Puerto Rico Classical Dance Competition
Judges
for the 2022 competition
MICHELLE MANZANALES
Michelle Manzanales is a choreographer and dedicated dance educator of nearly 30 years originally from Houston, Texas. Before being named Ballet Hispánico’s School of Dance Director in December of 2016, Michelle was in the midst of her seventh season as the company’s Rehearsal Director & Artistic Associate. She currently serves on the National Association of Schools of Dance’s (NASD) Committee on Ethics, has served as a juror for the Nebraska Arts Council, Individual Artist Fellowships, and was honored to be part of a round table planning dialogue supporting Carnegie Hall’s major education project ‘All Together: A Global Ode to Joy.’
Her choreography “…isn’t just about one girl’s experience; it applies to everyone, of any gender, and of any culture,” said CriticalDance of Manzanales’ work. She is currently working on a new commission for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. CautivadX, a dance film by Ms. Manzanales premiered in June 2020 for Ballet Hispánico’s Noche Unidos, and her piece, If by Chance… which was created and performed for the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 75th anniversary Gala in December 2019, “unspooled dreamily atop and between the tables” (-Courtney Escoyne, Dance Magazine). Michelle created Con Brazos Abiertos for Ballet Hispánico which premiered in the company’s 2017 spring season at the Joyce Theater. This “savvy but deeply sincere meditation on her Mexican-American background” (-Marina Harss, New York Times) has since toured worldwide to critical acclaim including its inclusion in New York City Center’s 2018 Fall for Dance Festival.
Manzanales has served on the faculties of Ballet Hispánico, Lou Conte Dance Studio, University of Houston, Rice University, Houston Metropolitan Dance Center, and has been a guest artist for the Puerto Rican Classical Dance Competition, Regional Dance America, Festival de Danza Cordoba-Youth American Grand Prix, along with numerous other dance studios, schools, and college dance programs nationwide and internationally.
CHRISTOPHER ALLOWAYS-RAMSEY
Christopher Alloways-Ramsey is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Utah. Prior to completing his MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University, 2019 Christopher graduated cum laude, Harvard University, ALB, June 2003. Christopher danced professionally for Boston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet West, BalletMet and Alabama Ballet dancing a wide range of roles from the international classical repertoire to the works of independent contemporary choreographers. Christopher received the majority of his classical training from Mira Popovich and Dame Sonia Arova. As an educator, Christopher has been on faculty at the University of Utah, American Academy of Ballet, Boston Arts Academy, Boston Ballet, Boston Conservatory, and The Florida Ballet Conservatory. His former students are currently employed world-wide in ballet companies, modern companies, contemporary companies, and on Broadway. Christopher was a 2013 recipient of the Surdna National Artists Teacher Fellowship Award. In 2014-2016, Christopher worked in Cape Town, South Africa as Ballet Master for Cape Dance Company and Head of the Classical Ballet Department at Cape Academy of Performing Arts. Christopher has been a guest instructor and repetiteur staging classical works and teaching across the United States and internationally.
DANAH BELLA
danah bella, Dance Chair at Peabody Conservatory, is the artistic director of d a n a h b e l l a DanceWorks, a modern dance company focused on reclaiming evocative movement as social practice. danah has performed & presented her work throughout the country including the Cool New York Festival in New York, the United States Asian American Festival in San Francisco, the Bates Dance Festival in Maine, the American College Dance Association’s National Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center, Santa Barbara, ReVIEWING Black Mountain College, as well as in Mexico and Italy. She has taught workshops and has been artist in residence in festivals and universities throughout the United States and abroad; including, Pro Danza Italia, Bates Dance Festival, Monterey Dance Fest, the American College Dance Association’s Regional and National conference, Western Michigan University, University of Virginia, Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival, Santa Barbara City College and Goose Route Dance Festival. danah is also a founding member of Colectivo Caliban, an artist collective that transgresses disciplinary borders through sound and movement. She has worked in higher education since 2002 teaching modern dance technique, dance theory, and history. She was awarded an MFA in performance from the Ohio State University and a BA in Dance from the University of California in Santa Barbara.
STEPHANIE BAUGER
Stephanie Bauger (Dominican Republic) began her training at Academia de Ballet Magda Corbett and Danzarte in Santo Domingo and completed her dance studies at Escuela Nacional de Ballet in Havana, Cuba. During the New York International Ballet Competition, she received a contract to dance as a soloist at Ballet Argentino directed by Julio Bocca where she performed for a period of 8 years. Later, she joined Ballet Nacional Dominicano as a principal dancer and as a rehearsal director guided by Marinella Sallent. During her professional career, touring around the world, she performed works of Balanchine, Oscar Araiz, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Mauro Bogonzetti, Twyla Tharp, Alvin Ailey, Mauricio Wainrot, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Ana Maria Stekelman, Chet Walter, Alberto Mendez, Carlos Veitia, Lidia Segni, etc.
