summer intensives at decruz ballet 2025

Lindsi Dec is from Fairfax, Virginia. She trained at Washington School of Ballet and on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2001 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2002, soloist in 2009, and principal in 2014. Ms. Dec retired from Pacific Northwest Ballet in July of 2020 but will continue to teach master classes, privates, and stage ballets for Kiyon Gaines, former PNB Soloist. READ FULL BIO HERE

Karel Cruz is from Holguin, Cuba, and received his training at Cuba’s Escuela Nacional de Artes. He joined Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1996 and left in 1998 to join Ballet Clasico de Camara in Venezuela. From 1999 to 2000, he danced with Teatro Teresa Carreno, also in Venezuela. After coming to the United States, Mr. Cruz spent a year at the Rock School joining Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2002. He was promoted to soloist in 2007 and principal in 2009. Mr. Cruz retired from Pacific Northwest Ballet in July 2018. He joined The University of Oklahoma as a ballet instructor for the dance department in 2019. READ FULL BIO HERE

Meredith T. Webster grew up in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, studying under Jean Wolfmeyer. She worked with Sonia Dawkins and Donald Byrd in Seattle, and earned a B.S. from the University of Washington before dancing with Alonzo King LINES Ballet.

In 2014 she became the Ballet Master for LINES, and she continues to stage Mr. King’s work. Meredith has collaborated with Ledoh/Salt Farm, Maureen Whiting & Co., UNA Productions, and The Cambrians. Screendance works include: Mirrors, Evidence of it All, Numenon, and Miles Away. Meredith sits on the Board of Directors for Maureen Whiting & Co. and lives on the unceded Ohlone land of xučyun (Huchiun), also known as Oakland, California.

Ashleigh was born and raised in South Africa. At 20, she became a professional Ballet and Contemporary dancer in Europe, performing with SemperOper Ballett, Deutsches Fernsehballett, Peter Schaufuss Ballet and in projects with Royal Ballet, Rambert and London Contemporary Ballet Theatre. In 2017, she moved to the US, originally Seattle, then Los Angeles and recently, New York City. She has over 12 years of teaching experience and sits on the judging panel of Youth American Grand Prix. She still performs in international productions and was most recently cast in a soloist role at the Metropolitan Opera.

Bearden is only the third director at the University of Oklahoma School of Dance’s 54-year history. Prior to coming to OU Bearden was the Artistic Director of Ballet Arkansas and an Assistant Professor of Ballet at the University of Utah. Before beginning his work in teaching and administration, Bearden had a long performing career as a principal dancer with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah, and performed leading roles in works by some of the world’s greatest choreographers including George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor, William Forsythe, Ben Stevenson, Stanton Welch, Ulysses Dove, Glen Tetley, Twyla Tharp, Jiri Kylian and Christopher Bruce.

Bearden’s work as a choreographer includes creating or staging his ballets for Ballet West, the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, the University of Cincinnati, Belhaven University, Texas Christian University and Bucknell University.

Josh Spell is a licensed social worker in the state of Washington and currently works in private practice in Seattle. Before beginning his practice, Josh worked in the eating disorder field and generalized behavioral health settings. He earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington and received his undergraduate degree from Seattle University. Josh was a Company dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet from 2001 to 2011 and also danced with Kansas City Ballet. He trained at the School of American Ballet and attended Summer Course at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Josh danced a wide range of repertory from George Balanchine to Twyla Tharp. Among his favorite roles were the second sailor in Jerome Robbin’s Fancy Free, Puck in George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Benvolio in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette and roles in Sechs Tänze and Petite Mort by Jiri Kylián. His former career as a professional ballet dancer informs his current approach, and he is passionate about working with. Josh is excited to return to the dance world in a new role consulting with professional and aspiring dancers from a holistic perspective.

