Studio Experience

Charmaine Hunter began her formal dance training at the Hartford Ballet School under the
leadership of then Artistic Director Michael Uthoff and teacher Truman Finney. Through the
support of Michael Uthoff, Charmaine moved to New York City to study with Arthur Mitchell,
Artistic Director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, while continuing her formal education at the
Professional Children’s School. Dance Theatre of Harlem attracted some of the world’s finest dance
educators. She had the opportunity to study under teachers such as Karel Shook, co-founder of the
Dance Theatre of Harlem, Frederick Franklin, Suzanne Farrell, Tanaquil LeClerque, Carmen
DeLavallade, Geoffrey Holder, Mary Hinkson, Alvin Ailey, and William Griffith, just to name a few.
She rose through the ranks quickly from corps-de-ballet eventually becoming one of the company’s
leading ballerinas and finally as the company’s Ballet Mistress.

She electrified audiences with her performances in a broad spectrum of roles. She is best known for
her role as The Firebird, choreographed by John Taras (Ballet Master with American Ballet Theater)
and Medea, choreographed by Michael Smuin (former Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet.)
Additional ballets include Fall River Legend by Agnes De Mille, Billie the Kid, Voluntaries by Glen
Tetley, and a long list of Balanchine ballets, just to name a few.
During her 27-year career with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, she had opportunities to affect the
arts in the U.S. and abroad, launching programs specifically for young people with little to no access
to the arts. The now-famous Dancing Through Barriers, DTH’s outreach program, had its start in
Johannesburg, South Africa. Charmaine served as principal dance educator on the launch of this
highly acclaimed educational initiative.

In 1988, Dance Theatre of Harlem was invited to perform in the former Soviet Union as part of the
United States Cultural Exchange Initiative, in which Ms. Hunter led this educational initiative as
spokesperson, principal teacher, and representative from the US.

In November 2000, Charmaine traveled to China, conducting extensive outreach and educational
activities as a teaching artist and principal dancer. She was invited to instruct master classes at
various schools in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

During her tenure at the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Miss Hunter was invited to serve as Ballet
Mistress and principal teacher at the Jones-Haywood School of Dance in Washington D.C. the
country’s first ballet school founded by two African American women, Doris Jones and Claire
Haywood. Although the school was founded to bridge the gap and open doors for young African
Americans to learn the art form of classical ballet, it was open to everyone. The two women were
the pioneers in creating a platform for people of color to train and compete on an international
level.

In January 2001, Ms. Hunter was invited to Canada by Mirvish Productions, the Toronto-based
Production Company, to direct the resident show Disney’s The Lion King at the Princess of Wales
Theater. She held this position for 3.5 years until the production moved to Amsterdam, Holland.
Ms. Hunter then moved to Macau, China, to oversee the implementation of the Sands Corporation’s
entertainment at the new Venetian Macau, one of the Sands Corporation’s largest properties in the
world, with 20 performance venues.

Three years later, Ms. Hunter relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, after being offered the position of
Casting director and talent scout with the Cirque du Soleil. She served as the company’s talent scout
for dance as well as Dance Master for the artists in the productions on the Las Vegas Strip. She was
also overseeing the classes and training of dance artists on the production of ‘A New Day’ at the
Coliseum in Caesars Palace, which featured Celine Dion.

Charmaine then co-founded the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater with fellow dancer
Bernard Gaddis, formerly of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. LVCDT is a multicultural
institution that attracts professional dancers and students from around the world.

After the launch of Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater (LVCDT), Ms. Hunter was appointed to
the position of teaching artist with Disney Musicals in Schools with Disney Theatricals and Wolftrap Early Childhood Education through the arts with The Smith Center of Performing Arts. She traveled nationally, training classroom teachers on various methods used to incorporate dance in
early childhood curriculum and expanding on the STEAM programs. Her position as a teaching
artist led to many other opportunities, which carved another path in directing and management.
Charmaine has returned to the professional concert dance world after accepting a full-time faculty
position as Upper School Principal and co-director with Texas Ballet Theater under the guidance
and leadership of Ben Stevenson O.B.E., Director Emeritus of Houston Ballet.

Ms. Hunter accepted a position with Orlando Ballet as Director of Community Engagement. In
this role, she leads the organization’s arts education and outreach initiatives, overseeing a robust
portfolio of programs that bring the joy and discipline of dance to communities across the region.
Over the past eight years, Ms. Hunter has been instrumental in expanding the reach of Orlando
Ballet’s educational efforts. Today, their Community Enrichment programs serve seven counties,
offering classes at over 140 locations to participants ranging from age 3 to 103.
She founded the Orlando Ballet’s RISE program, a visionary initiative that awards high school
dancers scholarships, elite training opportunities, and clear pathways to top companies and
universities nationwide. Her efforts garnered her recognition by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Central
Florida for Community Impact.

