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BoardofofTrustees Trustees Board
Board of Trustees
RESOLUTION RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION
ovided extensiveguidance guidance andkey key leadership services TheRock Rockand key leadership services to The Rock Whereas, Nancy and Brodie has providedservices extensive guidance ided extensive leadership totoThe School for Dance Education;
ena achampion champion the artsand andananexemplary exemplary donor,supporter, supporter, andand an exemplary donor, supporter, and Whereas, Nancy Brodie has been adonor, champion of the and arts ofofthe arts orDance Dance Education; volunteer for The Rock School for Dance Education; Education;
ntributed keyleadership leadership decisions thathave haveguided guided the TheRock Rock Nancy Brodie hasthat contributed to key leadership decisions that have guided the The Rock ributedWhereas, totokey decisions the The uccess intimes timesof ofhardship hardship andprosperity; prosperity; for Dance Education to success in times of hardship and prosperity; cess inSchool and
hatthe theBoard Boardtherefore Trustees RockSchool School for Dance Education Now, , of beofThe itThe resolved that thefor Board of Education Trustees of The Rock School for Dance Education at ofofTrustees Rock Dance gratitude forher herservice servicetotothe the School’s BoardofofTrustees Trustees fromher herthe School’s Board of Trustees from her hereby acknowledges our eternalBoard gratitude for her service to gratitude for School’s from 2003through through thisday, day, May26, 26,June 2021. first Trustee meeting on 12, 2003 through this day, May 26, 2021. 003 this May 2021.
eEmeritus, Emeritus, Treasurer Emeritus, FinanceCommittee Committee ChairEmeritus, Emeritus, We Treasurer thank Nancy Brodie,Finance Trustee Emeritus, Treasurer Emeritus, Finance Committee Chair Emeritus, Emeritus, Chair hair Emeritus, of The Rock School for Dance Education for years Strategic Chair Emeritus, The Rock School for Dance Education for 18 years air Emeritus, of Planning The RockCommittee School for Dance Educationoffor 1818 years vite her to join our list of Emeritus Trustees as a measure of ourEmeritus Trustees as a measure of our service and invite herastoa join our list of te herofto extraordinary join our list of Emeritus Trustees measure of our gratitude.
ffect, we agree thefollowing: following:We Wedodo hereby honor the Byagree voting resolution onto effect, we agreethe to the following: We do hereby honor the ect, we totothis the hereby honor ancy Brodie hasfaithfully faithfully providedthrough through herdedication dedication and provided through her dedication and aforementioned achievements Nancyher Brodie has faithfully cy Brodie has provided and Dance Education: support of The Rock School for Dance Education: ance Education: Approved:
Location: Philadelphia,PA PA May 23, 2021 Philadelphia, Location:
Location:
Philadelphia, PA
StephanieWolf WolfSpassoff Spassoff Christopher Raphaely Stephanie Director Chair, Board ofDirector Trustees
Stephanie Wolf Spassoff Director
BoSpassoff Spassoff Robert Rock Bo Directorand andPresident President Chair, Finance Committee Director
Bo Spassoff Director and President
ROCK SCHOOL DIRECTORS
Rock Directors, Bo & Stephanie Spassoff with Rock Alum, ENB Principal, Isaac Hernandez at the Bolshoi.
Bojan Spassoff - President & Director
Bojan Spassoff was a Ford Foundation Scholarship student at the School of American Ballet and was an apprentice with the Harkness Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and New York City Ballet companies. Thereafter, Mr. Spassoff became a member of the Dutch National Ballet and was later among the first foreigners to join the Royal Danish Ballet. Subsequently, Mr. Spassoff was invited to join American Ballet Theatre and continued his career dancing solo and principal roles with the San Francisco Ballet and teaching for that company and its school. Mr. Spassoff served as Artistic Director for both Savannah Ballet and Ballet Oklahoma and their associated schools. He has been a guest artist and teacher for numerous regional companies, schools, and universities.A former Ballet Master for Pennsylvania Ballet, he was Associate Director of the New York State Summer School of the Arts, operated in conjunction with New York City Ballet. He has coached gold medalists in prestigious international competitions in Havana, Berlin, as well as Moscow and USA International Ballet Competitions. He is a judge for Youth America Grand Prix and the World Ballet Competition. In 2011 and 2012, Mr. Spassoff was Artistic Director for the largest ballet galas held in Mexico City.
