Staff

Konstantin Kolotov is from St. Petersburg, Russia. He received his training from State College of Choreography in Novosibirsk, Russia where he graduated with a diploma with Honors. He danced at the Theatre Opera and Ballet (Sverdlovsk, Russia), The Theatre Contemporary Ballet (St. Petersburg, Russia), and the Theatre Classical Ballet (St. Petersburg, Russia). He also danced with the St. Petersburg Academic Ballet Theatre under the guidance of Professor Askold Makarov. His repertoire includes Siegfried from Swan Lake, Albrecht in Giselle, Cavalier in the Nutcracker, and the pas de deaux from Paquita, Don Quixote and Le Corsaire. Mr. Kolotov has toured extensively throughout Europe, Ecuador and Bolivia and is in demand as a guest artist and master teacher in the United States.

Arina Kolotova is from St. Petersburg, Russia. She studied at the Vaganova Academia of Dance and graduated from the Perm Academy of Ballet. She danced with the Classical Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia and Marlen Skog Ballet Company in Sweden and has toured extensively in Europe, New Zealand Australia and many other countries. Her repertoire includes Aurora, Song Bird, Yellow Fairy and Diamond in Sleeping Beauty, Clara and Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, Little Swan and Pas de Trois in Swan Lake and Peasant Pas de Deux in Don Quixote. She has instructed students in classical ballet, technique and pointe.

Katherine Collum was born in the United States but began her dance training in Mexico, with teachers from the National Ballet School in La Habana, Cuba. She continued her training in La Habana, graduating as a dancer/dance teacher. She has had opportunities to train and dance with company members from Ballet Austin and Ballet de Monterrey and has taken classes with prestigious teachers such as Stephen Mills, David Howard and Ramona de Saa Bello. She joined McAllen Ballet Studio as a dancer and teacher in 2005 and remained until it relocated to Houston in 2006. Katherine has performed in many ballets including Sleeping Beauty, Carmen, Giselle, Pas de Quatre, The Nutcracker, Sylvia and The Phantom of the Opera. She currently teaches ballet at Dance Conservatory of McAllen.

Besides teaching folklorico at Dance Conservatory of McAllen, Rebeka Gonzalez is currently the acclaimed director of the Edinburg Folklorico Dance Team, who have received many awards and recognitions. Most recently Ms. Gonzalez returned from Hawaii with this dance team who won top honors both as a group and as individual team members and were named Hawaii International Dance Champions.

Samuel Montezco graduated from the Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts with a double major in Creative Writing and Dance. He continued his training with teachers from such prestigious companies as Houston Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Espana, and Ballet Nacional de Cuba. He has been a guest artist and teacher of various dance disciplines at various colleges, universities and high schools. He has also been award many scholarships in dance, most recently from Tri-County Ballet Company. Mr. Montezco is currently a student at the University of Texas Pan American where he is seeking a double major in Dance and Kinesiology. He is a choreographic associate at Dance Conservatory of McAllen where he also teaches Ballet, Ballroom, Flamenco, Jazz, Hip-hop and Middle Eastern Dance.

Brian J. Warren holds two M.A. degrees, one in English and one in Theatre Arts, and is currently the Children's Theatre/Creative Drama specialist at The University of Texas - Pan American. He is working on a doctoral degree from the University of Houston. He has dozens of acting and directing credits; his most recent project was the direction of The Fantasticks for Pan American Summer Stock (P.A.S.S.) at UTPA, which was performed in early July. In addition, Warren enjoys writing plays for children; he has recently completed his seventh, The Great Race: Turtle vs. Rabbit, which was produced this past spring.

We may be hard to find, but we're well worth it

Located behind the McAllen Museum.

Take Bicentennial Drive, along the museum parking area, and

Continue until the street ends in a cul de sac. We are on the right.

Fabrice Lemire was born in Paris, France and trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School. He has been a principal dancer and guest artist with numerous ballet, modern and opera companies in Europe, Asia and North Africa. In the United States, he danced with the New York City Opera and the Oregon Ballet Theatre. As a choreographer, he has created works for the Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland Opera and the Champaign/Urbana Theatre Company, among many others. He performed roles in classical and modern works by Balanchine, Petipa and others. He has been ballet master for Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal and Donald Byrd/The Group, the modern dance company in New York, where he also worked as a choreographic assistant and rehearsal director for the Harlem Nutcracker. He most recently was an artist in residence and principal teacher at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and continues to serve as a guest teacher for the Celine Dion/Franco Dragone Production, A New Day. He made his acting debut in the film Unsettled Dreams.

Marina Perez has a B.a. in Music Education and Voice and has taught all levels of music within the public school system for seven years. She is a member of Valley Symphony Choral. Miss Perez loves to perform and has appeared in several musicals such as The Cahtter Boxes, Dragons and Once Upon A Mattress. musicals such as The Chatter Boxes, Dragons and Onc Upon A Mattress.