One of eight children of an English brigadier general, Rosemary Miles trained at Elmhurst and the Royal Ballet School in England, during which time she successfully passed all Royal Academy and Cecchetti examinations. Throughout her professional career, Rosemary danced with the Royal Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada and the London Festival Ballet. In America she performed with the educational division of the New York City Ballet and as a soloist with the National Ballet of Washington, Chicago Ballet, and Houston Ballet. Upon retiring as a dancer, Rosemary has enjoyed being a principal teacher at the Houston Ballet Academy; a guest teacher throughout the United States, England, and the Far East; artistic director of the Lexington Ballet; and a member of John McFall's artistic team. Rosemary is the proud aunt of 20 nieces and nephews, 19 grand-nieces and nephews. Rosemary's other passion is golf.
Sharon Story
Dean of Centre for Dance Education,
Ballet Mistress
Sharon Story is currently in her 13th season with Atlanta Ballet. She joined Atlanta
Ballet after a professional dance career that spanned more
than 20 years as a dancer, teacher, private coach and arts
manager. Sharon began training at the Georgia Ballet under
the direction of Iris Hensley. She continued her professional
training under full scholarships in New York City with Joffrey
Ballet and School of American Ballet under a full Ford Foundation
scholarship. She has been a member of Joffrey II, Stars of
New York City Ballet, Atlanta Ballet (under the direction
of Robert Barnett) and Boston Ballet. During her tenure with
Boston Ballet, Sharon traveled with Rudolf Nureyev around
the world. She received her training and inspiration from
such legendary and distinguished mentors such as Rudolf Nureyev,
Robert Joffrey, Violette Verdy, Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia
McBride, Robert Barnett, Anna Marie Holmes, and
Fernando Bujones. In 1996, in addition to her role as ballet mistress, John
McFall's vision and mentorship brought Sharon to her current
position as Dean of the Centre for Dance Education, which
has rapidly grown to one of the largest dance schools in the
nation. She is committed to providing a non-competitive
atmosphere and access to dance education that is shaped by
the community needs, is innovative, and inspires the commitment
and excellence that are the trademarks of Atlanta Ballet. Under Sharon's direction the Centre achieved accreditation
with National Association of Schools of Dance.
Dale Shields
Ballet Mistress
Dale Shields was a principal dancer of Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, where she appeared in lead roles in many productions including Giselle , The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Gaité Parisienne, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Coppélia, as well as George Balanchine's Night Shadow and José Limon's The Moor's Pavane. Ms. Shields' artistic collaboration with IBT's former artistic directors George Verdak and Dace Dindonis produced a depth of original works as well as the staging of the Russian premiere of the ballet Le Bal in St. Petersburg , Russia . In Ms. Shields most recent position as Principal Ballet Mistress for Ballet Internationale, she was responsible for assisting in the original staging of Eldar Aliev's The Nutcracker, A Thousand and One Nights, Firebird and Le Corsaire. She has also assisted in the staging of ballets by such choreographers as Alberto Alonso, Martin Fredmann, Agnes de Mille, Val Caniparoli, Victoria Morgan, and Michael Pink. A native of Winston-Salem , North Carolina, Ms. Shields graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts and Butler University and has been a guest performer and teacher across the United States .
Rosemary Miles, Sharon Story, Dale Shields. Photos
by Charlie McCullers.
