete received notable acclaim from
the international press when he performed in England, Russia, Hong Kong,
Canada, Austria, Germany and China.
In 2003 Mr. Cañete join Ballet Florida by Artistic Director Marie Hale where
he has danced in The Slave in Le Corsaire, The Blue Bird in Sleeping Beauty,
Smile with My Heart, Bakers Dozen, The Nutcracker, and the role of Puck in
Midsummer Night Dream. Most
recently he appeared in America’s Got Talent with the Miami All-Stars.
Baris
Ehran
Born in Turkey, Mr. Ehran has danced at the Istanbul State Ballet as a
soloist Gera Ballet,
Berlin Deutch Opera Company
of Germany, Vienna State Opera,
Nevada Ballet Theatre, Colorado Ballet and Les Ballets Grandiva.
He has also performed as a guest artist in Japan and Europe.
He has also competed in several ballet competitions including the Paris Ballet
Competition where he was a Finalist and the Vienna Ballet Competition where he
won 5th Place.
Carlos Garcia
Imelda Hardtoes
Born in Quezon City, Philipines, Carlos began his training at Chameleon Dance
Theater. He continued his training on scholarship at the Hong Kong Academy for
Performing 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.
He has Danced for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte
Carlo, Les Ballets Grandiva and now for Les Ballets Eloelle.
Imelda Hardtoes
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.
Kevin Grant
Kevin Grant started his training at Fort Wayne Ballet, where he trained for 7
years on full scholarship. He then
furthered his training on scholarship at Butler University and at the New
American Youth Ballet. He has received acceptances and scholarships to the
Washington Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, The Rock School, and the
Ailey School among others. He has been offered traineeships from both Ballet
Austin and Georgia Ballet. His repertory has included soloist and principle
roles in Balanchine’s Who Cares and Valse Fantasie, The Sleeping Beauty, The
Nutcracker, Giselle, Flames of Paris, Paquita,
Coppelia, and many contemporary works. He has been both a guest dancer
and teacher in numerous schools in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Currently, Mr.
Grant is on the primary ballet staff of New American Youth Ballet where he
teaches all levels of ballet. His students have received numerous scholarships
to the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet,
and San Francisco Ballet just to name a few.
Randy Herrera
Mr. Herrera began his studies at the Chicago academy for the arts in
1994-98 where he studied under the direction of Anna Paskevska, Claire
Bataille and Randy Duncan. He was also trained at the School of American
Ballet and San Francisco Ballet school. Mr. Herrera has been in several
competitions and has received many awards including the prestigious Princess
Grace award. He was a member of the Joffrey ballet from 1999-01 and danced
with Houston ballet, one of America’s most distinguished dance companies, as
a Principal dancer for nine years. Currently Mr. Herrera is a guest artist
both nationally and internationally.
Ari Mayzick
Born of an American father and a Finnish mother, he is 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 Les Ballets
Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Les Ballets Grandiva and now for Les Ballets
Eloelle 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.
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
Alina Coakvilduju
began
dancing at the age of 9 in Cali, Colombia at the Colombian Institute for
Classical Ballet. During his 8 years at the school his studies included
extensive work in ballet, modern, folklore and character dance. He obtained
dance degrees from ballet-centered, secondary and higher-level institutions
where he was educated by ballet masters Gloria Castro, Helena Cala, Maria
Helena Llorente, as well as teachers from the National Ballet of Cuba. Upon
graduation, he joined Incolballet, Colombia’s premier dance company. After
attending American Ballet Theatre's 2007 Summer Intensive in NYC, Jhonatan
received a full scholarship to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT,
under the direction of Franco De Vita. Jhonatan performed as a guest artist
with Dances Patrelle for their 2009 production ofThe Nutcracker and
their 2010 Spring season. In May 2010, Jhonatan graduated from the JKO School
at ABT and performed with Avi Scher and Dancers at the Kennedy Center.Jhonatan
joined Les Ballet GranDiva in june 2010 and was a cguest artist with Alberta
Ballet for their 2010 Nutcracker season.
Mr.
Alexis Mercado
Tamara Chilirojo
is a native from Puerto Rico.
He began his training at the age of twelve at Harlem School of Arts in
New York City. 1997 he returned to his native country and continued his
training with Roberto Rodriguez at the performing art high school Julian E.
Blanco. He joined Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico where he became a soloist.
In 1998 he was invited and joined the National ballet of the Dominican
Republic. In 1999 he won second place at the JamNation dance competition
winning a scholarship at Broadway Dance Center in New York City.
In addition, he was selected to be part of the television show Star
Search America. In 2000 he joined and toured with Les Juene Ballet du France
working with Nicholas Musin and Christian Bakalov and studied at the Paris
Opera Ballet. He received a
proclamation from the Puerto Rico senate where he was awarded most promising
dancer of his native country. In
2001 he became a member of Les Ballet GranDiva where he danced a variety of
featured roles for five years and had the chance to travel all around the
world. He also was a guest artist
and teacher to the Rochester Dance Company and joined the Minnesota Dance
Theater where he got the chance to dance works from choreographers Loyce
Holton, Elisa Montes and Hope Boyken.
