Masterclasses
At Saint Louis Ballet School, we are proud to offer our students exclusive access to master classes with renowned guest artists from the professional ballet world. Thanks to the connections of Artistic Director Gen Horiuchi, these special opportunities bring fresh inspiration, professional-level instruction, and invaluable insight that go far beyond the typical studio experience. Master classes challenge dancers to grow artistically and technically while exposing them to new styles and perspectives. This unique feature of our program sets Saint Louis Ballet School apart—offering our students experiences they won’t find elsewhere.
MASTERCLASSES ARE OFFERED TO LEVELS IN THE UPPER DIVISION BASED ON THE MASTER TEACHER AND THEIR SCHEDULE. WE WILL WORK WITH EACH MASTER TEACHER TO MAKE SURE ALL LEVELS IN THE UPPER DIVISION CAN BENEFIT AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR.
MASTERCLASSES WITH DARLA HOOVER
Scheduled during normal ballet class times. For registered SLBS Students only. No additional cost if already registered in scheduled classes.
BALLET 6: Monday, September 29 (4:45pm)
BALLET 5A AND 5B COMBINED: Monday, September 29 (7:00pm)
BALLET 7 AND 8 COMBINED: Monday, October 6 (4:45pm)
ABOUT DARLA HOOVER Darla Hoover was trained at the renowned Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary and completed her studies on a full scholarship at the School of American Ballet. In 1980, after choreographing a solo for her in the New York City Opera production of Bourgeois Gentilhomme, George Balanchine invited Ms. Hoover to become a member of his New York City Ballet. From 1980-1991, Ms. Hoover appeared as a featured soloist in ballets such as Balanchine’s La Valse, Chaconne, Harlequinade, Ballo della Regina, as well as Peter Martins’ Eight Easy Pieces, Rossini Quartets, Sonata di Scarlatti, and Jerome Robbin’s Fanfare. Upon retirement, a full schedule of guest appearances throughout the United States and Europe further expanded her repertory experience. Ms. Hoover now focuses her attentions on teaching and staging ballets, including positions as the Artistic Director of Ballet Academy East’s Pre-Professional Division in New York City, and Artistic Director of Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, where she also directs a nationally recognized Teachers Workshop that instructs fellow dance educators on the syllabus and methodologies developed by Marcia Dale Weary. Ms. Hoover guest teaches all over the world, and has been invited to share her successful techniques at distinguished companies such as New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, New National Theatre Tokyo, and Royal Danish Ballet. As a répétiteur, Ms. Hoover regularly stages works for the George Balanchine Trust. Recent stagings at major ballet companies such as the Stanislavsky Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, New National Theatre Tokyo, and Dance Theatre of Harlem have included George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Raymonda Variations, La Source, Serenade, Scherzo à la Russe, Divertimento No.15, Valse Fantaisie, Concerto Barocco, Allegro Brillante, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Stars and Stripes. Ms. Hoover was invited to stage George Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. This performance marked the first time the esteemed Academy had ever performed a work by Mr. Balanchine.
MASTERCLASSES WITH LOUISE NADEAU
Scheduled during normal ballet class times. For registered SLBS Students only. No additional cost if already registered in scheduled classes.
January TBA
ABOUT LOUISE NADEAU Louise Nadeau took her first ballet lesson at the local Girls Club in Pittsfield, MA. She trained with the Cantarella School of Dance in Pittsfield and the Alexandra School of Ballet in St. Louis before moving to New York at age fifteen to attend the School of American Ballet on scholarship. She danced with Basel Ballet under the direction of Heinz Spoerli and the Kansas City Ballet under the direction of Todd Bolender before joining Pacific Northwest Ballet as a Soloist in 1990. She was promoted to Principal in 1992 and retired from the stage with a celebratory gala in June of 2009. Her versatility and powerful interpretive skills made her a favorite in full length classical ballets as well as contemporary works. Ms. Nadeau has performed leading roles in over 25 ballets of George Balanchine. She has had the great fortune to work with many contemporary choreographers and perform works by William Forsythe, Jerome Robbins, Jose Limon, Alvin Ailey, Val Caniparoli, Donald Byrd, Glen Tetley, Twyla Tharp, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Paul Gibson, Olivier Wevers, Edwaard Liang, Paul Taylor and Christopher Wheeldon. Her classical repertoire includes the full length story ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Widow, Don Quixote and Cinderella. Ms. Nadeau performed nationally and internationally with Pacific NW Ballet and as a guest artist. She performed the Divertissement pas de deux in the BBC’s 1999 film version of PNB’s production of Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, filmed at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London. In 2000, she took part in The George Balanchine Foundation’s Interpreters Archive series, dancing excerpts from Balanchine’s Agon, coached by Melissa Hayden. Ms. Nadeau began teaching for the PNB School in 2006. Upon retiring from the stage in 2009 Ms. Nadeau continued to teach ballet and accepted the position of School Principal for Evergreen City Ballet in September of 2013. She returned to the PNB school faculty in the fall of 2015. In 2020 she was the Master Teacher for the Denver Ballet Guild Young Dancer Competition.
MASTERCLASSES WITH NILAS MARTINS
Scheduled during normal ballet class times. For registered SLBS Students only. No additional cost if already registered in scheduled classes.
TBA
ABOUT NILAS MARTINS Nilas Martins is a renowned répétiteur for the George Balanchine Trust and stages ballets for companies and schools throughout the world. His stagings also include works from the August Bournonville and Peter Martins’ repertoire. Born in Copenhagen, he received his early dance training at the Royal Danish Ballet where he performed in such works as John Neumeier’s Romeo and Juliet, August CHOREOGRAPHERS/RÉPÉTITEURS 18 SAINT LOUIS BALLET Bournonville’s Konservatoriet, A Folk Tale, Napoli and Glen Tetley’s Firebird. In 1984, he moved to New York and enrolled at the School of American Ballet. He became a member of New York City Ballet two years later, and was promoted to soloist in 1991 and principal dancer in 1993. There, he danced featured roles and worked closely with choreographers such as John Alleyne, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Boris Eifman, William Forsythe, Peter Martins, Trey McIntyre, Kevin O’Day, Jerome Robbins, Susan Stroman, and Richard Tanner. Film credits include Live from Lincoln Center broadcast of Ray Charles in Concert, The Nutcracker released in 1993 by Warner Brothers, Dance in America telecast of Dinner with Balanchine where he danced the role of Apollo with Paris Opera’s etoile Isabel Guerin, and Lincoln Center Celebrates Balanchine 100 in which he danced The Man I Love from the ballet Who Cares? featuring Wynton Marsalis. Martins was selected from a pool of international talent to be named a Devos Institute for Arts Management fellow under Michael Kaiser in 2010–2011.