Michelle Chaviano was born in Miami, Florida. She began dancing in South Florida at The Art of Classical Ballet under the training of Magaly Suarez. During her time at The Art of Classical Ballet her repertoire included Clara, Snow Queen, and Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker, Pas De Trois in Paquita, Majisimo, and Pas De Trois in Le Corsaire. She then moved to London where she joined the English National Ballet School on full scholarship and graduated after two years at the school. During this time she had the opportunity to perform as Swanhilda in English National Ballet 2: My First Coppelia and in English National Ballet’s The Nutcracker. She then joined Teatru De Balet Sibiu in Romania before returning to Miami where she danced for Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami under Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra. She recently performed in Cinderella with Ballet North Texas. Michelle has also taken part in a couple of prestigious summer programs with American Ballet Theatre and Miami City Ballet. She is currently in South Florida continuing her training with Francis Veyette, Lauren Fadeley Veyette and virtually with Michele Gifford.

Graduate from The Royal Ballet School's highest teaching qualification, Diploma of Dance Teaching , specializing in Vocational training. A Senior and Mid-Associates teacher in London, Covent Garden for The Royal Ballet School's Associates Programme. Rebecca has also had the privilege of successfully teaching full-time at White Lodge, the Lower School of The Royal Ballet School in 2016-2017, as well as collaborating with the School’s team of teachers in choreographing a class demonstration for the end of year performance at Opera Holland Park (2017). During her time as a Classical Ballet teacher for White Lodge she supported students in Repertoire for The Royal Ballet Company's performances of The Nutcracker (Sir Peter Wright’s production) and Woolf Works (Wayne McGregor). She has been part of the Associate Outreach team teaching in Livorno, Italy and a teacher at the White Lodge Summer Schools. Rebecca was privileged to be one of the teachers for The Royal Ballet School’s Spring Course 2018 held in Hong Kong. Rebecca has been a panel member for preliminary auditions for full time training at The Royal Ballet School, as well as teaching preliminary audition classes for both the Lower and Upper School. READ MORE HERE

Originally from Dayton, OH, Hannah began her early training with Camille Izard Morris, a former dancer with ABT. She continued her training at Dayton Ballet under Dermot & Karen Russo Burke, Paul Gilliam, and others, where she performed alongside the professional company. She spent her summers training with BalletMet, ABT, The Washington School of Ballet, Orlando Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet. Hannah earned her BFA in Ballet Performance from the University of Oklahoma School of Dance with a Minor in Health/Exercise Science. There she enjoyed repertoire in both classical and modern/contemporary realms. Highlights include works by Merce Cunningham, Trey McIntyre, George Balanchine, Amy Hall Garner, Nilas Martins, Willam Christensen, Michael Bearden, and Boyko Dossev to name a few. Along with performing, Hannah loves to choreograph and is recently created a world premiere for Confluence Ballet. Hannah has performed with Fort Wayne Ballet, Ballet North Texas, and Texture Contemporary Ballet. She works in administration, social media/marketing and teaches for DeCruz Ballet, led by former PNB Principals Lindsi Dec and Karel Cruz. Hannah is a certified Pilates Instructor and has completed the ABT NTC Teaching Certification for Pre-Primary through Level 3.

Renee Blackwelder began her dancing career at the age of three with the prestigious Boving School of Dance in Houston, TX, under the direction of Valentine Boving and Ballet Mistress Olga Kostritzky. After graduation from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston, as a dance major, Renee' spent five years with the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and seven years with Kennedy and Company. She has performed in various ballets including the Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Nutcracker, Peter and the Wolf, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty and Coppelia. She also earned the highest honor in the senior division of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Program under the direction of Ms. Kostritzky. As an accomplished tap dancer, Renee' has performed in various musicals in the Houston area including The Boyfriend, Cats and excerpts from A Chorus Line and Chicago. Renee' also has a new love for Flamenco joining the group Espana Viva in 2017 which performs all over the San Antonio area. Renee' has been teaching in Houston and San Antonio for 15 years sharing her love of dance. She earned an Associate of Arts degree in Business from San Jacinto College in Houston. Renee' and her husband reside in San Antonio and have two beautiful daughters.