She was awarded the Premios Casandra as best dancer of the year in 2009 and in 2010 one of her production, Pasarela Movile was nominated as best stage production, a work created for the youth company Endanza Juvenil in Santo Domingo in 2017.
Bauger also assisted the choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa in several international dance companies such as Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Hispánico de Nueva York, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Compañía de Ballet de Cali (Incolballet) and Ballet Nacional Dominicano.
She completed her MFA in Choreography at Jacksonville University and received the Dean’s Award in 2017 and 2018.
Currently, she is the artistic coordinator of Endanza Juvenil, ballet master at Compañia Nacional de Danza Contemporánea directed by Marianela Boan and member of Patronato Dominicano por la Danza.
NICOLE DUFFY
Nicole Duffy is the Programs Advisor for the Ballet Hispanico School of Dance Preprofessional Division. She was raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she began her training at Ballets de San Juan under Maria Carrera and Ana Garcia. She made her professional debut with BSJ, dancing in the great 19th century classics and Balanchine masterworks, mentored by luminaries such as Fernando Bujones, Frederic Franklin, Melissa Hayden, and Ivan Nagy.
After further training at SAB, Joffrey Ballet School, and Alvin Ailey, she joined the Joffrey Ballet in New York and in Chicago. During her Joffrey years she danced ballets by Joffrey, Arpino, Ashton, Balanchine, Cranko, Limon, DeMille, Page, Laura Dean, Alonzo King, David Parsons, and Ann Reinking, among many others. She danced in all the historic Ballets Russes reconstructions, and was featured in the ground-breaking ballet Billboards, with music by Prince.
Ms. Duffy is also a director and repetiteur for the Gerald Arpino Foundation, staging the ballets of Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino around the world. She teaches at Barnard College and Steps on Broadway, co-founded New York Dance Project, and was on faculty at the Harlem School of the Art and Marymount Manhattan College. She holds a BA from Columbia University and a Master’s degree from NYU in Dance and Art History, and her writing has been published by Dance Informa, Eye on Dance and the Arts, the Massachusetts Review, and Esferas. Ms. Duffy loves teaching the Ballet Hispanico company, and her new role as advisor and faculty at the Ballet Hispanico School of Dance.
Raymond Rodriguez
Academy Director, Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet
Raymond Rodriguez was born in New York City and began dancing at the age of six. While attending the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan, he studied ballet and also began training at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) School on a full scholarship. Taught privately by ABT Ballet Master Jurgen Schneider, he gained performing experience with ABT performing children’s roles and later as an apprentice. He joined Cleveland Ballet (Ballet San Jose) in 1981 as a Principal Dancer, and during his tenure with the company he has held the positions of Rehearsal Assistant, Repetiteur, Regisseur, Principal Ballet Master, Associate Artistic Director, and Managing Director. In 2016, he moved to Chicago to join the Joffrey Ballet as Head of Studio Company and Trainee Program. He was elevated to the role of Academy Director in 2019.
Mr. Rodriguez had a diverse repertoire as a Principal Dancer with roles that included Albrecht in Giselle; Romeo in Romeo and Juliet; The Peruvian in Léonide Massine’s Gâité Parisienne; The Profiteer in Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table; Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake; principal roles in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Tarantella, Serenade, Agon, The Four Temperaments, Rubies and Theme and Variations; the Champion Roper in Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo; Don Jose in Roland Petit’s Carmen; along with many other roles created for him. He had the pleasure of sharing the stage on international tours with such legends as Rudolf Nureyev and Cynthia Gregory. He has performed at many prestigious dance festivals as well as at the Anniversary Gala for the Queen of Denmark’s Silver Anniversary in Copenhagen, which was filmed and broadcast throughout Scandinavia. He has staged numerous ballets for Dennis Nahat throughout the world. He has performed, assisted and remounted works by Flemming Flindt, most notably The Toreador where he played the title role at its company premiere and staged the work for the 2008/2009 Season, for which he won an Isadora Duncan Award.
