Adult 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...

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.