Stephanie Wolf Spassoff - Artistic Director
An alumna of the School of American Ballet and New York’s Performing Arts High School, privately auditioned with Agnes de Mille for a national tour of “Where’s Charley”, past member of American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet. She was a principal dancer with both Ballet Oklahoma and Savannah Ballet. She was Associate Director of Ballet Oklahoma, Savannah Ballet, and their respective associated schools. Stephanie was a member of Finis Jhung’s New York Chamber Ballet. Stephanie Wolf Spassoff is a former Pennsylvania Ballet soloist who performed solo and principal roles. Ms. Spassoff has been a guest artist and teacher for many regional companies, schools, and universities and was a permanent faculty member of the New York State Summer School of the Arts. She has coached gold medalists in prestigious international competitions in Moscow and the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS and is a judge for Youth America Grand Prix. In 2011, 2012, and 2017, Mrs. Spassoff was Co-Artistic Director for the largest Ballet Galas ever held in Mexico City. Photo: Bojan & Stephanie Spassoff with Isaac Hernandez at The Bolshoi Theater Rock students, Christine Shevchenko and Isaac Hernandez competed and won Gold and Bronze Medals at the Moscow International Ballet Competition, 2005.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Bojan Spassoff, President & Director
Stephanie Wolf Spassoff,
Artistic Director
Christopher Raphaely Chairman Robert Rock, PhD,
Ronald J. Naples Carla I. Rock Susan Rock Casey Satell Jeanne Scandura Vikki Sloviter Scott D. Thompson
Vice Chairman, Chair Finance
Nancy S. Brodie, Treasurer Clare Putnam Pozos, Secretary Caro U. Rock Chairman Emeritus;
Liza Herzog, Chair Education Robert L. Abramowitz, Esq. Chair Compensation and HR Committee
Lauren R. Baer Mindy Dougherty Baiada, Gala Co-Chair
Alexandra Bauer Crouch John Hyman Victoria Kaplan Patricia Quinn McAuley Ed McDevitt J. Nicole Martin Lawton David Munson, MD
TRUSTEES EMERITI Constance W. Benoliel-Rock Chairman Emeritus
Diane Breckenridge, PhD Michael DeLuca Howard Fischer Jennifer Franklin Leroy Kean Carol Clark Lawrence Robert F. McCadden Howard D. Ross Suzanne Schoch Rehl, Esq. Sherry Varrelman Randi Zemsky
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS The following individual, corporate, foundation, and government agencies provide The Rock School for Dance Education with necessary funding, which aids in the sustainability for general programs and operations, scholarships, performances, and community outreach efforts. We are exceedingly grateful for their generosity.
$50,000 and Above Caro U. and Robert Rock Leroy E. Kean
$1,001-$1,500 Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation Linda and Charles Schelke Marta and Robert Adelson $10,001-$50,000 Cedric Fan H.F. Lenfest Fund of The Cheryl and Robert Traub Philadelphia Foundation Phyllis and Howard Fischer DEA Educational Foundation Susan and Frank Mechura $5,001-$10,000 $501 - $1,000 Amy Branch and Jeffry Benoliel Jaimie and David Field Lisa Kabnick and John McFadden Barbara and Todd Albert National Endowment for the Arts Elliott-Lewis Corp. Nancy and George Brodie Francine and Steven Katz Carla and William Rock Willo and Peter Benoliel Susan Stewart The Victory Foundation and Robert Abramowitz Dr. Russell C. Raphaely Arena, Snyder & Dunlap LLP $1,501-$5000 Sarah Chappell Cozen O’Connor Lisa Worthington and Eileen McDonnell Robert Mansi Isabel and Ed McDevitt Tara Trimarchi and David Munson with UBS Financial Services Northrop Grumman Corp. Jane and James Stern Anonymous Janet and James Averill Juan Perdomo $251-$500 Marsha and Robert Chappell Kristin and Eric Mills The Spector Family Foundation Lyn and Roy Neff Joseph Kennard Skilling Trust Suzanne and Ronald Naples Alexandra and Ryan Crouch Casey Anne Satell Neubauer Family Foundation Katharine and Robert Booth Jill Clarke Lorraine Hirschberg and Christopher Raphaely Arch Capital Group Drs. Kristen and Thomas Rock Judy and A. Steven Rosa Scott D. Thompson Laura Banchero Victoria Kaplan Tina and Carlo Nunziante and Peter Dachowski Liza Herzog, Ph.D.