Mr. Rodriguez is also the founding Co-Artistic Director of Pointe of Departure, Cleveland, Ohio’s summer classical ballet company. He is a proud union member of the Screen Actors Guild, Actors’ Equity and American Guild of Musical Artists. He has appeared in films such as RENT and The Smurfs and his television credits include ABC’s Dancing with the Stars coaching football legend Jerry Rice, ABC’s The Drew Carey Show, PBS broadcast of Emmy nominated Blue Suede Shoes and Scandinavian television broadcast of Lucifer’s Daughter. He is an ABT certified teacher (Pre-Primary to Level 7) and an international guest instructor, most notably at the Bartholin International Ballet Seminar held in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition, Mr. Rodriguez graduated with his MFA in Dance from Hollins University, where he was the recipient of a Graduate Fellowship.
JAMES K. PAYNE
James K. Payne, began his ballet training began in Phoenix, AZ in a small school directed by Michael Fokine’s great niece, Nina Marlow, and on full scholarship at San Francisco Ballet School. At 17, he was invited to join Ballet West, where he danced ballets by George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Paul Taylor, Ben Stevenson, and many others. In 1994, he was invited by Ben Stevenson to join the world-renowned Houston Ballet, where he performed ballets by William Forsythe, Glen Tetley, Jiri Kylian, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, and many others, and was promoted to soloist. Jim has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and China. While a dancer, he served on the National Board for the American Guild of Musical Artists and was Union representative for both Ballet West and Houston Ballet dancers.
Upon his retirement from the stage, he transitioned to the management side of Houston Ballet, serving as Company Manager for 2 years. Although successful in this position, he realized he needed to return to the studio to share his knowledge and passion for dance through education. He and his wife created a ballet academy from the ground up, utilizing his experience gained as both an administrator and an artist. Overseeing all artistic and administrative aspects of the school, Jim has developed a thriving program for over 200 ballet students that has been successful artistically and financially for 17 years. Students from his academy have gone on to dance at Houston Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater, and been accepted to prestigious ballet programs at University of Oklahoma, Indiana University, and University of Utah. Jim takes great pride in having created a positive training environment for both professional and recreational students.
Jim has been a Summer Instructor for Houston Ballet since 2008, teaching technique, pointe, pas de deux, variations, and repertory, and since February of 2018, has taught all levels of the Houston Ballet’s Boys’ Program. Jim has also been guest teacher for Ballet West Summer Intensive since 2012. Additionally, Jim was repititeur for choreographer Trey McIntyre setting ballets on Milwaukee Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Florida, and Queensland Ballet in Brisbane Australia.
Jim is married and has two children; one studies animation at Texas A&M University and the other is on scholarship at the University of Oklahoma in the Ballet department. He is thrilled to hold the position of School Director for Pennsylvania Ballet and is looking forward to continuing to grow SPB’s solid program.
Roberto Forleo
Roberto Forleo was born in Bari, Italy and started his training at Ballet Center (Bari), Scuola di Balletto Classico Cosi-Stafanescu (Reggio Emilia-Italy) and at Ecole Atelier Rudra Béjart Lausanne (Switzerland), where he studied with Azari Plisetzki, Sulamith Messerer, Suzanne Farrell, David Howard, Colette Milner and Michel Gascard.
Mr. Forleo has an extensive career working with numerous companies, including Grupo Corpo, Brazil, Bejart Ballet Lausanne,Switzerland, Rambert Dance Company, England, Malandain Ballet Biarritz, France, Les Ballets Grandiva, Japan and has toured internationally to six of the seven continents.
Within these companies, Mr. Forleo performed an extensive repertoire in soloist and principal roles working closely with many choreographers such as Pedro Pederneiras, Maurice Bejart, Christopher Bruce, Thierry Malandain, Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, Wayne McGregor, Christophe Garcia and Marie-Laure Agrapart. Mr. Forleo was principal dancer with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo in NYC before moving to Maine in 2013.
Mr. Forleo is a graduate of the Centre National de la Danse Pantin-Paris (France) as a certified ballet teacher and is also a certified ABT teacher (American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum) from Pre-Primary through level 7.
He was the director of the CORPS program, the pre-professional program of Portland School of Ballet in Maine. His choreography has been seen in Portland Ballet’s Boy Meets Girl, the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s Peter and the Wolf (Discovery Series), and in 2018 his Alice was presented in collaboration with the Portland Symphony Orchestra and the Maine College of Art. He joined the faculty at Bates College (Lewiston, ME) in 2016 and until recently was the Artistic Director of Bangor Ballet in Maine and a full-time faculty member and principal dancer at Maine State Ballet. Mr. Forleo joined The Florida Ballet in August 2019 as Associate Artistic director and during his first year choreographed Creatures of Prometheus in collaboration with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.