Faculty

MAIN STREET CENTER FOR THE ARTS

124 S. Pomperaug Ave. • Woodbury, CT 06798 • (203)263-5107

Lizabeth Skalski (Associate Director, ballet, pointe, principal choreographer) has been the Associate Director at Main Street Ballet in Woodbury, CT since 1999. Her guest teaching credits include: The Hartford Conservatory; School for Creative and Performing Arts - Cincinnati, OH; Covenant Dance Studio – Brooklyn, NY; as well as schools in Canada, Taiwan and China. Ms. Skalski’s teaching style uses the best aspects of the Ceccetti, School of American Ballet, French and Russian schools which is reflected by her training at the Joffrey School and from New York’s most innovative ballet teachers: Lawrence Rhodes, Finis Jhung, Nadine Revene, Igal Perry, Melissa Hayden and modern dance teachers Lar Lubovich, David Gordon, Lynn Simonson, Don Redlich and Robyn Cutler. Heralded by critics of the New York Times, Dance Magazine and New York Newsday, Ms. Skalski created over twenty-five original contemporary ballets for New York’s New American Ballet Ensemble, Ballet Santa Barbara and in showcases throughout New York, Connecticut and in Canada. She also created original choreography for “Oklahoma”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Three Penny Opera” and “Oliver”. As a dancer, Ms. Skalski performed throughout the United States and Asia with New York based Chen & Dancers, Baba Dancers as well as with Downtown Ballet, New American Ballet Ensemble, Santa Barbara Ballet Theatre and Carlton Smith Ballet Chicago. Ms Skalski holds a MFA in dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Sylvia Kinal-Davidowitz (primary ballet, pointe/variations, principal coach) began her studies at L’Ecole Superieure des Grands Ballets Canadiens at age five, and has studied under some of the world’s most outstanding teachers. She was awarded a Canadian grant to study with Rosella Hightower in Cannes, France, at American Ballet Theatre, and with the noted teachers, David Howard, Larry Rhodes, Haynes Owens and Maggie Black. At age 16, she was awarded the silver medal at the VIIIth International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. In 1978, she was recognized as an Outstanding Artist of Canada, bestowed to her by HRH Queen Elizabeth of England. She toured the world as a principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and the Cleveland Ballet as well as with Martine Van Hamel’s “American Ballet Stars,” and with principal dancers from American Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet. Invited by Alicia Alonzo, Sylvia performed in Cuba at the Cuban International Dance Festival. Canadian choreographer Fernand Nault created the solo “Incoherence,” for Sylvia, which she performed at the Varna Ballet Competition, and the role of Anna, in the Seven Deadly Sins. Sylvia worked with the noted choreographers, Sir Anton Dolin, Lar Lubovitch, John Butler, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Milko Sparamblek, Dennis Nahat, Ian Horvath, Fernand Nault and Brian Macdonald and performed principal roles in: Romeo and Juliet, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, Coppelia, Raymonda, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Balanchine’s Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Theme and Variations and The Four Temperaments. Other works include John Butler’s Catulli Carmina; Maurice Bejart’s, Firebird; Lar Lubovitch’s, Exultate Jubilate and Les Noces; Anthony Tudor’s, Jardin aux Lilas and Sunflowers; Milko Sparemblek’s, The Miraculous Mandarin, and works by Dennis Nahat, Ian Horvath and Canadian choreographers, Brian Macdonald and Fernand Nault.

Kerry Gallagher (modern) trained at The School of American Ballet in New York where she studied with legendary teachers; Alexandra Danilova, Richard Rapp, Elise Reiman, Kay Mazzo, Helene Dudin, Madame Tumkofsky, Andre Kramerefsky and Muriel Stuart as well as at New York State Summer School of the Arts, Saratoga Springs, NY under Bojan Spassoff, Stephanie Spassoff, Olga Kostrichy, and New York City Ballet’s Peter Martins, Heather Watts and Stephanie Saland. Kerry continued her dance education at North Carolina School of the Arts as a modern dance major. As a dance professional she toured throughout the Northeast with Classic Dance Theatre Ballet Company, Adam Battelstein and Friends, Fusionworks Modern Dance Repertory Company, American Dance Legacy Institute, and as a guest artist with MacArthur Dance Project in New Haven and with Pilobolus. As a choreographer, she has created works for downcitydancetheatre and Classics Dance Theatre. With her broad training as a dancer, Kerry teaches modern dance as well as ballet and choreography workshops: New York State Summer School of the Arts at Skidmore College; School of Performing Arts in New Milford, CT; and numerous performance and creative workshops with Fusionworks throughout Rhode Island.

