Ballet and Acrobatic dance training help your child focus.
Click Here Information on Irish Dance Classes
Click here for information on Ballroom Dancing
on Sundays this Summer
Why Ballet training helps children with school performance.
How acrobatic training helps all forms of dance
Warrenton Ballet Company
has a Chraritable Tax Exempt status from IRS - 501(c)(3)
The Ballet Academy of Warrenton Teaching Staff brings a strong and diverse educational and dance background to our dance program:
DIRECTOR - Linda Voelpel
is originally from the Saint Louis area, where she received her initial
dance and acrobatic training, and began her teacher training at the Lucille Rapp
Dance Studio while still in high school. She has 33 years teaching experience
in ballet, tap, acrobatics, jazz, and creative movement. Ms. Voelpel has taught
in Saint Louis; Charleston, South Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas; Tulsa; Oklahoma
City; and Falls Church, Virginia.
She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Texas Christian University,
where she earned the Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Science degrees.
Ms. Voelpel danced with the Saint Louis
Civic Ballet and was a soloist and rehearsal captain with the Charleston Dance
Theatre. She appeared on national television on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour
as an acrobatic dance soloist, and performed on local television in Saint Louis
and Charleston. Ms. Voelpel appeared professionally throughout the Saint Louis
area with the Kirkettes, a precision dance ensemble, and as an acrobatic dance
soloist. During her senior year, Ms. Voelpel was a member of the Texas
Christian University Women’s Gymnastics Team.
While living in Oklahoma, Ms. Voelpel studied with world-renowned
American Indian ballerinas Moscelyne Larkin and Yvonne Chouteau of the Ballet
Russe de Monte Carlo. While in Tulsa, she also studied with Roman Jasinski,
premier danseur, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Other notable ballet teachers
include Alexandra Danilova, Don Cantwell, Fernando Schaffenburg, Stanley
Herbertt, and Finis Jhung. Jazz teachers include Luigi, Gus Giordano, and Chet
Walker.
Ms. Voelpel attended teacher training at Ballet Intensive from
Moscow; Gus Giordano Workshop / Jazz Dance World Congress;
Vaganova Teacher Training,
comprehensive study of Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Vaganova Syllabus; and
Finis Jhung's Teacher Training Workshop. Ms. Voelpel was also selected to
attend the first-ever Luigi Jazz Intensive in July 2001.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR -
Melissa Yowell teaches
Creative Movement, Introduction to Dance, Introduction to Ballet, and tap. She
has been dancing since age 8; and has been with the Ballet Academy since we
opened in August, 2000.
Melissa enjoys how music and dance allows a person to express their
feelings and to create lasting friendships with people of all ages.
She began working with children in her family’s daycare business;
and has extensive business experience working in her family’s Glengary Christmas
Tree Farm in Viewtown.
She appeared with the Berkshire Ballet and the New Jersey Ballet in
their Warrenton productions of The Nutcracker.
Ms. Yowell earned the Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and a
Post-Baccalaureate degree in Biology, both from Mary Washington College. When
government budget cuts in these fields led to the third job cut, Melissa did
much soul searching and praying while teaching at the Academy.
She decided to return to college and study nursing; and is now an
RN working in the Neonatal ICU at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg.
She works nights so that she can continue to dance with her friends and
students.
Ms. Yowell, along with Academy Director Linda Voelpel,
choreographed My Fair Lady for Fauquier Community Theatre in spring,
2003.
Philip S. Rosemond
has 33 years performing experience as a
professional dancer; 31 years experience teaching dance; 22 years experience as
a director, choreographer, ballet master, counseling and workshop facilitator;
17 years experience in dance and arts management, consulting, and curatorship;
and 7 years experience as a seminar and workshop facilitator in objectives
training for artists and dancers.
He teaches upper level ballet and Modern Dance / Horton Technique.
He has performed with Washington (DC) Ballet, New York City Opera
Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Met of Columbus, Cincinnati/New Orleans Ballet,
Western Chamber Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, New York City Ballet, Dayton Ballet,
Colorado Ballet, Boulder Ballet Ensemble, and many other companies.
Mr. Rosemond has served as Ballet Master and Artistic Director at the Manassas
Dance Company, Montana Ballet, SW Washington Dance Center, and Western Chamber
Ballet.
He received the Bachelor of Fine Arts Cum Laude from the University of
Cincinnati, completing his studies under a CCM full honors scholarship.
He began his dance training as a scholarship student at the
Washington School of Ballet. He has studied at ABT and SAB, Joffrey Ballet, and
Pennsylvania Ballet as a summer scholarship student. Mr. Rosemond studied ballet
independently with Melinko Banovich, Wilhelm Burman, Maggie Black, Melissa
Hayden, David Howard, Finis Jhung, Oleg Sabine and many others. He
trained in Vaganova Pedagogy with Gretchen Warren,
Marat Daukayev,
Nikita Dolgushin, and
Sergey Kozadayev/Zhanna Dubrovskaya. He studied
modern and modern pedagogy with James
Truitte: (Horton Technique & General Pedagogy), Fanchon Shur, Jan Van
Dyke, Stephen Petronio, Murray Spalding, Karen Steele, Remy Charlip, and many
others.
He is also trained in Performance Art and Ritual Theatre and yoga.
Mihaela Wadlow
is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory,
Winchester, Virginia, where she earned the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance
Education. She teaches upper level ballet.
Ms. Wadlow is originally from Timisoara, Romania, where she
attended The Dance School of the Romanian National Opera; The Music High School
/ Music Section, studying piano; The Music High School / Choreography Section,
studying seven years of classical ballet, French contemporary dance, character
dance, Romanian folk dance, repertoire, and pas de deux. During her school
years, she received ten prizes, including seven first prizes; the UNICEF award
at the National Dance Contest / Romania; and two Honorable Mentions at the
National Dance Contest / Romania.
She performed as a soloist with The Romanian National Opera,
including a tour to Switzerland; and danced in exchange programs in Germany. Her
performing experience includes such classical roles as Blue Bird in Sleeping
Beauty and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, as well as modern pieces across a
wide spectrum, from The Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) to Mary Magdalene in Jesus
Christ Superstar (Weber).
Before coming to Shenandoah Conservatory, Ms. Wadlow studied Public
Relations at the University of Banat, Timisoara, Romania; and Foreign Languages
at Western University, also in Timisoara. She speaks Romanian, English, French,
and Spanish.
