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Our open class schedule features all of our fantastic faculty below!
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 Andrew Lloyd Webber's 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. Most recently, Mr. Anderson was cast in the musical production of Cats at Baltimore's Hippodrome Performing Arts Center.
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!
Michel Gervais is a native of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, started dancing at the age of 11. He studied with the Ida Sauvé Dance Studios, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and the National Ballet School of Canada. Mr. Gervais has worked extensively as a performer, assistant and ballet master for choreographers David Allan and Juan Antonio. Mr. Gervais has danced for such companies as: Feld Ballet/NY, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Theatre Ballet of Canada, National Dance Theatre of Bermuda, Ontario Ballet Theatre, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Pacifica and California Riverside Ballet. His teaching credentials include: American Ballet Theatre, London Rambert Dance Co., Hong Kong Ballet, Canadian Dance Teachers Association, Ballet Pacifica, University of California, Irvine and Riverside campuses, York University, and The National Dance Theatre of Bermuda. His choreography has been performed by: University of California, Irvine, ABT (summer intensive), Festival Ballet Theatre, California Riverside Ballet and Excalibur.
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 also the former resident choreographer for 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.
Stela Viorica is a former principal dancer with National Ballet of Romania. She is a graduate of the National Academy of Ballet in Bucharest and has had the privilege to be coached by Maestro Umrihin, a teacher from the Vaganova Institute. During her career as a professional dancer, Ms. Viorica toured extensively throughout Europe with the National Ballet of Romania and has been featured in principal roles in various ballets such as Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Coppelia, La Fille Mal Gardee and Swan Lake, among others.
After traveling throughout Europe, Ms. Viorica relocated to California in 1985 where she began to extend her work into choreography, staging, teaching and coaching. As the residential choreographer & founding artistic director of the Stella Dance Company, Ms. Viorica created seven full-length productions including Alice and Wonderland, Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol and Open Audition. Ms. Viorica has also created numerous other works including Black and White in 1994 to celebrate the opening of Hoag Hospital's Cancer Research Center. She received a special award, Outstanding Choreographer, at the prestigious Grand Prix Ballet Competition in 2000 in Long Beach and at the Festival of Dance in Laguna Beach in 2003.
Ms. Viorica believes that art nourishes the soul. Her goal is to promote, preserve and de-mystify the art of dance in the community, to teach aspiring dancers, and to be a resource for performing arts education and entertainment in Orange County.
