Faculty
Steve Beirens
Founding Artistic Director and Co Academy Director
Steve Beirens began his studies at the age of 12, at The National Ballet School of Antwerp, Belgium,under the direction of Jos Brabants. There he received instruction from Annie Vancauwenbergh, TomVancauwenbergh, Pavel Vokum, Stephan Schuller and Alexander Prokofiev. During his studies, Steve also worked with The Royal Ballet of Flanders, directed by Valery Panov. He was selected to participate in The Rencontres Internationales de Baule in France, where he received the award for “Best Classical Dancer”.
Following graduation(1989), Beirens danced for one season with Le Jeune Ballet de France, where his numerous solo and principal roles included those in Flames of Paris, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, LaFille Mal Gardee, Don Quixote and Le Corsaire,(among others.)From 1990 to 1991 Beirens danced with The Zuricher Ballet, under the direction of UweScholtz. Duringthis season, he danced many solo roles in Scholz’s choreography, including Schopfung, SchumanSymfonie, TausendGrusse and Tocatta, as well as the Pas de Huit in La Sylphide.In January of 1992, Pierre Wyss invited Beirens to Wiesbaden Ballet to perform the role of Apollo in his ballet Oedipus. In September of the same year, Steve joined The Royal Ballet of Flanders, directed byRobert D’envers. There he worked with such choreographers as Paolo Bartolucci, Peter Anastos, AttilionLabis and Menia Martinez.Ricardo Cue invited Beirens, while he was dancing with The Royal Ballet of Flanders, to participate in agala performance in Murcia, Spain that honored Prima Ballerina Maya Plitzetskya. Cynthia Gregory also invited him to perform the “Pas de Deux” Stay With Me as part of The Career Transitions in Dance program.
In October 1995, Beirens joined The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, under the direction of Gerald Arpino, as aprincipal dancer. While with The Joffrey, Beirens performed in ballets including Robert Joffrey’s TheNutcracker, Ann Marie DeAngelo’s Stay With Me, George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, andGerald Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi, Confetti, Suite Saint-Saëns, and Kettentanz. Choreographer Alonzo Kingcreated a role for Beirens in his Joffrey-commissioned Cante.From January 2001 through December 2005, Beirens has worked as a Guest Dancer and Coach innumerous companies across the United States, including Tulsa Ballet, The Civic Ballet of Chicago,Maddison Ballet, Ballet Arkansas, Dance Galaxy, Westside Ballet, LA Dance Theater, LA ChamberBallet and New Mexico Ballet. Since 2003 he has been invited to teach and coach in ballet schools acrossthe United States, including New Mexico Ballet, New Mexico University, Reif Art Center Minnesota,Dance Arts Tennessee, Idyllwild Arts School, Los Angeles School of the Arts and Ballet Tech Ohio.
In April 2007 he was appointed the position of Artistic Director of Ballet Quad Cities, where he served for one season and choreographed ballets including The Nutcracker, Sentimenti, andCoppelia.
As of August 2008 Steve Beirens is a Faculty member of University of Cincinnati’s CollegeConservatory of Music Dance Department and SDA Studios. He continues to teach at these institutes aswell as at other Cincinnati and(the)surrounding areapre-professional dance programs.
Steve Beirensco-founded and directed Le Jeune Ballet National 2011 summer project. The company focuses on helping establish first-time professionals. They successfully premiered theperformance, Music and Dance in the Park. It was chosen as one of the top three events to see that weekend by local NBCchannel 5 News.
From January 2014 until August 2014 Steve Beirens served as an interim Artistic and Academy Director forBallet Theatre Midwest.
Mr. Beirens is passionately committed to contributing to the dance world though educational teaching, coaching, advising, and choreographing for pre-professional and professional dancers.
