COMPANY DANCERS

 The experience of being part of the Intituto Superior de Danza de Caracas Taller Permanente de Formacion en Danza Contemporanea has given her the proper instruction to became a Teacher and Choreographer working in production, dancing, and Theatre. She danced professionally between 1991 and 1995 and then acted in several soap operas, dramas, and comedy sitcoms. Now living in Boston, she has since worked in radio, special events, choreography, and as a teacher and performer. 

 CHRISTOPHER ALLOWAYS-RAMSEY has danced for Boston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet West, BalletMet and Alabama Ballet.  He received the majority of his classical training from Mira Popovitch and Dame Sonia Arova. Subsequently he trained on full merit scholarships at The Kirov Academy, School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and North Carolina School of the Arts. Christopher has performed as a guest principle with regional ballet companies throughout the country. His repertory includes Siegfried in Swan Lake, The Prince in Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Cavalier in Nutcracker, Paris in Romeo and Juliet, Albrect in Giselle, The Blue Boy in Les Patineurs, Monotones 1, Les Sylphides and Paquita. Christopher’s Balanchine rep includes second movement of Symphony in C, Rubies, first movement of Western Symphony, Concerto Barrocco and the third theme of The Four Temperaments.  Christopher graduated cum laude, Harvard University, 2003.

 KRISTEN LUNG danced for 12 years with the Boston Ballet School Center for Dance Education in the Intensive Division and one year professionally with the Boston Ballet Company.Kristen has danced with Boston Ballet in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadère, Giselle, Rodeo, Madame Butterfly, Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, and contemporary world premiere pieces choreographed by Rebecca Rice. Kristen recently graduated in 2008 with her doctorate in physical therapy from Northeastern University.  She practices outpatient orthopedic and sports medicine therapy with Sports and Physical Therapy Associates in their Newton and Wellesley clinics.

JESSIE-SIERRA ROMAN holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance, with a focus in ballet, from Point Park University, in Pittsburgh, PA, awarded Summa Cum Laude. Ms. Roman began her training with Anna Myer and Patrcia Adelmann in the Legat Style at the Ana Roje School of Ballet, and later, the Classical School of Ballet in Boston. She continued her training in the Balanchine Method with James Reardon and Clyde Nantais of the Boston Dance Company in Cambridge, MA. Ms. Roman has also studied and performed the Duncan technique with Patricia Adams, direcor of  Dances by Isadora. She later joined the Boston Dance Company as a company member in her early teens and performed soloist and principal roles in such ballets as Nutcracker and Cinderella, as well as roles in Aggnes DeMille's Three Virgins and a Devil and George Balanchine's Valse Fantaisie. During the summers, she performed with the Boston Dance Company in the Boston Park Arts program, entertaining children around the Boston area in such classics as Reardon's Peter and the Wolf and Pie Jesu. She continued her performing career with Festival Ballet Providence, under the direction of Mihalo Djuric. There she performed chorus and soloist roles with an international ensemble of dancers and choreographers in such pieces as Nutcracker, Esmeralda, and Les Sylphides. Ms. Roman's teaching experience includes The Classical School of Ballet, the Ballet Space, and Riverside Theatre Works. 

ERIKA WOLF,

Ballet Mistress, enters her 14th season with the Boston Dance Company as dancer, Ballet Mistress, and teacher. Prior to dancing with BDC, Erika danced for the Louisville and Connecticut Ballet Companies. She trained at NWCA in New York with Mimi Wallace, and at the Joffrey Ballet School. She spent her summers at Dance Aspen and Burkllyn Ballet Theatre, where she also served as Resident Choreographer for three years. Erika's choreography has been set for numerous ballet companies, schools and festivals. She received a Somerville Arts Council Fellowship grant for her ballet Progressions. She holds a BA in psychology from Harvard University and a PhD in clinical psychology from Boston University.

  MATT PARELLO, founder and director of Dance Studio M. Matt attended Dean College and Long Island University as a dance Major. He started dance when he was six and has never stopped. Matt studied at the Charlotte Klein Dance Centers from 1996-2003. There he studied ballet under the direction of Clyde Nantais, Artistic Director of Boston Dance Company (BDC). He joined BDC in 1999 and is currently performing with them. As a company member of BDC, he has performed in their annual production of "The Nutcracker" as the Nutcracker and various other roles. In 2003 Matt won the title National Mister Headliner. He moved to New York City to attend L.I.U. While in NY he studied With NYCB and Alvin Ailey. When he returned to Massachusetts he decided to start his own company, DCW. Since returning home from NY, he has continued to perform with BDC, and started performing with Keith Mottola at Steps Off Broadway in Bellingham. Matt has been in such shows as "Beauty and the Beast", "Silver Moon Cafe", "Footloose" , and just recently as "Mike" in "Chorus Line". Last Summer Matt was a Dancer/Entertainer at Six Flags New England. Matt has also choreographed "Grease" and "Footloose" for Assumption College in Worcester Mass. Matt has taken classes by such teachers as Joe Lanteri, Mia Michaels, Gus Giordano, and Geo Hubela.

 JENNIFER THOMAS is delighted to be returning to BDC for her third season, returning to the role of Dew Drop fairy.  Performing in Nutcracker is especially meaningful for Jennifer because she was inspired to start ballet lessons as a little girl after seeing a magical production of this holiday classic.  She began her dance training in 1992 at the Anaheim Ballet School, and refined her Jennifer is delighted to be joining the Boston Dance Company for her third technique in summer intensive programs at both Boston Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. n She has danced principal roles with several classical ballet companies, including Anaheim Ballet, New England Ballet, and New Haven Ballet.  Her notable parts have included Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, and Dew Drop Fairy in Nutcracker; the lead in Paquita; Blue Bird in Sleeping Beauty; Prayer in Coppelia; and Rhonda in Beach Blanket Ballet.  After graduating summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 2003, Jennifer received her doctoral degree in cliical psychology from Yale University in 2008.  She is currently a licensed psychologist and post-doctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, where her clinical research on the personality characteristics that protect young ballet dancers from developing eating disorders has received wide coverage in the popular press.