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Marguerite Luksik
Artistic Director

Marguerite Luksik, a native of Johnstown, PA, is the founding Artistic Director of Central Midwest Ballet Academy in Middleton.  Ms. Luksik danced professionally with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet Austin, Chicago Ballet, Peoria Ballet, and Madison Ballet. She performed works by choreographers such as Stanton Welch, Thaddeus Davis, Paul Gibson, Ben Stevenson, Steven Mills and Terrence Orr as well as dancing lead roles in Balanchine’s Who Cares, W. Earle Smiths’s Dracula and Nutcracker, and Peter Anastos’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has served on faculty with the UW Madison's Dance Department, Madison Ballet, and Children's Dance Theater of Rochester, MN.  Ms. Luksik worked with the Overture Center of the Arts in both their Arts Integration and Jerry Award programs, managed Education and Outreach for Madison Ballet, and guest teaches with other local and regional dance academies. She has choreographed classical and contemporary ballets including co-creating Pineapple Poll, a one- act comedic ballet with Michael Knight.  

 

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Kendra
Thompson
Director of Operations

Native Madisonian and University of Wisconsin - Madison graduate Kendra Thompson moonlights as a middle school playwright and drama director.  She has also directed for Upstart Crows Productions, Madison Shakespeare Company and Falconbridge Players.  Dry-twig flexible and graceful as a three-legged, two-humped camel, she can’t explain what it means to have a sickled foot.  That said, Kendra’s years spent as a bank manager and mortgage lender trained her well for running CMBA’s books.  Furthermore, her years as mom to a pre-professional ballet daughter taught her how to navigate parenting a ballerina.  So, reach out to Kendra at kthompson@cmballet.org if you ever have billing or ballet-mom questions.

 

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Catrina
Choate-Heretoiu
Faculty

Catrina Choate-Heretoiu is a ballet teacher and somatic educator who works toward assisting students achieve excellence in a stress-free manner. She received her primary ballet training with the Cecchetti Method and later with the School of American Ballet in New York City. She danced professionally with Miami City Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and Miami Contemporary Dance Company. Ms. Heretoiu performed many Balanchine Ballets including Agon, Concerto Barocco, The Four Temperaments, Jewels, and Serenade. As a teacher, she has staged many productions such as The Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, Coppelia, and she has choreographed many original contemporary ballets. She has also successfully coached many students for the Youth America Grand Prix. Ms. Heretoiu holds a B.A. degree in English Literature from Florida International University and an MFA degree in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been a full-time faculty member with the UIUC Dance Department and is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais practitioner and has structured specific Awareness Through Movement lessons for dancers to help the physical rehabilitation process and to increase an understanding of body awareness. Ms. Heretoiu is the co-founder of KineOasis and the founder of SomaStudies, an in person and online school that is dedicated to helping people in pain and assisting performing artists achieve their physical goals so they may withstand their career of choice. She is also the founder of classes called Soma Ballet, Soma Floor, and an Early Childhood Dance Program called Ballet Joy. Most recently, Catrina moved to Madison with her husband and two boys and is excited to share her passion and knowledge with many wonderful students in the beautiful city of Madison! 

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Elise
Woloshin
Faculty

Elise Woloshin, from Cambridge, Wisconsin, began her training at Studio 3-D under the direction of Debbie Otteson-Griggas.  She continued her training with Madison Ballet where she  became a trainee, performing in works such as W. Earle Smith’s “Nutcracker”, “Expressions”, and  “Cinderella” as well as “Non e Normale” by Jacqueline Stewart and Stephanie Martinez, a piece originally created for the Joffrey Ballet.  Ms. Woloshin attended summer intensive and training programs at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Ballet Chicago, Alonzo King Lines Ballet in San Francisco and others. Elise has been an instructor at UW Whitewater, Monona Academy of Dance, Madison Ballet, Tutu School Sun Prairie, Tutu School Chicago, Kehl School of Dance, and Variations Studio.  She has taught and helped create outreach programs for Madison Ballet including their performances at  Kids in the Rotunda at the Overture Center for the Arts as well as at local libraries and schools. She is excited about continuing her teaching journey and sharing her love of ballet at Central Midwest Ballet.

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Evan Schumacher
Faculty

Evan Schumacher, originally from Madison, trained locally before moving to Michigan to train at Interlochen Arts Academy.  He studied classical and contemporary ballet, performing roles such as The Snow King and The Bronze Idol, Tico in Paul Taylor’s “Company B”, as well as having the opportunity to perform in Agnes de Mille’s “Rodeo”.  Evan then studied ballet, modern, and jazz technique at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. While at SMU, Evan  performed masterworks such as Dwight Rhoden’s “The Planets”, Robert Battle’s “Battlefield”, Martha Graham’s “Diversion of Angels” and George Balanchine’s “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux”. After graduating with degrees in dance performance and philosophy, Evan went on to complete a Fulbright Research Project in Stuttgart, Germany. There, he worked with The Stuttgart Ballet to create a framework for understanding the history and aesthetics values of the institution.

