Ballet Tucson

Bios

Mary Beth Cabana.

Founding Artistic Director

MARY-BETH CABANA, Founding Artistic Director, has been a Principal Dancer with Cleveland Ballet, Ballet Oklahoma, Arizona Dance Theatre and San Diego Ballet. She received her early training under the critical eye of E.Virginia Williams at the Boston Ballet. At the age of 14 Ms. Cabana began her professional career with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and then graduated from the National Academy of Dance, where she was a full-scholarship student and member of the National Academy Ballet. She has performed extensively in the United States and Europe in a wide variety of roles by such noted choreographers as Balanchine, Tudor, DeMille, Joos, Forsythe, Fokine, Petipa and Nahat.

Ms. Cabana has been on the faculties of the School of Cleveland Ballet, Ballet Arts-Carnegie Hall, Dance Concepts – NYC and was the Principal Instructor and Administrator for Arizona Dance Theatre (Ballet Arizona). She has guest taught for Kiev Ukraine Ballet and the Palace of Pioneers in the former Soviet Union, in France and Mexico and continue to guest teach throughout the United States. Under the direction of Ethan Stiefel, she has designed and conducted summer programs for Ballet Pacifica in Irvine, California.

As a choreographer, Ms. Cabana has produced a vast amount of original works and restagings of classic ballets. She has also staged dances for Arizona Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, Ohio Ballet, Ballet Pacifica, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Burklyn Ballet Theatre.

Since beginning in 1986, she has established Ballet Arts Tucson, branch schools in Nogales, Sierra Vista and Patagonia, the annual Summer Dance Workshop in cooperation with UA School of Dance and international dance/cultural exchanges. Ballet Tucson’s Artistic Director has also founded and fostered the development of Ballet Tucson (Tucson’s resident professional ballet company) and Ballet Tucson II (Tucson’s premier youth ballet). Ms. Cabana has been nominated for the Arizona Arts Award, for a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Tucson Pima Arts Council and identified as an Outstanding Individual Artist by the Governor of the State of Arizona. In 2009, she was invited by New York City Ballet Director, Peter Martins, to attend the 75th Anniversary of the School of American Ballet and was recognized as one of the foremost teachers in the United States as part of National Teacher’s Weekend.

A talented costume and scenic designer in her own right, Ballet Tucson’s founder has been instrumental in the overall design of all productions.

Ms. Cabana brings her wealth of experience to dancers of all ages. Her commitment to the cultivation of young talent continues as her students dance professionally in major American and European ballet companies and schools.

Back to top

Chieko Imada.

Assistant Artistic Director

CHIEKO IMADA is a native of Japan where she danced professionally as a Soloist with Inoue Ballet of Tokyo and also served as Ballet Mistress there. She has worked closely with many of the past and current noted figures of classical ballet, having performed in Europe, Korea, the Philippines, Australia and the South Pacific.

Since coming to the United States, she has been a member of Arizona Dance Theatre, Ballet Arizona and a former Principal Dancer for Ballet Tucson. She also appeared regularly with Orts Theatre of Dance and Tenth St. Danceworks modern troupes in Tucson.

Over the years, she has been responsible for staging many classical ballets and has also created numerous original contemporary works on Ballet Tucson, enriching the company’s repertoire. A talented choreographer, Ms. Imada has been nominated for the Buffalo Exchange Arts Award and the Governor’s Art Award.

She continues to be sought after as a guest teacher and choreographer. This season, she debuts her original ballet Phantom of the Opera in collaboration with Mary Beth Cabana. She is also the Director of Educational Outreach for Ballet Tucson implementing “Put Your Best Foot Forward with Ballet Tucson” in Tucson's Title 1 schools.

Back to top

Daniel Precup.

Company Ballet Master

DANIEL PRECUP is a graduate of the acclaimed National Choreographic High School in Bucharest, Romania. He joined the Oleg Danovski Ballet Theater at 18, eventually rising to the rank of Principal Dancer. He has starred in international tours in The Miraculous Mandarin, The Three Musketeers and Swan Lake. In 2003, he joined Oakland Ballet before becoming principal dancer with Ballet Tucson in 2004 during its inaugural professional season. Since joining, he has danced leading roles in Dracula, Esmeralda and the Hunchback, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to name only a few.

Recently, he has begun to create works for the company to great audience response. His unique choreographic perspective has been seen in his Boler-O, Carmen, and Gemini. This year, he will debut a new original work Steps for Dance & Dessert 2015.

Mr. Precup was appointed Ballet Master for the company during the 2011-2012 season.

Back to top

Deanna Doncsecz.

Company Regisseur

DEANNA DONCSECZ received her early training at Nardi’s Dance & Gymnastics Center in Pennsylvania. She attended the highly competitive Governor’s School for the Arts and also taught on its faculty. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Arizona with a B.F.A. in dance. After college, she continued her training with Jeanne Isaacs in San Diego, ODC in San Francisco, Koresh Dance Co. in Philadelphia and with Mary Beth Cabana and Chieko Imada at Ballet Tucson.

Since joining the company in 2002, she has been featured in numerous roles including Esmeralda and the Hunchback, Laura’s Women, Three Virgins and a Devil, Fandango and In Mercury. An audience favorite, she is recognized for her strong dramatic ability and versatility.

Ms. Doncsecz serves as Company Regisseur for Ballet Tucson, Ballet Tucson II and the Children’s Ensemble. Recently, she successfully presented BLEND, a new contemporary dance group, showcasing a full evening of her choreography. She will also contribute a new contemporary work for Dance & Dessert 2015.

