Faculty

Susan Brooker

Artistic Director

Susan Brooker is a member of the ABT’s National Training Curriculum Artistic Board of Examiners and Instructors for the American Ballet Theatre, National Training Curriculum, and guest teacher in the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. In 2000 Ms. Brooker was invited to the USA to teach on the faculty of the Hartt School Dance Division, University of Hartford, Connecticut, USA, she became Director of the School of Dance Connecticut in 2001 and Chair of the Dance Department of the Hartt School Community Division in 2004. From 2008 – 2014 she was Director of the BalletMet Dance Academy,Columbus OH.

Ms. Brooker is a Fellow, a Major Examiner of the I.S.T.D., and holds the Enrico Cecchetti Diploma. She taught for many years in Italy as: Director of the Scuola di Danza Hamlyn di De Vita, Lukens, Florence, Italian Examinations Organizer for the I.S.T.D., Honorary President of the Cultural Association, Ateneo Danza, Forli, and Vice President of Danzare Cecchetti, A.N.C.E.C. of which she is still Italian delegate for Cecchetti International Classical Ballet. Ms. Brooker is one of the Festival Artistic Directors for The Ballet Alliance.

Students of Ms. Brooker have won prestigious international dance competitions including the Prix de Lausanne and are dancing with companies in Europe, South America and the United States. Ms. Brooker has taught in schools in the USA, Europe, Canada, and Japan and is a specialist in Ballet Pedagogy and curriculum development.

Sarah Jones

Associate Director

Sarah Jones began her ballet training under the direction of Heidy Ballance at a very young age. At sixteen she began her apprenticeship with the California Ballet Company and was promoted to Corps de Ballet shortly after. Ms. Jones performed in many full-length classic ballets including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and Coppélia.  She had a featured role in Wayne Davis’ Souvenir de Florence, performed as a Guest Artist in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Juneau, Alaska, and danced the Swan Lake Pas de Trois as her final performance. 
 Since leaving the stage, Ms. Jones has been able to devote more time to her true passion of teaching. She graduated from New York University, earning a Master of Arts in Dance Education, with an emphasis on the American Ballet Theatre Pedagogy. She is certified in American Ballet Theatre's National Training Curriculum in Pre-Primary through Level 7, and recently joined the ABT NTC Student Board of Examiners. Ms. Jones has served as the Children’s Ballet Mistress for ABT’s Nutcracker since 2016, and previously held the titles of Principal Teacher and Coordinator for the Children’s Division, and Interim Director at the ABT Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Lorin Johnson has been a Professor at CSULB since 2006 and has also served as Assistant and Associate Dean of the College of the Arts. Johnson performed with the San Francisco Ballet before joining the American Ballet Theatre in New York under the directorship of Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1987. Johnson performed at ABT until 1995, appearing in eight seasons at the Metropolitan Opera House and touring nationally and internationally to such cities as Paris, Tokyo, Athens, Buenos Aires, and London. Johnson created original roles in ballets by such renowned choreographers as Ulysses Dove, Clark Tippet and Agnes DeMille, among many others, and he has worked with some of the 20th century’s most renowned choreographers, including Glen Tetley, Kenneth Macmillan, Twyla Tharp, and Jerome Robbins. 

Johnson's choreography has been presented internationally, including at The Garage Museum in Moscow, Russia and at the Fabbrica Europa Dance Festival in Florence, Italy. Nationally, his work has been commissioned by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra at Segerstrom Concert Hall; Celebrate Dance in Los Angeles; the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Invitational Dance Festival; the Laguna Dance Festival; the Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival in Palm Springs, the Los Angeles Dance Invitational at the Ford Amphitheater and with LA Grand Ensemble at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Johnson served as the Artistic Coordinator of ABT’s Summer Intensive program in Orange County for several years and is guest faculty at the William J. Gillespie American Ballet Theatre School at the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts. Johnson has taught master classes in ballet internationally and in 2013 taught at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia (the former school of George Balanchine).

 Johnson’s new book on ballet history and technique will be published by Oxford University Press in 2025-26. His publications can be found in Dance International and Dance Teacher magazines, as well as in peer-reviewed journals such as Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (Routledge) and in the Cambridge Stravinsky Encyclopedia (Cambridge University Press, 2021). He was the editor of Kinetic Los Angeles: Russian Émigrés in the City of Self-Transformation (Experiment, No. 20) and in 2013 co-curated an exhibition at the State Theatrical Museum in St. Petersburg Russia. He has been a pre-performance speaker at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Los Angeles Music Center and served as Artistic Advisor for the Music Center. 

