NJ Ballet School Faculty

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MARIA KOWROSKI was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she began her ballet training at age seven with the School of Grand Rapids Ballet. Ms. Kowroski entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in the fall of 1992. She became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in the summer of 1994 and was invited to join the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in January of 1995. In the spring of 1997, Ms. Kowroski was promoted to the rank of soloist and in the spring of 1999, she was promoted to principal dancer.
Ms. Kowroski has danced many principal roles in the Balanchine repertory including, Agon, Apollo, Concerto Barocco, Mozartiana, Diamonds, Rubies and Emeralds from Jewels, Prodigal Son, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Chaconne and Bugaku. Ms. Kowroski has had the pleasure of being created on by several choreographers including Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Mauro Bigonzetti, Justin Peck, Peter Martins, Boris Eifman, and Helgi Tomasson. She has also had the great privilege of working with the great choreographers Alexei Ratmansky and William Forsythe. Ms. Kowroski was a guest artist with the Mariinsky ballet performing Swan Lake in 2003, a mixed Balanchine program in 2006 and 2019. In 1994 Ms. Kowroski was the recipient of the Princess Grace Award and in 2011 she received the Jerome Robbins award.

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MARTIN HARVEY is a British dancer, actor, and educator. His early acting credits include Michael, west-end production of "Peter Pan," Oliver, west-end production of "Oliver," Young Pip (opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins) in Disney's "Great Expectations," Dominic Barber in the Central T.V. pilot, "Zero Option" and the same character in the resulting T.V. series, "Saracen." At 11 years old, Martin joined the Royal Ballet School, and after six years of training, he was offered a place with London's Royal Ballet Company. In a 15-year career, he danced many principal roles with the Royal Ballet, including Crown Prince Rudolf in "Mayerling," Onegin in "Onegin," Colas in "La Fille Mal Gardee," Lescaut in "Manon," and Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet." He created multiple works with many of the world's leading choreographers before going on to appear as Johnny Castle in the hit west-end production of "Dirty Dancing." In 2009, he received the U.K. Critics' Circle Spotlight Award. Martin is now based in the U.S., where he has featured in various film, television, and stage productions, receiving rave reviews for his roles in "A Chorus Line" and "Carousel," and appearing regularly at the Metropolitan Opera House. Aside from his performance work, Martin is also a faculty member of Radix Dance Convention and the Associate Director of NJ Ballet School.

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SARAH LANE began her dance training in Memphis, Tennessee at the Memphis Classical Ballet and later at the Draper Center for Dance Education in Rochester, New York. She joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company in 2002, joining the main company as an apprentice in 2003 and the corps de ballet in April 2004. She rose to soloist in 2007 and principal in 2017, dancing principal roles in Manon, Giselle, Swan Lake, La Bayadère, Coppélia, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Theme and Variations, and Whipped Cream, among others. Lane has performed as an international guest artist with Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma, Kremlin Ballet, Barcelona Ballet, NBA Ballet Company and Hong Kong Ballet. Lane is also an international guest ballet teacher and an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. She has worked as a guest rehearsal director for American Repertory Ballet and as the Director of the School of Ballet RI.

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ALEXANDRA GONZALEZ started her dance training in Miami, Florida. At the age of seven, she continued her ballet training in Colombia at the Ana Pavlova Ballet Academy. At the age of fifteen, she received a full scholarship to join the San Francisco Ballet School where she wasfeatured in Dance Magazine. She then joined the San Francisco Ballet Company under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. After dancing with San Francisco Ballet, she moved back to Miami were she guested with Miami City Ballet, Ballet Florida, Americas Ballet, and Michel Uthoff Dance Theater, among other companies. She attended the New World School of the Arts under the direction of Daniel Lewis, where she graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance Performance in 2004. In New York City, Alexandra has danced with Cedar Lake Dance Company, Ballet Hispanico, The Metropolitan Opera, and Thomas Ortiz Dance Company.Alexandra has taught at Peridance Center, Ballet Hispanico, Gelsey Kirkland Ballet, New Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble, and Rutgers University.She currently teaches at Kean University and is excited to join New JerseyBallet School in September 2024.

