Daniel Duell - Ballet Chicago Artistic Director and Choreographer

Founder and Artistic Director, Duell is a force in the development of American Classicism, who is passionate about the advancement of ballet technique in its purest and most energetic form. As a dancer with the New York City Ballet from 1972-1987, he was taught and coached daily by George Balanchine. Quickly rising through the ranks, Duell was promoted to Soloist in 1977, and then Principal Dancer in 1979. He embodied a wide-ranging repertoire, dancing leading roles in the ballets of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, and Jacques d’Amboise, among others, including multiple works that were created for him. A Ford Foundation Scholarship recipient from the age of 13, he trained with the Dayton Civic Ballet, then at the School of American Ballet, and at the age of 19 was invited to join NYCB. In addition to his fifteen years at NYCB, he was a featured guest artist for numerous companies nationwide and performed for several PBS Dance in America public television programs. Duell has been choreographing since 1980 and has created works for Ballet Chicago, Ballet Hispanico of New York, Dayton Ballet, Harkness Dance Theatre, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and the School of American Ballet. He also collaborated with WTTW Channel 11 in Chicago to design two programs; the first, an Emmy Award winning special (outstanding cultural programming) on Ballet Chicago, and the second entitled “Love in Four Acts”, a program showcasing four Chicago choreographers selected by Duell. He was also awarded the 2000 Ruth Page Award from the Chicago Dance Community for Artistic Direction of the Ballet Chicago Studio Company.

Duell is a frequent lecturer on ballet, music, and the arts, serves on several not-for-profit boards and advisory boards, and has been an adjudicator for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council. He is also a repetiteur for the George Balanchine Trust and stages ballets across the United States. He conducts master classes in both the United States and Europe, including teaching engagements at the School of American Ballet, Indiana University at Bloomington, the University of Iowa, and the Bulgarian National Dance Academy in Sophia, Bulgaria. In Spring 2011, Duell will work with the Royal Danish Ballet, teaching and coaching the company in preparation for its New York season.

Patricia Blair - Director, The School of Ballet Chicago and Associate Director, Ballet Chicago

Patricia Blair is highly committed to the training, artistic education, and personal well-being of young dancers. She began working with children when she was only 15 years old, and to this day, her love and respect of classical ballet and passing that on to young artists is one of her greatest passions. She was born in New York City, began studying ballet at the age of 7, and began her performing career at 17. While a student at North Carolina School of the Arts, she was chosen to dance the role of “Myrtha” in Giselle alingside principal dancers Svea Ekloff and ABT’s Burton Taylor. In 1979 she joined the Eglevsky Ballet, under the direction of Edward Villella and then Michael Vernon. In 1984, while still dancing full time with the company, she became one of the organization’s Ballet Mistresses, rehearsing the repertoire of George Balanchine, Michael Vernon and guest choreographers. Throughout her years at Eglevsky Ballet she was also an active teacher in NY, teaching classes for Eglevsky Ballet, Harkness House for Ballet Arts, Steps NY, and volunteering to teach at risk youth in church basements and community centers. During off seasons, she performed as a guest artist developing new works with many NY choreographers, danced in musical theatre productions across the US and on Broadway, and briefly entered the LA movie world with Pavanne for a Dying Princess, a solo dance film created especially for her. She came to Chicago in September 1987 upon the recommendation of Balanchine repetiteur Victoria Simon. She staged several ballets for Chicago City Ballet’s fall season, after which Duell invited her to move to Chicago and join his artistic team. She was the Ballet Mistress for Ballet Chicago from 1987 – 1997, and was appointed Director of the School of Ballet Chicago in 1995. She also serves as Associate Director for the company.

In addition to her work with the School of Ballet Chicago and the Ballet Chicago Studio Company, Ms. Blair gives master classes throughout the region and has been a guest teacher for Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle, Washington, Gem City Ballet in Dayton, Ohio, and in May 2007 had the honor of teaching at the School of American Ballet. Ms. Blair has a lifelong love for the ballets of George Balanchine, and appreciates both the privilege of having performed his ballets and the joy of passing them on to younger dancers. She has been responsible for a large body of repertoire at Ballet Chicago, and has staged Mr. Balanchine’s Serenade and Allegro Brillante for the St. Louis Ballet.

