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John Welch, Artistic Director |
John Welch is the
Artistic Director and Ballet Master of
the Hartfel Ballet. Under the direction
of Maria Lewis, he has performed as a
soloist at the Pacific Ballet Theatre
(Vancouver, BC). Mr. Welch held a
position as an Associate Professor on
the Dance Faculty of Scripps College in
Claremont, CA where he developed a
technique for Beginning Ballet through
Level IV and taught Pedagogy and
choreography. Mr. Welch acted as the
Director of the Dancer’s Mind School of
Dance Arts in Santa Barbara, CA. He has
conducted private coaching with soloists
from the Valerie Houston Dance Company
and the Santa Barbara Ballet Company. He
also has worked with body alignment and
awareness with patients referred by
local medical doctors, including work
with athletes and weight trainers to
prevent injuries and conducting
choreography for body builders.
“John’s method of dance would
superficially appear to be a radical
departure from the accepted norms of
traditional ballet. I prefer to consider
his concepts revolutionary.”
—Michelle C. White, Assistant Professor,
University of Montana
Read more about John Welch »
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Veronica Badzey, Principal Dancer |
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“I thought I was a
decent dancer when I first met John: not
fabulous, or wonderful, or even good,
just decent. I had an image of what I
wanted to be, but that image rarely
reached beyond mediocrity. Deep down
inside existed a child who had daring
dreams; dreams of being expressive and
virtuosic. But that dreamer, that child
who still loved the art of dance, was so
smothered beneath practicality and the
prejudices of the real world that I
doubt she even knew she was still alive.
Somewhere in the midst of trying to be
someone else, or simply not to be
myself, I had forgotten who I really
was...”
Read more about Veronica »
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Catherine Bonomini, Principal Dancer |
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“Training with the
Hartfel Ballet is not a physical
conditioning program to make us look
like dancers and hope that people like
what they see when they come to watch a
performance. Hartfel is a true process
of transformation that communicates an
honest love, a humble foundation, and a
unique belief in community that begins
in the classroom and culminates for the
audience. If I do not set aside pride
and elitism and replace it with love and
humility, then those watching would see
an empty facade, and not experience true
art. Hartfel is for me more than a dance
company. It has become a family...”
Read more about Catherine » |
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Yoko Sasaki, Senior Apprentice |
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Sarah Isaacson, Senior Apprentice
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Christy Drescher, Company Trainee |
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