Open Class Faculty

• Rochone Anderson (Jazz), Pili Doheny, Tanya Durbin, Alaine Haubert, William Lu (Modern), Charles Maple, Chris Martin, Laura Martin (Yoga), Cassie Piasecki (Yoga Booty Ballet), Marney Schaumann (Modern), Adrienne Weidert (Conditioning), Ruth Ziegler

View our 2008 Open Class Schedule
Our open class schedule features all of our fantastic faculty below!

Rochone Anderson (Jazz)

Rochone Anderson started out in Musical Theatre and was introduced to the world of dance at the age of 12 by his best friend's sister. From there on the rest is history! He attended the Orange County High School of the Performing Arts as well as West Coast School of the Arts. He also attended Dance Precisions during his final year in high school where he was one of the top senior soloists of the season.

Soon after graduating Mr. Anderson began working in the industry fulfilling his first love in theatre and his newly found love in dance. His professional credits include Stiletto Entertainment (Holland America Cruise Line), Fame, Aida, Dreamgirls (the movie), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (Judah), and his most inspiring role as Mr. Misstoffelees in the Broadway Musical Cats. He has also worked for the Huntington Beach Union School District as a dance instructor for Fountain Valley High School where he led the dance team to a first place national award. Mr. Anderson is also the Artistic Director of Atlantis Dance Theater, a contemporary dance company which is in residence at the Maple Conservatory, and has recently taught at the American Ballet Theatre's Orange County Summer Intensive program.

Mr. Anderson is passionate about the arts and enjoys sharing his love of dance with his students. He feels that being a part of the arts has truly shape his life as well as his dancing. He is thrilled to be part of the Maple Conservatory of Dance!

Pili Doheny

Pili Doheny was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and began her training at age 3 under Maria De Varona, a former ballerina with the National Ballet of Cuba. Ms. Doheny became a member of Ms. De Varona's ballet company at the age of nine and was promoted to Soloist the following year. She also completed several levels of Ballet Examinations receiving top honors.

Her performance credits include The Nutcracker, the Petite Swan in Swan Lake, the Toymaker's Granddaughter in La Boutique Fantastique, plus several different roles in Sleeping Beauty. Her favorites included the Fairy of the Crystal Fountain and Act III Pas de Trois as Florestan's Sister. As a member of the Youth Company, Ms. Doheny had the privilege of dancing with members of Ballet de San Juan and had several television appearances for the Walter Mercado Show.

In 1985, Ms. Doheny graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Psychology with an emphasis in Child Development. In the 1990s Ms. Doheny trained and performed at The Ballet Academy of Northern Virginia under the direction of Madame Solange Binda. Here she helped the director in several areas with particular emphasis on administrative tasks and working with parents in preparation for their annual recital.

In 2001, after years of involvement as a dance parent, Ms. Doheny began teaching at the Irvine School of Dance/Pacific Dance. Over the past six years, Ms. Doheny has been able to combine her passion for ballet, children and learning to develop a program for her students that is age appropriate and technically sound. She likes to challenge each student to develop their fullest physical and creative potential. Ms. Doheny strives to inspire and enrich her students by exposing them to the benefits of dance. She considers her teaching a privilege and looks forward to the opportunity to inspire a new generation of young dancers.

Tanya Durbin

Tanya Durbin was chosen to dance with the New York City Ballet for the opening of the Orange County Performing Arts Center. As the recipient for each Robert Joffrey scholarship offered, she performed for The Joffrey Ballet. Miss Durbin won scholarships and studied at the New York City Ballet, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet.

Miss Durbin was invited to work with Ivan Nagy as a guest artist for the Ballet Theatre of Chicago's production of Giselle; she was then invited as a guest to dance the role of the Snow Queen in Inland Ballet's The Nutcracker. She was also the Principal dancer in the production of the Glory of Christmas and the Glory of Easter. Miss Durbin was asked to perform for the American Choreographers Awards In Hollywood as a guest performer to honor such artists as Rob Marshall for the movie Chicago, Allen Johnson, Sallie Whalen, Don Mischer and Gregory Hines. Miss Durbin has danced the leading role of the Sugar Plum Fairy with Stuttgart Ballet's principal Benito Marcelino for the Long Beach Ballet. Tanya also danced as a guest principal artist in Italy for ABT dancer Lorin Johnson and the famous historian John Bowlt of the University of Southern California.

Miss Durbin has also performed for or been a guest artist for numerous companies including The Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Ballet Theatre of Chicago, Ballet Pacifica and Inland Ballet Theatre. Miss Durbin has choreographed many works and performed for Orange County's Pacific Symphony Orchestra and has also been the Director of Ballet for the Defore Foundation for the Arts.