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HILARY NICOLAI began her training at age 8 and was dancing professionally with the Indianapolis Ballet Theater by age 14. She spent her summers training at The School of American Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet School, The Rock School of The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Washington School of Ballet, and The Chautauqua School of Dance before joining the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York City.
As a student at SAB, Hilary appeared in Christopher Wheeldon’s Le Voyage and participated in the New York City Ballet Education Department’s Lecture Demonstration program, performing Peter Martin’s Eight Easy Pieces, Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Cortege Hongrois and Puss n’ Boots for local area school children under the direction of Suki Schorer.
Hilary danced principal roles in Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, under the tutelage of New York City Ballet principal dancers Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, and performed in Petipa’s Giselle and Balanchine’s Serenade, Western Symphony, La Source and Four Temperaments.
Hilary is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 & Partnering of the ABT® National
Training Curriculum. She is an accomplished instructor and is recognized for her uncompromising attention to detail and challenging her students to challenge themselves.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Writing from Columbia University where she graduated cum laude and is currently pursuing her MA in Dance Education with a
concentration in ABT Pedagogy at New York University.

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Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, ZACK GRUBBS began his dance training at Tuzer Ballet to supplement his education as a competitive gymnast. He continued his ballet training at the University of Utah under Attila Ficzere and trained with companies across the country including Boston Ballet, where he was a company dancer for four years. Mr. Grubbs came to Cincinnati Ballet in 2002, was promoted to Soloist in 2005 and Senior Soloist in 2008. He has also performed with opera companies across the U.S., including the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Cincinnati Opera. Throughout his performance career, Mr. Grubbs has worked with world renowned choreographers including Trey McIntyre, Rudy van Dantzig, Mauricio Wainrot, Christopher Wheeldon and Stanton Welch.
Mr. Grubbs has also worked as a repetiteur for Cincinnati Ballet and its Second Company, as well as a faculty member at the Otto M. Budig Academy. In September of 2016, he retired from Cincinnati Ballet’s professional company to assume the leadership position of Academy Principal at the Otto M. Budig Academy until 2022.

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Jaynellen Walsh began competing in rhythmic gymnastics at the age of nine. She became a four-time state all around champion, a two-time regional all around champion, and she was named to the United States national team. Jaynellen studied ballet at the Boston School of Ballet, and she received a formal education in dance from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana where she graduated high honors in dance, Cum Laude. Jaynellen danced professionally for over fifteen years. She danced with Indianapolis
Ballet Theatre, Saint Louis Ballet and Ballet Memphis. She also performed as a guest artist, dancing Nutcracker ballet after her retirement from full time dancing.
Jaynellen had a diverse background from her studies, and she danced principal roles in contemporary neoclassical and classical dance pieces. To name a few, she danced the lead role in Scheherazade staged by Oleg Briansky, Andante pas de Duex and the lead couple in MomentsPassing by Dennis Wayne, Refuge pas de Duex and the lead dancer in Italian Concerto by Diane Coburn Burning. The lead Paquita, Graduation Ball, Pas de Quatre, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Isis in the Goddess of the Nile, and Arabian, Snow Queen, Dew Drop and the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker. Jaynellen moved to New Jersey when she retired from dancing. She met Carolyn Clark, and she has worked as a teacher at New Jersey Ballet School (NJB) for many years. She has taught every level at NJB from ages four through adult and professional. Jayne has mentored many students to become better dancers, and to become more confident young people. Jayne loves to choreograph, and she calls upon her diverse background and experience to create multiple dance pieces each year fro New Jersey Ballet School’s workshop productions.

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PETER DIBONAVENTURA credits include several years as principal dancer with Cleveland Ballet where he danced principal roles in numerous ballets including Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, Coppelia, Balanchine’s Apollo, Midsummer Night’s Dream and the standard classical pas de deux. He also guested numerous times in Caracas with ballerina Zhanda Rodriguez. Choreographer Fleming Flindt invited him to Denmark to film his Lucifer’s Daughter, a ballet to celebrate the Queen of Denmark’s 25th Anniversary. He was a principal dancer with New Jersey Ballet and with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.

