Cori Callahan

Cori Callahn is the co-owner of Mack Avenue Dance Center in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI. Cori’s professional training in dance started at the University of Michigan. She attended as a dance major and performed internationally with the jazz dance company, Jazz Dance Theatre. Cori performed as a Radio City Rockette for 7 seasons, both in New York City, NY and Detroit MI, under the direction of Linda Haberman and Graciela Daniele.

She is the founder and director of Adaptive Dance, a free dance program for children with special needs, offered at MADC and in collaboration with Kids On The Go. Cori is certified in Rhythm Works Integrative Dance and obtained her MI Teachers Certification to offer her talents as the Dance Director for Warren Consolidated School of Performing Arts 2019-2022. She has been an active member with the Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA for over 25 years and has acted in numerous commercials and films, both regionally and nationally.

Cori has been teaching and choreographing for over 30 years and her choreography has won numerous awards for originality and entertainment. Cori choreographs and teaches master workshops for local and national school districts and production companies.

Fiona Cameron-Martin

Born in Hong Kong, Fiona moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she trained at the Australian Ballet School with Irina and Sergei Konstantinov, Ai-Gul Gaisina, Margaret Wilson, Slava Zalomski, Xiuyun Tang, Jiahong Wang, Lisa Pavane, Leigh Rowles and Marilyn Rowe. She then completed her education with private training under the watchful eyes of ex-Bolshoi Ballet soloist dancers Yulia and Maxim Vasilyev.

Fiona then moved to Europe and danced professionally for the Romanian National Ballet and the New English Ballet Theater, dancing in numerous classical, neoclassical, and contemporary works.

In her career, she danced a variety of soloist roles in ballet such as Le Corsaire by Vasili Medvedev, Classical Symphony by Yuri Possokhov, DSCH by Alexei Ratmansky, La Sylphide by Johan Kobborg, Manon by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Themes and Variations by George Balanchine, Petit Mort by Jiri Kylian, and In the Middle Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe. She also danced corps de ballet roles in almost all of the ballet classics.

Fiona launched her teaching career at Southold Dance Theater in 2016 and was promoted to Assistant Artistic Director and Children’s Coordinator in 2020. In her time at Southold Dance Theater, Fiona carefully curated the curriculum to cover all levels, from Creative Dance through to the Pre-Professional Company. Her curriculum is based on the Russian Vaganova system, the syllabus she was taught in her training.

Fiona has been a guest teacher at the Interlochen Center for the Arts (Michigan), Indiana Ballet Theater (Indiana), River Raisin Ballet (Michigan), and The Arts of the Dance Center (New Jersey). She is also a regular master teacher at the Caledonia Dance & Music Center (Michigan). In 2018, Fiona was a judge and master teacher at the Dance Masters of Michigan and in 2024, Fiona was a judge for the Cecchetti International Ballet Competition in Detroit, Michigan.

Matthew Farmer

Matthew Farmer is currently the Dorothy Wiley DeLong Endowed Chair of the Dance at Hope College, the Co-Artistic Director of R.G. Dance Productions and the Co-Artistic Director of H2 Dance Co. Farmer has had great success as a director, educator, choreographer, performer, and author; co-authoring the book Introductory Modern Dance: A Teaching Manual. He is the former Director of Dance at Anderson University, a former Associate Director and company member of LehrerDance, and former company member of The Peter Sparling Dance Co. under the direction of Peter Sparling. While dancing for Sparling, Matthew received his MFA from the University of Michigan in Dance Performance and Choreography.

Farmer received his BA in Theatre and Dance from Hope College. As a soloist and guest performer, his performance credits include Dance Chicago, Dance in the Desert Festival, Men Dance Michigan, Next Step Dance, Chicago Humanities Festival, The Rein Orange Project (Germany) The European Cultural Bid (Liverpool, UK), The Roof (Germany), The Summer Stage (Belgium), and various national dance companies and festivals both home and abroad. His teaching and faculty credits include Hope College, The University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Anderson University, Dancer’s Inc. National Conventions, Chicago National Association of Dance Maters, Southern Association of Dance Masters, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Interlochen, and a host of festivals and master classes throughout the United States and abroad; including Mexico, Ecuador, and the United Kingdom.

