August Workshop

John Gardner (Week 3)   

John Gardner began his ballet training at age twelve. He joined American Ballet Theatre in 1978 and was promoted to the rank of soloist in 1984. Mr. Gardner's diverse repertoire included many soloist and principal roles affording him the opportunity to work with many of the great choreographers of the 20th century including Anthony Tudor, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp. In 1991 Mr. Gardner joined Mikhail Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project where he toured extensively. He is currently working at both the professional and student levels and has taught, choreographed, and staged ballets for professional companies and schools in the U.S. and Europe.

Jens Lee (Week 2)

Jens Lee, a native of New Castle, Pa, is an internationally known and acclaimed Professional Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer. Jens's Training in dance started in Classical Ballet with the Cecchetti style and he later become certified as a Cecchetti Teacher. Jens is also a trained medal winning Triathlete/Marathon runner. As a Professional Instructor and trainer, Jens has taught thousands of students all around the world from age 3-92. Some have received scholarships in dance to colleges and schools such as OSU, YSU, NYCU, Juilliard, CSU, SUNY, and Alvin Ailey to name a few. He has also been the Ballet Master for multiple Schools including Cleveland School of the Arts, Brunswick, Ohio, Midland, Texas, Tucson, AZ and Traverse City, Michigan. As a Competitive Judge, Jens has taught Master Classes and Judge for TURN IT AROUND TOUR & Dance Masters of America. 

Amanda McKerrow (Week 3)

Amanda McKerrow has enjoyed a career as one of America's acclaimed ballerinas. She has the honor of being the first American to receive a gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1981. Ms. McKerrow joined American Ballet Theatre in 1982 and has been the recipient of numerous other awards including the Princess Grace Foundation Dance Fellowship, the Deane Sherman Award for Excellence in the Field of Dance, and the New York Woman Award for Dance. In 2000 Ms. McKerrow together with her husband John Gardner began staging the works of Anthony Tudor for the Anthony Tudor Ballet Trust. Since retiring from performing in 2006, she devotes the majority of her time to teaching, coaching, and staging ballets for professional companies around the world. In 2018, Mrs. McKerrow was appointed Trustee of the Anthony Tudor Ballet Trust overseeing Mr. Tudor’s choreographic legacy. 

Shana O'Brien (Weeks 1, 2, 3)

Shana O’Brien has been a faculty member at the Dance Conservatory of Maryland since 2002, teaching ballet, jazz, tap and modern dance. A graduate of Goucher College with a degree in dance performance and choreography, Shana has performed in works set by dance professionals such as Steven Mills of Ballet Austin, Rachel Berman, formerly of Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Christopher d’Amboise, both former principals with New York City Ballet. She has presented choreography in many diverse venues including the American College Dance Festival, the Maryland Council for Dance Choreographer’s Showcase, and the Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition. In addition to her training as a student at DCM, Shana has studied under Marilyn Gaston at the Ballet Academy of Baltimore, Laura Dolid of the Sudbrook Arts Center, and at the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet. She has experience performing in such varied settings as the Nutcracker at the Lyric Opera House, musicals in regional dinner theater, and competitions held by Dance Masters of America. 

Florian Rouiller (Week 1)

Florian Rouiller is a dance teacher, choreographer, and performer who received a BFA from the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, and performed with the Stuttgart Ballet in Sleeping Beauty, and Giselle. Upon immigrating to the U.S., he danced with Merce Cunningham Dance Company as an apprentice, and Ohio Ballet, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Chicago, Ballet International Eldar Aliev, Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas and Ballet Contemporanea de Caracas in Venezuela, as well as with Goteborg Ballet where he performed principal and soloist roles. Rouiller has an MFA in Dance from the University of Maryland, and has choreographed and performed in the original productions Profondeur Inconnue and Wave. Rouiller is also the recipient of choreographic prizes at YAGP and Korean National Competition. He is featured in Lois Greenfield’s book “Moving Still” NY. He was a guest teacher at the Kirov Academy in DC Summer Programs in 2005, 2008 and 2015, and served as a visiting artist at UMBC in the Fall of 2013; he also taught at TWSB in 2006 and 2017.  Rouiller teaches and choreographs in the DC metropolitan area at UMBC, Baltimore School for the Arts, City Dance Conservatory, Washington Ballet, and Dance Conservatory of Maryland.