Master Classes & Opportunities

Valery lantratov

September 13th, 2025

Valery Lantratov has had a distinguished career as a dancer in the companies of Vladimir Vasiliev, Maya Plitsetskaya and Ekaterina Maximova and international tours with Rudolf Nureyev. Most recently he has made international headlines for his role as Czar Nicholas II in a production of the new ballet Rasputin, with Farouk Ruzimatov of the Marinsky Theater (Kirov) and for successful international tours of Don Quixote and original choreography for the annual festival for the goddess Aphrodite in Cyprus.

A graduate of the Moscow Academic Choreographic College, Lantratov was selected as a first soloist with the Moscow Stanislavski Ballet. With the theater he danced principal roles in such ballets as Don Quixote, Copellia and Romeo and Juliet. He has received accolades in the Russian and international press for his strong technique, personality and expressiveness.

In 1993, Lantratov began working for the Kremlin Ballet. This same year, he formed the Russian National Ballet Foundation. He has toured as a solo guest artist in such countries as Japan, Germany, Italy, Greece, France, Portugal, Spain and the United States. The Russian National Ballet Foundation has toured in Europe, Asia, The Middle East and the United States.

In 1997, Russian president Boris Yeltsin named Valery Lantratov "People’s Artist of Russia," the Russian Federation’s highest artistic honor.

Mr. Lantratov holds a teaching certificate Russia's renowned National Academy of Theatrical Arts-GITIS.* For three years, Mr. Lantratov served as a guest instructor at the Boston Ballet.

With his Russian National Ballet Foundation, Lantratov is able to realize his goal of introducing new audiences throughout the world to some of the finest classical works of Russia. "No matter what might happen between the countries in the world, dance can deliver peace, compassion and art—eternal values."

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The Joffrey Workshop

January 17th & 18th, 2026

All Studios and Dancers welcome!

Online Registration COMING SOON!

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Joffrey Ballet School

Sunday, March 15th, 2026

Dancers ages 8 to 25 from any studio are invited to audition for any worldwide Joffrey Ballet School Summer Intensive during the Audition Tour. Auditions are held at in-person locations across the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Mexico, and STARZ!

All dancers, new and returning, are required to audition, in consideration for Summer acceptance, scholarships, and placement.

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Olivia Rose Cece

Two Virginias' Dance Fest Faculty

Olivia Cece was born and raised in Cranston, RI, where she trained at APAC for 15 years and then Miami, Florida, for a short period of time. She then moved to New York City to attend the prestigious Pace University Commercial Dance Program in both NYC and Los Angeles and graduated with her BFA. Olivia has since worked in all facets of the industry, including TV/film, appearing on SNL with Miley Cyrus, “So You Think You Can Dance,” Apple TV’s “Lady in the Lake,” “Your Friends and Neighbors” Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, Disney’s Better Nate than Ever, Nickelodeon’s Emmy-nominated Blue’s Big City Adventure, Ru Paul’s Drag Race, and more. Olivia has performed in live industrials for Apple, Hyundai Genesis, and New York Fashion Week for Breitling and Longchamp. Olivia’s favorite credits include her time on the live stage. She was cast in two Broadway first national tours: Charlie & the Chocolate Factory as Ensemble/Veruca Salt and as Kaylee in the original cast of The Prom. Recently, Olivia made her Broadway debut as a swing in Moulin Rouge! The Musical and was beyond thrilled to be making her original Broadway cast/onstage debut in The Heart of Rock and Roll Broadway earlier this year. She recently performed live on Good Morning America with the cast of The Heart of Rock and Roll Broadway. See her now in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway!

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Cassandra Surianello

Two virginias' dance fest faculty

Cassandra Surianello is originally from Buffalo, NY and began her formal dance training at the age of 3 years old. After graduating high school Cassandra moved to Pittsburgh, PA in order to pursue a career in dance, studying at Point Park University receiving her B.F.A in Dance, under the direction of Ruben Graciani in 2016.

Cassandra has varied her studies by attending numerous training programs such as Alonzo Kings Lines Contemporary Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, River North Dance Chicago, Visceral Dance Chicago and Axis Connect.

She has had the honor to study and perform the works of Crystal Pite, Andy Blankenbuehler, William Forsythe, Alejandro Cerrudo, Hofesch Shechter and Alexandra Damiani. Along with working closely with world renown choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Dwight Rhoden, Cindy Salgado and Sonya Tayeh.

Professional credits for Cassandra include touring internationally as the Principal Dancer of Rasta Thomas' "Rock the Ballet" (Bad Boys of Ballet), Principal Dancer performances with The Orsano Project, and MTV Live. Also, modeling and film with companies such as Makeup Forever, Sephora and HBO.

Cassandra is currently in the first National Tour of Fiddler on the Roof.

Jill Warren

two virginias' dancefest faculty

Jill Warren, MA, is a dance educator with a philosophy in teaching that

emphasizes whole-body, developmentally appropriate, well-rounded

training. She holds an MA in Dance Education & Ballet Pedagogy from

New York University and American Ballet Theatre, and a BS in Exercise

Physiology from West Liberty University. While at NYU, Jill studied under

Dr. Susan Koff, Deborah Damast, Patricia Cohen, and Barry Blumenfeld,

and at American Ballet Theatre under Raymond Lukens, Franco De Vita,

and Harriet Clark.