Farmer’s choreography spans the field of dance, and can be seen on college campuses, professional dance companies, international festivals, summer theaters companies, competitive dance teams, and musical theater venues throughout the U.S and abroad (France, Mexico, Ecuador and Scotland).

Catherine Fothergill

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Catherine trained at the Alabama Dance Academy and Alabama Ballet Center for Dance before completing her studies at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under Marcia Dale Weary. Catherine joined the Louisville Ballet, and thereafter, the Alabama Ballet, where she danced as a principal ballerina for more than a decade. Catherine danced leading roles in the classics and in works by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Agnes De Mille, Domy Reiter-Soffer, Brandon Ragland, Andree Howard, Alan Hineline, David Lichine, Frank Staff, Jirí Kylián, Twyla Tharp, Antony Tudor, and Roger Van Fleteren. While dancing, Catherine simultaneously earned degrees in sociology and international studies and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Following her final performances with the Alabama Ballet, Catherine joined Ballet Arkansas as the Associate Artistic Director in the summer of 2017.

In addition to her duties at Ballet Arkansas, Catherine travels frequently throughout the United States and abroad as a guest instructor, repetiteur and ballet mistress for ballet companies, semi-professional academies, and university dance programs. She has staged works for Japan Ballet Association’s 37th annual Zendo Ballet Festival, Balleteatro Nacional de Puerto Rico, and Les Ballets de France. Catherine has served on the faculties of the Takako Classical Ballet, Chida Toshiko Ballet, and Hiroko Masuya Classic Ballet of Japan, and is a frequent guest instructor for the Cecchetti Council of America’s International Summer School. While on faculty at the Alabama Ballet School, Catherine taught multiple levels of the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus and passed numerous students with distinction. Catherine was named guest artist in residence at the University of Arkansas – Little Rock’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, 2019 – 2021.

Michael Fothergill

Michael was introduced to dance at the young age of 7 while attending the Betty Hill Dance Studios in Des Moines, Iowa. He furthered his training with Robert Thomas and Miyoko Kato of the Harkness and Joffrey Ballets at the Robert Thomas Dancenter. He was a full scholarship recipient of the Milwaukee Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet and completed his training with American Ballet Theatre following an early graduation from high school,

Michael’s 20-year’s career as a dancer took him across the United States, Europe, and Asia. He performed leading roles in the classics and in prominent works by Ashton, Balanchine, Baryshnikov, De Mille, Dow, Duato, Fokine, Fosse, Gamonet, Kylián, Massine, MacMillan, Nureyev, Prokovsky, Robbins, Tharp, Tudor, Van Fleteren, and others. Michael graced stages from Milwaukee to Tokyo until his retirement as a principal dancer and choreographer with the Alabama Ballet in 2017. Succeeding Michael Bearden, Michael was named Artistic Director of Ballet Arkansas in the same year, and appointed Executive and Artistic Director in 2018.

Michael is sought after choreographer, dance educator, and consultant. His choreography has been performed throughout the United States and in Iceland, Australia, France, Romania, Dubai, Spain, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Japan.

Michael is the founding director of the Cecchetti Council of America’s Enhanced Men’s Training Program and serves on the faculty of its International Summer School. He works extensively for Japan Ballet Association member schools and has served on the juries of the Hokkaido Ballet Competition and CCA Classical Ballet Competition. Over the years, Michael has taught at Steps on Broadway, Peridance Capezio Center, and on faculties for hundreds of summer intensive programs. Most recently, Michael served on faculty of Samford University, was a guest artist in residence at Belhaven University, and lectured at UA-Little Rock, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, the Walton Arts Center, and UA-Pulaski Technical College’s Center for Humanities and Arts.