Individual donors are listed at: www.therockschool.org/sponsors
ABOUT THE ROCK SCHOOL The Rock School for Dance Education is one of the nation’s premier institutions for classical ballet training, dedicated to enriching the lives of all students and preparing those who are especially gifted for careers as professional artists. Through its multi-faceted outreach program, RockReach, The Rock School is committed to making dance more accessible to local communities so that everyone has equal access to art. At the urging of George Balanchine, the Pennsylvania Ballet School was established in 1963. In 2006 the school parted ways with The Pennsylvania Ballet and was officially renamed The Rock School for Dance Education. The Rock School offers the highest quality dance training for talented young artists from around the world, as well as an extensive dance and movement community outreach program. With annual enrollment exceeding 1,200 students at its Philadelphia and suburban locations, The Rock School awards annual scholarships, maintains a year-round supervised residence program in Philadelphia, provides a cutting-edge academics program for grades 7-12, and offers extensive performance and competition opportunities. Our professionaltrack dancers are the stars of tomorrow. Rock School dancers are in virtually every major dance company in the United States, Europe, and Asia, as well as in film and on Broadway.
ROCK
BALLET MASTERS
Justin Allen Born in Baltimore Maryland, Justin began his dance training at the Baltimore School for the arts. He decided he wanted more serious ballet training and in 2004 he began training at The Rock School for Dance Education where he had the opportunity to dance different styles of ballet and finish his education in the Rock Academics Program Alliance. Justin studied at The Rock School for 4 years. He spent his summers training with the Miami City Ballet School from 2004-2008. In 2008 Justin got his first opportunity to dance as a professional guest artist with The Dayton Ballet, which led to his first professional contract. In 2009 Justin joined The Ballet Theatre of Maryland where he performed many soloist roles. In 2010, Justin joined The Rock School as full time Faculty and Choreographer. Justin was the recipient of The Joffrey Ballet’s 2013 Choreographers of Color Award.
Jody Anderson Jody started her serious training at age 14 at North Carolina School of the Arts and continued at the American Ballet Theatre School in New York City on full scholarship. As a principal dancer with the Kansas City Ballet for 16 years, Jody had the honor of performing principal roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Alvin Ailey, Agnes DeMille, Todd Bolender, Ann Reinking and many other noted choreographers. She was also hand picked by Alvin Ailey to perform as a guest artist with his company, and to recreate his ballet FLOWERS to much critical acclaim. Jody also performed and was the Associate Choreographer and Community Chorus Director with Kansas City’s Starlight Theatre in addition to performing with St. Louis MUNY, Atlanta Theatre of the Stars and Houston’s Theater Under the Stars, and toured with several musical theatre productions. As a choreographer she has staged original works for Kansas City Ballet, Delaware Dance Company, Berks Ballet Theater and for The Rock School in addition to choreographing musicals for several regional theatres. Jody has been on the faculty with The Kansas City Ballet School, Berks Ballet Theatre, Delaware Dance Company and was the director of dance at The Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan while teaching master classes all over the country. Jody was honored to be nominated for a Philadelphia Theatre Alliance Barrymore Award for her choreography for Candlelight Theatre’s 2007 production of CHICAGO, won the 2013 Barney Award for her choreography for Candlelight Theatre’s 2013 production of A CHORUS LINE. For Rock School she choreographed WEST SIDE STORY SUITE which was performed at the Mann Center with The Curtis Institute, and next, CATTO AT BAT for the Philadelphia Freedom Festival. Jody has been on the faculty since 2004, and also teaches at Rock West.
