Buffalocityballet

Russian Ballet Technique 2011 - 2012 Season

Staff

Marvin Askew, Executive Director.  Mr. Askew  began his training under the tutelage of Karl Singletary, founder of the Buffalo Inner City Ballet School.  He has been awarded numerous scholarships from prestigious institutions, such as the American Ballet Theater, the New York City Ballet, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Center.  A former member of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Maryland Ballet and Capital Ballet, Mr. Askew has appeared as guest artist with many regional companies, including the Empire State Ballet, the Buffalo Ballet Theater, Lake Superior Ballet, Johnson City Ballet, Florence Ballet, Gemini Dance, American Academy of Ballet, La Roche College, Ithaca Ballet, Rochester City Ballet, Dance Street West Ballet of Los Angeles and the Chicago Ballet under Ruth Page & Larry Long.

As the Executive Director of the Buffalo City Ballet and lead instructor at its training school, Marvin was awarded a choreographer's grant from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program to create several new works for the company.  He also had the honor to represent Buffalo in 1995 at the National Medal of Arts Award Ceremony, hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts and held at the White House under President Clinton.  In year 2000, he was inducted into the Western New York Dance Hall of Fame for his outstanding work leading children through dance.

Janet Reed, Professor of Dance has taught at numerous institutions in the Western New York area, especially the Buffalo City Ballet School, from 1979 through 2000.  Janet has received several teaching honors, such as, "Teacher of the Year" (2000), and Individual Development Awards in the years 2000 and 2001.  Ms. Reed's choreography has been acknowledged as outstanding by the New York Foundation on the Arts, who awarded her a fellowship during the years 2002 - 2003.  Additionally, she was an award recipient from the Barbara Demming Memorial Fund for Women in 1993 for her work on "I Women I".  Ms. Reed has also received an award from the New York State Council on the Arts Special Art's Service for "Mask" in 1990.  She has not only performed at Buffalo State College's Rockwell Hall, but she has also performed internationally in Amsterdam, Germany, Scotland and France.  In July 2002, Janet Reed & Dancers, (founded by Ms. Reed in 1990), premiered in the first International Dance Festival in New York City.  The company continues to perform throughout the local Western New York area during the year as well as touring the local festivals during the summer.  Ms. Reed has been a teaching member of the Jazz World Dance Congress in the years 2000 and 2003 and has taught master classes throughout the United States.  At Buffalo State College, Ms. Reed currently teaches African American Dance, Black Dance History, Dance Composition, Dance Appreciation, Ballet, Modern Dance and Jazz.  Ms. Reed also works with student members (choreography and mentoring) of the Buffalo State College Dance Theater.  She received her Master's degree in Theatre and Dance from the University at Buffalo, SUNY.  Janet Reed is currently on sabbatical and working in India.  We wish her well and wait for her return.

 

Rebbecca Bateson Brown: Ballet Instructor

Ms. Brown has been dancing with the Buffalo City Ballet since 1996.  Originally from Ohio, she began her training in Columbus at the age of 5.  In addition to her training at the BCB, she has studied at the Performing Arts Dance Academy, and has participated in several workshops with Ballet Met.  In May2007, Ms. Brown graduated from Buffalo State College with degrees in Art History and Anthropology and a minor in Geography.

Michael Lambert is from Buffalo, NY, where he received his BA in Dance and Visual Communication from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  While there, he performed with the University’s Zodiaque Dance Company and spent summers on  scholarship at the Giacobbe Academy of Dance in New Orleans, LA, and the Chautauqua Institute in Chautauqua, NY, under Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux.  He had the honor of being trained in synchronized swimming by Stephan Miermont (former National Champion and US National and Olympic team coach) for the Research and Development Program for “Le Reve” at Wynn Las Vegas.

Michael is currently an adjunct faculty member at Buffalo State College and teaches at Walh Performing Arts Studios in Buffalo, NY.  He is a member of Dance Masters of America (DMA) and is on faculty at the DMA Student Honors Intensive Program (S.H.I.P.), Teachers Training School (T.T.S), and National Conventions.  He has also taught for Giacobbe Academy of Dance’s Summer Ballet Workshop, Interdanza Convention in Monterrey, Mexico, Indiana State Dance Company, the University at Buffalo’s Summer Dance Program, and several DMA Chapters across the country. Michael also adjudicates for many national and international organizations including Rhythm Dance in Canada, Inderdanza in Mexico, Starpower, Indiana State Dance Championships, and “On Stage” America.

His performance credits include: Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Seas, Walt Disney World, Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruise lines, Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, and alongside Olympic Gold Medalists in the “Azure” Underwater Shows at the Silverton Casino in Las Vegas.  He was invited to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage series and at the Jazz Dance World Congress.  He has appeared on “Live! With Regis and Kathy Lee” and performed at a special event in Miami featuring Faith Hill.  Michael was also the model for the male dancer icons that decorate Disney’s Pop Century Resort in Orlando, Fl. 



Michele Johns

Ms. Johns has been dancing with the Buffalo City Ballet since 2008. She appeared in many recent ballets presented by the Buffalo City Ballet, such as “The Nutcracker”, “Cinderella”, “Coppelia” and “The Firebird”.  Locally she volunteer a lot of her time to community events and church orient endeavors.  She began her training at Miss Joyce School of Dance at the age of 5. Ms. Johns has graduated from High School and has planned to go to college for dance!