Donna Ross Joins Motion 41 Dance's Summer Intensive Faculty

Donna Ross, former soloist of the Joffrey Ballet, will be on the faculty for Motion 41 Dance's Summer Intensive from June 10-15, 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Donna Ross, a native of Midland, Texas, began her formal ballet training at Kathleen Crofton's Ballet Center of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. In addition to Miss Crofton, Ms. Ross also studied under the guidance of Nathalie Krassovska, David Gayle of the Royal Ballet, Frank Bourman, Errol Addison, and Erling Sunde. Ms. Ross further pursued her studies on scholarship at The Joffrey Ballet School and privately with David Howard, Maggie Black, Melissa Hayden, Marjorie Mussman, Wilhelm Burmann, and Alexander Filipov.

Ms. Ross was promoted into Kathleen Crofton's Festival Ballet of New York where she performed principal roles in ballets such as The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, Flower Festival at Genzano Pas de Deux, and Bluebird Pas de Deux.

At the age of 16, after performing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, partnered by The Joffrey Ballet's Paul Sutherland, Ms. Ross was invited by director, Sally Brayley Bliss, to join Joffrey II. In 1976, Ms. Ross was promoted into the main company, The Joffrey Ballet, where she performed through 1978.

Ms. Ross danced the Foxtrot in Frederick Ashton's Façade and Cobweb in Frederick Ashton's The Dream, and featured roles in La Vivandiere, Gerald Arpino's Kettantanz, Agnes De Mille's Rodeo, and in works by John Cranko, Twyla Tharp, and George Balanchine. Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times described her as "a young dancer to watch".

Ms. Ross also appeared in PBS' "Dance in America Series", "Live From The Greek Theater" in Los Angeles, California in Agnes De Mille's "Conversations About The Dance" performing with dancers from The Joffrey Ballet and the Bella Lewitsky Dance Company, and Gregory Peck and The Beach Boys.

From 1983 through 1985, Ms. Ross was a dancer with The Dallas Ballet, under the directorship of Flemming Flindt. Ms. Ross expanded her roles to include the Peasant Pas de Deux in Flemming Flindt's production of Giselle, the Snow Queen in Flindt's production of The Nutcracker, and principal roles in Flindt's The Three Musketeers, and The Toreador, Swan Lake, Bryan Pitts' The Firebird, George Balanchine's La Sonnambula, and Peter Martins' Delibes Divertissement.

Ms. Ross also appeared as a guest artist as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker with regional ballet companies in the United States and also danced principal roles in the works of emerging choreographers.

After retiring from the stage Ms. Ross earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian from Columbia University in New York City.

During 2000 and 2001 Ms. Ross served as a principal teacher for the Draper Center for Dance Education in Rochester, New York and as associate ballet mistress for the Center's company, the Rochester City Ballet, where she worked with dancers such as American Ballet Theatre's Sarah Lane, Houston Ballet's Jim Nowakowski, and Youth Grand Prix winner, Brittany Shinay.

Ms. Ross served for two years as director of the ballet program at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in North Dallas and for one year as director of the ballet program at QD Academy in Plano, Texas.

In 2004, Ms. Ross opened the Donna Ross School of Classical Ballet in Frisco, Texas, and in 2007, the School's affiliated company, the Donna Ross Ballet gave its inaugural performance.

Ms. Ross is in demand as a guest teacher and has been on the guest faculty of the Abilene Ballet Theater, the Coleman Academy, the Washington Ballet School, Steps (in New York), Corpus Christi Concert Ballet, the Hathaway Academy of Ballet, the Academy of Texas Ballet Theater, Renato Greco's School of Dance in Rome, Italy, and the School of the Dallas Ballet. Ms. Ross has also been an adjunct lecturer in dance at Brooklyn College in New York.

Ms. Ross' choreography has been featured at the Regional Dance America Southwest Festival at the Barnard College Spring Dance Concert in New York.

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