Gary Abbott

Gary Abbott has danced, taught and choreographed internationally for more than 30 years. In 1995, he became Associate Artistic Director for the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater. That same year he founded Deeply Rooted Productions with Kevin Iega Jeff, Linda Spriggs, Diane Shober and LaVerne Alaphaire. He danced with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre, working with choreographers Katherine Dunham, Donald McKayle, Talley Beaty, Eleo Pomare, and Kevin Iega Jeff. Abbott’s choreographic tribute to Aretha Franklin (Sweet Ree), and other choreography remains a part of the Robinson Dance Theatre’s repertoire. Abbott danced with Lula Washington Dance Theatre, and Rudy Perez Dance Theatre in California. He has choreographed for David Taylor Dance Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cleveland Playhouse and the Penumbra Theatre. Abbott began his dance career with Barbara Sullivan's Atlanta Dance Theatre and attended the California Institute for the Arts on scholarship and studied with Crystine Lawson, Mia Slavenska and Nicholas Gunn. Abbott guest teaches and conducts Master Classes both nationally and internationally. Ballet Chicago is very happy to have Gary Abbott on our faculty.

Ellen Green

Ellen Green is from Illinois and has been dancing since she was a young child. She began her training with Judith Svalender, and later studied at The School of Ballet Chicago, performing with the Ballet Chicago Studio Company. She also was a summer and year-round student at the Rock School and the School of American Ballet, both on full scholarship. Ms. Green was an apprentice with the New York City Ballet in 2000 and joined the Royal Danish Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2001. She has danced a large body of repertoire including George Balanchine’s Serenade, Swan Lake, Stars and Stripes, Walpurgisnacht, and Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, August Bournonville’s Napoli, La Sylphide, and A Folk Tale, Jerome Robbin’s West Side Story Suite, John Neumeier’s Romeo and Juliet, The Little Mermaid and The Odyssey, Peter Martins’ Fearful Symmetries, and Helgi Tomassan’s Sleeping Beauty. Ms. Green is thrilled to be back in the US and performing with Ballet Chicago again.

Petur Iliev

Petur Iliev is a Bulgarian-born dancer and choreographer whose career is deeply steeped in the rich folk dance traditions of his family. He started dancing at the age of five at the dance company of his father. Later he graduated from the Bulgarian National School of Dance Art and from the Bulgarian National Institute of Choreography in Sofia, Bulgaria. He began his professional career as a Principal Dancer of Kutev National Dance and Music Ensemble where he worked for five years, before continuing his training at the National Dance Institute in New York where he studied under the supervision of one of the gurus of American dance – Jacques d'Amboise. Subsequently, Iliev became the Artistic Co-Director of Believe in Me — a dance ensemble in Austin, TX, where for four years he trained more than a thousand young dancers. Moving to California, Iliev continued working in the American educational system teaching dance to hundreds of children in a performing arts magnet school. A year later he was appointed the Artistic Director of Westwind International Dance Company — one of the first companies in the US whose mission is to present to the American audience the richness and diversity of ethnic dance. Iliev has been teaching Character dance at Pacific Northwest Ballet's Summer Program since 2003, alongside with giving master classes in Character Dance and Bulgarian folk dances at many colleges and universities in different parts of the US. He continues to choreograph for professional and non-professional dance companies in the US and Canada.

William Miglino

William began taking ballet at age 10 in a small town outside of Seattle, Washington. At the age of 15, he attended the School of Ballet Chicago Summer Program and was subsequently invited to attend year-round on full scholarship. As a Ballet Chicago Studio Company member, he performed numerous solo and principal roles, including Balanchine's Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Concierto Barrocco, and Nutcracker Plum Pas de Deux, Daniel Duell's Snow King, Russian and Soldier Doll, Duell's Angel Scene from Act II of Hansel and Gretel, and Ted Seymour's Continuation. At age 18 he was noticed by renowned guest faculty member and Balanchine repetiteur Victoria Simon, who helped arrange an audition for Carolina Ballet, under the direction of former New York City Ballet principal dancer, Robert Weiss. Mr. Miglino was hired immediately. William spent the year dancing in over 40 performances. Sidelined after a year by the need for surgery in both ankles, Miglino reassessed his life direction and in 2008 chose to return to ballet as a professional teacher. He spent the majority of 2007/2008 teaching in Seattle and was invited by Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair to join Ballet Chicago's faculty for the 2008/2009 season. While teaching full time at Ballet Chicago he has had the opportunity to perform with the school as well as various companies in the greater Chicago area. William is thankful for the experience of seeing ballet on both sides, as teacher and student.

