Masterclass Series

Nick Mullikin began his training at the Wisconsin Dance Ensemble in Madison, Wisconsin under the direction of JoJean Retrum. He continued at the Virginia School of the Arts, and Houston Ballet Academy, training with Petrus Bosman, David Keener, Steve Brule, Clara Cravey, and Claudio Munoz. Upon his completion of training with Houston Ballet Academy, he was invited to join Houston Ballet with Artistic Director Ben Stevenson, and subsequently joined Ballet West under the direction of Jonas Kage. During that time he performed works by William Forsythe, George Balanchine, Ben Stevenson, Anthony Tudor, Bruce Marks, David Parsons, Ronald Hynd, Dominic Walsh, Timothy O’Keefe, Glen Tetley, and Trey McIntyre. He has toured nationally and internationally including at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2004 as well as performing as a guest artist for Ballet Arizona, and regional companies throughout the country.

During his time at Ballet West, as an artist, he was an elected union representative for the American Guild of Musical Artists before joining the staff as the Company/Tour Manager & Assistant to the Artistic Director in 2006. In addition, to handling all collective bargaining, and regional touring for the company, he oversaw and managed the company’s return to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as part of the inaugural Ballet Across America series.

Since that time he has worked as Company Manager for The Washington Ballet and as assistant manager at the Dance Institute in Austin, Texas. Mr. Mullikin has guest taught at summer programs and schools across the country, coached students for competition at the Youth America Grand Prix, taught in after school programs in the Washington D.C. area, and consulted on the creation and setup of Honolulu Classical Ballet in Honolulu, Hawaii. Currently, with his responsibilities at Nashville Ballet, he acts as a consultant to the Kansas City Dance Festival.

In 2012, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Government, minoring in Communications, while completing the Business Foundations Program at the McCombs School of Business.

Born in Washington, D.C., Jane received her formative ballet training with Mary Day at the Washington School of Ballet, in Washington, D.C. At the age of 15, she was invited to perform with the Grand Theatre de Genève, in Geneva, Switzerland under the direction of Patricia Neary and George Balanchine.

She joined Ballet West, in Salt Lake City, and rose to the rank of Principal Dancer in 1988. Jane performed most every major role in the classical ballet repertoire, including the title roles in Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Coppelia, and Lady of the Camellias, as well as a full range of contemporary ballets created by world-renowned choreographers, including Frederick Ashton, John Neumeier, Ronald Hynd, Ben Stevenson, Bruce Marks, and Val Caniparoli, to name a few.

In 2000, Jane retired, after dancing for 21 years with Ballet West, graduated from the University of Utah with a B.F.A. in Ballet- Performance Emphasis, became the Faculty Coordinator for the Ballet West Conservatory, and also taught as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Utah.

Jane joined the faculty of Florida State University’s Department of Dance as a Visiting Assistant Professor, in 2002 where she taught for 2 years.

Returning to Utah in 2004, Jane continued teaching at the University of Utah as an Adjunct Assistant Professor, and was guest teacher for Ballet West company class, and at the Ballet West Academy. In 2004 and 2005, she was the Children’s Ballet Mistress for Ballet’s West’s annual production of The Nutcracker.

Between 2005 and 2012, Jane continued to guest teach for the Ballet West Summer Intensive and the main company, and she joined the staff of Ballet West as full time Ballet Mistress in 2012. In addition to teaching, coaching, rehearsing and resetting ballets in the Ballet West repertoire, she conducts Ballet West company and Ballet West Summer Intensive auditions around the country.

In 2017 and 2018, Jane was honored to work alongside Nicolo Fonte, resident choreographer for Ballet West, on his new production of Carmina Burana, working with the dancers of Cincinnati Ballet and Ballet West in a joint production.

Tamara King became Principal of the Newton Studio and the Summer Dance Program Newton in 2004. During her tenure, Newton has become the hub of the Classical Ballet Program, which offers a carefully constructed ten-level curriculum. King has also guided the studio toward establishing strong ties with the city of Newton, becoming an Executive leader in the Newton Cultural Alliance, as well as launching a partnership with Lasell College where she resides on the Advisory Board of the Humanities Department. King began her training with Suzanne Johnston, Soili Arvola, and Leo Ahonen. Her association with Boston Ballet School began in 1981, when she studied with Violette Verdy, Helgi Tomasson, and Ivan Nagy as a Summer Dance Program scholarship recipient.

She launched her professional career later that year by joining Louisville Ballet, and then accepting the invitation of Bruce Marks to become a member of Ballet West in Salt Lake City, UT. With Ballet West, she danced a variety of principal, soloist, and corps roles in such classics as The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. She also performed in Ashton The Dream and in Balanchine repertory including Symphony in C, Bugaku, and Allegro Brillante. From 1987 until her retirement in 1993, she again danced for Mr. Marks, this time as a member of Boston Ballet. She appeared in the celebrated Swan Lake, staged by Konstantin Sergeyev and Natalya Dudinskaya, and added other Balanchine ballets, including The Four Temperaments and Concert Barocco, to her repertoire.

