Summer Intensive 2019 Featured Instructors
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Summer Intensive 2019 Featured Instructors Victoria Jaiani ~ Week #1 Victoria Jaiani joined the Joffrey Ballet in August 2003, and rose to her current rank as principal dancer. Born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgia, Ms. Jaiani began her training at the age of ten, and continued her studies in New York. In June 2003 she was awarded a Bronze Medal at the New York International Ballet Competition. Since joining the Joffrey, she has danced leading roles in many ballets including: Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake (Odette-Odile), Stanton Welch’s La Bayadère (Nikia, Gamzati), Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella (Cinderella), Giselle (Giselle), John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote (Kitri), Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow (Henna Glawari), Lar Lubovitch’s Othello (Desdemona), and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker. In 2010, Ms. Jaiani was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine and was named “Chicagoan of the Year” by the Chicago Tribune Arts Critic. In 2012, Today’s Chicago Woman named her one of Chicago’s top women in the arts. In 2013, Chicago Magazine named her “best dancer.” Ms. Jaiani has danced the role of Sugar Plum Fairy in Peoria Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Ian Thatcher ~ Week #2 Ian Thatcher is a graduate of The National Ballet School of Canada where he danced as an apprentice with the National Ballet of Canada. He went on to dance with the San Francisco Ballet, Ballet de Monte Carlo and Pacific Northwest Ballet where he danced soloist and principal roles as well as performing major works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Glen Tetley, Dave Bintny, James Kudelka, and Mark Morris. Since arriving in New York, Ian has danced with Ballet New York and with the Metropolitan Opera. Since retiring, Ian is a permanent faculty member of The Lynch School of Ballet in Huntington, NY, and The Ballet Class in Rye, NY. Ian teaches Ballet Technique, Pointe, Modern, Character and Pas de Deux class. Ian has performed as Herr Drosselmeyer in Peoria Ballet’s The Nutcracker, and has also been a guest teacher at Peoria Ballet’s Summer Intensives. Mia Li ~ Week #3 Mia Li, a native of Taiwan, was educated at The Boston Conservatory on full scholarship double majoring in ballet and modern dance. While there, she performed works by many masters including Martha Graham and José Limón. Ms. Li danced with Ballet Hispanico from 2007-2015. Her debut performance in 2007 was featured in the NY Times and described her dancing as “moving seamlessly from nightclub apache dancing to a tender ballet duet.” She has been featured in Ballet-Dance Magazine in 2009, on the front cover of Dance Magazine in 2010, and then again in a personal interview in 2012. Outside of the company, Ms. Li has been focusing her attention on teaching. Since 2003, she has been appointed guest faculty for the Chinese Folk Art Workshop in Boston, as well as teaching at the Ballet Hispanico’s school and many other local studios in New York. She has taught at schools throughout the world including, Barbados, Japan, and the famous Cloud Gate Dance School in Taiwan. Her students include a wide variety of levels from beginner, intermediate, advance, to professional dancers. Ms. Li currently is performing at The Metropolitan Opera. Summer Guest Faculty Melissa Becraft Melissa started training at Peoria Ballet at age five. She studied under the direction of Erich Yetter and later Servy Gallardo. She has attended numerous summer intensives including Houston Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Peoria Ballet, Indiana University, Atlanta Ballet, and Nashville Ballet. After graduating high school as valedictorian, Melissa continued her training at the University of Utah for a year. She went on to join Atlanta Ballet’s Conservatory, and later danced with Atlanta Ballet 2. While at Atlanta Ballet, Melissa had the opportunity to work closely with Artistic Director John McFall as well as Sharon Story, Dale Shields, and Rosemary Miles and she performed in Snow White, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. She also taught classes in the Student Division of Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education. During the 2017-2018 season Melissa danced with Fort Wayne Ballet, and during the 2018-2019 season was a member of Ballet Evolution in Charleston, North Carolina. .