Summer Intensive Staff & Faculty

Sponsored by Catherine L. Davies

Mireille Favarel was born in Toulon, France. After studying with Rosella Hightower at the Centre de Danse International in Cannes, Lydia Menchova from the Bolshoi, Robert Bestonso from the Royal Ballet and Raymond Franchetti from the Paris Opera, Favarel began her professional career at 17 with Ballet du Rhin in Strasbourg (now the Ballet of the Opéra national du Rhin). She subsequently joined Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium as a soloist, where she performed her first principal role as Swanhilda in August Bournonville’s Coppélia at 19. Favarel later joined Ballet der Deutsch Oper am Rhein in Du?sseldorf, Germany as a soloist, under the direction of Paolo Bortoluzzi as well as Ballet du Nord in Roubaix, France, under the direction of Alphonso Cata as a principal dancer.

In addition to appearing with the Ballet du Nord during many of its international tours, Favarel represented France in the first New York International Ballet Competition. She was invited to perform in the gala performance for the next competition, and later returned as a coach and teacher for the NYIBC.

Favarel joined Milwaukee Ballet as a principal dancer in 1989, where she performed all of the major roles in the company repertoire. The most memorable are her interpretations of Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, Coppélia, and Giselle. In 1990, dance critic Tom Strini named her “Dancer of the Year” for her work in Swan Lake, Serenade, and Coppélia . During her time with Milwaukee Ballet, many choreographers created works for her, including Kathryn Posin’s Tehillim and Bach’s Lunch, as well as Simon Dow’s Spartacus. In May 2000, Favarel gave her farewell performance and became Ballet Mistress for the Company.

Mireille Favarel is currently Artistic Director of Milwaukee Ballet II (MBII). She also teaches and coaches Milwaukee Ballet Company and MBII. Favarel is a frequent guest teacher at major ballet schools and companies in Bulgaria, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, and in her native country of France. In March of 2012, Favarel staged Kathryn Posin’s Scheherazade for the National Ballet of Bulgaria, in Sofia. She staged Scheherazade again for Milwaukee Ballet in 2016. She continues to perform character roles for Milwaukee Ballet, most recently as James’ mother in La Sylphide and the Queen in Swan Lake.

Email: mfavarel@milwaukeeballet.org

Sponsored by Kelly and Karina Noyes

Born in Yerevan, Davit Hovhannisyan trained at National Ballet School of Armenia on full scholarship. In 2004, he joined Milwaukee Ballet, where he performed as a critically acclaimed Leading Artist for 20 years. He danced principal roles in several Michael Pink ballets and worked with many other esteemed choreographers before retiring in 2023. 

Sponsored by Anonymous

A native Russian, Denis Malinkine graduated from the esteemed Bolshoi Ballet Academy. He soon joined the Moscow Classical Ballet in 1985 and participated in many of the Company’s tours, including: the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, among others. In 1990 he joined the National Ballet of Portugal.

In 1993, Malinkine was invited by Christopher Gable to join England’s Northern Ballet Theatre. As a principal, he created the title role in the landmark production of Dracula by Michael Pink and Christopher Gable, and the roles of Captain Phoebus in Pink’s Hunchback of Notre Dame and Albrecht in Northern Ballet Theatre’s Giselle. He expanded this experience in the genre of Dance Drama in productions of Romeo & Juliet, Christmas Carol, Cinderella, Swan Lake, The Brontes, and Carmen.

Malinkine has worked with Atlanta Ballet since 1999, where he created the role of Romeo in Michael Pink’s Romeo & Juliet. During his career, he has appeared in classical ballet performances, and in productions by George Balanchine, Kenneth MacMillan, Lila York, and many others.

Malinkine has acted as guest artist and assistant to Mr. Pink in performing and remounting these works for Atlanta Ballet, Boston Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet Internationale and the Norwegian National Ballet. He also assisted John McFall in his work for Peter Pan with Ballet Internationale.

