Rebecca Tew (Owner/Director)
Rebecca Tew began her training as a young teen in upstate New York. She studied under principals from Russia's Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet, Andrey Shakhin, Yulia Akopyan, and Ilya Gaft. Her training then took her from upstate to New York City and New Jersey, where she learned a more effective approach that suits a broader range of physical facilities and adapts, as needed to the anatomy of each dancer. After graduating, Ms. Tew went on to perform principal, solo, and corps roles in several classical and non-classical ballets such as Paquita, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Stars and Stripes, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Cinderella, Iolanthe, Alice in Wonderland, Valse Fantaisie, Italian Symphony, along with several contemporary works as a freelance artist until accepting a full-time position with Connecticut's state ballet company, Connecticut Ballet where she performed seven seasons.
In 2012, Ms. Tew saw a need for proper ballet training in Rockland County, New York, and decided to open Ballet Rockland. Having chosen to teach full-time, she is currently dancing professionally part-time throughout the tri-state area as a freelance artist.
Knowing the importance of staying current in today's ever-evolving ballet world, she continues to keep her dance education fresh by taking regular ballet classes and working closely with Dance Physical therapists; this ensures her students receive the best possible training.
Mary Beth Hansohn (Ballet/ Pointe)
Mary Beth Hansohn received her classical training from The Arlington Center for Dance (now, Ballet Nova Center for Dance), Maryland Youth Ballet, and American Ballet Theater. She has performed with Twyla Tharp Dance, The Metropolitan Opera-LIVE in HD, The Ohio Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, The Cleveland Opera, Neglia Ballet, and The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on CBS. Mary Beth has also worked with Edouard Lock at La La La Human Steps in Montreal. She is a registered yoga teacher and received her 200-hr teacher training from The Yandara Yoga Institute. She has created custom Barre Fitness, yoga, and ballet classes for studios in New York City, including Broadway Dance Center and Ballet Arts.
Cesar Ortiz (Ballet /Pas De Deux)
Cesar Ortiz, a native of Columbia, began dancing as a child. His professional training has taken him across the world from South America to Russia, Europe and the USA. Cesar began his career as a principal dancer for Ballet de Cali Company dancing the role of Don Quixote, The Nutcracker and other great works such as Barrio Ballet, Coppelia and much more. He has danced with notable companies such as the Ohio Dance Theater, Black Door ensemble, Ganesville Ballet Theater, Sacramento Ballet, Saratoga Springs Ballet, Westchester Ballet Company & the Joffery Ballet NYC prior to beginning his teaching career.
Claire Beebe (Contemporary/ Choreography)
Claire is an accomplished dancer and dance instructor who has studied and taught ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, modern, and hip-hop. She has been affiliated with the Hudson Valley Conservatory for approximately ten years as a student and instructor and has also studied voice and flute at the Conservatory. Claire is also a member of the Hudson Valley Contemporary Company under the direction of Paige Constable Cummings and has played major roles in their productions including Pearl: Billie Holiday; Janis Joplin; and The Giving Tree. She has also performed several principal roles throughout the greater NY area for companies such as Warwick Center for the Performing Arts as well as Hudson Valley Ballet Company. Claire choreographed Chester Academy's 2016 musical Fame and will be choreographing there 2017 musical Rent. Claire's formal training began when she was in third grade when she joined the Valley Central High School Dance Team. Claire continued her dance education through Rockland Community College.
Clare Kohavi (Ballet/Pointe/ Rehearsal)
Clare Kohavi performed with Ballet South, US Terpsichore, The Noverre Ballet and American Ballet Theater in corps, soloist and principal roles. After beginning her training with Mara Bowlin and Cynthia Fisk, she studied on scholarship at The American Ballet Theater School, The New York School of Ballet and at the Arts Educational School, London, and with David Howard, Hans Brenaa and Anne Heaton.
As a principal actress, she has appeared in straight theater and musicals, including productions at The Riverside Shakespeare Company, (Boys From Syracuse; Measure for Measure) and at The Cubiculo. She studied acting with Flo Salant Greenberg, Fred Kareman and Mary Allen. As Founder and Artistic Director of The Nyack Moving Theater Company she created unique versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Alice in Wonderland integrating dance into text, and taught in NMTC's selective, scholarship-only, professional-track training program.