Telmo Moreira Born in Lisbon, Portugal, Telmo began his training at the National Conservatory Dance school of Portugal. Then After being awarded one of the top prizes in the 2007 Prix de Lausanne he received a scholarship to complete his studies at the Vaganova Ballet Academy, where he had the opportunity to perform Flower Festival Pas de deux at the Marinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Telmo has also received the Outstanding European Dancer at the Youth American Grand Prix finals, the Judges Prize at the 2008 Varna International Ballet Competition, was a finalist at the 2008 Bejing IBC, and was a semi finalist in Jackson USA IBC 2014.. After competing in the Prix de Lausanne for the second time Telmo received the apprenticeship award, and chose to join American Ballet Theatre’s second company, where he danced works by Jerome Robbins, Balanchine, and Eduard Liang. Telmo has been invited to participate in International galas such as Youth American Grand Prix’s Japan Gala. Telmo Joined Orlando Ballet in 2011 where he danced numerous leading and danced works by Jessica Lang, Peter Chu , Abdur Jackson, Robert Hill, Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. During his time with the company Telmo had the opportunity to choreograph his own ballets and created “Barco Negro”(2014) “Unsaid”. (2015) “same old fear”(2016) he also has his own production of Firebird created for the Florida Ballet. In 2016 he won best choreography at the YAGP regionals in Tampa. Telmo joined The Rock School’s faculty as Ballet Master in 2017.
Senior Class of 2020/21 • Adrienne Butler, Maddy Harpole, Ellie Iannotti, Amelia McGravey, & Isha Nadig
ROCK ACADEMICS Rock Academics offers a college-preparatory curriculum with the flexibility to accommodate professional dance training. Students enroll in one of our online partner schools and move forward at a pace suited to their individual needs, earning middle and high school credits, culminating in a high school diploma. The Rock Academics staff provides assistance and supervision, with additional support from tutors. Rock Academics combines with the School’s dance instruction to prepare students for both artistic careers and future success in higher education and beyond. Rock Academics also offers an English as a Second Language (ESL) program for non-native speakers and a post-secondary support program for students who want to get a jumpstart on their college careers.
RESIDENCE The Rock School Residence is a home away from home for students coming from all over the world to train and refine their technique. Our Residence is located in the Marine Club condominiums directly across the street from The Rock School. The Residence occupies one floor and includes sixteen large, loft-style apartments, a spacious student lounge with a large television, and a study room. Each apartment has a full bath, laundry facilities, and is air-conditioned. The Residence Life Management Staff live on the floor, ensuring students are well supported by providing 24-hour care for each and every student. There is also a 24-hour doormen/ security at the building entrance to ensure the safety of our residents.
ROCK SCHOOL CLASS of 2020/2021 LEVEL 6 Carolyn Ansinn
Adrienne Butler
Elena deGuzman
Sebastian Garcia
Madelyn Growney
Caroline Hamilton
Maddie Harpole
Ellie Iannotti
Daria Kasuska
Sara Komatsu
Lilith Marchetti
Nonoka Maruyama
Moegi Matsuzawa
Amelia McGravey
Marina Profy
LEVEL 6 Continued LEVEL 5
Lizzie Rasmussen
Tomoya Suzuki
Allison Burbach
Catherine Casey
Jamilla Dartley
Briana Djurasevic
Chloe Fletcher
Charlotte Grace
Sierra Lee
Olivia Link
Emily McAllister
Lily Munson
John Murch
Samantha Sam
Charlotte Tanner-Morash
LEVEL 4
Sarah D’Angelo
Esme Harrison
Dru Hoffman
Emma Kaufman
Kiegan Kepner