Jenny Asseff began her professional dance career with the California Ballet Company (CBC) in 2001. During her decade-long tenure with the company, she performed in a diverse array of roles and received Dancer of the Year honors for the 2005-06 season. Since then she has taught students of all ages and experience levels, ranging from young children to adult enthusiasts to professionals. She was a faculty member with the CBC and the California Ballet School, Golden State Ballet (GSB) and the GSB Academy as well as at local studios around Southern California. In addition, she has taught ballet to military family members at the US Naval Station Yokosuka, Japan and most recently, she served as rehearsal director for the GSB’s inaugural production of The Nutcracker. 

Jenny has presented her original works in multiple productions, including CBC’s Beyond the Barre and Beer & Ballet; Performing Arts Workshop’s Shared Spaces; PGK Dance Project’s The San Diego Dance Showcase; and the premiere of Devil's Trill and Surreality in Tokyo, Japan. In 2020 Jenny co-founded the project group Ballet Collective SD to provide a platform for artistic expression and exploration for local artists during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Collective she co-produced two productions in 2021: Open Notes and Reconnect. She holds a B.A. in Dance from Catholic University of Daegu, South Korea and is certified in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum through Level 7 and in Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT).

Anh Dillon began her classical ballet education at the Conservatoire Niedermeyer in Paris, France. Continuing in Brussels, Belgium, she had the great opportunity to train under Nicole Karys, a former dancer with Maurice  Bejart's Ballet du XXième Siècle, and Menia Marinez of the Cuban National Ballet and Ballet du XXième Siècle. She later expanded her training to contemporary dance forms, giving her the versatility to professionally join contemporary ballet and contemporary jazz companies as a Soloist and Principal dancer. Dillon is the recipient of a Lester Horton Award for best performance.

Dillon's teaching experience spans over two decades. She has been a teacher for the Joffrey Ballet School summer intensives and audition tours since 2013. She has taught at Loyola Marymount University, The EDGE PAC, and travels worldwide for masterclasses. She is certified in the American Ballet Theatre's Training Curriculum through Level 7. 

Brendali Espiritu began dance at age 4. As a pre-professional scholarship student at the School of American Ballet, she danced the principal role in George Balanchine’s Gounod Symphony, staged by Suzanne Farrell. Soon after, she received a corps contract with the American Ballet Theatre, where she performed corps and soloist roles in the ABT classical and mixed repertory. Ms. Espiritu worked with or was choreographed on by Agnes De Mille, Rudolph Nureyev, Kevin McKenzie, Natalia Makarova, Gelsey Kirkland, Freddie Franklin, Glen Tetley, Lar Lubovich, Rob Marshall, among many others. She has choreographed, danced and/or acted in international galas, opera, commercials, music videos, and movies. She appeared in the ABT documentary Ballet, by Fredrick Wiseman. For over 2 decades, she taught classical Pilates and was certified by Joseph Pilates’ protégé, Romana Kryzanowaska. She appeared in dozens of Winsor Pilates workouts as well features in Glamour, Shape, Fit magazines and Discount Dance ads. She served as ambassador and consultant for Bloch dance shoes. By invitation, she teaches master classes and guest performs ballroom and adagio dance. Espiritu is certified in the ABT National Training Curriculum and is on faculty for the pre-professional division of the ABT Gillespie School and the ABT Summer Intensive.

Melanie Hawkes Seeley is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.  She attended intensive summer programs with American Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, Princeton Ballet, Contra Costa Ballet, and Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet.  After completing a B.F.A. in Ballet at The University of Utah, she danced professionally with Columbia City Ballet, Ballet Tucson, The Montgomery Ballet, and the Mark Foehringer Dance Project/SF.  She earned an M.F.A. in Dance in 2014 from University of California, Irvine on a full-tuition scholarship. Her research focused on updating the Swan Lake for the digital age audience using current digital technologies.  She then spent a year as visiting faculty at BYU-Idaho’s Department of Theatre and Dance.  She has extensive experience over the past two decades teaching, choreographing, re-staging, and directing.  Her choreography has been presented at Bay Area Dance Week, the Laguna Dance Festival, internationally with Eastern Artists, and in student showcases.  She began working for the ABT William J. Gillespie school in the spring of its first year.  In addition to teaching technique and pointe, Melanie has also created and taught a unique course on dance and film for ABT Gillespie students to  fully produce their own short dance films during quarantine.  She is certified in the ABT National Training Curriculum.

Shannon Overley studied classical ballet at Long Beach Ballet Arts Center and continued at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. She has performed roles in ballets such as Swan Lake, Coppelia, and The Nutcracker, as well as Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Western Symphony and Raymonda. Overley has choreographed at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, with high school dance teams, solos for the national Young Americans Grand Prix [YAGP] dance competition as well as pieces appearing at Regional Dance America.

Shannon has over 20 years of teaching experience. She was certified in ABT’s National Training Curriculum in 2012 for primary ballet and Levels 1-3. She continued her certification for Levels 4 and 5 in 2013. Shannon had the pleasure of teaching for ABT’s Young Dancer summer program in Orange County in 2015. That same year Shannon joined the faculty of the ABT William J. Gillespie School for its inaugural season. It has been her privilege to work with the students here at the school and assist in ushering in the next generation of well trained, expressive, and joyful dancers to the stage.

