Faculty

Our outstanding faculty teach dancers at every level to think creatively, to see critically, and to utilize the skills developed with classical training as a framework for excellence in all of their pursuits. The heart of Metropolitan Ballet Academy is its knowledgeable, energetic, and dedicated faculty. Each member of this remarkable team brings to Metropolitan the professional expertise acquired only through a career in the professional dance world. Our accomplished faculty brings their love of dance and teaching to the studio, generously sharing their understanding and appreciation of the art form and classical technique as they strive to challenge and inspire our students at every level.

Caroline Broullon

Caroline Broullon began her training in Doylestown, PA at Budzynski Studios. She continued her studies at North Carolina School of the Arts, City Ballet School in San Francisco, both the pre-professional year program and Summer Session, Steps on Broadway – Summer Session, and the Centre De Dance Choreart in Brussels, Belgium. Ms. Broullon performs with Dance Theatre of PA in both soloist and principal roles. She has also performed with Philadelphia Civic Ballet and Choreart. Ms. Broullon has been a member of the Metropolitan Ballet faculty since 1997.

 

Janet Blenheim

As a former professional dancer, Japan Fulbright Scholar, winner of the 2015 Upper Dublin Outstanding Educator Medal, and recently retired Upper Dublin K-5 Math Department Head, Janet Blenheim (Kinetic Literacy Program/ M3 = Math x Music x Movement©) is passionate about the beauty of mathematics and the rigor of dance. Ms. Blenheim is a founding member and former president of  Metropolitan Ballet Company’s Board of Directors and currently a lead teacher in Metropolitan Ballet Company’s Kinetic Literacy Program bringing her M3 program to elementary students in The School District of Philadelphia.

 

Denise Somrack D’Angelo

Denise Somrack D’Angelo (Faculty/ Choreographer) began her ballet training in Cleveland, Ohio at age 3 and studied with Janice and Raymond Smith from age 11 through 17 at The Willoughby School of Fine Arts (Fine Arts Association).  At age 17 she was awarded a full scholarship to study at the School of the Pennsylvania Ballet under the direction of Lupe Serrano.  In 1982 she joined the Pennsylvania Ballet with Barbara Weisberger and Benjamin Harkarvy as directors, and became a soloist in 1987 under the direction of Robert Weiss.  Ms. D’Angelo danced many soloist and principal roles in the classical and Balanchine repertoire such as Snow Queen and Dew Drop in The Nutcracker, Myrta in Giselle, Prayer in Coppelia as well as principal roles in Who Cares, Western Symphony and Rubies.  Additionally, she worked with many noted choreographers including Robert Weiss, Peter Martins, Richard Tanner, Benjamin Harkarvy, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. She retired in 1988.  

 A member of Metropolitan Ballet Academy’s faculty since 1997, Ms. D’Angelo has choreographed several works for the company, including Divertimento in F major, K. 138 (2012), Holberg Suite (2013) and Waltz of the Flowers fromThe Nutcracker (2013). Ms. D’Angelo was co-choreographer for Metropolitan’s highly successful world premiere production of Cinderella (2010) and her work Evening Song was selected for performance at the Regional Dance America Festival (2010).

 

Elizabeth Seader Fine

Elizabeth Seader Fine has been teaching ballet in the Montgomery and Bucks County region for over twenty years. She started her training in Doylestown, Pa, at Budzynski Studios of Ballet.  She also attended the School of The Pennsylvania Ballet and North Carolina School of the Arts, along with summer sessions at the New York State Summer School of the Arts, where she studied with members of New York City Ballet, Nashville Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. After graduating, Elizabeth moved to Seattle, Washington, where she attended Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and was part of the advanced professional class, where she had the the opportunity to perform with the company on various occasions. She is a former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Pennsylvania, and has taught master classes for the Villanova University Dance ensemble. Elizabeth has her BA from Temple University with a double major in History and Art History.

