OUR PEOPLE

Our esteemed team is dedicated to continuing and expanding our mission. We are a family of creative minds, qualified volunteers, and professionals in different fields who are bound by an undying passion to see the change we have envisioned. Each of our staff members play an invaluable role in helping. That means we support each other, act with empathy, and bring our authentic selves to work every day. We're growing this company not for own personal gain, but for each other in the dance community. We want to create something worth creating, that will endure the test of time. We do this by relentlessly focusing on our customers' success, building high quality systems, and planning for long-term scale. We're grounded by humility and driven by ambition.

DEBORAH MARQUEZ

Stella Casas

Marketing & Publicity

Mia Nielsen

Principal Assistant Director

Elizabel Martinez

Assistant Director Spain

Board of Directors

Daryl Gray

DARYL GRAY
Daryl Gray studied acting and music as a child and was also trained in a full dance curriculum at the Harkness, ABT and SAB schools in New York City. He was a protégé of Ballet Master David Howard and a soloist with the Brussels based Bejart Company and a principal guest artist with dance companies in Classical and contemporary roles in the US, UK and abroad. In addition, he made his professional debut as an actor at age 14 and went on to perform as a Broadway cast member in Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ and appeared in On Your Toes and in other shows, touring internationally.
He began choreographing for the concert stage at a young age and has choreographed over 70 works on 5 continents for such companies as Joffrey, Bejart, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Batsheva Dance Company of Israel, Royal Ballet of Belgium, Northern Ballet Theater UK, Atlanta Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theater, Ballet San Jose and Australia’s Queensland Ballet. His many musical stagings have been seen at such theaters as; The Koch Theater and Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, Coconut Grove Playhouse, California Musical Theatre, Playhouse 91 in Manhattan, Santa Fe Festival Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Brooklyn Academy of Music, St. Louis Muny Opera, Chicago Civic Theater, the Palladium as well as on CBS and PBS television. In addition, Mr. Gray has directed and staged works for the New York G & S Players, “Carmen” at the New York City Opera, ice dancing, video, high fashion, a Disney extravaganza featuring the music of Alan Menken, industrial shows and televison, including A Celebration of the American Musical, which was televised “Live from Lincoln Center”. He was chosen for the prestigious Dancebreak, creating concert work at the Ailey Theater which lead to the creation of two original Off Broadway musicals “Andy Warhol Was Right” and “All About Harry” (Best Choreography Award) for the New York Musical Theater Festival. His unique theatrical Australian QB ballet production “Pirates of Penzance!” was voted “Best of the Bay” (San Francisco) and was subsequently presented internationally in 26 cities by Columbia Artists. Gray recreated two new updated productions in Orlando and for Ballet San Jose.
Recent credits: choreography and musical staging for The Merry Widow, The Tales of Hoffman and Jekyll & Hyde for the St. Petersburg Opera, Director/choreographer Kiss Me Kate at the Palladium theater. Pre-COVID: Pirates! the New Dance Musical directed and choreographed by Gray was slated for London’s West End 2020, produced by Tony Award winning producers Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W Batman. Upcoming: Handel’s Semele for The St. Petersburg Opera and Rudra Bejart. His many teaching credits include; ABT Intensive, The Metropolitan Opera, The United Nations, Harvard University, Washington University, University of Missouri at St. Louis, Vassar, University of South Florida and numerous Dance organizations and schools. He is a member of The Council of the Dance (Paris), a Fulbright Fellow and a popular teacher worldwide. (Please scroll down for a list)