DAVID TAMAKI began his formal training at New Jersey School of Ballet at age 7 and became a member of the NJB Junior Company in 1998. A year later he joined the company and during his career danced principal roles, which included the Champion Roper in Rodeo, the Prince and Trepak in Nutcracker, Romeo in Romeo & Juliet and Le Corsair pas de deux to name a few.
Mr. Tamaki is Executive Director for New Jersey Ballet. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Mary’s College of California where he graduated summa cum laude and holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University. Mr. Tamaki also leads NJ Ballet’s Dancing for Parkinson’s program, which provides free weekly dance classes to individuals with Parkinson’s disease, and is a Stanley J. Wertheimer Fellow.

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RISA MOCHIZUKI trained at the Royal Ballet of Flanders and at ballet academies in Japan. She danced solo and principal roles with the Teatrul Ballet Sibu, Romania, the Constanta National Opera Ballet and the Timisoara National Opera Ballet. Her principal roles include Don Quixote, Pacquita, Nutcracker, Chopiniana and La Vivandiere. She has won medals in several international competitions. Most recently, she took the bronze medal in the Kozlova Competition in New York and a Gold Medal at the World Ballet Competition in Florida.

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ILSE KAPTEYN began her training at the East Street Ballet, Massachusetts. She continued training with Irina Vakhromeeva while a student at Deerfield Academy. Ilse attended summer programs at the School of American Ballet, the Chautauqua Institution, and American Ballet Theatre NY. Ilse traveled to Moscow in the summer of 2011 and was accepted at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Ilse joined the New Jersey Ballet in the fall of 2012.

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DENISE PARUNGAO danced with Ballet Philippines for 11 years where her repertoire included lead roles in The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Cinderella to name a few. She has won awards from CCP National Ballet Competition, Aliw Awards Best Classical Dancer, and Philstage Gawad Buhay Best Female Dancer for Swan Lake. She trained at the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet and Brezhnev Larlar. Ms. Parungao holds a bachelor’s degree in Dance at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and received her certification as a Ballet Conservatoire teacher. She joined New Jersey Ballet in the spring of 2022.

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JEFFREY GOMEZ received his training at Broadway Dance Center, New York City and performed professionally with the Inspirational Dance Company. He has also appeared on television, in numerous music videos and performed in London, South Korea and Las Vegas.

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AMANDA PAPA is a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator with more than 25 years of experience. She received her BFA in Dance Performance from Montclair State University and is also certified through Dance Educators of America. She has been on faculty at over a dozen dance studios in the NY/NJ area teaching all genres of dance. Amanda was an Adjunct Professor at Mercer County College and Guest Teacher at Montclair State University, Kean University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Amanda Co-founded & was the Artistic Director of Solo Danza Dance Company. Currently she has been added to the Faculty Roster for Man in Motion. Amanda is the founding & resident choreographer of the Brook Arts Community Players and is an official Board Member of The Historical Brook Arts Center. Amanda Received back to back NJACT Perry Nominations for Best Choreography. Amanda won the Best Choreography Award for her creative work on the Musical Be More Chill from Broadway World NJ. Amanda is entering her 7th season on tour as a Dance Judge and Master Teacher. She is currently on Faculty with Groove/Reverb, DECA-Dance, Platinum, Dance Xplosion and Starstruck Dance Competitions.

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MATT MANCUSO is a Professional Ballroom dancer who has performed, instructed and competed nationally in the American Rhythm style of ballroom dance. Throughout his professional dance career, Matt has been a finalist in many competitions. He has danced in numerous live shows, and has trained with well-known choreographers: Anna Trebunskaya, Carolina Orlovsky, Corky Ballas and Jonathan Roberts. Choreography by Matt has been featured at institutions such as You Can Dance Studio in Hermosa Beach, California, and he has been guest artists at many other institutions and studios including the prestigious Orange County School of the Arts in Irvine, California. As a Musical Theatre choreographer, he has been an assistant on productions of Evita and Rent, has provided his own staging to musicals like Songs for A New World and is a two time NJAct Perry Award nominee for Guys & Dolls and Reefer Madnesswith his choreography/business partner Amanda Papa. Matt is also an accomplished actor and musical theatre performer. He has performed at such regional houses like Walnut Street Theatre, Music Theatre of Connecticut, and has been a member of premiere casts on both east and west coasts.