Lenny Juliano (jazz/funk/tap) owned his own dance studio in Brantford and Milford, CT for 10 years. He received many awards for choreography and costumes at local and national competitions; with his students accomplishing gold and platinum medals. As a performer, Lenny toured with “Beauty and the Beast” (Nat’l tour ’97), German touring company of “Tabaluga and Lilli”, Japanese Touring Company of “George Lucas’ Super Live Adventure” and in the Radio City Music Hall “Spring Spectacular”. He has performed at Foxwoods Casino, Madison Square Gardens and as a commercial artist for Toyota (starring Bill Cosby), Chevrolet, Ford (starring Aretha Franklin), “Los Angeles Pow Pow” (starring Diana Ross) and on television for Crest toothpaste. Lenny held the dance titles: “America’s Male Dancer of the Year”, “Mr. Dance Educators of America” and “Mr. Dance of the US”. Lenny currently freelance teaches and choreographs for theater productions throughout Connecticut.

Sibley Morosco (Artistic Director) founded Main Street Ballet in 1988 in Southbury, CT with the intent on training dancers in the finest tradition of the renown American ballet masters under whom she studied and bringing the great classic ballets to her students and the community. To date, she has produced and presented the full-length productions of “Sleeping Beauty”, “Coppelia”, “Swan Lake”, “Pas de Quatre” excerpts from “Raymonda” and “Nutcracker” which celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2008.

Over the past 20 years she has guided Main Street Ballet from a one-room studio with 3 students to its present full-facility location with a student body of over 150 young dancers and six faculty members. In 1992, she founded Main Street Theater fostering young actors with a specialty in producing Shakespeare, mysteries and musical theater. Ms. Morosco has

collaborated with Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, the Woodbury Lions Club and Nonnewaug High School Drama Dept., Waterbury Arts Magnet School, Woodbury and Southbury Parks and Rec. and many other local organizations and clubs.

Ms. Morosco received her ballet training at the Joffrey School and American Ballet Theater School under master teachers such as Oleg Briansky, Alexandra Danilova, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, Madame Pereyslavak, Ismet Mouhedin, Diana White, and Perry Brunson. She also received modern dance training in the Humphrey-Weidman and Limon techniques. After receiving her degree in dance from Mercyhurst College, she went on to perform with Erie Civic Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater; performing the great classic ballets that she now produces for Main Street Ballet.

Liz Tevolini (pre-ballet, modern) attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst on full scholarship, where she earned a BFA in Dance and a BS in Nutrition. Liz's ballet training includes years of study in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus and at the Joffrey Ballet. As a young dancer, Liz performed with the New Jersey based Shore Ballet Company dancing roles in Nutcracker, Coppelia, Cinderella, and Les Sylphides. Liz also performed with the legendary ballerina Zizi Jeanmaire in Roland Petit's U.S. production of De Fledermaus on Broadway. In addition to studying modern dance in the Five College System, Liz has also studied intensively at Dance New Amsterdam, Broadway Dance Center, and with Doug Varone and Dancers in New York. She has performed with an array of modern dance companies, including Mati Elias Dance and Room Eleven Dancers. Liz was an original member of Tony Silva Dance, performing in Massachusetts, New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Liz has been a guest artist with Venedance, a Venezuelan folk dance group. More recently, Liz has performed in New York and Connecticut with Bernier Dance, a Connecticut based contemporary dance company. Liz has completed teacher trainings with Central Pennsylvia Youth Ballet and the American Academy of Ballet. Liz is also a Yoga Alliance Certified (200 hour) yoga instructor.

photo: Bob Capazzo