Adult Dance Faculty
Runqiao Du (Ballet) of Shanghai, China, received his ballet training at Shanghai Dance Academy where he was awarded scholarships and graduated with honors as well as receiving a medal in the junior division of China's National Ballet Competition. In his professional career, he has toured with American Ballet Theatre. Currently, he is a dancer with The Washington Ballet where he has performed various classical and neoclassical ballets. In 2000, Mr. Du was honored to be invited by the legendary ballerina Suzanne Farrell to join her new company, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, a creation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Under the artistic direction of Ms. Farrell, Mr. Du had the opportunity to perform leading roles in some of the world's most beloved ballets including George Balanchine's Scotch Symphony, Monumentum Pro Gesualdo , Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Tzigane, Who Cares?, Divertimento No. 15, Serenade, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Meditation, Duo Concertante, La Source, La Valse, the full-length Don Quixote, Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun and Maurice Bejart's Romeo and Juliet.
Nina Heintz (Ballet) trained extensively with the Washington School of Ballet and received a BFA in dance from
Tally Frieder (Ballet) is a former member of the San Francisco Ballet under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. Her performing experience includes ballets by Balanchine, Robbins, Tudor, and Ashton. Ms. Frieder also danced with Oakland Ballet. Her early training includes the National Academy of the Arts in Illinois, Joffrey Ballet School, and the Chautauqua Institute. Ms. Frieder holds a BA in Creative Arts Therapy from George Washington University.
Lisae Jordan (Stretch) received her early dance training in upstate New York and at the School of the Hartford Ballet. She was a principal dancer with several regional companies, including Ballet North, Schenectady Civic Ballet Company, Womenwerks, and the Hartford Ballet's student group. Including performing, teaching, and taking class, Lisae recently celebrated 30 years of dancing. She brings an interest in anatomy and somatic studies to the Institute, having participated in workshops in Feldenkrais, Anatomy for Dancers, and the American Dance Festival seminar for dance educators.
Anna Menendez (Flamenco) is a flamenco dancer, teacher and choreographer. She has performed as a soloist dancing her own choreographies with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Haddonfield Symphony, Ocean City Pops Orchestra, Pan American Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony. Anna is also a dancer for the Washington Opera. She dances regularly with other local flamenco artists in area venues and works frequently with "Arte Flamenco." Since moving to the DC area in 1997, Anna has taught master classes and workshops in flamenco at area schools and universities.
Behzad Habibzai (Flamenco Guitarist) was born in Hamburg, Germany, of Afghan descent. He has been a classical percussionist for ten years and a flamenco guitarist for six. He has taught private and group classes since he was thirteen. He currently is taking time off from school to deeply study, teach, and perform flamenco. Behzad has also been spending this time extensively studying the solo marimba, and its often difficult repertoire.
Michael Perez (Flamenco Guitarist) earned his BM in Classical Guitar Performance at California State University, Fullerton and began his flamenco training at the Blanca Luz Dance Academy in Orange County, California. Since 1991 he has performed with nearly every flamenco dance company in the Washington DC area and appears weekly with the top dancers, including Anna Menendez in area restaurants and clubs. Visit his site DC Flamenco for the latest flamenco happenings in the area.
Ramin Rad (Flamenco Guitarist) started playing classical guitar when he was in his teens. He was later bedazzled by the art of flamenco and developed a strong passion for flamenco guitar. He has studied with teachers from Spain but he owes most of his knowledge and abilities to DC flamenco virtuoso, Richard Marlow. He now runs flamenco-teacher.com, as a joint effort by him and Mr. Marlow, where they teach flamenco guitar techniques on-line to thousands of students from all over the world. Ramin continues to go to Spain to study and he performs regularly in DC area.