Currently Miss Durbin is directing artistically as the Choreographer for the Glory of Christmas and Easter productions at the Crystal Cathedral. Miss Durbin was asked by Carl St. Clair, Music Director of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra to choreograph a special work for the American Composer's Festival featuring world renowned composer George Crumb in his work Lux Aeterna which received high acclaim from the Los Angeles Times. Miss Durbin just finished shooting a commercial with Britney Spears choreographer Brian Freedman (also from the TV show So You Think You Can Dance)for Häagen-Dazs®. Tanya also recently danced in the feature film Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt.

Alaine Haubert

Alaine Haubert, a fourth generation Californian, has the unique distinction of having been associated with America's three major companies. She received her training from age fifteen at the School of American Ballet in New York City where she studied with George Balanchine and his illustrious post-Diaghilev faculty. After graduation from high school she performed with San Francisco's Pacific Ballet, and then joined the national touring company of Camelot.

In 1965, after a year on the road with Camelot, Ms. Haubert joined American Ballet Theatre, where she performed corps de ballet, soloist and principal roles. She was coached, during this period by such diverse and exciting choreographers as: Tudor, DeMille, Robbins, Feld, Culberg, Lander, and Tetley, and also danced the classics. In 1969 Ms. Haubert joined The Joffrey Ballet as principal dancer performing leading roles in many ballets including The Green Table, The Dream, Feast of Ashes, The Moor's Pavane, The Still Point, The Three Cornered Hat, Cakewalk and Le Bleu Danube.

After nearly a decade with the Joffrey Ballet, a serious back injury ended Ms. Haubert's performing career, and she began teaching and coaching in such wide-ranging locations as Europe, Japan, Canada, the USA, and the Caribbean. In 1986 Ms. Haubert moved to Hawaii where she was on faculty at the University of Hawaii for seven years. In 1993, Ms. Haubert was invited by Kevin McKenzie to return to New York as Ballet Mistress for American Ballet Theatre, where she instructed, coached, and rehearsed the world's leading dancers for four years.

Ms. Haubert now makes her home in California where she was on faculty at California State, Long Beach for six years. She continues her association with ABT and annually travels the U.S. auditioning dancers for the ABT Summer Intensives. She is currently Artistic Director of both the ABT Detroit and Orange County Summer Intensives.

In 2002 and again in 2008, Ms. Haubert has had the honor of adjudicating the Pacific Region for Regional Dance America (RDA) and in 2003 was adjudicator for the Southwest Region. Ms. Haubert has most recently served as Artistic Advisor for ABT's new ABT National Training Curriculum. She continues to travel world-wide, offering ABT curriculum training, master classes, workshops and continues to scout for future ballet professionals.

William Lu (Modern)

William Lu began his training at Chapman University under the direction of Cyrus Parker-Jeannette. Throughout his training, he has worked with renowned choreographers, such as David Parsons, Doug Varone, Robert Battle, Tiffany Billings, Cyrus Parker Jeannette, Nancy Dickson-Lewis, Jenny Backhaus and Amy Bates. Upon his graduation from Chapman University, he received the Fannie Kalis Award, a prestigious award given to the graduating seniors, for his contibution in dance.

Mr. Lu has taught as a guest teacher at Golden State Ballet Summer Intensive, Torrance Cultural Arts Center, Dance Masters of America conventions, Madrona Dance School of Spectrum Dance Theatre in Seattle, Southwest Dance Movement & Acro-Sports convention and few other regional dance schools. He received national recognition, the Engman Award, for his choreographic work Mon Prison Ma Chambre at the Palm Desert's 2002 Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival. His work Jolly Lolly Holiday was presented in 2003 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and broadcasted live on the Los Angeles PBS affiliate, KCET.

Mr. Lu is currently a member of Backhausdance, and has been performing with the company since its inception in 2003. His credits include a lead in Yo-yo Ma's music video and Tiffany Billings' Idiosyncrasy. Mr. Lu has also performed as a guest artist with the Orange County Regional Ballet and the Redlands Ballet Festival Company. He was named as one of "Best Male Dancers of 2004" by the Beverly Hills Outlook and, recently, he received the 2006 Lester Horton Award For his performance in Jenny Backhaus' Exit.

Visit Mr. Lu's website at www.wldance.com.

Charles Maple

Charles' Web Blog… Read Charles' new series of web blogs, including his writeup on attending the American Ballet Theatre Reunion in New York and his experiences directing the ABT Alabama summer program!

Charles Maple began his training with Evelyn LeMone, the founder of Pasadena Dance Theatre. He continued his studies with Andrei Tremaine and Stanley Holden until 1972 when he received a Ford Foundation scholarship to the School of American Ballet. At the age of nineteen he joined American Ballet Theatre and rapidly rose through the ranks to become a featured soloist. In 1979 he made numerous guest appearances with the National Ballet of Mexico and danced the leading roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, and La Fille Mal Gardee. In 1983 Mr. Maple became a principal dancer with the Basel Ballet of Switzerland. His association with this company gave him the opportunity to dance in the works of Europe and America's most influential choreographers. He has appeared as a guest artist throughout the United States, in Europe, Mexico, and South Africa.