As a choreographer, Jill’s work has been performed at New York

University, the University of Kentucky, West Liberty University, and various

private sector dance studios throughout West Virginia and Ohio. She has

performed with the University of Kentucky Dance Ensemble, West Liberty

University Dance Ensemble, NYU Master’s Dance Concerts and annual

NYU Distinguished Faculty Concert.

As an educator, Jill is on faculty at Turn It Out Dance Academy in

Bellaire, OH, and also directs the Dance Minor at West Liberty University.

She has been a guest teacher at studios throughout WV and PA, and was

a teaching assistant at ABT’s JKO School. Jill’s students have been

accepted to the ABT Summer Intensive, Chloe & Maud Arnold’s Sole Talk

Youth Tap Ensemble, and have successfully competed in title competitions

at Dance Masters of America.

Along with her MA in Dance Education, Jill is an American Ballet

Theatre ® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT ®

Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 and Partnering

of the ABT ® National Training Curriculum. She is a member of the

National Dance Education Organization and West Virginia Dance

Education Organization, where she serves on the board. She is also a

Degreed Member of Ohio Dance Masters and Dance Masters of America.

Jill resides in Wheeling, WV with her husband, Mike, and two sons,

Cooper and Bradley.

Mark Sampson

Mark Sampson, from Charlottetown Prince Edward Island Canada, received his formal ballet training at the National Ballet School of Canada and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.

Following his classical training Mark studied contemporary dance at The Juilliard School where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts and the Martha Hill Prize for leadership and excellence in dance. Upon graduation he danced with BJM Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal performing throughout Canada, China, Europe, Mexico and the United States. Currently Mark is working with Gauthier Dance Company - Theaterhaus Stuttgart under the direction of Eric Gauthier. He has performed works by Andonis Foniadakis, Barak Marshall, Brian Brooks, Camille A. Brown,

Danielle Agami, Ishan Rustem, Itzik Galili, Jerome Robbins, José Limón, Kate Weare, Kyle Abraham, Merce Cunningham, Rodrigo Pederneiras and Twyla Tharp.

Outside of his performance career Mark has acted as a choreographic assistant to Andonis

Foniadakis staging his work “Bolero” for Bale de Cidade de Sao Paolo.

Victor Smalley

Victor has trained and developed some of the top dancers in America over the last ten years. These dancers have gone on to be winners at the top dance competitions in the world, featured on numerous national and international television shows, and students at some of the world's top dance institutions. Victor has trained Ambassador Brady Farrar who is currently on the reality TV show Dance Mom's Season 8. He has also trained SYTYCD winner Ricky Ubeda and SYTYCD finalists Derek Piquette, Daniela Avanzini, and Logan Hernandez, and NBC's World of Dance competitors Diana Pombo, Nick Daniels, and Vivian Ruiz.

Criss Pierce

Guest choreographer - Hip Hop

Criss Pierce began dancing at the age of four and trained for 14 years at Princeton Dance Studio. She was a Princeton Performing Arts Center (PPAC) member from 2018 to 2025, where she performed, competed, and discovered her passion for both movement and choreography. Over the years, she has trained at a variety of intensives and festivals including the CLI Conservatory of Dance Summer Intensive, Joffrey Summer of Hip-Hop, THE INTENSIVE in Canada, WVU Summer Intensive, DIA Dance Intensive, Dance WV (2022 & 2024), and WV Dance Festival (2019–2025). Criss has also attended top conventions such as Art of Movement, Streetz, Monsters of Hip-Hop, and Hollywood Vibe.

Criss has been recognized as an Ignite Standout Dancer and has earned numerous scholarships and awards, including the Ballet Boot Camp Spirit of Excellence Award and the Solo Judges Award at both the Ultimate Dance Tour and StarTalent, where she also placed 1st in category for her self-choreographed solo. She was named the Improv Battle Winner at StarTalent and a finalist in the Streetz Freestyle Battle. She is a two-time scholarship recipient with Art of Movement and Liberate Artists, where she was also offered a Dance Captain position. Additional honors include the Streetz Class Standout Award, Whirlwind Dance Scholarship, and scholarships to WVU Summer Intensive, WKU Summer Intensive in Kentucky and Princeton Ballet in New Jersey. She also received automatic acceptance into the JMU Dance Program.

Her choreography was selected to perform at the MADI Gala, where it received a Superior Rating. She has also worked as a backup dancer for Akyrá K’s “No Mercy,” and continues to pursue opportunities in performance, teaching, and creative direction. Criss has taken professional classes at Brickhouse NYC and Peridance Center to continue developing her skills and creativity.

She has had the privilege of training with some of the industry’s most respected artists, including Brian Puspos, Misha Gabriel, Phil Wright, WOOTAE, Dana Wilson, Josh Price, Kassidy Bright, Dario Boatner, Danny Lawn, Kenichi Kasamatsu, Alex Moffett, Miles Keeney, and Michael Crawford. Criss is currently available for freelance work in choreography, teaching, and performance, and is passionate about telling stories through movement and empowering others through dance.