Biographies

Lise Reardon – Cofounder and Director Ms. Reardon has been teaching
classical ballet in southeastern Connecticut for 21 years. Fourteen years ago,
she and Lu-Anne Cox established Eastern Connecticut Ballet as the region’s
only non-profit dance arts center. Before this, they ran the Riveredge School
of Ballet and Ballet de Jeunesse in Niantic for 11 years. Under Ms. Reardon’s
direction, Eastern Connecticut Ballet’s school has grown from 60 to 250 students,
expanded its programs to offer modern, jazz, and other forms of dance, and
established a place in the community as a premiere arts resource.

Ms. Reardon majored in dance at the Juilliard School of Music and holds a bachelor of
arts, cum laude, in elementary education from the University of North Carolina. She performed with the Ruth Page Ballet Company, the Chicago Lyric Opera Ballet Company, and the St. Louis Ballet.

In Chicago, she trained with Ruth Page, Larry Long and American Ballet Theater principals Ruth Ann Koesun and John Kriza. In New York, she studied with Antony Tudor, Alfredo Corvino, Sallie Wilson, Michael Uthoff, and modern dance greats José Limón, Betty Jones, and Kazuko Hirabayashi.

Ms. Reardon serves on the board of directors of the Connecticut Dance Alliance.

Gloria Govrin– Artistic Director (Ballet, Pointe, Repertory)

      A product of the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet, Gloria Govrin was the vanguard of the tall-is-terrific look of modern ballet. Gloria's strength, stature, and stamina made her a star soloist for many years. In fact, George Balanchine often choreographed roles specifically for her because of her stage presence and unique abilities. Roles such as Hippolyta in A Midsummer's Night Dream, Coffee in Nutcracker, the Princess in Firebird, and La Bonne Fee in Harlequinade were so stamped with her identity, that the entrances and exits on the scores were marked with her name rather than that of the role. Mr. Balanchine also established her in high-profile roles and ballets such as Stars and Stripes, Western Symphony, Apollo, Agon, Dewdrop in Nutcracker, and many others.

Upon retirement, Gloria opened her own school and company in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In 1986, Robert Weiss asked her to come to the Pennsylvania Ballet to teach and from there, she became principal teacher at the Rock School, the official school of the Pennsylvania Ballet. At the school, Gloria choreographed showcases, conducted audition tours, created and presented lecture demonstrations, taught company classes and assisted in staging Balanchine repertoire. In 1999, she was invited by Helgi Tomasson to be the Associate Director of the San Francisco Ballet School.  During her 8 years there, she trained many students who went on to professional careers with San Francisco Ballet, as well as many other companies world-wide. 

Over the years, Gloria Govrin has been an invaluable mainstay to the Ballet World.  People still refer to her strength and personality as a dancer on stage, but she has yet to find a greater passion in this art than teaching. Ms. Govrin is considered one of the leading masters of the Balanchine Technique and she brings her years of experience into every class she teaches.  Along with her illustrious career, Ms. Govrin is most proud of her daughter, Olivia, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, who currently teaches music for the Boston Public Schools.

Krystin McClure (Ballet, Pointe, Tap) is originally from
Baltimore, Maryland where she started her dance training at the age
of two. She later trained and graduated from the Baltimore School for
the Arts. She has also trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and
Boston Ballet. Krystin has had the pleasure of dancing many lead and
soloist roles while in school, however has found through college she
has a deep passion to teach. Krystin graduated Magna Cum Laude from
the University of Hartford, The Hartt School with a BFA in Ballet Pedagogy
in the spring of 2004. Krystin teaches a wide range of classes, from
pre-ballet through the advanced levels, as well as assisting in many
aspects of the Nutcracker production.

Alla Nikitina (Ballet, Pointe, Character), a native of the Ukraine, graduated from the Donetsk School of Ballet and continued her education at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in Russia, graduating with honors in 1979. She performed as a soloist with the State Academic Ensemble of Dance in Russia and founded the Rovesnik Dance Company in Kiev, Ukraine. The Dance Ensemble was honored with many awards at national and international competitions and festivals.

Leslie Unger (Jazz) was member of the European cast of Cats for many years. She has also worked at Hubbard Street Dance Company in Chicago as a dancer and teacher. Ms. Unger has choreographed dances for students and professionals, including work in many musical theater productions. Her classes will incorporate her extensive training and experience in all idioms of jazz dance, both in musical theater and in popular forms of pure jazz dance.