Sponsored by Jane Bell

Born in Madrid, Spain, Luz San Miguel received her training at Carmina Ocana Ballet School and on a scholarship at the Municipal Institute of Ballet in Antwerp, Belgium. Prior to joining Milwaukee Ballet, she danced with BalletMet Columbus, Charleston Ballet Theater, Tulsa Ballet, and in Germany’s Dresdner Ballet and Leipziger Ballet. She also performed as a guest artist in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, and several cities in the United States. San Miguel has performed leading roles in ballets by John Cranko, George Balanchine, John Neumeier, Nacho Duato, Anthony Tudor, Stanton Welch, Uwe Scholz, Glen Tetley, Paul Taylor, Lila York, and Jerome Robbins, among others. During her time with Milwaukee Ballet, San Miguel has performed roles such as Lucy in Dracula, Clara and Marie in The Nutcracker, Odile and Odette in Swan Lake, Kitri and Matador Lady in Don Quixote, Tinker Bell in Peter Pan, Swanhilda in Coppélia, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, Mimi in La Bohème, Snow White in Mirror Mirror, and the title roles in Cinderella, Esmeralda, and Giselle.

Michael Pink is the longest serving artistic director in Milwaukee Ballet history. Since joining the Company in December of 2002, he has established himself as a prominent member of the Milwaukee arts community, demonstrating his commitment to the future of dance through new work, education and collaboration.

His artistic vision for Milwaukee Ballet continues to be exciting and challenging. His long-awaited production of Peter Pan signified a major landmark in the Company’s history and was broadcast nationally by PBS in Spring of 2014. His production of Romeo & Juliet has also been broadcast by MPBS. In 2008, the Wisconsin Dance Council presented Pink with the Choreography/Performance Award. In 2014, the Milwaukee Press Club honored him with the Headliner Award for service to the arts. He received the Civic Music Association’s award for Distinguished Citizen – Professional in the Arts in 2015. He recently accepted the Educational Excellence Award from the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts which recognizes organizational achievement of a nonprofit that exemplifies collaboration in the arts.

Pink is an international choreographer whose theatrical productions of Dracula, Esmeralda, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet, La Bohème, Don Quixote, Mirror Mirror, Dorian Gray and Beauty and the Beast have been hailed as ‘Classical Ballet for the 21st Century’. His first professional work, 1914, was nominated for a West End Theatre Award, London.

His early choreographic work won him first place in the Frederick Ashton and the Royal Society of Arts Choreographic Competitions. He worked as a répétiteur for Rudolf Nureyev at the Paris Opera and La Scala Milan. He trained as a classical dancer at The Royal Ballet School and danced with English National Ballet 1975 to 1985.

Pink was the founding director of Ballet Central in London; he also served as associate artistic director of Northern Ballet.

He continues to build strong working relationships with other Milwaukee Arts groups, where his credits include A Christmas Carol, Assassins, Cabaret and Next to Normal for Milwaukee Repertory Theater, as well as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Matilda for First Stage.

Community Engagement Lead Faculty

Sejain Bastidas was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She started her ballet training at the age of seven, at the Freddy Reyna Ballet and Music School and finished her training and graduated as a professional ballet dancer at Fundación Gustavo Franklin Ballet Arte School. She has been part of many professional ballet companies, including Ballet Contemporaneo de Caracas (2009), The Metropolitan Ballet in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2010-2011), the Nina Novak Ballet (2011), Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas (2012-2013), and the Compania de Ballet del Teatro Teresa Carreño de Caracas (2013-2016). She has also danced as a soloist dancer with the National Ballet of Ecuador (2016-2017) and The National Ballet of Peru (2017-2022). Sejain participated in the opening gala of the 2019 PanAmerican Games, the World Ballet Competition in Orlando, Florida, and she has been featured in dance history books in her home country of Venezuela. She was involved in a social media campaign with the United Nations about arts and immigration in Latin America and also had a mini documentary made about her story as an immigrant artist on the Ecuadorian television show “Cara a Cara con Rosalía.”

