Say a few words about yourself
I am a graduate of the Paris Opera Ballet School where I studied under the direction of Claude Bessy. Before moving to the United States, I danced with La Scala in Milan, where Maurice Béjart invited me to Brussels as part of Les Ballets Du XXe Siecle. My first principal contract came in 1980 with the Northern Ballet Theatre of England, where I danced the entire classical repertoire, including Giselle and The Sleeping Beauty. A second principal contract followed from Ballet Du Nord.
one of a very few dancers to have danced with all three major ballet companies in New York City. When first arriving to the United States, I joined the Joffrey Ballet in New York City where I danced principal roles. I then danced with the New York City Ballet for six years and briefly with American Ballet Theatre.
I have appeared with numerous companies worldwide as a guest artist and served as Ballet Master for New York Theatre Ballet as well as for Florence, Italy’s Maggio Danza. My first choreography was performed at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall for the New Year's Vienna Celebration performed by the New York Theatre Ballet. I also choreographed part of the second act in Northeast Ballet's The Nutcracker.
In 1997, I accepted a full faculty position at Studio Maestro (now Manhattan Youth Ballet) and from 2001- 2011 was Managing Artistic Director of the school and youth company. I am regularly invited to guest teach at major dance schools including Ballet West, Miami City Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company. I am regularly on the faculty of American Ballet Theatre’s Young Dancer Summer Workshop and am a faculty member of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre and The Juilliard School. I was the ballet coach of the boys of the Tony Award Winner Broadway show, Billy Elliott for its entire run. I taught open class at Peridance Capezio Center and my class was part of the Certificate Program at Peridance Capezio Center.
My students have been accepted to the Paris Opera Ballet School and as company members at American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Nederland Dans Theatre, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Sarasota Ballet, Carolina Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre and Orlando Ballet.
I am an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum aw well as an official Examiner for American Ballet Theatre’s Affiliate Examinations.
I have developed the curriculum of the French Academie of Ballet based on his own training - the French School of classical technique. My vision is to provide dancers with pre-professional training based on the French ballet's beauty of movement; with emphasis on simplicity and precision in technique and artistry and elegance in movement. This approach to ballet instruction has proven to produce strong, capable, employable dancers with the ability to adjust easily to different styles of choreography.
