Teachers

Teachers are chosen because they are the most qualified for each level that your child attains.

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Teachers

Teachers

Kathi Ferguson Leigh Alexander Dottie Adams Debbie Braun

Marina Freydin Aimee Jennings Rebecca Vaeth Lowery

Maria Rodgers Christian Richards Ashlei-Rene Yancich

Kathi Ferguson, director of The Howard County Ballet, is a native of the D.C. area, received her training at the National Ballet of Washington and Butler University. Having formerly danced with the Baltimore Ballet, Northern Ballet Theater of Virginia, Camile Izard and Dancers, and Classical Ballet Theater of Virginia, she is currently a lecturer in dance at Goucher College . She was the director and owner of Aesthetics for over ten years.

Leigh Alexander has been dancing since the age of three. Her passion in the field has lead in many directions including modern, tap, jazz, hip hop, country line, ballroom, African and Native American, but her main focus has always been ballet. As a youth, she studied under Towson's Children's Dance Division under Patty Enoch Bond where she was able to gain a strong foundation in R.A.D.. In high school, Leigh was excepted into the dance program at Carver Center for the Arts where she studied under Elizabeth Lowe Ahern, Amanda Thom Woodson, Ken Skrzesz, and Jamie Host. After graduation, Leigh went on to receive her Associates of the Arts degree from CCBC in Dance. During her attendance, Leigh was awarded outstanding dancer of the year for two consecutive years. In addition both years in attendance, she also received the only scholarships offered in the dance department. For several years Leigh went on to teach creative movement, ballet, tap, modern and lyrical to several age ranges. She has recently graduated from Goucher College, where she earned her BA in Dance Therapy.

Debbie Braun began her studies locally at the age of five. She was awarded a scholarship at the Maryland Ballet and also studied Jazz with Wally Saunders, Paula Lynn, and Tim Roberts. She has been teaching for over 25 years. Debbie also co-directs and performs with The Ellicott City Can Can Dancers, and has performed with several local dance companies. Her movie credits include Cecil B. Demented and The Runaway Bride, and she has also done numerous commercials.

Aimee Jennings began her training with the Chamber Ballet of Williamsburg, VA and graduated High School with a ballet concentration from North Carolina School of the Arts. She received a Bachelors of Arts degree from Goucher College, majoring in dance with a concentration in performance/choreography and arts administration with a minor in Management.

Rebecca Vaeth Lowery began her dance training at the Baltimore Ballet School under Wendy Robinson and continued her training at Towson University, Arthur Murray, the Classical Ballet Center, and Aesthetics. She has performed for Arthur Murray and with Dance Arts, the Baltimore Ballet and the Howard County Ballet. She holds a B.S . in psychology and a M.Ed in early childhood education. Rebecca has 18 years of classroom teaching experience and has taught ballet and ballroom dance in both Maryland and North Carolina.

Dottie Adams received her training at the Montgomery Ballet Studio and graduated from the University of Maryland as a Dance Major. She danced for both the Montgomery Ballet Company and the Maryland Dance Theater and has been a respected teacher of dance and aerobics in Maryland for over 20 years.

Maria Rodgers "hails" from Buffalo, NY where she began dancing at the age of three. She graduated cum laude from Butler University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance. She has performed with City Ballet Theater of Milwaukee, Michigan Opera Theater, Harbiner Dance Company, Buffalo Ballet Theater and the Arlington Classical Ballet. She currently teaches ballet at HCB.

Ashlei-Renee Yancich received 5 years of early training locally in Ellicott City and Columbia. She continued her ballet education under the direction of Michael Bjerknes and Marina Noudga with the American Dance Institute. She has also had the extraordinary opportunity to study with Universal Ballet Academy of Washington D.C. with Alla Sizova and Anatoli Kucheruk. Yancich brings with her experience from being a a trainee with Richmond Ballet and apprenticing with Ballet Theatre of Annapolis. She has danced in numerous ballet and contemporary pieces, including Don Quixote, Giselle, La Bayadare, Nutcracker and Carmina Burana.

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