Teachers

Richard Dickinson

Richard is the Artistic Director of Ballet Western Reserve. A former dancer with Ohio Ballet, Richard was associated with the company since 1988. He later became ballet master and director of company touring. Mr. Dickinson has also directed Boston Ballet II and was a soloist with Boston Ballet for eight years. At age fifteen, he joined the Pasadena Dance Theatre and later was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Emerging Choreographer Award for a work premiered by the same company. He performed in the PBS television production of "Frankie and Johnny" with the Chicago Ballet and danced principal roles in Asian, European, and American tours with Rudolf Nureyev and the Boston Ballet. In addition to an extensive dance career, including principal and soloist roles with Ohio Ballet, Boston Ballet, Chicago Ballet, and Honolulu City Ballet, Mr. Dickinson has choreographed for the Ohio Ballet, Boston Ballet, Honolulu City Ballet, various regional companies and Chamber Dance Theatre in Milwaukee, where he was Artistic Director. He was most recently the Artistic Director of Great Lakes Ballet and has also served as Artistic Associate for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Formerly an associate professor of dance at the University of Wisconsin, Richard is currently a part time lecturer in the dance program at Case Western Reserve University.

Anita S. Lin

Anita currently serves as Director Emeritus of the Ballet Western Reserve. She previously served as Artistic Director from 1982 to 2007. She has danced professionally with the Cincinnati Ballet Company, the New Orleans Ballet Company, and in London, England where she studied under the Royal Academy of Dance technique. Anita danced as principal with the University of Louisville Preparatory Dance Company and received her B.F.A. in ballet at the University of Cincinnati.

She has taught extensively in classical ballet, pas de deux-adagio, and pointe classes; and has been an active choreographer in both classical ballet and liturgical dance. Anita has been instrumental in designing the educational programs in dance for the Youngstown Area Arts Council’s “Arts in Our Schools” for public and parochial schools. She has collaborated with the Youngstown Symphony, Youngstown Playhouse, Oakland Center for the Arts, Pennsylvania Young People’s Concerts, Easy Street Productions, and Youngstown State University’s College of Fine and Performing Arts. Most recently, Anita was featured as on of the five Women of the Year for Ohio’s non-profit organizations in the September 2001 issue of Inside Business magazine. Anita oversees the Dance Major Department of Trumbull County’s ARTS EXCEL Program.

Jackie Cunningham

   Jackie is a former student of Ballet Western Reserve. She received her B.A. in Dance from Slippery Rock University in 2005. While in college, she choreographed and performed for SRUDT’s Fall and Winter Concerts, Senior Synthesis, Site Specific, and Guest and Faculty performances. She has worked with artists such as Teena Custer, Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer of Bridgman/Packer Dance, Jennifer Keller and Gwen Hunter Ritchie of Labco Dance Company, and Hellanius Wilkins of Edgeworks Dance Theatre. In 2004, Jackie performed works by Anna Sokolow in Sharing the Legacy, Dance Masterworks of the 20^th Century at Hunter College, New York, NY. In 2003, she received a scholarship to the American Dance Festival (ADF), where she studied with instructors such as Gerri Houlihan, Nicholas Leichter, Ronald K. Brown, Eiko & Koma, David Dorfman, and Vitali Kononov, to name a few. Jackie is also a dance instructor of Gigi’s Studio of Dance of New Castle, PA.

Kendall Garczewski

   Kendall is a senior at Slippery Rock University where she is studying Elementary Education/Early Childhood and Dance. She is currently a student teacher at Slippery Rock Elementary and will be graduating in December. At Slippery Rock Kendall performed many dances for Slippery Rock University Dance Theater and was captain of Slippery Rock's dance team for two years. She was also the advisor for the Union Area Middle School Dance Team for two seasons. She performed at the American College Dance Festival in 2005 and has completed two years of teacher's training school hosted by Dance Masters of America, which is held in Buffalo, New York. She has taught dance for the past seven years in New Castle, PA, including ballet, tap, jazz, Broadway and hip hop. Kendall is extremely excited to be joining the staff at Ballet Western Reserve and is looking forward to meeting everyone.

Virginia Hartman

Virginia Hartman had her early studies of Ballet at Ballet Western Reserve. She was accepted into the Richmond School of Ballet under the direction of Ruth Petrinovec. It was there that she studied under such noted teachers as David Howard, Leslie Peck, Malcolm Burns and Stoner Winslett, to name a few. In 1990 Virginia joined the Richmond Ballet as an apprentice. In 1992 she joined the Atlanta Ballet. Her repertoire included Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Who Cares?, Serenade, Carmina Burana, Swan Lake, Cinderella, and Coppelia. After returning to the area she taught master classes at many local studios.

Christina Hovanec

   Christina Hovanec is a graduate from the University of Akron where her professional dance training began in 1996. Christina has an extensive background in both working with children and teaching and performing dance. Christina began working with children in 1996 as a Full-time Preschool teacher in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio, later in 2003 Christina began teaching dance at two local schools in Solon and in Austintown, Ohio. Currently Christina is a full-time Science teacher for the Willoughby-Eastlake City School district and is a recent graduate from Cleveland State University having received her Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology and a minor in Dance. Christina danced full time with the Cleveland State University Dance Company during the 2004 school year.