Clare’s class stresses harmonious movement based on anatomically sound teaching leading to a strong and adaptable ballet technique. She has staged ballets, taught company class and choreographed for Ballet South, The Noverre Ballet, The Opera/Dance Consort and off- Broadway. In addition to her professional preparation and experience, she attended the Professional Dancer’s Teaching Course at The Royal Academy of Dance, London. Currently she teaches and also privately coaches dancers interested in strengthening their technique and repertoire performance skills through detailed study. Clare brings her background and experience to working with her students, many of whom have won acceptance to competitive programs including The Royal Ballet School, The School of American Ballet, The Alvin Ailey School, SUNY Purchase, Marymount Manhattan, The School at Steps, Kaatsbaan Summer Dance Intensive and The Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Kristen Prescott (Ballet Instructor)
Kristen Prescott began her dance training at Connecticut Ballet and the Ballet School of Stamford under Stephanie Marini and went on to graduate from the Greenwich Ballet Academy under the direction of Sara Knight and Michael Shannon. Kristen has studied at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Nutmeg Conservatory, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, as well as at Colorado Ballet on full scholarship, where she was offered a position with the Colorado Ballet Studio Company. Kristen began her professional career at Configuration Dance Theatre in Buffalo, NY, where she performed many soloist and principal roles and was fortunate to work closely with Yuri Zhukov, Catherine Batcheller, and Harrison McEldowney. At the 2009 Buffalo Dance Festival, Kristen shared the stage with Daniel Ulbricht, Misty Copeland, Misa Karunaga, and Robert Fairchild, among others, and performed Joseph Cipolla’s Soft Verge at an anniversary event honoring Arthur Mitchell of Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has also performed with Ballet des Ameriques and numerous times for choreographer Marcos Vedoveto and was seen on ABC’S Elementary. Kristen completed five seasons with Connecticut Ballet, where it was her pleasure to perform many soloist and principal roles, including Bluebird Pas de Deux, Courant Fairy from Sleeping Beauty, Mazurka from Coppelia, and Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Pulse. She is currently dancing her second season with Thomas Ortiz Dance.
Anna de la Paz (Flamenco/ Classical Spanish)
Anna de la Paz began her dance training with Maria Morales at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, studying many genres of dance including classical and folkloric Spanish dances, flamenco and ballet. She also studied at the University of New Mexico’s celebrated Flamenco and Spanish Dance Department and received her B.F.A. in Dance Performance and her B.A. in Spanish Literature from Towson University. Later, she went to Madrid, Spain to continue her professional studies with Mariemma, Gala Vivancos, La Tati, Pacita Tomás, Joaquín Villa, Tomás de Madrid, Cristóbal Reyes, María Magdalena and Pedro Azorín. Her early projects include, Washington Opera’s La Traviata at the Kennedy Center, American Bolero Dance Company’s critically acclaimed production Olé! Olé! Fin de Siglo, and Amigos de la Zarzuela performances at Carnegie Hall. Ms. de la Paz created and produced her own shows Alegría Española and Migración, which were performed in New York City and the surrounding suburbs. In 2012, Anna de la Paz began a close collaboration with mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna, and has created and performed in many historically significant projects like Music and Dance in the times of the Duchess of Alba (1762-1802), commissioned by the Hispanic Society of America in New York City and La Nuit Espagnole: Flamenco and the Vanguard, performed at DROM, NYC. Another important collaboration has been with world- renowned tap dancer, Heather Cornell. Together, they created Making Music Dance, a cross fusion of flamenco, the many flavors of tap and world music, which premiered at Jazz en Rafale in Montreal in 2013. In addition to her work as a performer and choreographer, Anna de la Paz is dedicated to sharing the art of Spanish dance through education. Ms. de la Paz regularly conducts master classes, workshops and residencies throughout the tri-state area. She is also co-director (with Heather Cornell) of “Walk to the Beat,” a new concept for an annual improvisational music and dance festival created for the village of Nyack, NY, where she currently lives with her husband and three children.