Faculty

Carol Bellis received her training on scholarship at the School of American Ballet, official school of the New York City Ballet. She danced with the Garden State Ballet and has taught for Garden State Ballet School, Gloria Govrin’s New Hope Ballet Academy, and the School of Performing Arts at Somerset Vo-Tech. She has been teaching here for more than 20 years, and is the principal of the Cranbury studio and the Coordinator of Princeton Ballet School’s summer programs. Ms. Bellis is also an Adjunct Professor of Ballet at Rider University. Email: cbellis@arballet.org   |   Phone: 609.921.7758, ext. 30

Rachel Allen began her dance training at the age of three, studying ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and baton twirling at The Starmaker School in Clinton, NJ. She trained there for 15 years, 10 of which she spent as a member of the school’s competitive dance team, where she competed regionally and nationally. She also performed featured roles in musical theatre productions and ballet productions of childhood classic tales. Ms. Allen trained at New Jersey School of Ballet throughout middle and high school for ballet and pointe training as a part of its intensive program each summer until she graduated college. She also trained at the French Academie of Ballet for one summer during her college career.  Ms. Allen attended Rutgers University with a double major, in dance and chemistry, where she trained at Mason Gross School of the Arts. In her time at Rutgers, she was also the head choreographer of the university’s largest student run club, Rutgers Performing Dance Company. She also set works on other students that were performed at Rutgers.  Recently, Rachel was enrolled in Broadway Dance Center’s summer program where she learned from Kristen Sudeikis, Sheila Barker, Derek Mitchell and others. For the past three years she has been setting pieces and teaching skills to the dancers at Prestige Dance Academy. Her contemporary classes focus on finding movement that originates from the ground up. Feeling the floor and remaining grounded throughout movement not only allows for a more fluid and elegant motion but also provides stability and increases the realm of shapes the dancer can create. With this base, the dancer can find energetic pathways within the body to generate movement and create shapes and ideas. Mobility of the spine is also emphasized in these classes. Having a relaxed spine, which includes the head and neck, increases the freedom with which the dancer can express him/herself. In addition to these principles, Ms. Allen helps dancers hear and find the rhythmic patterns in movement, be it staccato or simply ambiguous movement.  

Janell Byrne, a native of California, studied with Stanley Holden and Margaret Hills in Los Angeles. A graduate of the Juilliard School, where she studied with Alfredo Corvino, Ms. Byrne has taught at Mercer County Community College, Princeton University, The College of New Jersey and the Lawrenceville School. She has performed with DanceWorks and Teamwork Dance and is Director of Mercer Dance Ensemble, and has been teaching here for over 20 years.

Elvis Ferrera studied at the National Art School of Santiago de Cuba. He is a former dancer with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba and The Folklorico Nacional de Cuba, two major dance companies in Cuba.

Jennifer Gladney (Ballet), an alum of Princeton Ballet School and American Repertory Ballet, graduated summa cum laude from Rider University in 2006, and received a B.A. in Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education and Dance, as part of the Rider University/Princeton Ballet School Dance program. She was a member of our Professional Training Program throughout high school, and was part of a trainee program, ARB Ensemble, during the 1999-2000 season. As a freelancer she danced lead roles such as Aurora, Sugar Plum Fairy and Cinderella. She’s worked as a freelance dancer and choreographer with Mercer Dance Ensemble, Rider Dances and Teamwork Dance, and was a company dancer with ARB during the 2010-2011 season, where she performed in works by Twyla Tharp, Kirk Peterson, Philip Jerry and ARB Company Director Douglas Martin. She has also been in numerous world-premiere works by ARB Resident Choreographer, Mary Barton. Ms. Gladney is a certified NJ Educator, preschool to fifth grade.

Samantha Gullace (Ballet), a graduate of Princeton Ballet School’s Professional Training Program, spent three years with the Joffrey Ballet as a Trainee after graduation from high school. She returned to New Jersey and joined American Repertory Ballet in the fall of 2010, and has been featured in many roles, such as Arabian in Nutcracker, Mrs. Gibbs in Our Town, part of the pas de deux couple in Viva Vivaldi, and as a featured soloist in Ann Marie DeAngelo’s Blackberry Winter. Ms. Gullace started teaching for Princeton Ballet School in the fall of 2012.