Cathy Maschek

An alumni of Ballet Western Reserve, Cathy Maschek continues her study of dance at Slippery Rock University where she is currently a senior dance major. She had the pleasure of sending her choreography, a piece titled The Subtle Mechanics of Uncertainty, to the Northeast American College Dance Festival in March 2007. In addition she was recently cast in two of the Dance Department's residencies. Cathy had the opportunity to dance for both Helanius Wilkins in an original piece titled Falling and in Lar Lubovitch's 1976 work, Marimba. In 2005, she performed a piece by Jose Limon at the Sharing the Legacy Conference in New York City. Cathy is very excited to be involved with the Ballet and give back to the institution that helped her grow as a dancer and a person.

Jens Peterson

   Jens Peterson, a native from New Castle Pa, has trained in Ballroom/Latin with former U.S. Ballroom/Theatrical Champions and was coached by the 10 dance Champion of the World Martin Lamb. He is a Certified Instructor with the Ballroom Dance Association in Waltz, Viennesse Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba, Salsa, Samba, Mambo, Cha-Cha, East/West Coast Swing, Hustle, and Tango. He has danced for and is an annual Guest Artist for the New Castle Regional Ballet Company, Allegro Arts, and Pittsburgh Youth Ballet Company. Certified through the Cecchetti Council of America, Jens recently became the new Ballet Instructor for the Cleveland School of the Arts, Judy Conti Dance and Natalie’s Dance Company. He is also a former Tap Instructor for Studio 22 Franklin, PA. Always continuing his training, he has trained with Marc Holland (NYC Broadway Dancer), Troy Jansen, former Boston Ballet Principle and founder of the Lake Erie Ballet Mr. Robert Steele, Andrew Blight and Stephen Piper from PBT, and Steven Annegarn (PBT Ballet Master) to name a few. Jens is also an EMC (Equity) musical theatre actor with over 50 shows behind his belt, spanning him from Pittsburgh to Upper Michigan and recently landed him in ANYTHING GOES and MUSIC MAN at Porthouse Theatre of the Blossom Music Center.

Pamela Reeping


Pamela Reeping is a 1994 graduate of Point Park College having received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance. While attending Point Park College, Pamela studied with Roberto Munoz and Pittsburgh Ballet founder Nicholas Petrov. She has also studied and performed with Ballet Baroque and the Northern Connecticut Ballet Company. Pamela has taught ballet and jazz in the United States and abroad, including teaching and developing a curriculum for private schools in the West Indies.

Jessica Terrell

       Jessica Terrell graduated from Ohio University with a BFA in Dance in 2006. She studied under Anita Lin at Ballet Western Reserve from three years of age through her senior year of high school. Jessica attended the Pointe Park College summer intensive dance workshop, as well as Ballet Met's summer intensive program. She has performed in collaborations with the Oakland Center for the Arts, Easy Street Productions and the Moscow Ballet, and in venues including the Youngstown Playhouse, Powers Auditorium and the Butler Institute of American Art. Jessica also performed in the National American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Karen Westerfield

   Karen has been with Ballet Western Reserve since 1994, teaching all levels of Modern Dance and creating works for concert dance performances and the Spring Gala. She received her B.F.A. in Dance from Ohio State University where she danced with the University Dance Company and taught in the elective dance program. Karen spent four years dancing professionally with Footpath Dance Company, a former Cleveland based Modern Dance Company. On the Dance Department faculty of Allentown College, Allentown, Pennsylvania (now DeSales University), she taught dance major courses in Modern Dance, Ballet, Composition and Labanotation in addition to directing the Allentown College Dance Ensemble. While studying in New York, Karen worked as Assistant to the Executive Director (the late Muriel Topaz) at the Dance Notation Bureau. This past summer her work was performed in conjunction with the Watoto Children's Choir of Uganda in Chicago and she was on the faculty of the Summer Dance Program at Northeast Ohio Dance, teaching Modern Dance, Composition and Repertory. She has been an adjudicator for the Youngstown State University Dance Ensemble for the past 10+ years and a guest teacher in both Modern and Liturgical Dance.



Norman Toot

   Norman Toot has been pianist for Ballet Western Reserve since 1980. He started there as a substitute pianist for Tim Webb. In 1982, he became the full-time accompanist. He grew up in Columbiana, Ohio and graduated from high school in 1969. In 1975, he received a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Dana School of Music at YSU. He was the organist for Richard Brown Methodist Church for five years and currently plays piano for Centenary Methodist Church. He has been playing piano for the Golden Age Follies since 1990. In addition to being accompanist at BWR, Norman is also in charge of all custodial work.

James McClellan

   Jim McClellan was hired in the fall of 2005 as Business Manager for Ballet Western Reserve. His association with the company dates back to 1994, when he first appeared as the title role in the BWR / Easy Street co-production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Over the ensuing years, he has appeared in the BWR productions of The Will Rogers Follies, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella and Footloose, and was a featured vocalist in the 2003 edition of "An Evening of Dance at the Butler." In 2001, he taught acting classes during the school's summer workshop.





Carla Hill

   Carla, Ballet Western Reserve Office Assistant, was a 2006 graduate and Senior Class President of Liberty High School. Carla played the flute in the high school marching band, and performed as solo flautist in the 2003 “An Evening of Dance at the Butler” for the Apprentice Company’s performance of “Love.” Carla has been very active in local plays and productions. She has a true love for the arts and is thrilled to be working at BWR. Carla is attending Youngstown State University as a “University Scholar,” receiving full tuition, room, board and books based on her stellar academic achievements!