Back to top

Suzanne Erlon.

Guest Teacher and Coach

SUZANNE ERLON KEE is the artistic director emerita of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and Academy (MBT) in Rockville, Maryland. MBT annually presents ten performances of The Nutcracker, a Spring Program, and a variety of outreach activities in area public and private schools. Ms. Erlon also is a member of the Board of Ballet Tucson. Ms. Erlon's ballet training began in St. Paul, Minnesota, with Lorand Andahazy and Anna Andrianova from Ballet Russe; she studied with E. Virginia Williams in Boston and was a soloist with the Boston Ballet; joined the Metropolitan Opera Ballet at 17 and the New York City Ballet at 18. At NYC Ballet, she worked with some of the most prominent ballet masters of the 20th Century, including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Antony Tudor, Kent Stowell and Francia Russell. In her 10 years with NYC Ballet, she danced in more than 50 ballets of Balanchine, Robbins, and Tudor. After one season with the Eliot Feld Ballet, she joined Ballet West as a principal dancer in 1975. During her years at Ballet West, she danced most of the major classical female roles (in Coppelia, Giselle, Swan Lake) and a variety of contemporary works of William F. Christensen, Dina Bjorn, Tom Rudd and Bruce Marks. She also was a guest artist with Arizona Ballet Theatre and Ballet Folk. After retiring as a dancer, Ms. Erlon co-founded the Christensen Ballet Academy (which became the Ballet West Christensen Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah). Moving to Washington, DC in 1985, she taught advanced “release-time” students at the Washington School of Ballet for four years before creating her own school and company, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and Academy (MBT), in 1989. She is a prolific choreographer having created both traditional and contemporary works for MBT, including The Nutcracker , Cinderella , Coppelia , Swan Lake, Firebird , Bach Suite Three , Rhapsody , Intimations , Festival , Romance , and Driving a Tutu . She had previously created works for Ballet West and the University of Utah. Two of Ms. Erlon's works were presented in Ballet Tucson's Dance & Dessert program in 2014.

James Edwin Kee.

Executive Director

JAMES EDWIN (JED) KEE is a Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and Public Administration of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration.  He joined George Washington University in 1985 as an Associate Professor of Public Administration after a 17 year career in government in the states of New York and Utah.  In New York, Kee served as a legal assistant in the Office of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and later became a legislative counsel to the New York State Assembly. In Utah, he held a series of cabinet positions including Budget Director and Executive Director of the Department of Administrative Services, the umbrella finance and management department of the state.

At GW, Kee was promoted to Professor in 1992; became chair of the Department of Public Administration in 1992-93; and was named Senior Associate Dean of the School of Business and Public Management in July 1993. He was responsible for the long range planning and budgeting for the school, faculty development, and curriculum planning.  In July 1997, Kee was named the Interim Dean and served in that position for a year. From 1997 to 2003, Kee was the Giant Food Inc. Professor of Public/Private Management.

Professor Kee’s teaching and research interests are in the areas of leadership, cross-sector collaborations, contracting-out and public financial management. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 book chapters and journal articles for such journals at Public Administration Review, Public Budgeting and Finance and The Harvard Law Review. He co-authored Out of Balance with former Utah Governor Scott M. Matheson and Transforming Public and Nonprofit Organizations: Stewardship for Leading Change (2008) with Kathryn Newcomer. He is currently completing a book entitled Governing Cross-Sector Collaborations: Emerging Choices for Public Managers for publication in 2014.  Professor Kee has conducted a variety of training programs in finance, evaluation and public leadership throughout the world.

Professor Kee has extensive work with nonprofit organizations, serving as President of the Stuyvesant Town Tenants Association in NYC; Treasurer and President of Green Acres School (a K-8 progressive school in Maryland); Treasurer and President of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and Academy; Director of Development and Board Member of Ballet West; co-founder of the Willam F. Christensen Foundation at the University of Utah and co-founder of the Christiansen Ballet Academy (which became the Ballet West Christensen Academy). He also is Secretary-Treasurer and a member of the Board of the Arizona Senior Academy.

Jed is married to Suzanne Erlon, Artistic Director Emerita of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre. They have one son, James J. Kee, an opera singer currently in Germany.

Back to top

Thomas  Gilliam.

Company Manager

Bio coming soon.

Company Auditions.

Ballet Tucson is currently accepting audition materials for male and female dancers for the upcoming 2015-2016 season. Audition classes can be arranged by calling Ballet Tucson at (520) 903-1445

Open audition dates for Ballet Tucson's 2014-2015 Season: To be announced

Ballet Arts Studio 200 S. Tucson Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85716 (520) 623-3373

Back to top

Children's Auditions

Auditions for Sleeping Beauty:

Saturday, January 17 (3:30 – 5:30 pm) Saturday, January 24 (3:30 – 5:30 pm) Saturday, January 31 (3:30 – 5:30 pm) – last call Please call Ballet Arts (520-623-3373) for specific level audition times.  

Auditions for Summer Workshop 2015:

Summer Workshop is May 26 – June 20 (4 weeks)  Placement/Scholarship Auditions will take place on Sunday, February 22 (12:00 – 1:30 pm) and Sunday, April 12 (12:00 – 1:30 pm) at Ballet Arts Studio. Note: $20 audition fee required for Summer Workshop 2015 auditions. (Dates & fees subject to change) For more information, please call Ballet Arts at (520) 623-3373 Back to top