Email: sbastidas@milwaukeeballet.org

Full-Time Faculty

Born in Zaragoza, Spain, Pedro Lapetra began his training at Escuela Municipal de Danza under the direction of Cristina Miñana. From there he continued his training at Bartholin International Ballet Seminar in Copenhagen where he was awarded a scholarship to study Bournonville technique and work with master teachers such as Vivi Flindt, Johnny Eliasen, Robert Denvers, Laura Alonso, Lloyd Riggins, Nicolaj Hubbe, and David Howard, among others.

In 2001, Lapetra joined the European Ballet as a principal dancer to perform the role of Franz in Coppelia. He then went on to join the Norwegian National Ballet for the 2001/02 season where he performed pieces by Jiri Kylian, Paul Lightfoot, Michael Pink, and George Balanchine. In 2003, he joined the English National Ballet where he remained for 19 years performing principal and soloist roles in ballets such as Nureyev’s Romeo & Juliet, Macmillan’s Sleeping Beauty, Skeaping’s Giselle, Eagling’s The Nutcracker, Dean’s Alice in Wonderland, Dean’s Swan Lake, Macmillan’s Manon, and Pina Bauch’s Le Sacre du Printemps. He has also worked with major choreographers like John Neumeire, Russell Maliphant, Akram Khan, Christopher Wheeldon, and Tamara Rojo and performed on prestigious stages like Palais Garnier in Paris, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan, and Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. Lapetra appeared in several international ballet galas, including the Genzano Flower Festival in Italy, and performed pas de deux from Don Quixote, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Flames of Paris, Le Corsaire, Coppelia, Satanella, Diana & Acteon, and La Sylphide.

Since Lapetra completed his Diploma of Dance Teaching from The Royal Ballet School in 2018, he has been a guest teacher with the English National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet II, Rambert School of Dance, English National Ballet School, Escuela de Francisca Tomas (Palma de Mallorca), and Los Angeles Ballet Academy. Most recently, in 2022, Lapetra was Assistant of Choreography for Tamara Rojo’s Cinderella at Royal Swedish Ballet.

Email: plapetra@milwaukeeballet.org

Full-Time Faculty

Bri Lucey began her early training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary for 11 years. During her training at CPYB she performed in over 12 Balanchine Ballets including Serenade, Raymonda Variations, Stars and Stripes, Divertimento 15, Who Cares, and La Source, as well as classical ballets like Paquita, and La Bayadere.

After attending summer training in 2007 at the School of American Ballet, she was offered a scholarship to Boston Ballet as a trainee where she performed in Swan Lake and The Nutcracker with the company.

In 2008, she joined Orlando Ballet’s second company under Bruce Marks and Peter Stark. During her time with OBII she placed in top 12 for classical at YAGP, and 2nd in contemporary in Florida Regionals.

In 2009, Lucey was asked to join Orlando Ballet’s professional company by current director Robert Hill. During her six seasons with Orlando Ballet she performed many leading roles such as Odette from Swan Lake, Sugar Plum, Dew Drop, and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Witch from Snow White, Diane and Acteon variation, and Zulma from Giselle. She has also appeared in Touching Drops by Peter Chu, Again for the First Time by Abdur Rahim Jackson, and was featured in many new works from director Robert Hill.

In 2015, she joined Ballet Arizona under Ib Anderson. She performed in Balanchine’s Rubies, Walpurgisnacht, Symphony in 3, and original work by Ib Anderson.

From 2018-2020 she joined Madison Ballet as a guest artist. She performed Sugar Plum, Dew Drop, Snow Queen and Russian in The Nutcracker, Giselle act II pas de deux, the principle in Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie, she also performed in original works by W. Earle Smith, Restless Hours by Malichi Squires, and Spring by Sara Schumann.

She has also been a guest artist with Milwaukee Ballet for their 2018 production of Swan Lake, Hammond Ballet, Lake Arts Project, and Envision Ballet Theatre. Other career highlights include performing alongside Mariah Carey in Disney’s Christmas Parade and choreographing with Cirque Du Soleil for A Choreographer’s Workshop.

This is Bri’s 6th season teaching with Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy and the Pre-Professional Program.