Amy Brady (Jazz, Tap), originally from the Boston area, trained at the Studio of Creative Movement and performed with the Studio’s Dance Company for many years. Ms. Brady has performed in many productions with the Reagle Players, a semi-professional Boston area theatre company. Her favorite productions include 42nd Street and Me and My Girl, where she studied under Broadway cast members to replicate original Broadway choreography. A graduate of Colby College, Ms. Brady served as principal choreographer and executive producer of several college dance and theatre productions. Since moving to Connecticut, Amy has studied at ECB and currently teaches jazz.

Dorothea Buchholz (Natural Stretch) has been a Movement Specialist for the O’Neill Theater Center’s Creative Arts in Education Program. She is also one of the founders of the Institute of Movement Exploration, Inc. and a developer of the Masters in Movement at Wesleyan University. She developed The Natural Stretch program in response to student needs and requests.

Marylu Clark (Ballet) has been teaching Ballet and Movement Education in Southeastern Connecticut schools and studios for 20 years.

Ms. Clark is a graduate of the School of Hartford Ballet Teacher Training Certification Program and holds a BFA degree from Eastern Connecticut State University. Performing credits include works from the Denishawn Repertory, Collaborations, Creative Theatre Dancers sponsored by Eugene O’Neill Theatre and Pfizer Players.

Barbara Parish-Scillieri (Modern), a teacher, choreographer and performer, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from The Boston Conservatory and a master's degree in Education from Boston University. She was recently awarded a Dance Educator’s Fellowship from the Bates College Dance Festival for 2004.

In addition to working with several companies and choreographers as a freelance dancer, she was a dancer/soloist with Tslila & Dancers and a member of the Boston Dance Theatre. Ms. Parish also performed in repertory with The Cliff Keuter Company and Frances Alienikoff Company. Ms. Parish was the Head of the Dance Department at Brookline High School in Brookline, Mass., and is currently the Director of Dance at The Williams School in New London. She has also been a faculty member and contributing choreographer at many local dance studios and schools. This past February, Ms. Parish was invited to the Plymouth (NH) State University Dance Premier as a guest teacher, choreographer and performer.

For the past 17 years, Ms. Parish has created a diverse repertory of choreography for both professional and student groups. Her works include Musical Theatre, Jazz, Contemporary Modern Dance, Ballet, and Early Modern Dance styles. Her choreography has been described as “upbeat, energetic ... with a confident air” and “elegantly sophisticated."

Kim Stirtan (Pilates) is a certified Stott Pilates Instructor. She has taught Stott Pilates since 1999 and is certified on all pilates equipment. She has been awarded through IDEA Health and Fitness Association, as a PFT Master (personal fitness trainer), their highest recognition. Kim is well qualified having a Bachelor of Science in Health and Fitness and certified through American Council of Exercise (ACE) as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer.

Amy Rolfe (Ballet) received her training at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and holds a B.S. from the University of Connecticut. Ms. Rolfe has performed principal roles with and choreographed for the Eastern Connecticut Ballet and the Waterford Players. She currently teaches ballet and tap at ECB.

Cristin Cawley (Tap, Jazz, Modern) has a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase. She has a wide variety of repertory including works by Pascal Rioult, Gayle Young and Paul Taylor. She also studied composition from the world-renowned Kazuko Hirabayashi. In addition to her studies at SUNY Purchase, Ms. Cawley studied at the Limón Institute and at the Paul Taylor School.

Patricia Smith (Modern Dance) received her BFA in dance from the Boston
Conservatory and recently completed a graduate certification in Laban/Bartenieff
Movement Analysis with Integrated Movement Studies at the University of Utah.
She has performed with the Boston Conservatory Dance Theatre in Boston, Mass. Professionally, she has performed with Sonia Plumb Dance Company, Thread City
Dance Project, Mod Podge Dance Company, and most recently with members of
the Limón Company in the classic repertory piece, There Is a Time, in Cambridge,
England. Patricia also teaches and choreographs for various organizations around
Connecticut, including Eastern Connecticut Ballet and Eastern Connecticut State
University. She enjoys a rural life in Storrs, Conn., with her husband, Andy, and her
dog, Rose.

Libby Nye graduated from The Juilliard School and was a soloist and principal dancer
with many dance companies including the José Limón Company and the American
Dance Theatre at Lincoln Center. She was director and choreographer of her own
company in New York City for many years and has taught and reconstructed Jose
Limón’s works throughout Europe, Canada and the United States. Ms. Nye served on
the faculties of the Centro Interrazionale de Danza (Rome), International Tanzwerk
(Germany), and Centre International de la Danse de Paris (Paris). She was also on
the faculty at The Juilliard School, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and the
José Limón School. Libby has been a coach and teacher for the José Limón Company
in New York City. For the last ten years, Ms. Nye was a Professor of Dance at the
Folkwang Hochschule Essen in Germany, where she taught and reconstructed
Limón repertory.

