Faculty
Pamela Bjerknes (Artistic Director) has been teaching dance to children for over 25 years. Ms. Bjerknes was invited to join American Ballet Theatre under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov where she danced all the classics from Swan Lake to La Bayadere. Ballets by Anthony Tudor, Agnes DeMille, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins were in her repertoire. Ms. Bjerknes danced soloist and principal roles in the Houston Ballet under Ben Stevenson prior to joining American Ballet Theatre.
Michael Bjerknes (Ballet) has been acclaimed as an "Inspired, supportive and precise" teacher whose "Ballet classes are demanding, well-structured and musical." He has a "Wealth of experience in the ballet world applied with total commitment." As a soloist with the Houston Ballet and a principal with the Joffrey Ballet, Michael was equally at home in the classical and contemporary repertories. Gerald Arpino, Robert Joffrey, Agnes de Mille, Moses Pendleton, Ben Stevenson and Choo San Goh choreographed original roles for him. In addition to all of the classics, Michael performed ballets by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, Hans van Manen, and Jiri Kylian. Michael was Ballet Master for the Washington Ballet and the Universal Ballet and occasionally teaches company class for the Joffrey Ballet. He coaches gymnasts as well.
Nina Heintz (Ballet) trained extensively with the Washington School of Ballet and received a BFA in dance from
Erin Mahoney-Du (Ballet) is currently a soloist with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Ms. Du has performed roles in Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15, La Source, La Valse, Don Quixote, and Clarinade. She began her professional career with American Repertory Ballet Company in Princeton. Ms Du later joined The Washington Ballet becoming a principal dancer performing roles in Giselle, Nutcracker as well as ballets by Paul Taylor, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Lila York, Trey McIntyre, and Septime Webre. In 2005, while maintaining her position with The Washington Ballet, Ms. Du joined the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, a creation of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Since age nineteen, she has served as a repetiteur, setting Septime Webre and Trey McIntyre’s ballets for Miami City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Louisville Ballet, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Ballet de San Juan, Cincinnati Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and The Washington Ballet. She has taught for Princeton Ballet School, The Washington School of Ballet and other local schools. She is married to her long-time colleague Runqiao Du.
Karen Atienza (PreBallet) received a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of Akron and a Master of Fine Arts, Elementary Education from Kent State University. Karen has taught dance and choreography in California, Ohio, New York and Maryland. Her performing experience includes opera, ballet, modern dance and choreography. Karen is studying to become a certified Pilates instructor and is an apprentice of the Articulate Eye Pilates Training program at the American Dance Institute.
Joy DiLillo (Jazz, PreBallet) is a graduate of George Mason University with a BFA in Dance. She has studied with David Parsons in New York, at the Bates Summer Dance Festival with Bebe Miller, David Dorfman, and Jane Comfort, and at Chautauqua Dance Festival. She is currently performing with Mayzsoul Dance Company and Next Reflex Dance Collective and will showcase at The Warehouse and Goose Creek Festival in summer, 2007. Joy has performed at the American College Dance Festivals at Ohio State University and at George Mason University. Her choreographic works have been presented at George Mason University’s Harris Theatre and Black Box Theatre Space. Joy enjoys Musical Theatre and working with the Vienna Youth Players, having choreographed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Me Nobody Knows, Godspell, Oliver and Runaways.
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.
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.
Jen Michaels (PreBallet) is a Chicago native who holds a B.F.A. in dance performance from Northern Illinois University. She studied on full scholarship at the Ruth Page School of Dance under the tutelage of Larry Long, as well as with Anna Paskevska at the Chicago Academy for the Arts. Ms. Michaels danced with the Chattanooga Ballet as a principal dancer for 5 years, and held the position of resident choreographer at the Center for Creative Arts in TN, a performing arts magnet school. Her performing experience includes classical ballet, modern, opera, and musical theatre.
Helanius Wilkins (Modern) is a choreographer, performance artist, and instructor based in Washington D.C. He is the founder of H. J. Wilkins/Dimensions Inc. (hjw/D), and the Artistic Director of EDGEWORKS Dance Theater, an all-male contemporary dance company and a project of hjw/D. A dance graduate of SUNY Brockport, he received the 2001 Metro DC Dance award for Emerging Choreographer. Mr. Wilkins has performed with choreographers such as Joy Kellman, Maida Withers, and Gesel Mason. His choreography has been created and performed throughout the United States. His works have been supported through funding by The Meredith Foundation, Regional Arts Commission, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Glenn Sales (Musical Director) Praised as "a first rate musician..." (John Rockwell, The New York Times), and an artist "...with impressive clarity and passion..." (Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times), pianist Glenn Sales has been well-known to Washington, D.C., audiences since his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at age 14. He received his training at the Juilliard School of Music under the guidance of legendary pianist Earl Wild. He also studied at the University of Maryland with Dr. Nelita True and the Guarneri String Quartet. His ballet activity has included performances of concertos by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Martinu, Bloch, Poulenc and works of Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Liszt, Donizetti, Debussy and Ginastera. Mr. Sales has been an annual guest pianist for the American Ballet Theatre and premiered Kevin McKenzie's Liszt Transcendental Etudes at Jacob's Pillow. He has collaborated with Suzanne Farrell since 1995 performing Stravinsky's Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Duo Concertante, Gershwin's Who Cares?, Glinka's Divertimento Brillante and most recently Faure's Ballade for Piano and Orchestra. He has been a guest pianist for Dance Theatre of Harlem, Miami City Ballet and the Royal Ballet.
Linda Kipps (Principal Pianist) has played classes for Ben Stevenson, Kevin McKenzie and Mark Goldweber. Her music has inspired several generations of dancers. She formerly accompanied classes for Eric Hampton and other schools in the DC area.
Nicholas Carey (Pianist)
