CAROLYN CLARK, a native of New Jersey, is Founder and Director of New Jersey Ballet and New Jersey School of Ballet. Miss Clark has performed classical and contemporary ballet with American Ballet Theatre throughout North America, Scandinavia, Europe and Africa.  Other ballet company experience includes the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Radio City Ballet, and principal dancer with New Jersey Ballet and New Jersey State Opera. Her credits also include many Broadway musicals and television shows including assistant choreographer for the Bell Telephone Hour. She is a founding member of ArtPride New Jersey, served two years on the President’s Council on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center, and five years on the Advisory Board of Channel 13. She has been honored with a New Jersey Pride Award for her contribution to the arts, and was recently named to the President’s Business Advisory Council. Miss Clark attended Rutgers University.

PAUL HILLIARD McRAE (Assistant Artistic Director) San Francisco School of Ballet at the age of 9. He spent 8 years at New Jersey School of Ballet, and became an apprentice to New Jersey Ballet Company at age 16. After high school, he joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, where he danced solo roles while attending nearby Point Park College. Upon returning to New Jersey, Mr. McRae joined New Jersey Ballet and performed numerous solo and principal roles in the Company’s extensive repertory. In recent seasons, he earned critical praise for his work as the evil fairy Carbosse in Sleeping Beauty. Mr. McRae is on the ballet faculty at New Jersey School of Ballet and Kean University, and serves as Artistic Advisor for Dance Residencies at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. He is immediate past president of Dance/New Jersey and a member of the board of ArtPride New Jersey.

ELEANOR D’ANTUONO (Artistic Advisor) received accolades from public and press alike during her years as principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre where she danced leading roles in Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia and Les Sylphides among many others. Her dancing was marked by fiery virtuosity, unique lyricism and bravura technique. She was the first American ballerina to dance leading roles with the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg. She was also the first American artist to perform in mainland China. Her staging and coaching contributed greatly to the extraordinary success of New Jersey Ballet’s Giselle, Act II. She has served as Artistic Director of the New York International Ballet Competition since 1996.

LEONID KOZLOV (Artistic Advisor) was a principal dancer with the Bolshoi until 1979 when he defected from the Soviet Union. He became a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. His role in the 1983 Broadway musical On Your Toes won him critical acclaim. Mr. Kozlov has staged his versions of Swan Lake and Don Quixote for the National Ballet of Chile and Nutcracker for the Australian Ballet. Mr. Kozlov has appeared as a guest artist with major companies worldwide and tours with his own Kozlov and Friends. For New Jersey Ballet, he staged Paquita, La Satinella, Diane and Acteon, El Cid and La Vivandiere. To provide a showcase for aspiring dancers, he organized New Jersey’s first Youth Dance Festival in 2005.

EDWARD VILLELLA (Artistic Advisor) A recent Kennedy Center honoree, Mr. Villella is perhaps the greatest American premier danseur ever. Among his accomplishments  are Emmy Award winner, star of New York City Ballet, guest artist with the Bolshoi, performer at President Kennedy’s Inaugural, and first American to guest with the Royal Danish Ballet. In 1968, the Bell Telephone Hour’s salute to Villella became an Emmy Award-winning special. His Harlequin – A Patchwork of Love, the first ballet ever commissioned by an American TV network, resulted in Emmy Awards for the show and for Villella as choreographer, producer and star! He is a former member of the President’s Council on the Arts and a past recipient of the prestigious Capezio Award. Mr. Villella is Director of Miami City Ballet and is celebrating his 34th season as Artistic Advisor to New Jersey Ballet.

MARINA BOGDANOVA (Ballet Mistress) received her training at Russia’s prestigious Perm Ballet Academy and began her professional career with The Sverdlovsk State Academy Theatre of Opera and Ballet.  She went on to become a principal dancer with the celebrated Russian National Ballet Company and the Ballet Theatre of Moscow, where she performed leading roles in the full classical repertory. Ms. Bogdanova earned the coveted title of Honored Artist of Russia, and has won acclaim in many countries including the U.S., when The New York Times ballet critic Anna Kisselgoff praised her work. Ms. Bogdanova is on the ballet faculty of New Jersey School of Ballet.