Ms. Nye trained in modern dance with José Limón, Martha Graham and Merce
Cunningham, and in ballet with Alfredo Corvino, Antony Tudor and Margaret Craske.

Christine Siroir began dancing in New Hampshire where she attended Kathy Blake Dance Studios as both a student and assistant teacher and at Southern New Hampshire Dance Theater. After graduating high school, Christine attended Connecticut College and began training at Eastern Connecticut Ballet, performing in both The Nutcracker and their Spring performance. She currently is attending The Hartt School to earn her BFA in Dance Performance by the fall of 2008.

Andrea Sorcinelli trained at New England Ballet and also has studied with Christina Fagundes (former soloist from American Ballet Theatre). She is a member of New England Ballet where she has performed many principal roles in such ballets as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and the Adventures of Little Red Riding Hood. She also has studied at Burklyn Ballet and at the Kaatsbaan intensive ballet program under the direction of Martine Van Hamel and Bonnie Mathis.

Andrea teaches at New England Ballet and at J.U.L.E.D. Academy and Fusion Dance Center under Directors Leonard Juliano and Lauren Binkowski. Andrea is certified as a Tae Bo instructor from the Billy Blanks World Training Center in California.

Laura D'Amato began her ballet training in New Haven, Conn., at the New Haven Ballet under artistic director Noble Barker. With an invitation to join Nutmeg Ballet in Torrington, Laura then trained and performed intensely under Sharon Dante, Eleanor D’Antuono and Brian Simerson of MOMIX modern dance company. Laura has performed various principal roles and roles created for her as a freelance artist, most recently with the Connecticut Ballet and the Macarthur Dance Project. Laura has had the pleasure to continue grooming her artistry with former American Ballet Theater ballerina, Christina Fagundes. To complement ballet technique, she has been studying to become a certified Resistance Training Specialist, incorporating this training into her own technique and into her student classes. Laura has performed with and served on the faculty of Ballet Etudes, the New England Ballet and currently for the past several years with the New Haven Ballet.

Beth Newton-Girard is a 1999 ODK National Leadership Honor Society graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University, with a degree in dance and a minor in physical education. She has been a Professor of Dance at Eastern Connecticut State University for nine years and has been coaching, choreographing and judging dance and cheer for 15 years, holding a USASF Certification in both. Beth has danced and cheered for semi-professional basketball teams, including the CBA Connecticut Pride and the ABA Boston Frenzy. She also was an NFL New England Patriots Cheerleader for the 1999-2001 seasons. After coaching at the collegiate level, Beth began coaching all-star dance and is in her fourth season, currently undefeated across the United States with her Senior Street Elite Hip Hop Team at ECB. After her team received "Second in the World" at the Dance World Championship last year, she looks forward to greater success and to maintaining her #1 spot in New England again this year!


Guest Teachers and Master Classes
ECB is committed to exposing its dancers to the best possible training available.
In order to enhance the already superior classes provided by its professional faculty,
master guest teachers are frequently invited to teach all levels.

• Donald Byrd – Donald Byrd Dance Company
• George de la Pena – American Ballet Theatre
• Franco de Vita – Boston Ballet, Hartford Ballet, FISTD, CSB
• Christina Fagundes –American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet
• Beth & Alberto Flores – Hartford Ballet
• Ingrid Fraley – American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet
• Alexander Iziliaev – Perm School, Russia; New York City Ballet
• Tamara King – Boston Ballet
• Raymond Lukens – Boston Ballet, Hartford Ballet, FISTD, CSB
• Peggy Lyman – The Martha Graham Dance Company, Hartt School Director
• Cheryl Madeux – Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Hartford Ballet
• Chris & Laura Martin – American Ballet Theatre, Washington Ballet
• Elena Martinsen – Kirov Ballet
• Momchil Mladenov; Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Bulgarian Ballet
• Marie-Christine Mouis – Paris Opera Ballet, Boston Ballet
• Hilda Morales – School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre
• Peter O’Brien – Royal Ballet
• Barbara Parish – Boston Conservatory, Boston University
• Andrew Parker – National Ballet School of Canada, faculty
• Margaret Pelton – Alvin Ailey, Nashville Ballet
• Richard Rein – American Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, St. Paul's School
• Pollyana Ribeiro – Boston Ballet
• Dimitri Roudenov
• Betty Seibert – ISTD, International Cecchetti Society Fellow & Examiner
• Janet Soares – The Julliard School, Barnard College, faculty
• Paul Taylor – Paul Taylor Institute
• Franklin White – Royal Ballet
• Laura Young – Boston Ballet