In 1992 Mr. Maple began creating his own works. He has since received a steady stream of commissions, awards and a growing reputation as a freelance choreographer. Companies in Regional Dance America have presented several of his works. Two of his works for Rosella Hightower's Ballet La Jeunesse were presented with top awards at the 1992 La Baule Festval in France. In 1993 he attended the Tokyo International Choreographers Competition where his works received international recognition and critical acclaim. In 1993 Mr. Maple's The Angel of the Abyss was created to open the televised Posada Aids Procession in Los Angeles.

In 1995, his new version of La Fille Mal Gardee for Pasadena Dance Theatre opened to rave reviews. In 1997 he created a new version of The Nutcracker for Black Hills Dance Theatre and Symphony. His work Latcho Drom was selected by Regional Dance America to be shown at the 1998 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Maple has set numerous works for American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive programs. Mr. Maple's choreography represents a diversity of dance styles that are firmly rooted in the traditions of classical ballet. He is currently the resident choreographer for the South Bay Ballet.

In 1994 and 1995 Mr. Maple directed Pasadena Dance Theatre. He then founded Charles Maple and Dancers to concentrate on developing his own creations. Mr. Maple has been an active advocate for Regional Dance America. He has served as an adjudicator as well as a faculty member at numerous RDA Festivals. Mr. Maple has also acted as the artistic coordinator for the American Ballet Theatre summer intensive programs in Alabama and California. He is co-founder of American Ballet Intensives, a rigorous ballet workshop that provides serious students the opportunity to study with professionals in the field. Mr. Maple is also a certified American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum teacher.

Chris Martin

Read Chris' personal note on his family's move from New York City to California and his thoughts and philosophy on dance training.

Chris Martin was a member of American Ballet Theatre from 1986 to 1999. He danced in a wide range of classical and contemporary works in senior corps, soloist and principal roles.

Among the choreographers who created works on him were Twyla Tharp, Mikhail Baryshinkov, Lar Lubovich, James Kudelka and Lynne Taylor-Corbett. In addition to working with American Ballet Theatre, Mr. Martin danced with the Miami City Ballet and The Washington Ballet.

Mr. Martin trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts, School of American Ballet, Chautauqua School of Dance and with Maggie Black in New York City.

His teaching resume includes the North Carolina School of the Arts, Chautauqua, Ballet Academy East, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, St. Louis Ballet, Princeton Dance and Theater Studio, Columbia University and the University of Minnesota. Mr. Martin is also a certified American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum teacher.

Laura Martin

In addition to being a former professional dancer, Laura is also a fully certified Yoga instructor and teaches our Yoga classes, which are open to the entire community. Read Laura's personal note on her thoughts and philosophy on the art of practicing yoga.

Laura Martin was trained at The Washington School of Ballet under the direction of Mary Day and went on to dance with companies such as The Washington Ballet, Miami City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. She was lucky to have danced the works of Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Antony Tudor, Agnes de Mille, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, Choo San Goh, and all of the classics.

After leaving ABT in 2000, she was invited to join the Broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera, where she performed for almost two years. She has also taught various levels of ballet at the ABT Summer Intensive Program, Ballet Academy East and Princeton Dance and Theater Studio.

She began practicing yoga while still at ABT and believes her yoga practice enhanced and even extended her dance career. She received her 200-hour certification from Yoga Union in New York City under the direction of Alison West in 2003 and went on to complete Om Yoga Center's Road to Om certification in 2006. She most recently completed Judith Hanson Lasater's restorative teacher training. She has taught group classes and privates around New York City, most notably at Om Yoga Center and for Disney Theatricals.

Cassie Piasecki (Yoga Booty Ballet)

Cassie Piasecki began her teaching career at the age of 11 by choreographing & teaching the entire fourth, fifth and sixth grade girls at Wildwood Elementary a routine to Greased Lightening! Later, as an adult Ms. Piasecki coached cheerleading and fitness and became certified as a Group Exercise Instructor and Personal Trainer by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. Ms. Piasecki also teaches body conditioning, water aerobics and FITGIRL!, a unique exercise program for teenage girls.

 

Marney Schaumann (Modern)

Marney Schaumann is a recent transplant to Southern California via a one-year stint in China with her husband Clarke. While in China, Ms. Schaumann did a residency at Hang Zhou Normal University, exposing Chinese dancers to Western dance philosophy, movement and dance & technology. Ms. Schaumann will graduate from the University of Utah with an MFA in Modern Dance in December 2007. Her thesis research explores pregnancy, motherhood and the dancing woman. She aims to bring this fascinating body and experience into the realm of dance scholarship.