Lisa Heyer is an experienced artistic director and dance instructor. For more than 30 years, she was the owner of a performing arts academy in central New Jersey that offered quality training in the art of dance to nearly 300 students per season. She was also a tap instructor for SCAN (Senior Citizens Activity Network) for five years, where she developed a tap program for senior citizens in Monmouth County, NJ. She trained in tap under Germaine Salsberg and Crystal Chapman. Her ballet training included former Princeton Ballet School member Patricia Webber, New York City Ballet members Anne Crowell-Inglis and Robert Christopher, Alvin Ailey member William Chaisson, along with open enrollment at American Ballet Theatre. Several of Ms. Heyer’s students have continued on to become successful professionals in the world of dance, including such roles as dance educators, performers and studio owners.

Rachael Kosch trained at the Joffrey Ballet School and was in a number of off-off Broadway plays as a child.  After studying acting at The High School of Performing Arts, she went to New York University to major in Drama.  At Bennington College, she studied dance composition, and she graduated from Columbia College with a degree in Choreography and Teaching. Since returning to her native New York City, Rachael has been teaching for the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and the New York Theatre Ballet. She was co founder, choreographer, costume designer, and performer for The Kangaroo Garden (music and dance troupe for children) and The Rachael Kosch Dance Company, which performs annually at Metropolitan Playhouse. Ms. Kosch created the dance curriculum for the Rosenwald School in Chicago and the Theatre Arts curriculum for Gold Material School in New York City. She teaches pedagogy at the Martha Graham School and has recently joined the faculty at Princeton Ballet School.

Rebeca Maso is a former ballet dancer from Cuba. She received her training at the Professional School of Ballet Arts in Cuba under the direction of Fernando Alonso. She also obtained her diploma as a Ballet Teacher in Cuba and has been teaching for more than 30 years. She was one of the founding ballet dancers of the Professional Ballet Company of Santiago of Cuba in 1990, under the direction of Maria Elena Martinez and choreographer and dancer Jorge Lefebvre, artistic director of Ballet Royal of Wallonie at that time. In 1994, she traveled to Venezuela as a guest ballet teacher to different ballet schools in the southern part of the country, working in regional ballet festivals and teaching Cuban ballet school methodology. In Venezuela, she was a member of the Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas for five years under direction of Zhandra Rodriguez, where she performed neoclassic and contemporary works by choreographer such as Jose Pares, Paulo Denubila, Dennis Nahat, Gabriel Castillo, Hector Montero, Maria Rovira among others, participating in European tour and International Ballet Festivals in Cuba. During her time in Venezuela she had the opportunity to perform with Metropolitan Ballet of Caracas by Artistic Director Keyla Ermecheo in different classical ballet productions like The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake (Pas de Trois) and Giselle. Ms. Maso also was invited from Metropolitan Ballet of Caracas to be part of the world premier “Dejando Rastro,” a modern dance created for four female ballet dancers by Carlos Orta, a leading dancer and teacher with the José Limón Dance Company and director of Corearte Dance Company of Venezuela. Ms. Maso came to U.S in 1999 as a guest artist of Metropolitan Ballet of Caracas participating in the international Ballet in Philadelphia and in a special ballet gala dedicated to Fernando Bujones. She also was part of Dance Theatre Southwest, Albuquerque, NM where she had the opportunity to be part of The Dracula Ballet production cast. Ms. Maso is currently a student at Saint Mary’s College (LEAP), an internationally recognized Bachelor’s degree program specifically designed for current and former professional dancers. Rebeca Maso is an ABT® Affiliate Teacher who is certified to teach the ABT® National Training Curriculum from pre-primary through level 3 and current ballet faculty of the Ballet Hispanico Dance School in NY.

Amy Megules (Ballet) began dancing in her hometown of Vineland, N.J., with the Vineland Regional Dance Company. She went on to receive her BFA in dance from State University of New York at Purchase, where she received the Bert Terborgh Dance Award. She apprenticed with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, and then danced with American Repertory Ballet. She has taught on the faculties of Princeton Ballet School, the National Dance Institute of Trenton, and Mercer County Community College. While living in Cincinnati, Ms. Megules taught and choreographed for the Otto M. Budig Academy of Cincinnati Ballet, the College Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division of the University of Cincinnati, and was the ballet instructor for the elite and accelerated gymnasts at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy.