Johanna Lackey
Emi Makimura
Brianna Mansi
Milo Mills
Audrey Munson
Caleb Olenick
Ezra Paisley
Isabella Patchell
Kali Phillips
Madeline Reece
Jason Shuman
LEVEL 4 Continued
MimiQ Soong
Schuyler Torres
Ava Yeash
Miya Freeman
Miranda Gao
Clara Gutstadt
Cassidy Kopp
Jadon McCray
Isabel Morales
Kemani Murphy
Olivia Pergine
LEVEL 2X
Kyla Ward
LEVEL 2
Lilian Liu
Owen McCarroll
Karina Morales
Michael Neill
Winter Ramsey
Keyleen Salazar
Ella Sherwood
Makaria Sossman
LEVEL 1/1X
Anthony Akimov
Simon Akimov
Luke Beauregard
Simona Rose Donatucci
Anna Floyd
Rachel Hines
Elija Horst
Katalina Kontostergios
Lea Marcinkiewicz
Yasmine Nakchbandi
Wilfred Peacock-Gentry
2021 SPRING SHOWCASE PROGRAM Level 1/1X Choregrapher: Gina Grace
Anthony Akimov Simon Akimov Luke Beauregard Simona Rose Donatucci Anna Floyd Rachel Hines Elija Horst Katalina Kontostergios Lea Marcinkiewicz Yasmine Nakchbandi Wilfred Peacock-Gentry
Level 2X
Radetzky March Composer: Johann Strauss Sr Choregrapher: Laura Banchero
Miya Freeman Miranda Gao Clara Gutstadt Cassidy Kopp Jadon McCray Isabel Morales Kemani Murphy Olivia Pergine Kyla Ward
Level 2
Level 4
Lilian Liu Owen McCarroll Karina Morales Michael Neill Winter Ramsey Keyleen Salazar Ella Sherwood Makaria Sossman
Esme Harrison Emma Kaufman Kiegan Kepner Johanna Lackey Emi Makimura Brianna Mansi Audrey Munson Isabella Patchell Kali Phillips Madeline Reece MimiQ Soong Schuyler Torres Ava Yeash
Gypsy Baron March Composer: Johann Strauss II Choregrapher: Laura Banchero
Waltz from the Valet Fairy Doll Composer: Joseph Bayer Choregrapher:Telmo Moreira
Level 4
Pas de Quatre from Raymonda Composer: Alexander Glazunov Choregrapher:Telmo Moreira
Dru Hoffman Kiegan Kepner Milo Mills Caleb Olenick Ezra Paisley Jason Shuman
Level 5 Concerto Grosso Composer: Antonio Vivaldi Choregrapher: Justin Allen
Allison Burbach Jamilla Dartley Briana Djurasevic Chloe Fletcher Charlotte Grace Sierra Lee Olivia Link Emily McAllister Lily Munson John Murch Samantha Sam Charlotte Tanner-Morash
Level 6 Habanera from Carmen Composer: Georges Bizet Choregrapher: Justin Allen
Adrienne Butler Elena deGuzman Madelyn Growney Ellie Iannotti Daria Kasuska Sara Komatsu Lilith Marchetti Nonoka Maruyama Moegi Matsuzawa Amelia McGravey Tomoya Suzuki
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Rock Alum, NYCB Principal Dancer, Taylor Stanley, 2008
Congratulations Rock dancers, Directors, Faculty and staff on a successful year of world - class arts education.
- Susan and Frank Mechura
Rock Alumna, Dutch National Soloist, Michaela DePrince, 2010
“ N ev e r b e a f ra i d t o b e a p o p p y i n a fi e l d o f d a f fo d i l s .” -Michaela DePrince
The Rock School for Dance Education would like to thank Nancy Brodie for her generous support of our students and RockReach throughout the years.
Congratulations to THE ROCK SCHOOL on decades of leadership in training successful artists of tomorrow.
- Liza Herzog
2020 Youth America Grand Prix Rock Dancers
- Carol M. Christensen
Rock Alumna, San Francisco Ballet Principal Dancer, WanTing Zhao, RockReach Assembly, 2009
Rock Alum, NYCB Principal Dancer, Taylor Stanley, 2008
Congratuations to The Rock School and RockReach on successfully serving over 65,500 young students in Philadelphia with interactive arts experiences during the 2020 school year.
Rock Academics Alumna, Butler University Student, Gabriella Gutierrez, 2019
Thank you to The Rock School, for giving students a platform to express themselves and find joy through dance.
- Robert and Cheryl Traub
The Rock School for Dance Education’s
2021 RETURN TO THE STAGE DEC. 4 & 5 - Annenberg Center - Philadelphia DEC. 11 & 12 - Centennial Hall - Haverford All 2021/22 School Year students are welcome to perform. w w w. t h e ro c k s c h o o l . o r g