 

Sakie Hachiya

Sakie Hachiya was born in Tokyo, Japan and began her Classic Ballet training at age 3. She received disciplined, intense and high quality training with ballet schools and performed for many ballet productions, including principal roles and soloist roles. She graduated from the Showa Ballet School for Performing Arts and then worked with Inoue Ballet Company performing featured roles from the classical repertoire. It was also at this time that Ms. Hachiya began to teach, choreograph and stage manage at Ballet Schools and coach students for competitions. In 2011, she moved to New York City and worked again in principal, soloist and corps de ballet roles for Staten Island Ballet, Felice Lesser Dance Theater, New Contemporary Ballet Project, Dance En L’air and The Next Stage Project’s Sandy Relief Benefit and worked as a guest dancer for Vangeline Theater, Great Neck Ballet School and Aika Ballet School. Throughout her career, Ms. Hachiya has continued to teach Classical Ballet and Master Classes at Ballet and Dance Schools in New York and Pennsylvania, sharing a love for Ballet with young dancers, and passionately teaching correct technique and high-quality ballet lessons. She coaches Competitions, including the Youth America Grand Prix and has routinely placed in top tiers. Her choreographing and coaching for Big Group, Small Group and Ballet Variation has won titles and awards, including special and choreography awards, for National Dance Competitions over the years.

 

Daniel Mayo

Daniel Mayo is originally from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He received his BFA in Dance in 2007 from The Juilliard School in New York City. Daniel most recently danced with Philadelphia based company BalletX, from 2014 until his retirement in August 2018.  As a member of BalletX,  Daniel performed extensively throughout the United States and was featured in numerous creations including works by choreographers Matthew Neenan, Jorma Elo, Nicolo Fonte, and Trey McIntyre. Prior to joining BalletX, Daniel was a member of the Montreal based company RUBBERBANDance Group under the direction of Victor Quijada. During his 3 years with RUBBERBANDance Group, Daniel toured throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, and participated in multiple film projects, most notably for Bravo!FACT. From 2007-2010 Daniel was a company dancer with Atlanta Ballet under the direction of John McFall, where he performed many classical roles as well as contemporary works. He has also worked professionally as a guest artist with The Atlanta Opera, Dance Grand Moultrie, and Bennyroyce Dance. In addition to performing, Daniel was on faculty at Western Wyoming Community College, and currently serves as a guest teacher and choreographer throughout the United States.  He is delighted to join the Metropolitan faculty for 2018-2019, and will lead beginning, intermediate and advanced classes in Metropolitan Ballet Company’s Boys’ Scholarship Program.

 

Sarah Mettin

Sarah Mettin (Artistic Associate / Faculty / Choreographer) is an alumna of Metropolitan Ballet Company, and graduated cum laude from SUNY Purchase Dance Conservatory in 2011, with additional studies in Rotterdam, Netherlands at Codarts (Rotterdamse Dans Academie).  She has had the opportunity to perform in works by many choreographers including Twyla Tharp, Bill T. Jones, Merce Cunningham, Jose Limon, Kate Weare, Takehiro Ueyama, Kanji Segawa, Jessica Lang, Jonathan Royse Windham, and Arantxa Sagardoy.

Ms. Mettin created her first work, Talk of Interference, in the Netherlands in 2009 and in 2011 founded her company,  Mettin Movement. Mettin Movement was proud to appear at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Inside /Out (July 2015). Ms. Mettin choreographed a work on dance artist Samantha Figgins (Alvin Ailey), and in 2013, was invited to return to her alma mater to set a senior repertory solo– a very meaningful recognition of her choreographic abilities by the professors at SUNY Purchase College.  The solo was awarded the Dean’s Choice, and won her the invitation to set a full-length work on Purchase Dance Company for the 2014-2015 season.

Ms. Mettin has created eight original works for Metropolitan Ballet Company.  Her first work for Met, Free Standing (2011), won the Regional Dance America Festival Monticello Award, a full scholarship to study under Janis Brenner (The Juilliard School) at the National Choreography Conference. Her other works for Metropolitan include Deep Down Basic Whatever There Is (2017), A Winged Victory (2016), Two Wills (2015), Coalesce (2015), Fractals (2014), Fieldwork (2013), and Fend (2012).  Her solo, Time Passing, created for Boys’ Scholarship student, Daniel Shevelev was selected for the 2014 Youth America Grand Prix Outstanding Choreography Award in Philadelphia.  Ms. Mettin joined the faculty of Metropolitan Ballet Academy in 2013 and has also served as Ballet Mistress , assisting with the staging of works by both Kanji Segawa (Alvin Ailey) and Tommie-Waheed Evans (Philadanco). She completed an MS in Arts Management from Drexel and was named Artistic Associate / Metropolitan Ballet Company in 2019.