Mindy Ramirez began her early training with Lois Ellyn of the New York City Ballet and continued her training with Lori Eckenweiler, Janek Schergen, Tanya Durbin and Alaine Haubert. She went on to dance, perform, and graduate from the Orange County High School of the Arts Classical Contemporary Dance Department under the direction of Sophie Monat.
 
Ramirez attended summer intensives at San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Pacifica, and Ballet Austin. She has performed in The Glory of Christmas at The Crystal Cathedral and danced with the Los Angeles Classical Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and Nouveau Chamber Ballet. She started teaching in 2010 and is certified in the ABT National Training Curriculum.

Rochelle Mapes earned a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, both from Cal State University, Long Beach. She is currently the Director of Dance at Mater Dei High School and was previously on faculty at the Orange County School of the Arts where she was a Facilitator for the Commercial Dance Conservatory teaching contemporary, jazz, and dance history. Professional commercial credits include dancing on the FX show “Nip/Tuck” and performing with Gladys Knight and Wayne Brady. She has danced with several contemporary and jazz companies, notably, BARE Dance Company under the direction of Mike Esperanza and RhetOracle Dance Company with Nate Hodges. Rochelle also performed with several regional modern companies including Bodytalk Dance and Benita Bike’s DanceArt Company. Her diverse choreography has been presented on the professional concert stage, in college dance departments, studios, and extensively with competitive high school dance teams. As a master class teacher, she has taught for the Dizzy Feet Foundation's National Dance Day, Dance aTAK convention, United Spirit Association, KAR convention, numerous studios/schools, and she was a member of the USA Dance Staff for 17 years. In addition, she judges for UDA College Nationals, USA Dance, USA Japan Nationals, and the Dance Worlds.

Katie Summers is a choreographer, poet, performer, dance instructor, and Pilates instructor. She is currently dancing in Orange County, CA and part of the modern faculty at the ABT William J. Gillespie School. She received her MFA in Dance from CSU Long Beach in 2023 where she was also a Teaching Associate in the Department of Dance. Katie received her BFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine in 2017. Her undergraduate summers were spent with the American Dance Festival, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, New Dialect, and Northwest Dance Project. Additionally, she received the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program grant to research site-specific improvisation in Italy under the guidance of Lisa Naugle, Ph.D. She has since danced with Redding City Dance Company  and interned at Bethel Conservatory of the Arts. Katie completed Studio du Corps’ 450 Hour Pilates Teacher Training Program in 2019 under the guidance of Ron Fletcher Master Teacher, Diane Diefenderfer. Her artistic interests pertain to the correlation between her poetry-writing and her dance-making practices as well as her passion for the overall health of her audience and dance community: mind, body, and spirit. 

Vladimir Kolesnikov is the Character teacher for the ABT Gillespie School. He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and trained at the renowned Vaganova Ballet Academy. After joining the Kirov Ballet, Kolesnikov was promoted to Principal Dancer, touring with the company throughout the world. He holds a Master’s degree in ballet pedagogy from the Vaganova. In 1992, Kolesnikov was invited to join the faculty of the Universal Ballet Academy in Washington, DC and then to Boston Ballet, where he taught graduate level classical and character dance. He was on the faculty of Debbie Allen Dance Academy from 2001-2008 and is currently the Artistic Director of the Pacific Coast Academy of Dance in San Clemente.  In addition to teaching, Kolesnikov has participated in staging many projects around the U.S., including working as an assistant choreographer to American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

The ABT Gillespie School frequently invites our illustrious Guest Faculty members into the studio to provide supplementary training to our dancers. 

These instructors include:

• David Allan - University of California: Irvine, National Ballet of Canada 
• Roberto Almaguer - Joffrey Ballet, State Street Ballet, English National Ballet School
• Leslie Carothers - Colburn School of Performing Arts, Joffrey Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet
• Steven Hyde - Orange County School of the Arts, American Ballet Theatre, Royal Winnipeg Ballet 
• Marie France Levesque - Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, American Ballet Theatre, Los Angeles Dance Company
• Colleen O'Callaghan - American Ballet Theatre, Orange County School of the Arts, Colburn School of Performing Arts
• Sharon Savoy - Eglevsky Ballet, NJ Ballet, New World Ballet
• Carla Stallings - American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet

Each class at the ABT William J. Gillespie School is accompanied by one of our accomplished musicians. 

These accompanists include:

• Norman Beede
• Kevin Bowers
• Dieter Jacobs
• Satomi Kanazawa
• Phillip Matsuura
• Eddie Nazarro
• Alla Plotkin
• Eric Ruskin
• Rebecca Wong-Burdett