Guest Faculty

Ballet School Guest Faculty

Kee-Juan Han directed the Arizona Ballet School from 1993 to 2003. His dance career began in his native Singapore, where he began his training at age ten with Florrie Sinclair and Goh Soo Khim. Upon graduation from the Australian Ballet School, he was invited to dance with the Sydney Dance Company, then the Goh Ballet in Canada, where he was also trained by Lin Yee Goh to teach the Vaganova method. Additionally, he was Principal Dancer with the Indianapolis Ballet Theatre and was a Soloist with the Boston Ballet. He danced most of the principal roles in the classical repertoire, as well as the ballets by Balanchine and modern works by Jose Limon, Mark Morris, Ralph Lemon, Susan Marshall, and Bebe Miller. Mr. Han's international teaching experiences includes guest teaching at the Singapore Dance Theatre, Edmonton Ballet Academy, Sydney Dance Company, Ballet Austin, Atlanta Ballet, Boston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Vail International Summer of Dance Festival, Milwaukee Ballet, and the renowned Jackson International Ballet Summer School. he was also named the best teacher/coach at the Youth America Grand Prix (Long Beach) in 2000. Currently, Mr. Han is a full time faculty at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts and is the recipient of The Excellence in Teaching Award at NCSA. He is also the co-founder of the American Ballet Competition.

Susan Pierce Clark joined the Milwaukee Ballet as a Principal Dancer in 1990, where she danced such notable roles as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and Cinderella. She later took on the role of Ballet Mistress for the company. Prior to Milwaukee, Ms. Clark was a Principal Dancer with the Atlanta Ballet where she danced the lead roles of many classical and neo-classical ballets. She danced with Ballet Repertory in New York City and with Twyla Tharp in the film version of Hair. She was also a prizewinner at the International Ballet competitions in Osaka, Japan. Ms. Clark continues her relationship with the Milwaukee Ballet teaching for their summer program.

Carla 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, Miss Stallings 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. Miss Stallings 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.

Camden Lloyd is a teacher of classical ballet, specializing in the training of young people. Her teaching combines artistry and strong technique in an informed cultural context. In addition to the classical syllabus, she also teaches Kniaseff ‘barre par terre’ and ballet history, and has collaborated with professional composers, musicians and artists in her choreographic endeavors. Miss Lloyd has taught and directed classical ballet programs for Alonzo King, Vladimir Riazantsev’s Nava Junior Dance Ensemble, French American International School and Russian Center of San Francisco. She currently teaches the Ballet Pilot Program for elementary public school children in Central Phoenix.

Nancy Happel's training began at the University of South Florida with Lynne Wimmer and Gretchen Warren. After graduating, she moved to New York City, studying with a wide range of teachers including Risa Steinberg, Angie Wolf, Zvi Gotheiner, Igal Perry, Denise Jefferson, and Peggy Baker. Ms. Happel was a member of several companies in New York, including Zvi Gotheiner and Dancers, and Anna Sokolow's Players Project. She currently performs with A Ludwig Dance Theatre. As a Jacob Javits fellow, she received her masters degree in dance from ASU, focusing on technology in performance and curriculum. Ms. Happel teaches for Arizona State University, Paradise Valley Community College, The School of Ballet Arizona and Desert Dance Theatre.

Deanne Poulos - A native of Phoenix, Deanne 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. Deanne 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. They are Arizona Arts Roster Artists.

Ellen Rath - A native of Minnesota, Ms. Rath is Co-artistic Director of The Nebellen Dance Company. She is a former dancer with Ballet Arizona where she performed leading roles in Jawole’s Transitions, Dwight Rhoden’s Skinny Puzzle and Scarlet Symphony, Moses Pendleton’s Opus Cactus, and Daniel Ezralowe’s Lady Lost Found. Her recent choreographic experiences have been for Ballet Arizona’s Choreographer’s Workshop, Ballet Arizona’s Public Schools’ Outreach Program and the Is What It Is Theater Company. In 2001, Ms. Rath was one of two dancers in Arizona to be awarded the prestigious Arizona Arts Commission Artist’s Project Grant.

Jenny Hjalmarson - A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Ms. Hjalmarson began training with Kelly Brown, then continued on to scholarship at the North Carolina School for the Arts with Duncan Noble. Upon graduating, she was invited by Director Roy Tobias to join the Universal Ballet Company of Korea. She danced several soloist roles while in Japan, Italy and Austria. She joined the Seoul Ballet Theatre and collaborated in performances with Basel Ballet, Atterbaletto of Rome and the Atlanta Ballet. Ms. Hjalmarson danced the principal role in James Jeon's Three Moments at the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts. In addition, she works with Ballet Arizona and teaches at Arizona Sunrays Gymnastic and Dance Center.