Following her tenure with the Orlando Ballet, Charmaine migrated to Sarasota, Florida, to accept
the position of faculty member with the Sarasota Ballet School & Margaret Barbieri
Conservatory and Director of Community Engagement with The Sarasota Ballet. There, she
taught across multiple levels at the Margaret Barbieri Conservatory and Academy, helping to
shape the next generation of dancers through the organization’s impactful ‘Dance – The Next
Generation’ program, an after-school dance program for the under-resourced community.
Now back home with her family in Orlando, Charmaine is excited to begin a new chapter as a
Core Teacher with Central Florida Ballet and Events Manager with the World Ballet
Competition. She looks forward to a vibrant future of artistic growth, mentorship, and
community involvement

Duncan Cooper

Born in Denver, Colorado, Mr. Cooper currently living in San Francisco. However having spent a considerable amount of time growing up in NYC and the Bay Area, he considers himself a native of both coasts. Over his carrer he danced with two major companies, San Francisco Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem, with the latter with whom he was a principal dancer with for 9 years. His travels touring with these companies have taken him all over the world. 

Mr. Cooper started dancing at the age of five, when he began taking ballet classes at Richard Thomas’ New York School of Ballet. At the age of 13 Mr. Cooper received a full scholarship to train at the San Francisco Ballet School. He soon became a recipient of the Robert Kirby Scholarship, as well as the first to receive the Lew Christensen Scholarship for best male dancer. In 1989, bypassing the obligatory apprentice year, he was made a full company member. 

During his time with San Francisco Ballet, Mr. Cooper danced a wide range of the repertoire. During Mr. Cooper’s nine years dancing with Dance Theatre of Harlem as a Principal dancer, he danced leading roles in such ballets as Balanchine’s Apollo, Prodigal Son, Agon, Allegro Brillante and Stars & Stripes; Albrecht in Giselle; Robbins’ Fancy Free; Ashton’s Thais pas de deux; Glenn Tetley’s Sphinx & Dialogues; Smuin’s A Song For Dead Warriors and St. Louis Blues and many others. 

Notable guest appearances have included being invited to dance lead in Stars and Stripes for New York City Ballet’s Balanchine Centennial Celebration, playing the part of Apollo in Central Park’s Summer Stage Balanchine Centennial Tribute; Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Ashton & Balanchine Gala; in the Miami International Dance Festival, Washington Ballet’s Giselle, Dance Brazil’s Festival in Bahia, Brazil, Rebecca Kelly Ballet’s 25 Anniversary, and with Dances Patrelle he has danced the lead in Mr. Patrelle’s Macbeth, as well as dancing in his “POP” & Ms. Meredith’s “Pair of Jacks pas de deux”; Lexington Ballets Fabric of Dance Galas 2 &3, Ballet Virginia International,Virginia Ballet Theatre, Ballet NY, Configuration Dance, Lexington Ballet and many others. 

In March of 2007 Mr. Cooper created his first one act, full-length contemporary ballet for Virginia Ballet Theatre, an homage to the 1960’s spy film genre called, Mr. Evil and The Forever Diamond. Most recently in 2010, Mr. Cooper was invited to choreograph a 37 min. full-length contemporary ballet work called, Universal Residue for Lexington Ballet. In 2011, Mr.Cooper was also invited by new Dance Theatre of Harlem director Virginia Johnson, to be a part of their Harlem Works 2.0 Series, where he danced a new pas de deux choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultre called “Believe”, created on him and former Broadway & ABT great Ashley Tuttle. 

Until 2007, Mr. Cooper was also involved in and part creator of a National Outreach Program for kids at risk, called Athletes For Kids (AFK), involving professional dancers and star professional athletes. Although most of his time and attention is now focused on teaching, mentoring & choregraphing, Mr. Cooper continues to dance as a freelance dancer on various dance projects and galas nationally and internationally. He also continues to be apart of the Lines Ballet School teaching staff & New York City Dance Alliance. Currently he is also co-creator & Director of a new national summer program called Modas Dance Summer Program 

Karina Gonzalez was born in Caracas, Venezuela and started her ballet training at the Gustavo Franklin Ballet School at age 7. She danced professionally with Ballet National of Caracas, Tulsa Ballet, and Houston Ballet. She is a silver medal winner of the New York International Ballet competition.   

 Ms. Gonzalez joined Houston Ballet in 2013 as a soloist and was promoted to principal dancer after her debut as Nikiya in Stanton Welch’s La Bayadere. She has danced in principal roles by the world’s world-class choreographers, including Ben Stevenson, Andre Prokovsy, John Cranko, George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Jiří Kylián, John Neumeier, Jerome Robbin, Wayne McGregor, Justin Peck, Jorma Elo, James Kudelka and many others.  

