Faculty
Dance
Eileen Hebron Ballet Mistress, Dance Program Coordinator, Preparatory Department
In her formative years Eileen trained with Marcia Lasser. However, she began her intense classical ballet training under the direction of Mme. Valia Seiskaya, a featured soloist of the Greek National Opera. Ms. Houghton set herself apart by winning numerous awards. At the age of thirteen she won a ballet competition sponsored by The National Society of Arts and Letters; she represented the New York Chapter and George Balanchine presented her award. Her talent was soon discovered by other professionals and it was suggested she audition for the School of American Ballet, which was founded by the legendary George Balanchine. In 1982, Eileen accepted at the advanced level on a full scholarship to SAB, studied with the internationally acclaimed staff, participated in the N.Y.C.B.’s educational outreach lecture demonstration program, and performed principal roles in the schools workshop performances. Additionally, during her three years at SAB she was featured in a “Nestle” commercial and a Walt Disney film. In 1985, she was hand picked by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join one of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies, The American Ballet Theatre. Trained in ABT’s extensive repertoire and touring internationally for eight years, she won numerous plaudits for her versatility, poise and technical merit. Additionally, she has danced in the great works of many renowned choreographers:George Balanchine’s: Agon, Concerto Barocco, Symphony Concertante, Western Symphony, The Nutcracker, Theme and Variations, and the Sleeping Beauty. Mikhail Baryshnikov’s: Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. Agnes DeMille’s: Fall River Legend, Rodeo, The Informer, and The Other. Peter Martin’s: Scarlatti Natalia Makarova’s: La Bayadere. Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s: Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet. Twyla Tharp’s: Push Comes to Shove. Clark Tippet’s: Bruch Violin Concerto. She has also performed in ABT’s: Ballet Imperial, Coppellia, Don Quixote, Etudes, Gaite Parisienne, Gala Performances, Giselle, La Sylphide, Les Sylphides, and Raymonda. Recently, it is with great honor that she received recognition from The American Ballet Theatre as a certified teacher of the ABT Training Curriculum. It is an eight level program that combines formal artistic training with the fundamentals of dancers’ health and child development from primary to professional. Teaching at Palm Beach Atlantic for 16 years, she passes on the incomparable experience she has gained from her professional life in addition to the blessings she has received from her spiritual life.
Douglas Gawriljuk
Born in Brazil Mr. Gawriljuk was trained by his father Ruslan Gawriljuk, The Royal Academy of Dancing (RAD) where he graduated in September 1986. Later that year he received the Gold Medal at the “Conselho Brasileiro de Danca” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was a Silver Medalist at the “ Seventh Concurso Internacional de Ballet” in Trujillo, Peru, and won the first prize in 1994 at the, XII Festival de Danca in Joinville, Brazil. From 1988 through 1990 attended the School of American Ballet, New York, with a full scholarship. As professional dancer Mr. Gawriljuk danced for 20 years, starting his career with Ballet Du Nord in France. He also danced for Basel Ballet in Switzerland as a soloist. As a principal dancer Mr. Gawriljuk joined Miami City Ballet. His special performances with MCB include tours to The Spoleto Festival, The Edinburgh Festival, The 1996 Olympics in Atlanta – Georgia, The Kennedy Center, The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Wolftrap’s 25th anniversary and appeared at the gala The Next Step (Career Transition for Dancer in New York 1997). He also danced with The Pittsburgh Ballet Theater as a principal dancer, where he excelled at interpreting many of the big classical ballets. Maximum Dance Company in South Florida where he also worked as a Ballet Master, where he had the chance working with many international choreographers such as Daniel Rosseel, Jean Christophe Blavier, KT Nelson among others. In 2003-2004 he was nominated the best male dancer in South Florida by the Sun Post, and danced