King was invited to join the faculty and direct the Summer Dance Workshop at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in 1994. Under former BBS Director Rachel Moore, she returned to Boston Ballet School in 2001 to teach on a full-time basis and, in 2002, to lead the Summer Dance Program. In addition to her teaching and leadership roles, King has regularly choreographed for the annual Spring Showcase, creating the productions Alice in Wonderland; Never, Neverland: The Adventures of Peter and Wendy; and Seasons. Ms. King has guest taught for the esteemed American Ballet Theatre JKO School, as well as the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and Harvard University. In addition, Ms. King also serves as a participating juror for the prestigious Japan Grand Prix Competition in Tokyo, Japan.

Recognized as one of the leading ballerinas of her time, Ms. Jaffe has performed in many Opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. In 1980, at the invitation of Mikhail Baryshnikov, she joined American Ballet Theatre and became well known in the dance world at an extremely young age. Her debut in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center was made when she was plucked from the corps for the 1980 opening night season to dance opposite recently defected Alexander Godunov in the pas de deux, Pas d’Esclave, from Le Corsaire. Since then, she has received critical praise for her interpretations of such roles as: Odette/Odile (Swan Lake), Kitri (Don Quixote), Nikiya & Gamzatti (La Bayadere), Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Swanhilda (Coppelia), Tatiana (John Cranko’s Eugene Onegin), Kate (Taming of the Shrew), and the title roles in Giselle, La Sylphide, & Kenneth MacMillan’s Anastasia and Manon.

Ms. Jaffe has also worked with and performed the repertoire of many of the 20th century’s most prominent choreographers, including George Balanchine (Apollo, Mozartiana, Who Cares, Theme & Variations, Ballet Imperial, Violin Concerto, La Sonnambula, Bourree Fantasque), Anthony Tudor (Jardin aux Lilas, Undertow, Gala Performance, Dim Lustre), Kenneth MacMillan (Manon, The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo & Juliet, Requiem), Jerome Robbins (Afternoon of a Faun, Other Dances, N.Y. Opus Jazz), Roland Petit (Carmen), Twyla Tharp (Push Comes to Shove, Everlast, Sextet, How Near Heaven, Bach Partita, Americans We, Known By Heart), Nacho Duato (Without Words), Jiri Kilyan (Stepping Stones) and James Kudelka (Cruel World, States of Grace).

Ms. Jaffe’s European engagements have included performances with The Royal Ballet, The Kirov Ballet, The Stuttgart Ballet, The Munich State Opera Ballet, La Scala Ballet in Milan, The Vienna State Opera Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Swedish Ballet, and The English National Ballet.

In 2003 she hosted Dance New York, a weekly local TV show co-produced by Dance Magazine and WNYE-TV Channel 25. Other television and film appearances include several Dance in America programs, Angie with Geena Davis (1994), and Ballet, a documentary directed by Frederick Wiseman (1995).

One month after her retirement from American Ballet Theatre, Ms. Jaffe was invited back for the position of the advisor to the Chairman and the President of the Board of Governing Trustees. She also serves as the artistic coordinator of the Youth America Grand Prix, and the Chairman of the Artists Committee of “The All-Stars,” a group that helps underprivileged children develop learning skills through performance. On September 8, 2005, Ms. Jaffe & Ms. Risa Gary Kaplowitz founded the Princeton Dance & Theatre Studio in Princeton, New Jersey.

Mads Eriksen grew up in Copenhagen Denmark, where he attended The Royal Danish Ballet School. After his graduation in 2002, he joined The Royal Danish Ballet, where he danced soloist roles in works by Bournonville, Balanchine, Neumeier, Lander and Ratmansky. In 2007 Mr. Eriksen joined Ballet San Jose, dancing various soloist and principal roles.

Mr. Eriksen began teaching at Ballet San Jose School in 2008 and was named Senior Faculty in 2012 and Principal Faculty in 2014. In 2016 Mr. Eriksen was named Principal of The New Ballet School in Downtown San Jose. Mr. Eriksen is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 of the ABT National Training Curriculum. In 2014 Mr. Eriksen was invited to guest teach at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre’s JKO school.

Professor Stephanie Marie Powell is a California native and Dance Program Director at Long Beach City College. Throughout her academic teaching career she has taught courses in Dance Appreciation, Composition, Classical Ballet, Pointe, Modern Dance, Jazz, Turns, Zumba, Dance Conditioning, Stretch and Relaxation, Dance History, Hip Hop Dance History, Performance Workshop, Yoga and Pilates. Professor Powell is a certified instructor of the New York City Ballet Workout, Zumba, and Body Arts and Science International Pilates with a Dance Specialization. She is the principal interpreteur of the choreographic works for the legendary choreographer Donald McKayle and works closely with him while restaging his works around the globe.