Ms. Schaumann received her BA in Modern Dance from Brigham Young University in 2003. While at BYU she was a member of Dancensemble and The Dancers' Company. While at the University of Utah, Ms. Schaumann was a member of Performing Dance Company.

Ms. Schaumann's creative efforts focus on dance for the screen. Her film, run. jump. dive has been screened at the 2005 Dance Camera West Festival in Beverly Hills, and at the student screening of the 2006 International Dance for the Camera Festival at the University of Utah. In her films she endeavors to create environments rich in texture that enhance the ephemeral art of bodies in motion.

Ms. Schaumann comes from a dance family and has followed the lead of both parents in her passion for modern dance. Ms. Schaumann has taught at Brigham Young University, Utah Valley State College and Saint Joseph Ballet. She is a company member of Sarah Swenson & Vox Dance Theater.

Adrienne Weidert (Conditioning)

Adrienne Weidert began her Pilates training in 1994 with one of Orange County's first certified instructors, Audrey Wilson, who was certified through the Pilates Guild of New York and who trained under Master Instructors Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens. Ms. Weidert used Pilates for dance conditioning, to build core strength and as a rehabilitation tool. She began her Pilates teaching career, gaining further understanding of proper body biomechanics, human abnatomy, and the injury rehabilitation benefits of Pilates while student teaching under Miss Wilson.

Later, Ms. Weidert entered Long Beach Dance Conditioning's Pilates Teacher Training Certification and Continuing Education program under the directorship of Master Instructor Marie-Jose Blom Lawrence. It was the faculty at Long Beach Dance Conditioning's studio who introduced Ms. Weidert to GYROKINESIS and GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM. Adrienne began delving into these systems during her private sessions with Alicia Head, GYROKINESIS Master Trainer. Under Ms. Head's guidance, Adrienne completed her GYROKINESIS certification. Adrienne continued by certifying on the GYROTONIC Tower in the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM under tutelage of Master Trainer Donna Place and physical therapist and Master Pre-Trainer Suzie Mann.

Currently, Ms. Weidert teaches GYROKINESIS, GYROTONIC and Pilates at studios on Balboa Island, in Tustin and in Irvine. She previously administrated the Core Pilates Studio at Laguna Dance Theatre, working with classically-trained dancers.

Due to her passion for dance, Ms. Weidert has dedicated the majority of her life studying and developing movement quality. As a classically trained dancer she had the opportunity to integrate GYRO and Pilates Mat instruction into dance company warm-ups. She studied ballet at Laguna Dance Theatre, Milwaukee School of Ballet, Boston Ballet School, London's Royal Academy of Dance, Urdang Dance Academy, and Pineapple Dance Studios in Covent Gardens, England. As well as her classical ballet training Ms. Weidert also studied jazz, modern, tap and continues to compete, perform and choreograph historical American social dances such as Lindy Hop, Charleston and Swing.

Ruth Ziegler

Ruth Ziegler began her study of classical ballet as part of her training as a competitive gymnast in San Fernando Valley as a teenager. After high school graduation, Ms. Ziegler moved to California's central coast where she continued her ballet training while attending Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo. While there, she performed for several seasons with Cal Poly's Orchesis dance company and the San Luis Ballet Theatre where she danced in diverse ballet productions, including Pas de Quatre, The Story of Ruth, Afternoon of a Faun and The Nutcracker. During that time, she also studied both the art of dancing and (her second love) the art of teaching under Gilbert Reed and Zory Karah.

In 1985, Ms. Ziegler became the co-owner of Central Coast School of Dance in Los Osos and served as head of its Ballet division, where she led both children and adult ballet classes and served as Artistic Director of the school’s Festival Ballet student company. Under Ms. Ziegler's direction, the Festival Ballet mounted a full-length production of The Nutcracker and a spring production featuring original chamber ballet pieces.

Later, Ms. Ziegler continued her ballet studies with former Joffrey Ballet principal dancer Susan Magno and LINES Ballet's Ballet Master Arturo Fernandez. During this time, she also founded a children’s ballet company, Ballet La Jeunesse, where she was recognized by the Ventura Arts Council for her full-length children’s ballets, Country Fair and Alice’s Tea Party, and for her outreach program of lecture-demonstrations to various local elementary schools.

Ms. Ziegler continues to devote herself to both dancing and teaching. She believes that dance is the expression of the joy that is in one’s heart, expressed through movement. She strives to foster that joy and encourage beautiful movement in her classes by combining elements from both the Russian and the English schools of classical ballet, sound biomechanics, musicality and opportunities for creative expression.

Ms. Ziegler recently completed her Pilates certification from Stott Pilates and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from Cal State Fullerton.