Shelby Moran Amarantos

Shelby Moran Amarantos (Mt. Prospect, IL) began her early training at Bataille Academie of the Danse and continued at Dance Center Evanston under the direction of Béa Rashid. During her early education,

Shelby had the opportunity to perform with the Evanston Dance Ensemble and Elements Contemporary Ballet. Shelby continued her dance education at The Juilliard School (BFA ‘15). While at Juilliard, she performed repertoire by Jose Limon, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, and Merce Cunningham. She also performed original works by Monica Bill Barnes, Emery LeCrone, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Larry Keigwin, and Danielle Agami among others. She received additional training during summer intensives at Jacob’s Pillow, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet.

Shelby began her professional career performing with Thodos Dance Chicago for two seasons. She danced starring roles in story ballets created by director Melissa Thodos in collaboration with Anne Reinking and Gary Chryst. In addition, she performed world premieres by Robyn Mineko Williams, Brian Enos, and Kevin Iega Jeff to name a few. She then went on to dance with Visceral Dance Chicago, working with choreographers such as Nick Pupillo, Kevin O’Day, and Danielle Agami.

Following her time at Visceral, Shelby danced for four seasons with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. She had the opportunity to develop works over several years with choreographers such as Monique Haley, Noelle Kayser, and Katlin Bourgeois.

Currently, Shelby is a freelance performer and has the privilege of continued work with C5: Create with no Limits and AJA Talents. She has freelanced with Moonwater Dance Project, Hanna Brictson, and Jessica Miller Tomlinson on several occasions. Shelby teaches on faculty at Dance Center Evanston and Northwest Ballet Academy (Schaumburg, IL) teaching Cecchetti, ballet, jazz, modern, and tap. She is a Licentiate Member (LCCA) of the Cecchetti Council of America holding her Teacher Intermediate (VI) Certificate.

Kimmary Williams

Kimmary Williams received her early ballet training in Washington DC with Helen Moore and Pamela Moore. She continued her ballet training in New York City under scholarship at the Joffrey Ballet School and with notable teachers Patricia Wilde, Richard Thomas, and Finis Jhung. She also attended the University of Maryland as a modern/contemporary dance major. Ms. Williams career as a professional dancer began with Twyla Tharp where she toured extensively throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. She appeared in the feature film “Hair” with choreography by Twyla Tharp. Her professional career includes Connecticut Ballet, Halby Dance Theatre, Spectrum Dance Theatre and American Contemporary Ballet.

In 1981 Ms. Williams attained her Maestro Cecchetti Diploma. Her teaching credits include Connecticut Ballet as a faculty member and company ballet mistress, Pacific NW Ballet, Princeton Ballet, Miami City Ballet as faculty principal and Nutcracker children’s ballet mistress, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet where she was recognized as an emerging choreographer by the Regional Dance Association, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as upper school principal, Nutcracker children’s ballet mistress, and company class teacher. Ms. Williams served as a frequent guest teacher and choreographer for Ballet Austin’s Trainee Program. She also had the honor of teaching Ballet Austin’s company class. The Edinburgh International Festival brought Ms. Williams and her husband, Jacob Rice, to Scotland for 2 summers to create a youth choreographic workshop.

In 2002 Ms. Williams and her husband were appointed co-artistic directors of Southold Dance Theatre (SDT), a professional school and youth company in South Bend Indiana. During their three seasons with SDT they choreographed a new “Nutcracker,” “Graduation Ball” and a “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In 2005 she and her husband founded Central Maryland Youth Ballet school and youth company in Columbia MD. Ms. Williams attended the Cecchetti International Summer School as both a young student and a young teacher. Additionally, she has had the pleasure of being a guest faculty member frequently since 1995. Ms. Williams is currently a freelance master teacher and choreographer.