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FRANK DOLCE is a versatile and accomplished actor with a rich background in film, television, Broadway, and theater. In the world of film and television, Mr. Dolce has showcased his talent in various roles, including Jack in the short film A Life For a Life directed by Chandra Kilaru, Brad in the recurring role on ABC's One Life to Live and as Gary in the series regular role on FOX's Sons of Tucson. His captivating performances extend to the big screen with roles like Ralph in the film Doubt, directed by John Patrick Shanley and appearances on ABC's special program What Would You Do? as a Teen diner.

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BARBARA HOON is a co-founder of Pilates Artists United™ and the founder and owner of Six Degrees Pilates a thriving, full-service Pilates studio in the New Jersey-New York City area.
Barbara brings to Pilates Artists United™ 25 years of dance, performance, teaching and entrepreneurial spirit.
Barbara first discovered Pilates as a dancer at the Juilliard School where she earned her BFA in dance. Upon her graduation, Barbara joined the legendary modern dance company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her performing career includes Broadway credits in the original casts of Singin’ in the Rain and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, national tours of West Side Storyand Carousel (The Kennedy Center) and Off-Broadway Sally, The Music Man (New York City Opera), and South Pacific (Long Beach Civic Light Opera). Barbara’s film credits include Amadeus, Zelig, and Bugsy and she has appeared on television and in numerous commercials.
Barbara has also partnered with Dance for PD®, an empowering revolutionary research-based dance program. Her experience as a dancer and teacher has enable her success in supporting individuals with Parkinson’s disease through this organization.

Rachel Quiner was born and raised in Northern New Jersey and began her formal ballet training at the North Jersey School of Dance Arts. From 2015-2018, she danced the role of Clara for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She is a ballet dancer in the movie The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman. In 2017, she placed second in classical and contemporary at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Semifinals in Philadelphia and was a scholarship recipient at the YAGP Finals. She joined AmericanBallet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in 2020. Highlights from her time there included performances in Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Gala at the Joyce Theater, the International Rescue Committee Gala at Gotham Hall and ABT’s Fall Gala at Lincoln Center in 2023. She has guested as the Sugar Plum Fairy for Hunterdon Hills Ballet, Strictly Ballet and Washington Rock Dance. She has also danced the role of Clara for New Jersey Ballet’s Nutcracker in 2023. Rachel joined American Repertory Ballet in January 2024. At ARB she has performed many roles including Florine, the White Cat, 4 Cygnets, a fairy in Ethan Stiefel’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Holberg Suite, Anthony Tudor’s Little Improvisations, a Lassie and Sylph in the premiere of Ethan Stiefel’s Spirit of the Highlands, and the Flames of Paris Pas De Deux.

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KOTOE KOJIMA-NOA was born in Japan and studied with School of American Ballet, Ballet Academy East, Kozlov Ballet Academy with former Bolshoi and New York City Ballet principals Valentina Kozlova and Leonid Kozlov, and Scarsdale Ballet Studio with former New York City Ballet Dancer Diana White. In 2000, she was the finalist in Youth America Grand Prix. Ms. Kojima-Noa joined New Jersey Ballet during the 2001-2002 season where she has danced Jerome Robbins' Interplay, George Balanchine's Allegro Brilliante and Concerto Barroco; many soloist and principal roles in Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Paquita, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle; contemporary works by Pedro Ruiz, Ray Mercer, Alexandre Proia, Margo Sappington, Robert North, Johan Renvall. She is a Repertory coach for New Jersey Ballet Company and is on the ballet faculty of New Jersey School of Ballet. In 2018, she joined New Jersey Ballet as a Marketing Director and is now the Artistic Coordinator for the company.