LUBA GULYAEVA (Ballet Mistress) A graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Leningrad, Ms. Gulyaeva joined the Kirov Ballet in 1972, dancing featured roles in Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, La Bayadere and Don Quixote. In the 1980s, she was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join the staff of American Ballet Theatre where she taught company class and coached the dancers. She also taught all levels at the ABT School. Additional teaching credits include the Australian Ballet in Melbourne, the School of American Ballet in New York, and seminars at numerous universities in the U.S.

CAROLYN TENER BROWN (Coach) began her ballet training at age 7 and was NJB’s original Clara in the company’s first production of Nutcracker. Ms. Brown was a soloist with American Ballet Theatre for 7 years and later danced in a variety of Broadway shows including Hair, Carousel, Brigadoon, Fame-The Musical, La Cage Aux Folles and Phantom of the Opera, where she danced the role of Meg (the best friend) for 8 years. She has worked with some of the greatest choreographers of the 20th century including Agnes deMille, Twyla Tharp and Anthony Tudor. She has also appeared on television in All My Children, The Sopranos and several PBS programs. She teaches at New Jersey School of Ballet and coaches the Company and the Junior Company.

NATASHA GIRSHOV (Coach) trained at the Vaganova School in Leningrad and joined the Kirov Ballet where she rose quickly to the rank of principal dancer. Miss Girshov danced leading roles in Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen and many others. Her tours with the Kirov took her to Holland, Thailand, Romania, Africa, New Zealand and Cuba, She was also a choreographer and director of the Special School of Classical Dance in Leningrad where she taught all levels of ballet.

ROSEMARY SABOVICK-BLEICH (Coach) danced with New Jersey Ballet for 20 years. A strong classical dancer, she excelled in many diverse roles that demanded the elegance of the Sylvia Pas de Deux, the bravura virtuosity of the Stars and Stripes Pas de Deux, and the feistiness of the Cowgirl in Agnes deMille’s Rodeo. Miss Sabovick-Bleich toured with the Pavlova Celebration Ballet, Kozlov and Friends, and International Stars of Ballet. Her teaching experience includes ballet and pointe classes for all levels.

JUDITH SCHWANTES (Public Relations) A former dancer with Lyric Opera Ballet of Chicago and the Nelle Fisher Ballet, Ms. Schwantes received her degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She was Publicity director and soloist with Memphis Civic Ballet and has worked in public relations for the hotel and fashion industries for many years. She is currently working at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

BRIAN COAKLEY (Production Manager/Lighting Designer) served as Assistant Technical Director at Kean University’s Wilkins theatre for 7 years, assisted for 3 years at Raritan Valley Community College and with New Jersey Ballet productions at both venues. He was responsible for all aspects of production for NJB’s premieres of Giselle, Esmeralda and Tom Sawyer. Mr. Coakley holds a B.A. in Communications from Kean University. He most recently designed lighting for Minneapolis Ballet’s productions of Midsummer Night’s Dream and Rodeo. He joined New Jersey Ballet in 2001.

NANCY HARTMANN (Marketing Director) joined New Jersey Ballet in 1991, bringing a wealth of experience in advertising and public relations. A writer by training, she has written scripts for radio and produced and hosted a cable TV program. While serving as Director of the Somerset/Hunterdon Business & Education Partnership, Nancy developed a highly successful board game to address school shootings and other violence by training educators in different aspects of school safety. The game, EduCaution, is in use in school districts across the country. Nancy graduated from Douglass College with a B.A. in English.

BONNIE C. SOVINEE (Development Director) An experienced fund raiser and member of the NJ Association of Fundraising Professionals, Bonnie recently helped bring in over $2.5 million for a Central Jersey social service agency. Her varied background also includes many years in the retail and tourism industries. Her work as President of the Skylands Region Tourism Council earned her a dual proclamation for promoting destination and special events tourism from the NJ legislature. Bonnie serves on the Boards of The Meadows Foundation and the Heritage Trail Association of Somerset County. She graduated from Kutztown University.