Crystal Skelton
While growing up in a military family, Crystal Skelton studied ballet across the country at schools including the Virginia Ballet Company, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Dance Aspen, and School of Ballet Omaha, where she also was a Trainee with the Ballet Omaha professional company. Skelton then attended the University of Oklahoma on dance and academic scholarships where she studied under Mary Margaret Holt and received a BFA in Ballet Performance. Ms. Skelton was the recipient of the 1997 Outstanding Senior Award in the OU School of Dance. Crystal then joined the Cincinnati Ballet and performed roles including The Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, The Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, and The Captain in Lew Christensen's Con Amore. In 2000, she joined Ballet West in Salt Lake City, but was forced to stop dancing due to injury. Since that time, she has been on the staff of the Jillana School summer workshop, was the Assistant Artistic Administrator for the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, the Director of Marketing and Box Office for the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and has taken the Stott Pilates matwork certification course. Ms. Skelton has been on the MMDA staff for nine years. She is also the Assistant Artistic Director and Apprentice Teacher for MMB. In 2010, her choreography was chosen to appear on the Emerging Choreographer's performance at the Southeast Regional Ballet Association Festival in High Point, NC. In 2011, Ms. Skelton was appointed Executive Director of MMB. |
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Theresa Land
Tee Land is a native of Chalmette, Louisiana. She trained in ballet, tap and jazz for fourteen years under Glenda Hoselle and Darlene Cabalerro in Saint Bernard Parish. She was also a student teacher during her last two years of training. Mrs. Land moved to Mississippi in 1980 and her focus switched to aerobics. She is certified through the American Fitness Association and has taught for seventeen years. She has been on the staff at MMDA for thirteen years and loves to teach young children. Tee has choreographed many community and school programs in Madison County.
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Mr. Kegler began his dancing career after studying at New York University. While in school, Erik was an awards recipient in choreography from the Arts Recognition and Talent Search, as well as being a three-time Gala Award recipient at the American College Dance Festival. Erik danced professionally with The Cleveland-San Jose Ballet and The Cincinnati Ballet where he performed principal and soloist roles in many classical and contemporary pieces. Mr Kegler is best known for his World Premiere of the role of Peter Pan in the ballet by the same name. After leaving Cincinnati, Mr. Kegler worked with companies such as Ballet West, Ruth Page Foundation and Boca Ballet, as well as starting his own company, Visage, which tours and performs with symphony orchestras across the country. With Visage , Erik and his dancers have performed with the Houston Symphony, Lima Symphony, Florida Symphonic Pops, as well as touring with pianist Danny Wright. Mr. Kegler has also worked in Vienna, Austria, where he performed and choreographed a PBS special at the Hofsburg Imperial Palace, which aired nationally. Erik has an interior design degree and owns his own design firm in Jackson. He is currently the Assistant Artistic Director of the Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet.
Roger & Tena Long
Professional hip-hop dancer/choreographer Roger L. Long and dancer/vocalist Tena Long, also known as the power-duo of hip-hop, have been collaborating for over seven years. They are known as the innovators behind the Choreorobics Dance-Off! Dance athletics training program that was started in 2001 as the first, and now is the longest-running, hip-hop training program in the state. Both have been certified as group fitness instructors through Interactive Fitness Trainers of America (IFTA). Roger was inducted in Marquis' Who's Who in America in 2002 for accomplishments in the arts and has choreographed productions for stage at festivals and events throughout the region. With his choreography and the couple's coaching, select students have won Star Search and Apollo national competitions and numerous state talent contests. Tena, a native of the Bahamas, received her B.A. from Belhaven College in 2002. Roger and Tena are also the owners of Go Long Productions (est. 1999), an arts production company based in Ridgeland that provides choreography services for video, stage, and competitons, along with visual art services. |
Andrea Tyre Andrea Tyre's ballet training includes Corpus Christi Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Pittsburg Youth Ballet, and the Tuzerdancenter in Dallas, TX. She was a recipient of a dance scholarship at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Andrea is a former professional dancer with Ballet Magnificat and also served as the lower school director at Ballet Magnificat. She is a former faculty member of The Northshores School of Dance in Covington, LA and The Springs City Ballet School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Andrea lives in Madison with her husband Greg and three children. |
Emily Nelson
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Emily began her early ballet training with Rosanne DeVries in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the Grand Rapids Academy of Dance Arts. Upon moving to the south at age ten, Emily studied with Sharon Long at the Tupelo Academy of Dance Arts. She continued her training with Mrs. Long and joined the Tupelo Ballet Company in 1999. During her training years, Emily attended Alabama Ballet’s Summer Program under the direction of Wes Chapman for three consecutive summers. Emily went on to dance in Oxford, Mississippi with the Oxford Ballet School & Oxford Ballet Company. She performed with Oxford Ballet Company in performances such as The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. During her four years at Ole Miss, Emily taught Pre-Ballet, Ballet I, and Ballet II at the Oxford Ballet School. Through the University, Emily studied ballet/pointe under Jan VanDijkwel & modern dance with Jennifer Mizenko. Emily holds a B.A. in English from the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and currently resides in Brandon with her husband Kurt.
Rachael Inman
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Rachael Inman is the co-founder and Associate Director of Fuzion Dance Artists, Inc., a modern dance collective that blends traditional modern dance with various dance forms including Middle Eastern and aerial dance, as well as Afro-modern and technologically-infused work. In 2002, Inman received her Master of Fine Arts in dance and continues to pursue dance education. She has attended the Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder, CO where she studied with Terry Sendgraff, pioneer of Aerial Dance and the low-flying trapeze. Inman was recently certified in Celeste Miller's "Curriculum in Motion" and employs Miller's concepts throughout her teaching and choreography. Inman's love of dance education has enabled her to teach in a range of venues: American College Dance Festival, Florida Dance Educators Conference, the Alabama Dance Festival, the South Carolina Dance Festival, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Booker Visual and Performing Arts High School and Blake Magnet High School. She is the proud mother of two wonderful daughters and partner to a most supportive husband.
Cindy Edmonson
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Cindy Edmondson is originally from Brandon, MS and is a former student of Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet. While at MMB, Cindy was able to perform in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Alice in Wonderland, and many others. Her training also includes summer sessions at Alabama Ballet, Joffrey Ballet NYC, Washington Ballet, Orlando Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, and Complexions Contemporary Dance. At the age of 16, Cindy decided to attend Alabama School of Fine Arts. At ASFA, Cindy performed in Paquita, Graduation Ball, Les Deux Pigeons, and many other classical and contemporary works. Cindy went on to attend Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA and performed in Balanchine's Serenade, Cinderella, Black Swan Pas de Deux, Peter Merz's Solstice, and Kassandra Taylor's Mourning Pointe and DisConnect. After graduating from Point Park University in 2007, Cindy joined Apex Contemporary Dance Theatre and enjoyed two seasons performing all original works from Artistic Director David Reuille. Cindy has spent the last two years back in Pittsburgh, PA serving as Ballet Director for Michele's Dance Center, and is extremely excited to be joining Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet again as a teacher for the 2011-2012 season!