Dennis Nahat

Dennis Nahat began his dance training at age 8 in Detroit, Michigan under the tutelage of Jeff and Enid Ricardeau and Kay Bliss. At age 17 he was awarded a full scholarship in dance with a minor in music at the Juilliard School of Music, studying under Martha Hill, Martha Graham, José Limón, Donald McKayle, Anna Sokolow, Antony Tudor, and Louis Horst. Nahat was a charter member of City Center Joffrey Ballet and later a principal dancer with American Ballet Theater. He performed on Broadway in the original SWEET CHARITY, and HOW NOW DOW JONES productions and choreographed, Broadway Musicals, TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, JUMPERS, and GOOD TIME CHARLEY along with many off Broadway musicals and stage productions.
Nahat co-founded both the School of Cleveland Ballet (1972) and Cleveland Ballet (1976) with the late Ernie (Ian) Horvath. Nahat later assumed sole Artistic Directorship (1983), a position he held for 40 years. He created the longest running and most successful co-venture in the country between San Jose, California and Cleveland, Ohio (1985). This company, previously San Jose Cleveland Ballet, was later named Ballet San Jose (2000). His choreographic credits of over 104 works extend from ballet, to Broadway, to television, to film. Nahat’s groundbreaking ballet BLUE SUEDE SHOES, with music by Elvis Presley, was seen on PBS and received two Emmy nominations.
He unveiled his new Theatre Ventures International School and Productions in 2012. Nahat created an original production in China entitled YULAN, a multi-media international extravaganza premiering in China in 2012, then in the Unites States in 2013 along with NUTCRACKER / THE TERRACOTTA PRINCE, two moths later, also in 2013.
Currently, with Lea Vivante McKayle, Executor/Artistic Director, Nahat serves as Associate Artistic Director/Producing Manager to THE DONALD McKAYLE LEGACY. The late Professor Donald McKayle, recipient of dozens of honors and awards in every aspect of theater and his illustrious career, has been named by the Dance Heritage Coalition "one of America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: the first 100." McKayle was Nahat’s mentor and teacher at the Juilliard in 1963. From then on to today, Nahat has strives to produce his works and teaching all the while McKayle has inspired the dance world and thousands of artists worldwide.
Through TVI, Nahat produced and stage-managed the new International Performing Arts of America (IPAA) premiere performance in San Jose, CA on August 26, 2018 - 2021 with formidable dancer/choreographer and new artistic director, Yang Yang. The IPAA Festival featured diverse dance groups from America, Silicon Valley and other countries. As well, CASH was again presented in Sacramento and Folsom, CA – created by choreographer and former ballerina, Sunny Mitchell, this cavalcade of Johnny Cash music, dance and friends is a show stopper with 17 dancers/singers and live musicians. Country at its best!
In 2015, Nahat joined AKYUMEN Technologies, Silicon Valley’s newest hi-tech company, producing and hosting the inaugural opening and unveiling innovative products and is Entertainment Advisor. AKYUMEN is the world’s first Smartphone with built in Projector, and more...
Among Nahat’s passions are dance training, cooking and gardening.

Anlin Li

Mr. Li was born in Nanjing, China. At the age of 13, he went to Beijing to study at the Beijing Dance Academy and graduated to the Young Dancers Company. He first met and worked with Ben Stevenson while he was a student at the Academy. In 1982, he joined the National Ballet of China as a soloist and danced in many cities in China, Thailand and Hong Kong. In 1985, Mr. Li was invited by Ivan Nagy to join Ballet de Santiago in Chile as a soloist and was soon promoted to principal dancer. In 1989, Mr. Stevenson invited Mr. Li to join Houston Ballet as a soloist.
During his 21-year career as a dancer, Mr. Li was featured in many of Mr. Stevenson's ballets including The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Dracula, Three Preludes, Four Last Songs, "L," Swan Lake, Peer Gynt, Cleopatra, and Don Quixote among others. He also danced in ballets by many other choreographers including Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations, Manon, and Gloria; Ronald Hynd’s Papillon, The Merry Widow,and Rosalinda, John Cranko’s Romeo & Juliet, and The Taming of the Shrew; George Balanchine’s Serenade, Agon, Theme & Variations, and The Four Temperaments; Vicente Nebrada’s Coppelia and Doble Corchea, André Prokovsky’s Anna Karenina and The Three Muskateers, Jiri Kylian’s Sinfonietta; and Christopher Bruce’s Cruel Garden and Journey among others. In 2000, Mr. Li was named Ballet Master for Houston Ballet, and helped set and rehearse many of Mr. Stevenson's ballets. In 2003, Mr. Stevenson invited Mr. Li to be the Assistant Artistic Director of Texas Ballet Theater. He now stages and rehearses Mr. Stevenson’s ballets on Texas Ballet Theater and many other ballet companies around the world including Ballet West, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet de Santiago, Kansas City Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet and National Ballet of China.

