Youth Ballet Program - Dance Faculty

Trinidad Vives is a native of Madrid, Spain. Ms. Vives began her training in Spain with Carmina Ocaña, Luis Fuente, and Victor Ullate. She spent summers studying in Paris. Ms. Vives was a first prize medal and scholarship winner at the Prix de Lausanne Competition. She completed her ballet training at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower. Upon graduation she joined the Hamburg Ballet at the age of seventeen where she was a Soloist for six years and was awarded the Oberdorfer Prize for Best Young Artist. Later as a Principal dancer with the Basel Ballet, Düsseldorf Ballet, and English National Ballet in London she performed the leading roles of the classical ballet repertoire as well as contemporary works by some of the greatest twentieth-century choreographers such as George Balanchine, John Neumeier, Sir Kenneth McMillan, John Cranko, Glen Tetley, Ben Stevenson, Heinz Spoerli, and Ronald Hynd. Read more about Trinidad...

 

Parren Ballard, a 1986 Graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts, was trained exclusively by Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski. He began his professional career, at the age of seventeen, with the Cincinnati Ballet. From there he went on to enjoy an internationally successful career for over twenty years as a Soloist Dancer working closely with Artistic Directors such as Ivan Nagy, Heinz Spoerli, and Ben Stevenson. He performed leading roles for the Basel Ballet in Switzerland, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf Germany, the English National Ballet in London, and the Houston Ballet, before retiring from the stage to focus on teaching classical ballet. Aside from his early training, his teaching method has been influenced by such great teachers as Woytek Lowski, Jurgen Schneider, and Ben Stevenson with all of whom he studied. Read more about Parren...

Tommy Neblett is co-Artistic Director of Prometheus Dance along with Diane Arvanites. The company has been repeatedly named One of the Years’ Ten Best by The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and The Boston Phoenix. They are also co-directors of The Elders Ensemble, a group of dancers ages 55-88. Mr. Neblett has received a Creativity Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; and five Artist Fellowships in Choreography and a Gold Star Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. He and his company have performed throughout the eastern United States, as well as in Spain, France, Denmark, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Mr. Neblett teaches full-time at The Boston Conservatory and part-time at Harvard University, Walnut Hill School for the Arts and The Dance Complex. From 1985-2005, Mr, Neblett performed professionally, most notably with Dan Wagoner, Laura Dean, Concert Dance Company and Prometheus Dance.

Originally from the Ukraine, Viktor Plotnikov is known for the bold and contemporary flair of his choreography as well as for his very focused use of movement to tell a story and to relate strong, passionate emotions. Mr. Plotnikov began his dance studies at the Kiev Ballet Academy in the Ukraine before traveling to Russia to enter the Vaganova Ballet Academy. As a performer, he has danced as a soloist with the Ukraine’s Donetsk Ballet Theater as well as a principal dancer of Mississippi Ballet Company, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, and Boston Ballet. Mr. Plotnikov is a rising choreographer on the international scene, having created work for Bolshoi Ballet work shop, Richmond Ballet, and Festival Ballet Providence, RI. After winning the Choreography Prize at the 2005 Helsinki International Ballet Competition, Mr. Plotnikov went on to win the Best Choreography Award at the World Ballet Competition and a prize at the International Choreographic Competition in 2007.

Claire began her training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary. From a young age she had the opportunity to perform the work of George Balanchine and Alan Hineline. She spent summers at CPYB and Boston Ballet’s Summer Dance Program. After graduating from high school, Claire continued her training at Indiana University studying with Violette Verdy, Jacques Cesbron, Guo Ping Wang and Glenda Lucena. She was featured as the Lead Flower in The Nutcracker, the Autumn Fairy in Cinderella, and in the Diamond Variation in Sleeping Beauty. Claire choreographed ballets for the Student Choreographic Workshop in 2003, 2004 and 2005. While at IU, she taught both college-age elective students and pre-college young dancers. Claire graduated with Bachelor’s degrees in Ballet and Comparative Literature with a minor in Spanish. From 2005 through 2009, Claire danced professionally in Southern California, predominantly with the City Ballet of San Diego, but also with San Diego Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet Theatre. Again she was able to perform ballets by George Balanchine, as well as newly-choreographed works by Betsey Wistrich and Javier Velasco. In 2008 her ballet, Push, was featured in San Diego Ballet’s Choreographer’s Showcase. She has recently relocated to Boston and is excited to be part of the Boston dance community.

Desirée began her formal dance training in Salem, Virginia on a full scholarship with the Southwest Virginia Ballet where she was privately coached by School Director Terri Post. Throughout this time she also attended summer programs at the Boston Ballet, Ballet Magnificat, and Pennsylvania Academy Ballet under the tutelage of John White and Margarita DeSaa. Desirée’s professional career began at the age of 17 at the Virginia Ballet Theatre where she consistently performed leading roles in such ballets as George Balanchine’s “Valse Fantasie” and Agnes de Mille’s “Three Virgins and a Devil.” In 2000 she began dancing with Ballet Magnificat and toured across North and Central America, Europe and Southeast Asia. In 2004, Desirée joined José Mateo’s Ballet Theatre in Cambridge, MA and soon became a principal dancer. During her 6 years with Ballet Theatre she had the privilege of having original roles and choreography created specifically for her by the company director, José Mateo. Additionally, Desirée has guest performed the leading roles in “Coppélia”, “Firebird”, “Cinderella” “Graduation Ball” and “The Nutcracker”. She has received recognition for her work throughout the Metro Area, both online and in print within such publications as the Patriot Ledger, The Boston Phoenix and The Boston Globe. Desirée enjoys teaching and sharing her passion for dance with others. She has taught ballet for over 12 years to students of all ages and is excited to bring her love of dance to the Youth Ballet Program at TBBS.

Caitlin Grass is originally from Santa Barbara, California, where she received her training from the Santa Barbara Festival Ballet, under the direction of Michelle Pierson and Denise Renaldi. Caitlin has studied with a number of elite schools throughout the country including Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, The Kirov Academy of Ballet, and Boston Ballet. She moved to Boston in the fall of 2004 and continued her studies with Boston Ballet and then Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, where she danced with the company for two years. While at Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, she was on the faculty as a substitute teacher for numerous young dancers’ program classes. In 2009, Caitlin was on the faculty at the South Shore Conservatory in Hanover, MA where she was teaching full-time. While in Santa Barbara she completed and received the highest honor in her Royal Academy of Dance exams in the intermediate and advanced syllabi. Caitlin is currently a certified Pilate’s instructor and is pursuing her degree at Lesley University, where she will graduate with a BA in counseling psychology. She hopes to one-day counsel children who are involved in the art world of ballet. Caitlin Grass is thoroughly excited and looking forward to joining the faculty at Brookline Ballet School.