Guest Faculty

Christina Bernal - Ballet

Ms Bernal trained at San Francisco Ballet School and then went on to dance with San Francisco Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and Paul Mejia. Married to Larry Matthews, formerly of the New York City Ballet, she taught a private class for 10 years at David Howard’s studio in New York in addition to teaching company class for ABT. Ms Bernal has most recently instructed dancers of the Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballet Dresden, and Stuttgart Ballet in Germany. With an incredible eye, her focus is on working in alignment, and she is known the world over for helping dancers recover from injuries.

It was in Bernal’s New York professional class in the early nineties that New Ballet Ensemble and School director, Katie Smythe began training in the Bernal Method™. Ms. Smythe is one of three sanctioned teachers who instruct in the Bernal Method™.

This organic method of teaching offers equity in training across a broad spectrum of dancers and body types.  Dancers who specialize in varying techniques benefit from this method that is centered on placement, alignment and strength of the core muscles.

Ms. Bernal frequently travels to Memphis to coach both the students and professionals of New Ballet, offering private lessons (by appointment) and professional development for the teaching staff.

Francesca Harper - Choreographer and Master Teacher blends original choreography, dance, music and film to create groundbreaking works that are category-defying. Harper was raised in New York City, where she studied at the School of American Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet School, The Ailey School, and under Madame Darvash and Barbara Walczak. After performing with the Dance Theater of Harlem, she danced as a principal in William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt from 1994-1999. Since returning to the States in 2000, Harper has performed in several Broadway productions including Fosse, The Producers, The Frogs, and The Color Purple. She played the role of Helene opposite Molly Ringwald in a national tour of Sweet Charity, and the role of Judith originated by Judith Jamison in a revival of Sophisticated Ladies.

Harper's choreographic career began while still in Germany, where she choreographed a full evening work for the Holland Dance Festival. She has since choreographed works for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Tanz Graz, and her own company The Francesca Harper Project, which has become the platform for her own artistic vision: classical dance forms deconstructed and fused with cutting-edge text, music, film and video. Her original hybrid work was first seen in 2000 at the Cherry Lane Theatre, as part of 50 minutes with Harriet and Phillis, a collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Margo Jefferson and composer Paul Miller a.k.a. DJ Spooky. She premiered her critically-acclaimed one-woman show The Fragile Stone Theory at the 2002 Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Francesca's latest commissioned work, Documotion : ONE - Rave, was requested to be performed at the 50th Anniversary of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center at World Famous Apollo Theater by Judith Jamison.

The Francesca Harper Project debuted in August 2005 with the sold-out premiere performance of MODO FUSION at The Ailey Citigroup Theater, New York City, and went on to perform a week-long run of MODO FUSION during the 92nd St Y Harkness Dance Festival. The Francesca Harper Project was recently featured at Solstice: Dancing at the Crossroads in Times Square, sponsored by Dancers Responding to AIDS, and at the Holland Dance Festival. The 2007-2008 season highlights include performances at Harlem Stage, Bloomberg Culture Series, Central Park Summerstage and Venice Biennale.

Blakeley White-McGuire - Modern - joined the Martha Graham Company in 2002. She has performed principal roles in Appalachian Spring, Diversion of Angels, Deep Song, Errand Into the Maze, and Satyric Festival Song among others. Ms. White-McGuire has had new works created on her by choreographers Jacqueline Buglisi, Martha Clarke, Sean Curran, Richard Move, Pascal Rioult and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Ms. White-McGuire holds a BA in dance from SUNY and has taught at the Ailey School, the Martha Graham School, the Neighborhood Playhouse, and The Actors' Studio.

 

 

Robin Sanders - Hip Hop

Director of Hybrid Dance, a local hip hop collective, and mentor to numerous youths who follow their passion to dance in the Hip Hop genre, Ms. Sanders directs Hip Hop dance at New Ballet. Traveling to speak with college students across the country, Ms. Sanders majored in Communications and is currently pursuing her Masters Degree.  She is a choreographer and teacher of diverse styles of Hip Hop, a performer and singer and has served as a substitute teacher in Memphis City Schools.

John and Candyce Washington - African

Mr. and Mrs. Washington and family are a wonderful team of talented musicians and dancers.  Director of Music at Carver High, Mr. Washington works closely with the Performing Arts division of Memphis City Schools. Ms. Washington teaches Special Education classes by day and African Dance to New Ballet students and company members, serving as choreographer, performer and instructor with Bantaba Dance Company, directed by Corey Davis and housed in the New Ballet Community Studios.

Adrian Couch - African

Mr. Couch has recently joined the Bantaba Dance Company and teaches master African classes to the students of New Ballet.  Look for upcoming open community African class for students of all ages.

Ondine Geary - Modern

Ms. Geary is a Memphis native who received her BFA in dance and has been seen on Memphis stages at the University of Memphis, with Project Motion, and the New Ballet Ensemble. Trained at the Laban Institute in London and a certified Yoga and Pilates instructor,  Ms. Geary returned to Memphis to start a family and is a new mom! We look forward to her return to New Ballet as a guest instructor. 

 

 

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