Eva Szabo

Ms. Szabo was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary She began her dance training with the Hungarian National Ballet Institute in 1970, graduating with Honors and acceptance into the Gyori Ballet company, where she danced until 1988.  After retiring from performance, Ms. Szabo took her teaching diploma from the Hungarian National Ballet Institute, also with honors, and moved with her family to Philadelphia.  Ms. Szabo teaches across the Philadelphia / Tri State region and has served as part of Metropolitan Ballet’s faculty as master teacher, guest artist and coach since 1999.

 

Natalya Lushina Zeiger

Natalya Lushina Zeiger is a graduate of the Moscow Academy of the Bolshoi Theater and a former soloist with the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Company. As a member of the Bolshoi, Ms. Zeiger worked with such European masters as Roland Petit, Maurice Bejart, Alberto Alonso and Yuri Grigorovitch. Her many leading roles include Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Raymonda, and La Bayadere. Ms. Zeiger has been a member of the Metropolitan faculty since 2001, serving as teacher, repetiteur and coach. She has staged many productions for Metropolitan Ballet, including Paquita, Swan Lake, Act II, Swan Lake, Act III, Les Sylphides, The Sleeping Beauty, Act 3, Le Jardin Animé, Suite from Don Quixote and The Children’s Mazurka from Paquita, as well as many classical pas de deux.

Ms. Zeiger also holds a Master’s Degree in Dance Education from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. She often serves as a juror and instructor for Youth America Grand Prix, and is a highly sought after guest teacher, leading master classes throughout the United States and abroad.

Summer Faculty

Mayara Pineiro

Mayara Pineiro graduated from the prestigious Cuban National Ballet School under the direction of Ramona de Sáa. She has participated in international dance festivals across the globe, including South Africa, Peru, and Canada. At age 16, Mayara won a silver medal in the International Ballet Competition held in Havana, Cuba. That same year, she received a gold medal in the Danza & Mare Competition in Calabria, Italy and a second gold medal in 2011 at the Youth American Grand Prix in Tampa, Florida. She was featured in Dance Magazine in 2015 and graced the cover of Pointe Magazine in 2016. Mayara’s courageous journey from Cuba to the U.S. was featured in the 2014 documentary Secundaria by filmmaker Mary Jane Doherty. She was a dance model in Gap’s Fit Fall 2016 Campaign.

Mayara began her professional career as a soloist with the National Opera of Bucharest, where she danced a variety of featured roles. In 2012, she was invited to be a guest artist with Balletto del Sud in Italy under the direction of Fredy Franzutti and toured throughout Italy. In 2012 to 2014 she danced with the Milwaukee Ballet.

Mayara joined Philadelphia Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in our 2014/2015 Season. She was promoted to soloist in 2015 and quickly became a principal dancer in 2016. Mayara’s repertoire with the company includes roles in Angel Corella’s Le Corsaire (Medora and Gulnara), in The Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), Giselle (Giselle), La Bayadère, (Nikiya and Gamzatti) and Don Quixote (Kitri). Her performances include Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella (Cinderella), and Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet (Juliet). She has the distinguished honor to have danced Odile/Odette in both Christopher Wheeldon’s and Angel Corella’s’ Swan Lake. Mayara has also danced in featured roles in Matthew Neenan’s Shift to Minor and Jerome Robbins’ The Concert. Included in her vast repertoire are principal roles in many ballets by George Balanchine including, The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum and Dew Drop), Western Symphony, Allegro Brillante, Square Dance, Tarantella, Serenade, Apollo, Rubies and Emeralds in Jewels, The Four Temperaments, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and Stravinsky Violin Concerto. She has been featured in prestigious ballet such as Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, William Forsythe’s The Second Detail, David Dawson’s The Third Light and Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort.

Mayara has been on the Summer Intensive Program faculty with the Metropolitan Ballet since 2015.