with Ballet Florida where he retired from his dancing career in 2009. During his dancing career, Mr. Gawriljuk has been part of international dance projects such as Dolomytica in Europe and Casablanca The Dance in China, capturing the attention of the international press. He has also engaged in the field of choreography where he created pieces for Maximum Dance Company and New Orleans Ballet Theater (Berimbau, Lacrimosa, Thick as Thieves, Entre Dos) and later choreographed for various Dance Schools and Institutes (Solo Ellos Saben, Shadows and others), and has set many classical works and variations. As Ballet Teacher he was part of the faculty at Palm Beach Ballet Center and is frequently invited as guest teacher in different schools around the country such as, Douglas Andersen School of Arts in Jacksonville FL, Ballet Pacifica in California, The School of Dulce Anaya in Jacksonville FL, Southern Dance Theater in Boynton Beach FL, Gulfshore Ballet in Fort Myers FL, as well as Ballet Ruslan in Sao Paulo Brazil, and most recently, Virginia School of the Arts. In the fall of 2009 Mr. Gawriljuk worked as guest ballet teacher at the UNCSA where he was invited back to be part of their summer program 2010. From 2010 to 2012 he joined the dance faculty at UNCSA. During his time Mr. Gawriljuk taught Ballet to all levels, ballet partnering, character and variations. He also served as Ballet Master for The Nutcracker, and also performed the role of “Herr Drosselmeyer” in 2010, served as the Artistic Supervisor over this production for 4 years. He also was part of co-directing Swan Lake Act II production for the final UNCSA School of Dance spring concert and co-directed the UNCSA summer program in 2011 for the School of Dance and for the 2012 UNCSA Comprehensive Dance Intensive. Since the end of Summer 2012 he moved back with his family to Florida, where he is currently is Assistant of the Director of the School of Ballet Arts and arts Dance Generation as well as teacher and choreographer for other various schools and companies around South Florida. In 2013 he started a Summer Program in New Orleans for the New Orleans Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, and in 2014 he was invited to teach company class at The Royal New Zealand Ballet under the Artistic Direction Ethan Stiefel. Most recently, I joined the dance faculty of Florida Atlantic University in BocaRaton, and in August 2018, I joined The Arts Conservatory at The Kings Academy as a ballet teacher. Douglas is currently available as a ballet teacher, master classes, private classes/coaching, and setting or creating choreography.
Marife Gimenez
Born in Venezuela Ms. Gimenez started her ballet studies in 1982 at the Fanny Montiel School of Ballet in Caracas. Ms. Gimenez repertoire includes the classics, Balanchine, and contemporary works by today’s leading choreographers. Her professional career began at the age of fourteen with The National Ballet of Caracas under the Artistic Direction of Vicente Nebrada, where she was awarded by the Venezuelan Government with the “Jose Felix Rivas Medal” for her outstanding artistic achievements. In 1995 she moved to Miami Florida to join the Miami City Ballet as a principal dancer directed by Edward Villella. She has also worked for Maximum Dance Company under the direction of Yanis Pikieris and David Palmer and from 2006- 2009 she danced for Ballet Florida under the artistic direction Marie Hale. In 2001– 2002–2003 she was nominated the best female dancer in South Florida by the Sun Post. Ms. Gimenez has worked as a guest artist in different dance projects in Europe, China, and various countries in South America as well as the US.
In the past few years, Marife has given Master Classes around the Nation being invited by several ballet schools such as Gulfsore Ballet, Ballet Pacifica, School of Dulce Anaya, Cary Conservatory, and the UNCSA School of Dance where she teach each year for they Dance Summer Intensive. Since the summer 2012 Ms. Gimenez became a member of the School of Ballet Arts faculty in West Palm Beach, and also works as a teacher and guest choreographer for other schools in South Florida. Ms Gimenez has choreographed many pieces for different summer intensive and schools workshop performances. (Handell Suites, Dream Scene from Don Quixote Act II, among others).