Hannah Dorfmueller
Associate Artistic Director and Co Academy Director
Hannah Dorfmueller began her formal ballet training in the Greater Cincinnati under former Cincinnati Ballet principal dancers and current Joffrey Academy of Dance Artistic Directors Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik. At the same time she studied modern dance under former Dayton Contemporary Dance Company dancer Terrence Greene. In summer intensives she studied under coaches such as Bolshoi Master Teacher AleksanderBondarenko and former prima ballerina of the Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theater Eleanor D’Antuono. Ms. Dorfmueller attended the prestigious Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts in atwo-year residency program where she studied under Elena Tchernichova, former Ballet Mistress for American Ballet Theater and coach to Mikhail
Baryshnikov. While at Nutmeg she was chosen to perform choreography created and coached by Momix Director Moses Pendleton. Ms. Dorfmueller became a member of Ballet Quad Cities in the 2002 where she performed many principal and soloist roles in choreographies by JohanneJackelln, Mathew Keefe, Deanna Carter and Steve Beirens.
Throughout Ms. Dorfmueller’s career she has enjoyed teaching and coaching in pre-professional schools as well as developing and fulfilling outreach programs in elementary schools. Many of her students have gone on to be accepted in to national ballet programs. Others have won national recognition in competition.
After retiring from the stage Ms. Dorfmueller and husband Steve Beirens founded and directed Le Jeune Ballet National in its premier production of Music and Dance in the Park.
In 2014 Ms. Dorfmueller choreographed and premiered The Enchanted Garden, a children’s story ballet. She enjoys instilling the passion for the arts in her students while providing the technique and discipline of pre-professional training. She is equally passionate about growing a dancer though strength and technique as she is about growing a dancer’s methodology knowledge for complete awareness of movement precision. Ms. Dorfmueller has written two children’s workbooks for ages 3-6 to aid young dancers’ educational and creative journey.
Ann Marie DeAngelo
Artistic Advisor
Ann Marie DeAngelo, former principal dancer with The Joffrey Ballet, is an artistic director, choreographer, teacher and producer. She was a founder of her own experimental troupe in the late-80's called Ballet D'Angelo, which toured extensively in Europe; founding Artist Director of Ballet de Monterrey-the first privately funded arts organization in Mexico; and Associate Director of The Joffrey Ballet.
Ms. DeAngelo has created nearly 50 works which include: Zeitgeist I & II; The Last of the Best; Gypsie Band-all full-evening works; Paradise, Mademoiselle de Maupin, and several works for Ballet de Monterrey; works for The Joffrey Ballet, The National Ballet of Cuba, Ohio Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Oregon Ballet Theater, Ballet Pacifica, Nevada Ballet Theater, BalletNY, Goucher College, Marrymout Manhattan College, and ABT Studio Co. Ms. DeAngelo created a one act ghost story based on The Bell Witch with original music by ConniEllisor. The work used 3-D scenic design with 3-D glasses for the audiences, and was performed by The Nashville Ballet. The Bell Witch was nominated for a "Benois de la Danse" Award and a segment was performed at the Bolshoi Theater, Moscow. She participated with Linne-Taylor Corbett, Peter Pucci, and James Sewell, in the inaugural season of The National Choreography Initiative. And Ms. DeAngelo choreographed for Dance Break 2006, a high-profie showcase for choreographers in the Broadway community.
Ms. DeAngelo has created and produced shows and events such as "The Variety Show-Jugglin' Styles" featuring award winning artists such as juggler/illusionist Michael Moschen; environmental visionary JohanneHaigood; performance artist Ann Carlson; Hip Hop pioneer Steve "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente; and US Team rhythmic gymnast Charlene Edwards; "An Evening of Jazz and Dance" for Boy Harbor in East Hampton; Shall We Dance; Dancing on Air; That's Entertainment; and One World Gala Shows, for Career Transition for Dancers at City Center in New York.
Ms. DeAngelo has taught for numerous dance companies, universities and summer courses. She continues to teach workshops to non-dancers at high-end resorts and spas such as Rancho La Puerta. She was movement coach to Bette Midler.