Erika Mero (Ballet, PBW Juniors teacher) began her dance training at Princeton Ballet School. As a dancer in the Professional Training Program, she studied with Elisabeth Carroll, Septime Webre, Maria Youskevitch, Mary Pat Robertson and Douglas Martin. Ms. Mero was a member of Princeton Ballet II, a pre-professional company of the school, where she performed works by Sherry Alban and other members of the Princeton Ballet School staff.  Later, as a dancer in American Repertory Ballet Workshop, Ms. Mero appeared in the premiere of Graham Lustig’s Standstill as well as the ballerina role of Swanhilda in Coppélia.  During these years, she also attended The Juilliard School’s summer program for two years. In 2006, Ms. Mero graduated Cum Laude with a BFA in Dance Performance from SUNY Purchase. While in attendance at SUNY, Ms. Mero began teaching at American Repertory Ballet's Princeton Ballet School in 2003 and continues to do so as a ballet instructor. She is also a Dance Instructor with American Repertory Ballet's DANCE POWER in New Brunswick and was named the Curriculum and Assessment Supervisor for the Program. Erika's performance work includes two seasons with Stuart Loungway’s Terra Firma Dance Theatre, several opera productions with Opera New Jersey and as a featured dancer/choreographer in Capriccio at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.  In May 2010, Erika graduated with an MA in Dance Education with a concentration in ABT Ballet Pedagogy from New York University. Ms. Mero is an ABT® certified teacher who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Erika has been on the faculty for ABT's Young Dancer Summer Workshop since graduation from NYU and is currently an adjunct instructor at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ as well as Rutgers University at Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Ana's repertoire includes all the classics in the company such as Giselle in Giselle, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Swanilda in Coppelia, Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Don Quixote, Paquita in Paquita, Lisette in La Fille Mal Gardee, Nikiya and Gamzatti in La Bayadere, Medora in Le Corsaire, lead female in Les Sylphides, and the sylph in La Sylphide. These were performed alongside many notable male dancers including Jose Manuel Carreno. Ana also danced many modern, contemporary pieces by Cuban and International Choreographers. She performed in Havana and all throughout Cuba and also toured extensively worldwide with the company, dancing on all the renowned stage of the major capitals of the world including Bolshoi in Moscow, Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Liceu in Barcelona, Champs Elysees in Paris, Colon Theater in Argentina and many others.

Susan Tenney (Modern Dance, Ballet, Choreography) began her dance training at Princeton Ballet School with Audree Estey. She received a B.F.A. in Dance from SUNY Purchase and danced professionally as a soloist for Jean Erdman, Andrew deGroat and Dancers, Novantiqua, Nat Horne Musical Theater and Muna Tseng. For PBS she teaches Ballet and Modern Dance to students from 4–82 years old, and teaches Choreography for the Summer Intensive Intermediates in Cranbury. Her fundraiser for Princeton Ballet School brought over 150 dancers, musicians and community members on to the fields of Princeton University for an outdoor performance of her choreography and structured improvisation. She has received commissions from the Coalition for Peace Action and Princeton Arts Council. Her choreography has been produced Off-Broadway, in regional theatres and in film. She is a three-time Award Winner for Outstanding Direction and Choreography from NYC’s Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.

Dr. Kim Chandler Vaccaro is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Dance program in the department of Theatre and Dance at Westminster College of the Arts, of Rider University. She became a professional dancer and teacher while earning a BA in Choreography and Performance from the University of California at Santa Barbara, a MA in Dance Education from UCLA, and an Ed.D from Temple University. During that time she performed in numerous modern dance companies, choreographed and produced her own work, and taught dance at colleges on both the east and west coasts. Dr. Vaccaro has taught at Princeton Ballet School since 1989, and she has also been an educational consultant to the organization. In addition to speaking at national conferences on dance education, Dr. Kim, as she is known at PBS and on campus, has choreographed over 50 dance pieces for the Ballet School and the Rider Dance Program where she is artistic director of the annual event Rider Dances. Dr. Vaccaro is the author of Jazz Dance Today with Lorraine Person Kriegel; the editor of Dance In My Life; a contributing editor to the award winning Core Collection in Dance and contributing author to Jazz Dance. Her current research is on focus, creativity and mindfulness in dance teaching. She is the creator and author of CoMBo: Conditioning for Mindbody.