Faculty

Carole Alexis is known throughout the world for her versatility, unique style and artistic approach to dance, choreography, teaching, and performing. As an honors graduate of the Mudra School created by Maurice Béjart, Léopold Sédard Senghor and UNESCO, Carole Alexis excelled in all varieties of dance. She has toured in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, dancing as a soloist, ensemble member and freelancer in many companies and productions including: Rick Odums Dance Company - Artistic Director: Rick Odums; Compagnie Du Corail, Soloist - Directors: Jean-Paul Césaire and Suzi Maniry; Les Ballets Jazz de Paris, Soloist - Artistic Director: Mervyn Francis; Moise Dance Company, Soloist - Artistic Director: Moise; Claire Tallia, Soloist - Artistic Director: Claire Tallia; Compagnie Irene Tassembedo.  

Carole Alexis studied with: Maurice Béjart, ballet and choreographic intensives; Nikoloz Makhateli, ballet; Bertrand Pie, ballet; Jorge Lefèbre, Director of the Royal Ballet of Wallonie, ballet and choreographic work; Solange Golovine, ballet; Jaqueline Fyneart, barre au sol; Larrio Ekson, modern dance and choreographic intensives; Julien Jouga, music; Goris Théâtre; Doudou NDiaye Rose, percussion; Jacqueline Rayet, Opéra de Paris, ballet; Savitri Nair, Bharata Natyam; Rick Odums, jazz and modern jazz; Peter Goss, Modern Jose Limon based; Jay Allen Augen, ballet; Andrej Glekovski, ballet; Yuriko Kikuchi, Director of the Martha Graham Company; Bruce Taylor, modern dance, modern jazz and choreographic work; Jean-Claude Zadith, ballet, Barre au sol, modern dance and choreographic work; Nina Valery, ballet; Germaine Acogny, African dance and choreographic work; Ray Phillips, modern Graham technique; Jaqueline Scott Lemoine, theater; Jean-Claude Lamorandière, contemporary and Afro-Caribbean dance.

During her studies, Carole Alexis won numerous merit scholarships and the First Prize of Minolta Danse pour l’image. Her image has graced several magazine covers and she has been featured in many newspaper articles and magazines including the Encyclopédie de la Femme Antillaise. A documentary entitled Come Dance With Me, directed by Jean-Paul Césaire, portrays the early career of Carole Alexis when she was discovered by Aimé Césaire.

Isodale Alexis started her ballet training at the age of five with her mother, Carole Alexis, with whom she still trains today. Isodale has performed on the stages of the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Florence Gould Hall, Joyce Theater, L’Atrium Martinique and more. She also took classes at the Manhattan Youth Ballet, Studio Maestro, Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem and studied music at the Harbor Conservatory, and the Bloomingdale School of Music. Isodale graduated from Ballet des Amériques School in June 2012. In addition to pursuing her career in dance, Isodale is attending the Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY) as a Liberal Arts student.

Ms. Fichaux graduated from the Paris Opera Ballet School in France before completing her studies at the Ballet School of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.

Marie performed with the Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company, The Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève in Switzerland and later joined the Royal Ballet of London as a First Artist. In 2003 she was invited by choreographer Nacho Duato to become a Soloist of La Compania Nacional de danza (Spain), where she performed the entire repertoire of the company. Lately, while being a Principal dancer for Connecticut Ballet, Marie was chosen as guest for galas across the country as well as for international venues. She had the chance to interpret a wide range of styles and roles under the direction of talented choreographers from Paris Opera Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, Boston Ballet, among others.

Finally, Marie furthered her studies in Dance Education, earning a Master degree at the Centre National de la Danse in Paris, and also holds a Doctorate in Languages and Foreign Literatures from Geneva University. 

David Irwin is a musician, music producer, dancer and administrator, who graduated with a B.A. in Music from Columbia University’s Barnard College. He began his professional dance journey with the Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company. Under the tutelage of Enrique Cruz DeJesus, David was able to develop his precision, expression and versatility as a dancer. David also received training at Peridance Center with Michael Thomas, and with Marnie Thomas in Graham technique. For three summers from 2007 through 2010, David participated in the Rennie Harris Puremovement Illadelph Legends Festival. He was invited to the Complexions Summer Intensive in August 2011, where he also acted as Program Coordinator. In Winter 2011, David participated in the R.Evolución Latina: Beyond Workshop Series with Luis Salgado. He joined Ballet des Amériques in the Winter 2012 to study ballet technique with Mme. Carole Alexis. Most recently, David was invited by postmodern choreographer David Gordon and will be performing in a production on October 25th. His administrative experience ranges from Administrative Assistant at the Center for Studies on Ethnicity and Race (CSER) at Columbia University from 2007-2010 to Programming and Marketing Assistant at Harlem Stage in the Spring of 2010. 

Mexican-American dancer Celeste Landa has a diverse and accomplished career as a young performer. Her training began at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Palm Beach Florida. As student of New World School of the Arts, she also studied on scholarship with American Ballet Theatre and Ballet Austin. Alongside her performance experience, Celeste spent two years at Vantage Point Dance Studios under the direction of J.J. Butler as a dance instructor. More recently, Celeste began training at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in midtown New York. Additionally, Ms. Landa has joined Ballet des Amériques, where she looks forward to having a special collaborative experience.

Marina began training in ballet at a young age and delved into flamenco soon afterward. She began her studies in Spanish classical dance and flamenco with Adela Clara and continued her training with La Mónica and Yaelisa in the San Francisco Bay Area. She first traveled to Spain in 2006 where she studied with Yolanda Heredia, Rosario Toledo and Andres Pena in Sevilla. A year later she continued in Madrid with Concha Jareno and Maria Juncal. Marina made her performance debut at the age of fifteen with Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco and continued with the company for three years – during which she shared the stage with Pastora Galvan and Jose Anillo. She also appeared with La Monica's Pasion Flamenca and Maria Benitez's Teatro Flamenco in the summer of 2007. Marina also was a company member of Caminos Flamencos since 2004 until her recent move to New York City, performing in premier venues such as the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Yoshi’s Jazz Club, and Cowell Theatre in addition to circulating the tablao scene. She graduated from Stanford University in 2008 with a B.A. degree in Film and Spanish language.

Born in Chengdu, China, Lan Zheng recevied her early training at the Beijing Dance Academy, where she trained for seven years. Lan joined the Shanghai Ballet Company as a member of the corps de ballet in 1999 and was appointed a soloist in 2004. Her repertoire with Shanghai Ballet includes the Mirlitons, Snow Flakes in Nutcracker, first pas de deux in La Valse, four Russian girls in Serenade, pas de six in Romeo and Juliet, pas de quart, Italian dance and four swans in Swan Lake, pas de sept in La Spyphide and contemporary soloist in Mondern Dance Dialogue Chopin. In 2011, Lan was awarded the National Second Level Dance award by the Shanghai Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security.