Her non-profit company, Projectdance, Inc., has a mission to develop, promote and produce collaborative dance related projects between artists.
Scott Thyberg
Guest Choreographer
Scott Thyberg was born in rural Connecticut. A music prodigy, he received early formal education in Piano, French horn, Music Theory and Ear Training. At 16, he moved to New York City to accept a scholarship to The Juilliard School. He studied with New York Philharmonic Principal horn players James Chambers and John Cerminaro. He received a full scholarship to study at the Aspen Music Festival for three summers. While at Juilliard he was a frequent featured performer in Carnegie, Avery Fisher and Alice Tully Halls under the world's leading conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Herbert von Karajan, and Mstislav Rostropovich.
Mr. Thyberg studied classical ballet on full scholarship at Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts and made his debut as a dancer in the role of Franz in Nutmeg Ballet's Coppelia opposite Victoria Mazzarelli. He later trained and performed with Patricia Wilde's Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre ll. At Rudi van Dantzig's invitation, he completed a teaching internship (Vaganova Method) at the Dutch National Ballet School. Several years later he was one of only ten American teachers selected to receive pedagogical training in the Paris Opera Ballet School's syllabus with Claude Bessy and Serge Golovine.
Mr. Thyberg choreographed his first ballet World of Wonders in 1989, commissioned by the Nutmeg Ballet. He was immediately engaged as the company's Resident Choreographer and Ballet Master. From 1989-95 he created six original ballets including Shostakovich Cello Concerto (a.k.a. Con.chair.to), The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Katabasis. He collaborated with Eleanor D'Antuono on an abstract concert version of Swan Lake in 1994. The following year he was appointed Artistic Director of Evansville Dance Theatre and its official school. During his tenure in Indiana he founded the Ohio River Dance Project, touring new productions of The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and Coppelia. He staged the original evening-length works Farewell Debut and Ballet on the Radio and choreographed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Ravinia Festival premiere of Tales and Scales' Medusa. He has also been a frequent Guest Company Teacher for Moses Pendleton's MOMIX.
From 1998-2002, Mr. Thyberg was on the senior faculty of Ballet Academy East (NYC) and for six summers he taught at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Forming a close bond with CPYB founder Marcia Dale Weary, he studied her uniquely successful syllabus for developing young virtuoso dancers. During this time he also received numerous choreographic commissions from companies and schools: Guided in Essentials (2000) and Sinfonia Sacra (2001) for University of the Arts (Philadelphia), Godspeed (2000) and Shostakovich Cello Concerto for Allegheny Ballet. The latter work featured Georgina Pazcoguin and Tyler Angle (currently with NYCB) performing at the 2000 Northeast Regional Dance America Gala. He has staged work at SUNY/Purchase and Barnard College. Mr. Thyberg has received several commissions to choreograph contemporary ballet variations and ensemble pieces for medalists and finalists at the Prix de Lausanne, New York International Ballet Competition and Youth America Grand Prix. From 2002-06, Thyberg was Resident Choreographer and Associate Artistic Director of The Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts.
Mr. Thyberg and Kyle Passaro founded Dansereye Productions in 2003. Three galas - The Persistence of Vision (2003), The Continuous Vivid Dream (2004) and The Suspension of Disbelief (2005) -were presented at the Warner Theatre, Torrington, Connecticut. These performances featured dancers, mostly former students, from American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Miami City Ballet, MOMIX, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Staatsballett Berlin. Guest Artists have included Ethan Stiefel, Gillian Murphy, Alexandra Ansanelli and Damian Woetzel. Dansereye has premiered three ballets by Mr. Thyberg: Mirth (2003), The Slice (2004) and Scrape Dances (2005). Jennifer Dunning wrote in the New York Times, "For sheer fun, nothing quite equaled Scott Thyberg's deliciously silly new Slice."