Maelanie Kuzma
Maelanie Kuzma
Junior Division Principal

Maelanie Kuzma trained with Milwaukee Ballet, Boston Ballet and Joffrey Ballet before receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin Madison, where she studied ballet and modern in the UW Dance Program.  For 9 years, she owned and directed a private studio with over 500 students on Madison's east side, including a competitive performance student company.  After the birth of her second child, Maelanie sold her studio and joined the faculty of Madison Ballet, teaching for the school, rehearsing the children’s parts in their annual production of the Nutcracker, as well as facilitating their outreach programs in Dane County’s Headstart Preschools. In 2009, Maelanie became a faculty member at Storybook Ballet, and in 2014 she created “The Second Story Program” for children aged 7 and up.  

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Livia
Konishi
Faculty

Livia, originally from Brazil, started Ballet as an additional training tool for her Synchronized Swimming career. When her family had to relocate she was faced with the decision to continue her training or not. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance exams in 2006 and danced professionally until 2009.She trained under the Ballet Maitre Toshie Kobaiashi and attended summer intensives at Festival de Danca de Joinville & with the Cia de Ballet do Rio de Janeiro. Alongside her technical training Livia has also focused on attending teachers training who have improved her knowledge and supported her teaching abilities. She's passionate about teaching the love of classical dance, as well as helping her students develop lifelong important tools such as work ethic, determination and responsilibity. 

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Celia
Pierquet Flores 
Faculty

Celia grew up in Monona, WI and started dancing at the age of three at Monona Academy of Dance. She studied summers on scholarship at Milwaukee Ballet, Joffrey Midwest, Orlando Ballet, and Ballet Hispanico. She danced professionally with the Milwaukee Ballet performing in several of Michael Pink's works including Dracula, Swan Lake, Scheherazade, and Nutcracker and also with The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC). She has been teaching for over 14 years and has taught at Monona Academy of Dance, the Milwaukee Ballet School, in the Milwaukee Area Public Schools, in a demo-video in the Milwaukee Children's Museum, MSCR Programs, at DCDC Dance School, in the Dayton Public Schools, and Dance Academy LTD in Elm Grove, WI. She has also hosted a Summer Dance Camp at Cambridge High School choreographing for their dance team; as well as choreographed for the non-profit Dance Wisconsin. She graduated from Edgewood College with a B.S. in Business in 2010 and with an MBA in 2013. Currently, Celia works with data governance and analytics during the day, and teaches ballet, pointe, modern, character, PBT, private lessons, pas and much more. She is very excited to be part of the CMBA Dance family to share her love of dance and teaching

Juliana
Lehman
Faculty

Juliana Lehman, originally from Nashville, TN, has danced professionally with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Ballet Theatre of Chicago, Alma Dance Company, The Chicago Ballet, and the Civic Ballet of Chicago, performing in such highlights as James Klauser’s, “Surprise Symphony”, “Swan Lake”, and “The Nutcracker”, among others. While at Northern Illinois University as a part of Northern Dance Theatre she was invited to perform Paquita Pas de Trois at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C. Prior to her midwestern ventures, she trained and danced in Houston, Texas. As a member of the Houston Ballet, she performed in many classical full-length ballets, including “Romeo and Juliet” which the company toured abroad. While in Fort Worth Texas in concert with Ballet Concerto, she performed Luis Montero’s “Bolero”.  She was awarded Miss CNADM (Chicago Association of Dance Masters), a Gus Giordano Scholarship from the Carey Rose Winski Competition and multiple scholarships at the Houston Ballet Academy.  Her training includes completions of Cecchetti examinations Beginning through Advanced.  

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Miye Bishop
Faculty

Miye trained classically in Sendai, Japan and Bellingham, Washington with Northwest Ballet Theatre, where she performed roles such as Cinderella, Clara in the Nutcracker, Peasant Pas in Giselle, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Ballerina Doll in Petrushka. She attended summer intensives  and workshops at American Ballet Theatre, St. Petersburg Russia’s Dance Open, International Ballet Academy, and Kirov Ballet Academy. After college she danced with Bellingham Repertory Dance for four seasons. As a guest artist, Miye has performed in Ballet Bellevue's  Les Sylphide, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Rodeo and Northwest Ballet Theatre's Dracula.  She has been a guest choreographer and dancer for Seattle Opera and Skagit Opera. Miye has taught and choreographed at several dance schools including; Northwest Ballet Academy, NW Dance and Acro, Camano Dance Academy, Transcendence Dance Company, Dance Wisconsin, and Monona Academy of Dance. Miye has recently coached dancers in Washington and Wisconsin for Youth American Grand Prix, where her students have been placed from top 12 to first place. Miye is also a certified yoga instructor who works to strengthen and prevent injuries for dancers.

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Katie
Wolfe
Faculty

Originally from San Carlos, CA, Katie Wolfe trained locally at the Academy of American Ballet and Professional Ballet School while attending summer courses at Pacific Northwest Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. Katie has a B.F.A in ballet with a minor in professional writing from the University of Oklahoma.  Ms. Wolfe danced with the Oklahoma City Ballet's studio company and the Kansas City Ballet’s second company.  While there, she performed with Kansas City Ballet in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Lila York’s Celts, Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker, Michael Pink’s Dracula, and Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz.  Katie is currently an apprentice with Madison Ballet.  She has taught at Kansas City Ballet's Summer Intensive, Classical Ballet Academy Norman, Professional Ballet School and is Pilates Mat certified.  She is excited to be joining the faculty of Central Midwest Ballet Academy this year. 

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