Elisa Toro Franky, professional dancer, teacher, choreographer, and bilingual voice actress based in New York City, has astounded audiences worldwide in works that integrate ballet, tango, ballroom, and Middle Eastern styles. She is currently a member of SAG-AFTRA. Elisa performs as a principal dancer with FJK Dance and a featured artist with Accent Dance NYC, Christopher Caines Dance, Dardo Galletto Dance. With FJK Dance, Elisa traveled on a 31-city tour of China in 2017 and currently performs in the company's annual seasons at New York Live Arts. Elisa also worked as Program Director at Accent Dance NYC (2018-2020). Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Elisa trained with mentors from the Cuban National Ballet School. She trained at the Miami City Ballet School and went on to dance with the Washington Ballet Studio Company, the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, and the New Jersey Ballet.

Megan is a New York-based dancer originally from Lubbock, Texas! She began her journey with Pilates while receiving her BFA in Dance Theatre from AMDA College and Conservatory in New York City. Megan continued her training under the mentorship of Barbara Hoon and Alison Johnson, ultimately receiving her certification through their program Pilates for Performers. In addition to performing and auditioning, Megan teaches in Manhattan at Candlestick Pilates and The Pilates Room.

Megan has been teaching young, developing dancers for 10 years. She understands the importance of proper alignment, control, and strength. These elements are most effectively found within Joseph Pilates’ technique and system. Since developing a consistent routine of practicing Pilates herself, Megan has noticed drastic differences in her technique as a performer. Pilates has helped her work through previous dance-related injuries and continually pushes her to be the strongest dancer she can be. She is committed to helping the dancers at New Jersey Ballet School discover this same strength!

Raleigh Ledford began her ballet training at Quenedit Ballet School in San Antonio, Texas. She expanded her education internationally with a rare opportunity to train and perform in Cuba with the Cuban National Ballet School under the direction of Ramona de Saa. She also attended summer intensives at the School of American Ballet and the Royal Ballet School.
Ms. Ledford studied on scholarship at The Rock School for Dance Education for two years, performing at the David H. Koch Theater in the International Dance School Festival and dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy in Nutcracker 1776. She went on to train at the English National Ballet School under Viviana Durante, performing in Frederick Ashton’s Rhapsody, Rudolf Nureyev’s Raymonda Suite, and Memorias del Dorado by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.
In 2022, Ms. Ledford joined New Jersey Ballet, where she has danced a wide range of classical and contemporary repertoire. Her performances featured roles in The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, and leading roles in George Balanchine’s Serenade and Rubies. She has also performed in world premieres by Harrison Ball, including Purcell Suite and New Ancient Strings; original works by Lauren Lovette such as Not Our Fate and Jewel Box; Justin Peck’s Murder Ballades; and Twyla Tharp’s iconic Nine Sinatra Songs. The 2025–2026 season marks her fourth with the company.

Michael Santiago Paradiso (he/him/his), from Cranford, New Jersey, began his ballet training in 2011 with the New Jersey School of Ballet. After four years, he was accepted to the Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program in New York City. Upon graduation in 2018 from Ellison Ballet, Michael joined Tulsa Ballet II, the second company of Tulsa Ballet. Over the span of six years, he was promoted to the rank of Demi-Soloist with the main company and has worked with many choreographers such as Ma Cong, Jennifer Archibald, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Andy Blankenbueler. He has performed in notable contemporary pieces such as O Balcao de Amor by Itzik Galili, The Green Table by Kurt Joss, and Alexander Ekman’s Cacti. His classical repertoire includes the Peasant Pas and Neapolitan dance of Swan Lake, the Matadors of Don Quixote, and the Jester in Cinderella. Michael joined New Jersey Ballet in 2024. He has performed pas de deuxs from Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs and In The Night by Jerome Robbins. He also danced leading roles in The Nutcracker, Hallelujah Junction by Peter Martins and George Balanchine’s Rubies. Michael is excited to return for the 2025/2026 season with New Jersey Ballet.