Past Master Classes

Eva Draw, instructor senior students at the National Ballet School of Canada and former principal dancer with the Moscow City Ballet and Israel Ballet. She trained at Moscow State Institute of Theatre Arts and Moscow Choreography School of Bolshoi Theatre and is a graduate of the National Ballet School Teacher Training Program for Professional Dancers. Ms. Draw has been on staff at NBS since 1995.
Lindsay Fischer, graduated from the National Ballet School of Canada in 1974, going on to dance as a principal with the Dutch National Ballet (1984-87). Mr. Fischer continued his career with the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer (1987-95). After free lancing for two years, Mr. Fischer joined the National Ballet School in 1997, as manager of the School's Intensive Dance and Career Planning Programs working with the senior students.

Lawrence Jackson, a native of Jackson, MS., and graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, holds a B.F.A. in Dance. Mr. Jackson has taught at the Madison County Cultural Arts Center, Mary Bethune Performing Arts School, and the University of Southern Mississippi. Mr. Jackson danced four seasons with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree with Florida State University.
Sharee Lane, danced as a soloist with Ballet West for nine years and has been on the faculty of Ballet West School since 1981. She has extensive experience in both television and film, including coaching John Travolta in the movie Staying Alive. Ms. Lane is currently Associate Professor at the University of Utah, teaching ballet and pointe to upper and lower division majors.

Jean Philippe Malaty, Executive Director of the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Company, was a solo performer with various companies throughout the U.S., and has taught at the David Howard Dance Center in New York, Los Angeles Ballet School, and Ballet West Conservatory in Utah.
Michelle Martin, Associate Artistic Director Ballet Austin had her early dance training at the Alberta Ballet School and danced with the Alberta Ballet Company before joining the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre in 1982. Martin joined Ballet Austin in 1991. She has since been appointed ballet mistress and curriculum director of the Academy. Martin is a recipient of the Austin Under Forty award of the Arts and Entertainment.

Viki Psihoyos studied at the School of American Ballet from the age of eight, and in 1971, she was invited to join New York City Ballet. For thirteen years, she performed in almost 70 ballets and toured in the US and abroad. Since retiring in 1983, she has taught ballet and choreographed throughout the United States and abroad. She holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Colorado.
Mandy-Jayne Richardson - National Ballet of Canada was born in London, England, and is a graduate of the Royal Ballet School. In 1979 she joined the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, during this time she was twice voted one of England's most interesting young dancers by the readers of "Dance and Dancers." In 1986, Ms. Richardson joined Dutch National Ballet. She joined New York City Ballet in 1988. In 1999 she joined The National Ballet of Canada's artistic staff and in 2005 was named Senior Ballet Mistress.

Robert Sher-Machherndl has worked with several famous choreographers including Nureyev, Kylian, Balanchine, Ashton, Bejart, and Cranko. As principal dancer, he has performed for Dutch National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. As choreographer and artistic director of Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet in Boulder, Colorado, Robert has conceived and choreographed several full-length ballets and is a recipient of the prestigious New York Ballet Builder's Award in 2005 & 2006.
Vera Timashova After graduating from Novosibirsk State Ballet School and The Russian State Academy for Performing Arts, Vera Timashova performed with the Novosibirsk State Academic Theatre for Opera and Ballet, the Tokyo Ballet Theatre, the Russian Imperial Ballet and The Moscow Classical Ballet before coming to Canada. A graduate of the NBS Teacher Training Program, she worked internationally with companies and schools, before accepting a full-time position with the National Ballet School in the fall of 2004.

Meelis Pakri, on staff at the Royal Ballet Upper School in London, England, is originally from Tallinn, Estonia, and was with Colorado Ballet from 1991-2006. He is a graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. For five years he was Principal Dancer with Estonian National Ballet touring Europe, South and Central America, the Philippines, Singapore and the former Soviet Union. In 1990, he was a Guest Dancer at the International Ballet Festival in Havana, Cuba, honoring Alicia Alonso, and a Guest Principal Dancer for the National Theater of Macedonia in Skopje, Yugoslavia. In addition to dancing with Estonian National Ballet, Pakri was a partnering and technique teacher at the Tallinn Ballet School of Estonian National Ballet. Among his students are present stars of English National Ballet and Royal Ballet of Flanders in Antwerp, Belgium. In 1991, at the invitation of former CEO and Artistic Director Martin Fredmann, Pakri joined Colorado Ballet as Principal Dancer. During his ten years with the company, he danced numerous classical and contemporary roles, including Albrecht in Giselle, the title role in George Balanchine's Apollo, Basilio in Don Quixote, the principal male in Balanchine's Rubies, and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. Pakri was also a frequent guest performer in Estonia and Japan. In 1998, he was invited to perform as a guest artist with the Martha Graham Dance Company in the role of the Husbandman in Appalachian Spring at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In 2001, Pakri retired from the stage. From 2001-2006 Meelis Pakri served as the Ballet Master of Colorado Ballet. He also is a frequent guest teacher at many schools and summer intensive program throughout the United States. In the fall of 2004, Pakri returned to the stage to dance the role of Count Dracula in Michael Pink's Dracula for the Colorado Ballet. In 2005, Pakri received critical acclaim for staging the full length The Sleeping Beauty for Colorado Ballet.

Xaiver Hicks - California Ballet
Hannah Kennedy - Ballet Magnificat!-Jazz
Laurel Toto - National Ballet of Canada
John Vandervelde - Ballet Magnificat!-Worship Dance
Jiri Voborsky - Ballet Magnificat!-Ballet