Email: blucey@milwaukeeballet.org

Full-Time Faculty

Head of Training for Academy and Pre-Professional Divisions

A native of Ukraine, Tatiana Jouravel-Malinkine is a graduate of the National Ballet School of Ukraine and is Russian/Vaganova trained.

After working as a professional dancer with Hartford Ballet 1992-1994 and Boston Ballet 1994-2001, Tatiana joined Milwaukee Ballet as a principal dancer in 2003 and danced for 8 seasons.

Tatiana’s repertoire includes Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Marie and Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker, Kitri in Don Quixote, Odette in Swan Lake, Lucy in Michael Pink’s Dracula, Titania in Bruce Wells’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kingdom of Shades in La Bayadere, Carmen in Carmen, Divertissement in Raymonda, Cinderella in Michael Pink’s Cinderella, and Tiger Lily in Michaels Pink’s Peter Pan. She has danced in Twyla Tharp’s Waterbaby Bagatelles, George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Rubies, Serenade, and Symphony in C, Allegro Briliante, the lead in Agon, Paul Taylor’s Company B and Lila York’s Celts and Coronach. She has also danced in works by  Kenneth MacMillan, Antony Tudor, Mark Godden, Trey McIntyre, Christopher Wheeldon, Adam Hougland, Petr Zahradnicek,  Michael Corder, and Kirk Peterson.

Tatiana was awarded the Grand Prix Prize at the Competition of the Soviet Union Ballet Schools in Minsk, Belarussia in 1992. In 1996, she won a silver medal at the New York International Ballet Competition.

Tatiana has taught ballet classes at Boston Ballet School, Chautauqua Ballet (New York), Atlanta Ballet School, and many other schools and, since 2003, at Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy part-time and, after her retirement in 2010, full-time. Tatiana also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and for Milwaukee Ballet II for five years.

Tatiana is a Pilates Certified Instructor since 2003.

Email: tmalinkine@milwaukeeballet.org

Aisling Nussear is native of Florida and started her ballet training at Mount Dora School of Ballet. In 2009, she began training at the Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington D.C. under the direction of Marat Daukayev and Martin Freedmann. From there she moved on to train at Ellison Ballet in New York City under the direction of Edward Ellison and Erin Forrest. She preformed in various roles such as Swan Lake, la Bayadere, Coppelia, Don Quixote, and Le Conservatoire. Upon graduation, she pursed her degree in Business Administration through Ave Maria University and obtained her teachers certification through The Bolshoi Ballet Academy. She began teaching at Milwaukee Ballet in 2020.

Email: anussear@milwaukeeballet.org

Full-Time Faculty

Catey Ott Thompson, director of Catey Ott Dance Collective (CODC) since 2005, has a BFA and MFA in dance from UWM under the direction of Ed Burgess, Marcia Parsons, Janet Lilly, and Simone Ferro. Catey now resides in Milwaukee after dancing in NYC for 14 years for Soundance, Heidi Latsky, Allyson Green, Sean Curran, Bill Young, Li Chiao-Ping, Eun Jung Choi, Aviva Geismar, Chris Ferris, Shannon Hummel, Carrie Ahern, and many others. She toured to Slovakia and Budapest with Allyson Green and to France with Carrie Ahern. Catey studied ballet with Christine Wright for 12 years at Gibney Dance Center in NYC. In Milwaukee, she danced for Danceworks Performance Company, Wild Space, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, and others. Her company, CODC, has performed at a variety of prestigious venues in NYC and also throughout Wisconsin. She has been a personal trainer (AFAA), yogi, and Pilates (Kane School of Core Integration) instructor since 2000, and worked for Park Slope Yoga Center/Devi, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, and Brouk Moves in NYC for many years. Since 2012, Catey has been teaching contemporary modern, adult ballet, dance history, composition and choreography, improvisation, and repertory at Marquette University, Milwaukee Ballet, and Danceworks, while also directing MKE Dance Theatre Network.

Email: cottthompson@milwaukeeballet.org

Part-Time Faculty