Cheryl Olendzki

Cheryl holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Teaching and Choreography from Columbia College Chicago. She has studied at North Carolina School of the Arts, at Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School, at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, and under David Howard. She has performed modern works by Bebe Miller, Julia Rhodes, and Ruth Solomon and choreographed many of her own. Her main interest is teaching dance and movement to children in Chicago. Every day she loves guiding children in artistic as well as intellectual growth, self confidence, and expression through dance. She adores being a part of the Ballet Chicago family and learning from each of her students!

Sheila Rozann

Sheila Rozann’s early ballet training was with Bronislava Nijinska, a well-known choreographer from the Diaghileff /Ballet Russe era, and sister of the great dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky.               

Miss Rozann is the founder of the Rozann-Zimmerman Ballet Center (RZBC), which she directed for 32 years in Los Angeles, California.  During that time many of her students were accepted into ballet companies across the country and in Europe.  Among them were Heather Watts, former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet (NYCB), Ariana Lallone, currently principal dancer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB), Zippora Karz, former soloist with NYCB, Beverly Tucker and Romy Karz, former corps members of NYCB, Edward Farley and Francine Kessler former soloists with Ballet West, and Lisa Cuizon, former corps member with Cleveland Ballet.        

After visiting Miss Rozann’s school in Los Angeles, George Balanchine was so impressed that he personally invited her to his Ford Foundation-sponsored teaching seminars held in New York City at his School of American Ballet (SAB).  This started a long-standing association between Miss Rozann and SAB and resulted in dozens of her students being selected for SAB’s summer course and year-round program. Sheila Rozann is a highly inspiring teacher with a superb eye for alignment, clarity of movement and expressiveness without affectation.  She has the unusual ability to pull from her students a degree of energy they had never realized was possible.  Miss Rozann will begin her twelfth year on the faculty of the School of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet in Santa Fe, New Mexico in September, 2008.  She has been on the teaching staff of the School of Ballet Chicago’s Summer Course and Advanced Intensive program since the year 2000.  She also teaches master classes in Los Angeles, California and Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Ted Seymour

Ted was born in Dallas, Texas where he began his training at The Dallas Metropolitan Ballet. He later moved to Chicago to study with Dan Duell and Patricia Blair at the School of Ballet Chicago as a member of The Ballet Chicago Studio Company.  Ted choreographed his first ballet for BCSC, Toccata for 5, in 2001. Later, Ted moved to New York to attend the School of American Ballet. While at SAB, Ted choreographed two ballets for the Student Choreographic Workshop and was invited by Peter Martins to create a new work for The New York Choreographic Institute.  Upon leaving SAB, Ted joined Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, dancing for choreographers such as Edward Liang, Nicolo Fonte, and Benoit-Swan Pouffer.  Currently, Ted is a member of The Suzanne Farrell Ballet and continues to dance and choreograph throughout the country.  Ted has been a frequent guest teacher for The School of Ballet Chicago and is joining the faculty for this 2009 / 2010 year.   

Elizabeth Shy

Elizabeth was born in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and studied at the University of Iowa before moving to New York to train at the Joffrey Ballet School. After attending several summers with Ballet Chicago, she became a member of the Ballet Chicago Studio Company, where she stayed for three years before joining Charleston Ballet Theatre. She returned to Ballet Chicago as both a Ballet Chicago Studio Company Member, Ballet Instructor, and Pilates Instructor. Elizabeth is thrilled to be teaching technique, Pilates, and stretch & strengthening to the students of Ballet Chicago

Megan Wright

Megan is a Chicago native and alumni of Ballet Chicago who has danced professionally with the Los Angeles Ballet and the Saint Louis Ballet. In addition, she has performed with the San Diego Ballet and completed professional workshops with the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance as well as Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet. Megan spent her summers studying at the School of American Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet School, and American Ballet Theater. Prior to joining the Ballet Chicago Studio Company in 2000, she trained at the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center. In 2010, Megan received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from DePaul University. Since 2008, she has taught ballet to ages three through adult at the Beverly Arts Center. Megan is honored to join Ballet Chicago’s faculty and looks forward to working with their many dedicated dancers.