Atsuko Nakamoto (“Miss Atsuko”) is the BalletSchool’s director. Originally from Osaka, Japan, Miss Atsuko has studied various forms of dance in Japan, London/UK, Italy, and the U.S.A.
She appeared in the Ash Lawn Opera 2012 production of the Music Man, and in 2011 production of the King and I. Her teachers have included Charles Augins in London and Akiko Kanda in Japan.
In the past, Atsuko has attended numerous workshop and master classes. She has completed the Royal Ballet School’s Teacher Seminar in 2014. She has taught different forms of dance for many decades and now enjoys teaching ballet, jazz, and modern dance.
Casey Turner (“Miss Casey”) Casey is originally from Dallas, Texas. She began dancing at age two and proceeded to train in a variety of styles. She attended summer programs at the Kirov Academy in Washington, DC, Joffrey Ballet School, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. She attended Texas Ballet Theater School for one year before being offered a contract with the company. During her three seasons at Texas Ballet Theater, she performed in multiple ballets choreographed by Artistic Director Ben Stevenson, OBE, including Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Dracula, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, and Cleopatra. Casey then continued her training in San Francisco at the LINES Ballet Training Program. Upon completing the program, she stayed in the Bay Area as a Freelance Artist. She performed with Oakland Ballet Company, Copious Dance Theater, and was a Principal Guest Artist with Western Ballet and Orinda Ballet Academy. Casey then spent 5 years as a Dancer and Dance Captain for Royal Caribbean International, performing on ships all around the world. After visiting over 50 countries, she is happy to set down roots in Charlottesville. In addition to teaching ballet, Casey is a certified GYROTONIC Instructor and owner of The Movement Barn.
Hong Wang (“Miss Hong”) began her dancing training at the age of seven. At the age of twelve, she was admitted to the highly-regarded Affiliated Secondary School of Beijing Dance Academy for ballet performance. Miss Hong became a professional ballet dancer with the Guangzhou Ballet Company in 2009, and appointed to demi-soloist in 2013. There she participated in both classic and contemporary pieces such as Swan Lake, Paquita, Coppelia, Giselle, Cinderella, Don Quixote, Fairy, The Nutcracker, La Bayadere, Serenade, Scotch Symphony, The Yellow River, The Butterfly Lovers, Latecomer in The Snow, How to Deal, Tang Poem Song Jambic Verse, Memory in Water and The Other Shore. An enthusiast of exploring cultures, Miss. Hong has participated in more than ten performance culture-exchange programs in countries throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. She received her college degree of Musical (Terpsichorean) Performance from Guangzhou University in 2017. She enjoys teaching and was an instructor at Gangzhou’s prestigious Tongshu Sheng Ballet School from 2009-2017.
Founder/Choreographer for Shania Lee Choreography Shania Thorpe (Miss Shania) is originally from PA. She began her choreography journey at the age of 15 when she created the first ever dance/step team at her high school. Since then she have been teaching workshops at studios all down the east coast, choreographing for competition teams, training with celebrity choreographer Deja Carter, working as a featured choreographer for Lynchburg Dance Connections annual showcase, creating dances for viral Tik Tok dancers etc. She works in every area whether that be with studios, for weddings, quinceneras etc. You will find her in a different state/city everyday dancing!
Olga Aru joins the BalletSchool as our instructor for the Summer Intensive program. She is a familiar face as the audition director for the Moscow Ballet for the last 2 years. As a rising star ballerina and ballet pedagogue, Olga is an active guest for various ballet companies along the East coast.
Olga received her degree in ballet and dance pedagogy from the Kiev State Ballet College in Ukraine in 2008. She studied under Varvara Potapova, Honored Artist of Ukraine, and Alla Rubina, Honored Artist of Ukraine and choreographer. She has worked with numerous international dance companies such as Franceconsert in Paris, France, Les Ballet Persans in Sweden, and others. Her leading and soloist roles include Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Night Walpurgis, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Tut Ankh Amon, Turquoise Land, La Femme (modern choreography by Alla Rubina) and Heart of Snow Queen. She is also a member of the CID International Dance Council of UNESCO, which brings together international, national, and local dance organizations from 155 countries. She has also performed with Ballet Incommunicado from Italy, to perform “The Ravaged Face” by Sylvia Plath. A very expressive work, it takes a stand against violence against women. The choreography was created for Olga by Paola Scoppettuolo.
Amanda Liscouski has been on staff since 2007, and currently guest teaches, choreographs, and stage manages for BalletSchool. She started her teaching career in 2002 at Creative Dance Center in her hometown Ashburn, Virginia. Amanda is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT National Training Curriculum. Ballet is her first love, and she enjoys teaching other dance forms including creative movement, improvisation, and modern/contemporary. She began her training in classical ballet and modern dance at Loudoun Ballet and Fairfax Ballet. At Piedmont Virginia Community College she studied modern dance and improvisation under Cat Maguire and Anne Megibow. Choreographers she has worked with include Shane O’Hara of JMU, Shannon Hummel of Cora Dance, Jess Burgess of Rva Dance Collective, Zilda Baker of Hburg Dance Cooperative, Olivia Rivard Hill, Ruth Olga Sherman, and Emily Wright. Among the venues she has performed in are McGuffey Art Center Studio 20, V. Earl Dickinson Theatre, and Dogtown Dance Theatre. Amanda is a member of McGuffey Art Center in Studio 20. She is the founder of Cumulus Dance, a space for modern/contemporary dancers gathering in community to practice, create, and perform.
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Maggie Cothran (“Miss Maggie”) is excited to begin her first year teaching at BalletSchool with Pre-Primary/Primary. Her love of dance started in a musical theater troop doing over 10 shows in three years, with a packed house every show. Maggie preformed as an elite dancer in the musical Newsies as well as the ballet corps in The Phantom of the Opera, along with many other special feature dances throughout her time there. With many years of childcare experience, Maggie has worked with children in home, church, and academic settings. Excited to instill a love of dance in young dancers, she is delighted to begin teaching.