Katy Scott
Katy Scott was born in Tampa, Fl. She began her training in classical ballet at age four in a small local studio called Temple Terrace Ballet. While there she competed in competitions such as Star Quest, International Dance Challenge and Showbiz, winning numerous awards. At age fourteen she transitioned to a studio in New Tampa called New Tampa Dance Theatre. There she began her training in Modern, Jazz and Tap. She trained under Trinity Hamilton who studied at the Joffrey Ballet School and was a company member there for many years. She studied modern dance under the instruction of Carla Armstrong who was trained at The Juilliard School. At NTDT she was a part of the studio's Company performing in various seasonal shows as well as their annual Nutcracker each Christmas. After graduating from high school she began attending Palm Beach Atlantic University and studied ballet under the instruction of Eileen Hebron who spent most of her career training and performing with American Ballet Theatre. She also studied under Jin Young Lee who graduated from NYU with a master’s degree in dance. Under their direction she trained in both classical ballet and various modern styles such as Limon and Horton. During her studies at PBA she interned with Miami City Ballet volunteering during their seasonal performances. As a result of her involvement with the company she participated as an entertainer during one of the company’s galas. During her time at PBA she was also a member of the University’s Spirit Squad which performed on court during basketball games. After graduating from Palm Beach Atlantic she moved back to Tampa and has been teaching and choreographing at several different studios. She has helped to run Temple Terrace Ballet’s Pre-Ballet program while also choreographing for competition teams in the Tampa Bay area. She is passionate about her students falling in love with dance the same way she has throughout her career as both a performer and teacher.
Taylor Greco
Taylor grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, training in all styles of dance and competing in local and national dance competitions. She began focusing on technical ballet and modern training while attending Bak School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, FL. As a young dancer, Taylor received many national titles along with Dancer Magazine’s “Dancer of the Year”. She went on to study at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance and trained with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. As a professional, Taylor has performed with many artists including Pitbull, Taylor Swift, Sean Kingston, Chris Brown, and Ceelo Green to name a few. She has been featured in numerous music videos and television commercials, performed with the MLB and NBA and previously taught at Broadway Dance Center and Radio City Music Hall, making her comfortable on and off screen.
Taylor most recently retired from a four year career with the New York Knicks as a Knicks City Dancer and is very grateful for her time performing at Madison Square Garden, “The World’s Most Famous Arena”. Taylor continues to teach dance to students of all ages, and also judges for local and national dance and talent competitions. Taylor is currently a student at Palm Beach Atlantic University pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Dance Pedagogy. Her goal is to encourage young dancers to follow their dreams, and inspire the next generation of dancers through Christ our Heavenly Father.
Emmanuella Dorcely
Emmanuella Dorcely is a modern/contemporary choreographer born in Boynton Beach, Florida USA. At a young age, she always wanted to dance but her parents where not able to put her in dance classes. Emmanuella decided to teach herself by the help of a childhood friend however, although her friend moved away, Emmanuella kept learning the art of dance on her own. It was in high school when she had her first ballet dance class. Emmanuella recalls, "I could remember my Ballet teacher asking me how long I've been dancing. She couldn't believe that this was my first class but told me this is what I was built to do and I never stopped after that." In 2007 at the age of 26, Emmanuella Dorcely started her own production company "Tajma Productions". In 2010 she decided to go to Valencia College to further her education in dance. After graduating from Valencia College, Ms. Dorcely moved to California in 2014 to further grow her skills as a choreographer, dancer and artist. "My life has changed in a really fast pace and I'm excited to see what my future holds." Ms. Dorcely recalls.
Choreographed in the stylistically incomparable voice, Emmanuella Dorcely is the founder and artistic director of Nemma Productions. Nemma Productions is a Productions Company that uses different stylistic dances such as Modern, Ballet, Graham and a fuses of different systematic dances which includes cultural inspired movements. Emmanuella explores the behaviors, beliefs and social dynamics that betray the goal of self-actualization weighted, fluid and sensual. Ms Dorcely's choreography radiates with unabashed honesty and a daring vulnerability that compels the asking of bigger questions about love and identity. Her performance contains adult themes that may not be appropriate for young audiences. Ms Dorcely says "I'm not afraid of going outside of myself I want to share stories that most people are afraid of talking about because we all have are own story's and most of the time are left unsaid and I am here to share those story's that have been lost without a trace.