Tamara
Chilirojo
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.
Tamara is definitely on a new rosy red path and 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.
Joel
Morris
Margot Funtyme
Born
in the UK and currently living in South Africa, Joel trained at the Royal
Ballet School and The Central School of Ballet, and received scholarships at
the Royal Danish Ballet and ABT. He has danced with Ballet de Zaragosa
(Spain), The Atlanta Ballet, English National Ballet, City Ballet of London,
K- Ballet of Japan, The South African Ballet, and Les Ballets Grandiva . Joel
has also had several British television appearances including the role of the
Prince of Wales in "The Life and Times of Queen Victoria".
Oswaldo
Muñiz
(Dancer, Costume Designer)
Cookie Krum
Trained
at the School of American Ballet on 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 including Berlin State Opera Ballet.
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 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 costumes.
He has
received excellent notices in magazines and newspapers including the New York
Times, which said of his work “After Mr. Muniz retires from dance; he will
not have to worry about a second career”.
His designs can be seen in magazines such as Vogue and Martha Stewart
Wedding Magazine where a wedding gown he created was shown.
Suffering from split personality disorder, Ms. Cookie Krum is one of the alter egos to Ms. Ginger "Cookie" Snapps. Ms. Krum is of Romanian royal ancestry and was trained by the Colonel de Keebler in whose company she became popular dancing the full complement of Ballet Suites. Her metabolic rise to stardom resulted in her becoming too big for the company. Alas, she crumbled into three seperate personas, The truimphant Ginger Snapps, the shy Cookie Krum and a male seamstress Chip that specializes in women's undergarments. 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, destroying her self esteem into tiny pieces. It was at this point that we picked her up (no small feat) and are proud to include her as a major ingredient in our recipe for success. We are hoping to scoop up all that is Ms. Krum and assemble her back to her full crunchy glory .
Roberto
Rosario Pineiro
Born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Started his ballet trainning at 11 at
the performing arts
school Esc. Julian E. Blanco and joined the Conservatorio de Ballet Concierto,
official school
of the company Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico. At the age of 16 he received a
scholarship to
enter the School of American Ballet, official school of New York City Ballet.
He became a
soloist
at 18 for Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico and Principal Male dancer at 24.
At the age of 28 he joined Ballet Hispanico in NYC and New York Theatre
Ballet. He is a guest dancer with Bay City Ballet in Tampa Florida, directed
by Mr.Mark Jelks. Roberto has performed in Spain , Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia ,
Singapore, Egypt, Aruba and the United States. In the year 2002 Mr.Rosario was
awarded by the Ateneo of Puerto Rico Best Male dancer, and in 2005 he made his
debut as choreographer presenting his piece "A-MEN".
Roberto has worked with many renowned teachers and choreographers such as:
Christian Holder, Christopher Flemmings, Jimmy Gamionet de los Heros, Roberto
Rodriguez, Denise Eliza, Rebeca Canchani, Robert la Fose, Nana Badrena, Miguel
Campaneria, Ana Sanchez Colberg, Carlos Cabrera, Carlos Ivan Santos.
Philip Joseph Sicat
Born in Japan Philip started dancing at the Manila Dance Center,
training under Tony Fabella, Luther Perez, and Eddie Elejar, and continued his
studies at the Philippine High School for the Arts. He joined Ballet
Philipinnesr in 2007 and in the same year won Third Prize at the NAMCYA Junior
Ballet Division. He also served as the alma mater’s resident ballet teacher
in 2009-2010.In 2010, I became a company member and essayed the title role in
Edna Vida’s Peter Pan and the solo role Pedro in Don Quixote.
I won Third Prize at the 2010 NAMCYA Senior Ballet Division and competed at
the First Boston International Ballet Competition in 2011.
Malachi Squires (Alternate)
Mr. Squires trained at Marin
Dance Theater, Lines in San Francisco and at the Houston
Ballet Academy. Professionally he has danced with Fort Worth/Dallas Ballet,
Laurence Pech Dance Company, and Les Ballets Grandiva.
Wataru Tokue (Alternate)
Born
in Japan, Mr. Tokue has performed internationally and trained in Novosibirsk,
Russia and in Sapporo, Japan. He
has been a member of Les Ballets Grandiva for five years and has performed
most of the female leads in the classic repertoire.
He also has performed as an invited guest dancer throughout
Japan.
Allen Dennis (Guest Artist)
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
26 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.
However, she is more than happy to talk about it. This philosopher ballerina's
claims of being born a ballerina cannot be substantiated, but a pair of pointe booties at the Smithsonian do support this arcane lore. Self-credited with originating many classical ballet steps
including the fascinating maximum minamalist pirouette, and eschewing them as they came into style, Karina can truly be called a woman ahead of her time... or out of it.
She was born to do ballet, we are still waiting for her to finish talking
about it and doing it.
Slyvie Gruyere|
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.
Pearl Lee Gates
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.
Felina Pordubravska
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.
CarolinaCarolina 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.
Luscia Mascara
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!!!
Maria Swarovski
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.
Staff
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
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.
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
Kenn Hopkins
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