Laura Alonso

Laura Alonso, born in New York and is the daughter of world famous ballerina Alicia Alonso and renowned teacher and founder of the Cuban Ballet School Fernando Alonso. She herself is known as a teacher, coach and an expert at staging the well-known classics. For several years she served as the personal coach and teacher for international prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso. Dance Theatre of Harlem artistic director, former prima ballerina and former editor of Pointe magazine, Virginia Johnson, calls her an “international master teacher extraordinaire.”
Ms. Alonso was honored with an award as the best coach at the Jackson International Ballet Competition in 1990. Her student, Jose Manuel Carreno, won the Grand Prix de Ville, the highest award possible. Ms. Alonso has served as coach, jury member and teacher at the Jackson IBC and as jury member of the Concours International de Danse de Paris, France, the Alicia Alonso International Ballet Competition and other competitions around the world. A teacher of world class experience, Ms. Alonso has taught for professional ballet companies all over the world.
Ms. Alonso’s 25 year performing career with Ballet National de Cuba included soloist work in all of the traditional classics. Today she travels around the world teaching and staging the classics for pre professional as well as professional companies such as London’s Royal Ballet School and The Royal Danish Ballet.
Ms. Alonso has been guest teacher and artistic advisor of Canton Ballet since 1990 and has helped train many of our dancers through her frequent visits.
Ms. Alonso founded CUBALLET Summer Intensive in 1984. She founded and is now the current director of Centre ProDanza in Habana, Cuba.

Nelson Madrigal

Nelson Madrigal trained with the Cuban National Ballet School, under the direction of the famous Alicia Alonso. He joined the National Ballet of Cuba in 1994 where he was a distinguished Primeros Bailarines. Madrigal was a principal dancer with Cincinnati Ballet for the 2002-03 Season and then joined Boston Ballet as a Principal Dancer in 2003. Mr. Madrigal’s dancing repertoire is expansive, including every leading role in the classical ballets: Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Paquita , La Bayadere, Raymonda, Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias and The Nutcracker, Bournonville’s La Sylphide, Kudelka’s Cinderella, Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardée, Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Elo’s Plan to B, Eldar Aliev’s 1001 Nights, Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15, Ballo della Regina, Square Dance, Symphony in C, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Serenade, Concerto Barocco, Coppélia, Martins’ Distant Light, Emeralds, The Four Temperaments, Jewels, Mozartiana, Stars and Stripes, Sylvia Pas de Deux, Theme and Variations, Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux, Who Cares, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Kylián’s Sarabande, No More Play, Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty and Le Corsaire Pas de Deux among many others. He performed Michel Fokine’s Les Sylphides, Le Spectre de la Rosa, dancing this last piece for the first time with the famous Italian Ballerina, Carla Fracci.
Mr. Madrigal was invited to dance in the Benoit de la dance at the Bolshoi Theater. Spotlighted by Lewis Segal, critic of Los Angeles Times who expressed “…pride of place belonged to Nelson Madrigal as the dancing Master for his brilliant turns and jumps, perfect clarity; whether on the ground or in the air, and disarming modesty. A dancing master indeed.” Mr. Madrigal performed with BAHBT for four seasons as guest artist and relocated from Boston to the Houston area to become BAHBT’s Ballet Master and Artistic Director. Mr. Madrigal has enjoyed creating and staging
full-length ballets for BAHBT such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Dracula and Swan Lake alongside Associate Artistic Director, Natalie Zundel. Mr. Madrigal has two beautiful children with wife Lorna Feijóo. Their children are the light of their lives.

Maximiliano Guerra

Dancer Argentine, born in 1967, and belongs to a family of musicians. He began his dance studies at age 10 under the tutelage of Wasil Tupine, and expanded his training at the school of the Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires, where joined in 1979 and made his entire career. He made his debut with the Ballet Argentino of la Plata. He was a dancer of the Teresa Carreño Foundation of Caracas, and in 1985 became part of the Ballet of the Teatro Colón. In 1987, he began his international career as a guest dancer of the Ballet of Los Angeles, and a year later joined the English National Ballet Dancer as a star. Since 1991 has been guest principal dancer in various companies, including the Deutsche Oper of Berlin, of the Kirov Ballet, the Ballet of Novosibirsk, the Stanislavsky Ballet, the Scala Theatre, the Ballet of the Opera of Rome, the Universal Ballet and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. He won the gold medal in the category Senior of the XIII contest international of Ballet de Varna (1988)