Ms. Powell's dance training began with Cindy Trueblood at the Civic Dance Center in Bakersfield, California and her studies continued on scholarship with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, Washington and the School of American Ballet in New York City. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in Sociology and Education and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance with distinction from the University of California at Irvine as a Chancellor's Fellow, where she was honored with the Celebration of Teaching Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. She danced professionally and toured internationally with major dance companies such as the Oakland Ballet Company, the San Francisco Opera, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, Donald Byrd The Group, Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ms. Powell was a performer in the Los Angeles Pantages Theater production of the Broadway show "Lion King" where she danced featured principal roles as well as performed as a principal singer and actress. Additionally, Powell has modeled internationally for Redken and Trevor Sorbie of the UK. She has appeared on television in the Grammy's, on the Jay Leno Show and has danced commercially for artists such as MC Hammer, Kenny G., Janet Jackson, and Beyonce Knowles. Professor Powell continues to dance as a performing artist today and has taught and choreographed her own work in contemporary dance and ballet throughout the US, Australia, Europe and Asia.

Calvin Kitten began his dance training at the California Ballet School in San Diego and furthered his training at the Tbilisi Choreographic Institute in Soviet Georgia and also at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. Calvin was then invited to join the Joffrey Ballet, and danced with them, both in New York and Chicago, from 1991-2010. During his 19 years with The Joffrey, Calvin performed works by Arpino, Balanchine, Massine, Cranko , Ashton, Tharp and Kudelka, dancing many principal and soloist roles including Apollo (Apollo), The Green Table (Profiteer), La Vivandiere Pas De Six, Les Patineurs (Boy in Blue), Les Presages, The Nutcracker (Snow Prince, Cavalier), Parade (Chinese Conjurer), Prodigal Son (Prodigal Son), Square Dance (Lead Couple), Romeo & Juilet (Mercutio), Taming of the Shrew (Lucentio), Tarantella, and Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux. Calvin received two Ruth Page Awards for his 1997 performance of the Chinese Conjurer in The Joffrey’s reconstruction of Leonide Massine’s Parade and for his portrayal as the title character in George Balanchine’s Progidal Son. He has also been featured on the cover of Dance Magazine and was named one of the “25 Dancers to Watch” in 2001. Calvin has been on the faculty at Chicago Ballet Arts, The Ruth Page Center of the Arts, California Ballet, Ballet West Academy, Regional Dance America, and the Joffrey Academy of Dance, among others. Calvin is one of a few repetiteurs entitled to reproduce Gerald Arpino’s works. Calvin served as faculty in the Department of Ballet from 2010-2015 after which time he accepted the position of Directof of Ballet West II Company.

Now in her 30th year on Nutmeg's classical ballet faculty, Joan's 2014-2017 seasons have included guest teaching for the Estonian National Ballet School in Tallinn, Stockholm's Balettakadamien for professional freelance dancers; company classes for Ballet Idaho and Canada's Ballet Jorgen and summer intensives at the Maritime Conservatory, Halifax, NS. She has taught in Oslo (Kirkenaer Ballettskolen), Stockholm (the Swedish Ballet School), London's Royal Ballet School and RAD Teacher Training Program, Iceland's National Ballet School and throughout the USA. She served as Ballet Mistress to MOMIX and Ballet Mississippi, has taught by invitation of Pilobolus dancers, and in university dance departments (Butler, SMU, U. of Utah and SUNY-Binghamton). Students she has co-trained have joined over 70 professional companies, including The New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Richmond Ballet, Colorado Ballet and many others. Her choreography has been performed in Norway, Sweden, Canada and the USA and includes works for concert stage, sacred space, TV and outdoor sites such as Jacob's Pillow. She has written for Pointe Magazine, and produced a poetry book "Playing With Gravity" (Antrim House, 2007) and CD (2011). With her sister Kathi Byam, she performs in the duo "Flute Meets Poem." Joan served for five years on the Connecticut Dance Alliance Board of Directors.

Pablo Piantino is originally from Mendoza, Argentina, where he began dancing at the age of 14. His training includes private seminars with Héctor Zaraspe and studies at both the Colón Theatre Ballet School and The Juilliard School where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts. After dancing with both the Colón Theatre Ballet Company and the Juilliard Dance Ensemble, Pablo joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1999 where he danced a broad span of classical and neo-classical repertory. In 2005, he joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Jirí Kylián, Ohad Naharin, and Twyla Tharp, among many others. Pablo received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance Education from the University of Washington in June 2015, where he was also a member of Chamber Dance Company. During the past years, he has taught at the University of Washington, George Mason University, West Virginia University, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and The Joffrey Ballet Trainee Program among several other institutions. Pablo has remounted works by Hubbard Street’s Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo at Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Ballet Arizona, George Mason University, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Tulsa Ballet. He has also restaged, with his wife Penny Saunders, Jardí Tancat by choreographer Nacho Duato, both at the University of Washington and at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Pablo is very excited to be joining the faculty of the School of Dance at the University of Utah as an Assistant Professor in the Fall of 2017.