MCPA is proud to have an excellent staff, with the expertise to work with students at every level in their training.

MCPA Co-Director – Kristin Hernandez

Mrs. Hernandez studied all styles of dance with Donna Wienecke from age 6. She attended Towson State as a dance education major, was a dance teacher for 22 years, and recently moved exclusively into administration of MCPA. She has been a member of NADAA, DMA, DEA, Maryland Council for Dance, an affiliate of the American Ballet Academy, and a former regional director for Christopher Ballet Teacher Seminars.

MCPA Co-Director / Artistic Director – Shannon Torres

Mrs. Torres received her early training at the Susan Ina Dance Studio. She went on to continue her training at the Baltimore School for the Arts and Towson University, where she received her B.F.A. in Dance. She spent her summers studying at the Joffrey Ballet and the Eglevsky Ballet. Mrs. Torres studied with such notables as Sylvester Campbell, Stephanie Powell, John Clifford, and Broadway star and choreographer Hinton Battle. Incredibly, she even found herself performing on the same stage with Nureyev at the BSO.

She has been awarded for her choreography in such diverse arenas as the Youth America Grand Prix and the Jazz Dance World Congress, where in 2003 “Fragile”, her choreography from MCPA, was selected as 1 of the top 20 in the United States.

Students trained by Mrs. Torres have performed on Broadway in Cats, Chicago, Wicked, Rockettes Spectaculars, as well as in companies such as Alivin Ailey, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, ABT, Hubbard Street, and Danceworks. Many of her students have gone on to become teachers themselves.

Mrs. Torres has been with MCPA for 13 years, and accepted the position of Artistic Director in 2004.

Instructors

Ninel Cherevko
Ninel graduated from Lvov Choreographic Institute (Ukraine) in 1991.  One of her teachers was a direct student of the greatest Russian teacher, A. Vaganova.  In 1988 Ninel was selected for the Ukrainian Youth Ballet competition and in 1990 to dance with Lvov Ballet Theatre. Ms. Cherevko was a soloist and principal dancer with Lvov Ballet Theatre, Donetsk Ballet Theatre, Moscow City Ballet and Ballet Theatre of Maryland.  In 1994 and 1995 Ninel danced in the International Festival “Stars of World Ballet” with stars of Kirov Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Paris Opera, German and Canadian Ballet.  She was promoted to Highest Category Ballet Artist in 1995.  Ms. Cherevko repertoire includes leading roles in the greatest classical ballets, such as “Swan Lake”, “Don Quixote”, Paquita”, “Giselle”,  “Coppelia”, “Nutcracker”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Chopiniana”, “La Bayadere”., “Cinderella”., “Sleeping Beauty”, “Walpurgus” Night”. Also repertoire include other classical, modern and contemporary works by world famous choreographers, “ForestSong”, “Lileya“, “Samson and Dalila”, are some of the works.

Gabi Chetelat
Gabi grew up training at MCPA, where she was a member of the pre-professional ballet division until graduation. She received early acceptance to the dance major program at Arizona University at age 16. She is finishing her education at the University of Maryland.

Alexa Conway
Alexa grew up training at Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts. While finishing her training at MCPA, she attended summer intensives such Tremaine Summer Dance Intensive in 2004 and Jazz Dance World Congress in 2005. Upon graduating, she attended Manhattanville College in New York where she performed in works by Barbara Duffy, Neta Pulvermacher, and Doug Elkins. In 2007, she transfered to Towson University where she has studied with Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, former soloist from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, as well as Vincent E. Thomas, founder of VTDance out of Washington D.C. She is completing her B.F.A. degree in Dance Performance with a K-12 Teaching Certification.

Susan Ingrassia
Susan performed with the Washington Ballet in her early years, and was a member of Wally Saunder’s Dance Company for 9 years, performing all over Maryland. She received her Master’s Degree in Ballet & Musical Theatre Arts from Western Kentucky University. She has been teaching dance for over 30 years, and has inspired many students to go to successful careers in dance, film, theater, and television.

Dmitri Malikov

Shylo Martinez
Shylo Martinez is a New York University graduate with a B.F.A. Before, during, and after college, she worked professionally for numerous companies all over the world. She started her professional career over in Hamburg, Germany performing Victoria in Cats, followed by the National touring production company in the United States and Canada. She was also asked to perform the role at regional theaters including Walnut Street Theatre, North Shore Music Theatre, Kansas City Starlight Theatre, and The Muny. Continuing her musical theatre career, she performed in West Side Story at theaters including Walnut Street Theatre and The Fulton Opera House during the show’s Anniversary run. Shylo has also performed for several contemporary ballet companies; her favorites include Cherylyn Lavagino in New York City and Echo Park Contemporary Ballet in Washington, D.C. Most recently, she had the honor to work in Twyla Tharp’s production Movin Out during its World Tour.

Lindsay Prucha
Lindsay began dancing at MCPA at age 2, and is the primary instructor in the Children’s program. She attended Baltimore City College as a dance education major, and graduated with a BFA in K-12 certification at the top of her class. She was an extra in the movie “Step Up”, and was asked to choreograph a few barre exercises while on set. She continues her training by attending dance teacher seminars and conventions.

Sonya Smaller (”Tigga”)
Tigga is an original member of the Entourage dance team that has been
in numerous competitions as well as winning Final Destination’s World
Best Champion in Dance.  She is also a featured dancer and
choreographer for the semi-professional Harford Dance Theater. She has
coached and choreographed for hip-hop teams such as East Coast Nitros
Synergy, Fusion and Entourage dance teams, CYA Gators, Aberdeen
Bulldogs, and Dream Allstars to name a few.

Danielle Wagner
Danielle trained at MCPA, and attended Carver Center for the Arts as a Dance Major. She is an accomplished choreographer, presenting work at the High School Dance Festival, and receiving accolades at both the regional and national level. She attended Villa Julie college, and recently received her pre-school teaching certification.