Guest Faculty

Lee-Wei Chao

Mr. Chao originally considered a career as a painter, but at age 16 decided to turn to dance and entered the High School for the Performing Arts in Taipei. He received his early ballet training from Xiao Lee who brought the Vaganova method to Taiwan. He completed his education at the National Institute for the Arts in Taipei. He was hired by Singapore Dance Theater in 1994, and in 1996 went to New York City to join the Joffrey Ballet Concert Dancers. Mr. Chao was a member of the Milwaukee Ballet Company from 1998 to 2005 after dancing with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, the Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, Singapore Dance Theater, Taipei City Ballet and Henry Yu Dance Company. He has performed works by Balanchine, Choo San Goh, Robert North, Kathryn Posin, David Parsons, Jean-Paul Comelin and Simon Dow. He has been guest choreographer and teacher for the Milwaukee Ballet School Summer program, Milwaukee Ballet II, Ballet Nouveau Colorado, Ballet Pensacola, Midland Festival Ballet, Long Beach Ballet, Lines Ballet School, San Francisco State University, National University of the Arts in Taipei and Northern California Dance Conservatory. He has choreographed for the Space Between Program at the Milwaukee Art Museum. In 2002 and 2003, Mr. Chao was commissioned for new works by the Milwaukee Ballet Company, Beyond Invisible and Edge of Silence, which premiered in 2003 and 2004. Mr. Chao is currently on the faculty of The School of the Arts in San Francisco, San Francisco Dance Center / Lines Ballet and ODC San Francisco.

John Wey Ling

Mr. Ling began his training at the Shanghai Ballet School. In 1977, he ranked as a principal dancer for the famed Shanghai Ballet. In 1980, he and his partner Ms. Wang Qifeng went to an international ballet competition in Japan. It was the first time China received a medal in an international ballet competition. Upon defecting to the United States in 1982, he joined the American Ballet Theatre under the direction of Mikahil Baryshnikov. Mr. Ling has appeared as a guest artist with the National Ballet of Canada, the Hong Kong Ballet, the Hong Kong Dance Company, the Fort Worth City Ballet, the Dallas Ballet, and the National Ballet of Mexico. He has danced the leading roles in all the major classical ballets. In addition, Mr. Ling has not only choreographed and staged many of the classics but has also given Master Classes all over the world.

Carla Stallings-Lippert

Ms. Stallings-Lippert began her training with Marquerite Phares in Sacramento, California and attended New York’s School of American Ballet before receiving a scholarship to the American ballet Theatre School. She then joined American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice and later entered the corps de ballet before being promoted in 1984 to soloist by Mikhail Baryshnikov. In 1987, Ms. Stallings-Lippert joined Boston Ballet as a principal dancer where her repertoire included Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and the Sylph in La Sylphide to name a few. She has had the privilege of touring with Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1985 and Rudolph Nureyev in 1988. Ms. Stallings-Lippert has taught for many years at various ballet schools and summer programs. She retired in 1994 from Boston Ballet and currently teaches for Severance School of Dance in Fresno, California.

Virginia Nicholas

Ms. Nicholas is the owner of Moving Breath Pilates and has been in business since 1996. She is a Registered Nurse with a Masters degree in Theatre and Dance with an emphasis in Choreography and Kinesiology. She is a Core Dynamics® Pilates certified teacher and teacher trainer and a certified teacher of the Gyrotonic Expansion System®. Her Pilates studio is the only one in Arizona certified as a teacher training facility. She is a National Pilates Presenter, and Moving Breath DVD’s, videos, and books are distributed nationally. Ms. Nicholas was a Principal dancer with Bill Evans Dance Company from 1988-1990. She has been a faculty member of Arizona State University, University of New Mexico, Colorado Mountain College, and the School of Ballet Arizona.

Deanne Poulos

A native of Phoenix, Ms. Poulos received her childhood dance training locally. She studied ballet with Mary Moe Adams and Spanish Dance with Laura Moya. She danced with Arizona ballet Theatre and performed as a soloist with the Laura Moya Spanish Dance Company. After earning a degree from Occidental College in Los Angeles, she returned to her hometown and worked as the resident choreographer and dance instructor for Actors Lab, a professional theatre company in Arizona. She performed in musicals on stage, film and cable television. In Los Angeles, while with Laura Moya’s company, she danced with flamenco greats Oscar Nieto, Cruz Luna and Daniel de Cordoba.
Ms. Poulos has served as a marketing director for Ballet Arizona and a grants panelist for the Arizona Commission of the Arts. Deanne judged for the annual Celebration of Dance and served on the marketing committee for the Arizona Dance Arts Alliance. Currently, she choreographs for various local theatre companies. Deanne and her partner, Herlinda Lopez, perform throughout the valley with their Spanish dance ensemble, Flamenco del Sol.

Yumiko Takahashi

Yumi “la Rosa” began her dancing career in modern dance in Tokyo, Japan at an early age participating in competitions and performing at prestigious theaters. She has studied flamenco in both Spain and US from well known artists such as Belen Maya, Rafaela Carrasco, Isabel Bayón, Antonio Granjero, La Tania, Antonio Hidalgo, and Lydia Torea to name a few. She started performing in Phoenix, AZ in 1999 as a company dancer with Viva Flamenco directed by Lydia Torea, and a soloist with Calo Flamenco, Ballet de Martín Gaxiola in 2004. Currently, she is a featured soloist with Mosaico Flamenco at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale. In 2005, she started her own show monthly at Casa Rincon in Sedona, Arizona. Her flamenco career has extended out as a performer and teacher throughout the Southwest and Mexico. Her teaching experience includes Flamenco workshops and on-going classes throughout the valley and Northern Arizona; such as Arizona Ballet School, Montessori Middle School, Pat Smith Dance School, Arizona School of Classical Ballet, Paradise Valley Community College, Scottsdale Community College, and Coconino Community College. She has joined Arizona Commission for the Arts to educate and preserve the art of flamenco. She also promotes workshops in the Phoenix area inviting well qualified artists from all over US and Spain.