 Gonzalez had the opportunity to have roles created for her, getting acclaimed reviews. One of the most memorable was the role of Juliet in Welch’s Romeo and Juliet and the most recent the role of Sylvia in Stanton Welch’s Sylvia. She has been invited to the Gala International Colombia (2006) and to the New York International Ballet Competition’s Gala (2009). Her first appearance as a guest dancer with a full-length ballet was with Ballet Estable del Teatro Colon in Argentina, performing the role of Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. She participated in the Career Transition For Dancers’ 26th Anniversary Jubilee in New York City and The Festival de Danza Cordoba in Mexico. Ms. Gonzalez performed in the International Ballet Gala in Malaysia and was a guest artists with The Australian Ballet to dance the role of Nikiya in Stanton’s La Bayadere.  

 Gonzalez has been featured in many publications, being the cover of Pointe Magazine’s, Dance Magazine’s November, and A+C Houston Magazine’s edition. Gonzalez was named “Best Dancer” by the Houston Press and was one of Pointe magazine’s favorite performances of the year for her role of Nikiya in La Bayadere.  

 Gonzalez was highlighted in Kimberly Clark’s and Honda Civic’s 2016 Television and Marketing campaign. Gonzalez was recognized by The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at their annual Gala and named one of the 30th Most Influential Women in Houston.  

 Gonzalez was invited to be a guest artist with the Leipzig Ballet in Germany and was invited to participate at the 26th International Ballet Festival of Havana. She was invited to represent the first American Company to dance at the NHK Ballet Festival in Tokyo with her role of Juliet. She also made her second appearance with the Australian Ballet, dancing the role of Sylvia. 

 González is a proud mother of two daughters, Eva and Julia Edwards. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Leadership and Management. She is also the founder of Voices of Arts Central, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create a space that uplifts artists of all backgrounds through collaborative, multidisciplinary arts programming. 

Kyra Nichols is Violette Verdy and Kathy Ziliak Anderson Chair in Ballet and professor of music in ballet at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. 

She began her early training in Berkeley, California, with her mother, Sally Streets, a former member of New York City Ballet (NYCB). By age 13, Nichols started spending her summers in New York at the School of American Ballet. She performed with Alan Howard’s San Francisco-based Pacific Ballet before moving to New York full time when she was 15 years old. 

Nichols became an apprentice to NYCB in 1974 and quickly became a member of the corps de ballet. She was promoted to soloist in 1978 and in 1979 was promoted by George Balanchine to principal dancer. Her early years in the company were enlivened by the presence of Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, both of whom were choreographing on the company. She danced numerous leading roles in the company repertory, ranging from pyrotechnic displays of bravura skill in ballets such as “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto Number 2” and “Stars and Stripes” to more lyrical and dramatic roles such as those in “Liebeslieder Walzer” and Robert Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze.”

In addition to her work with Balanchine and Robbins, Nichols has worked with an extensive list of choreographers, including William Forsythe, Susan Stroman, Christopher Wheeldon, Peter Martins, Jacques D’Amboise, Robert La Fosse, and Robert Garland. 

During her performing career, Nichols toured extensively. In 1981, she joined a small group led by Robbins that performed in mainland China as part of a U.S. Information Agency effort to bring American culture to China. She has performed all over the world, including in Great Britain, Japan, France, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Israel, and Italy. She appeared as a guest artist in various productions, including Franco Zeffirelli’s “La Traviata” at the Metropolitan Opera. By special invitation, she performed in Cuba as a guest of Alicia Alonso. With NYCB dancer Gen Horiuchi, Nichols led a group of dancers for a three-week series of performances in Tokyo. Her touring included sites all over the United States, from high school gymnasiums in Alabama to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. 

Nichols appeared on national television in Balanchine’s “Vienna Waltzes” in A Lincoln Center Special: A New York City Ballet Tribute to George Balanchine, in Balanchine’s “Serenade” for a Dance in America program, and in Peter Martins’ “Beethoven Romance” for the Dance in America program Ballerinas, Dances by Peter Martins. She also appeared in the twentieth-anniversary broadcast of the PBS series Great Performances, in Martins’ “Not My Girl.” She danced the featured role of Dewdrop in the film version of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, released in November 1993 by Warner Brothers. 

Nichols retired from New York City Ballet in June 2007, after 33 years with the company, the longest-serving ballerina in the company’s history. Since retiring from NYCB, she has been teaching and setting ballets. In 2015, she became a ballet mistress with Pennsylvania Ballet.