Louise Nadeau took her first ballet lesson at the local Girls Club in Pittsfield, MA. She trained with the Cantarella School of Dance in Pittsfield and the Alexandra School of Ballet in St. Louis before moving to New York at age fifteen to attend the School of American Ballet on scholarship. She danced with Basel Ballet under the direction of Heinz Spoerli and the Kansas City Ballet under the direction of Todd Bolender before joining Pacific Northwest Ballet as a Soloist in 1990. She was promoted to Principal in 1992 and retired from the stage with a celebratory gala in June of 2009.

Her versatility and powerful interpretive skills made her a favorite in full length classical ballets as well as contemporary works. Ms. Nadeau has performed leading roles in over 25 ballets of George Balanchine. She has had the great fortune to work with many contemporary choreographers and perform works by William Forsythe, Jerome Robbins, Jose Limon, Alvin Ailey, Val Caniparoli, Donald Byrd, Glen Tetley, Twyla Tharp, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Paul Gibson, Olivier Wevers, Edwaard Liang, Paul Taylor and Christopher Wheeldon. Her classical repertoire includes the full length story ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Widow, Don Quixote and Cinderella.

Ms. Nadeau performed nationally and internationally with Pacific NW Ballet and as a guest artist. She performed the Divertissement pas de deux in the BBC’s 1999 film version of PNB’s production of Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, filmed at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London. In 2000, she took part in The George Balanchine Foundation’s Interpreters Archive series, dancing excerpts from Balanchine’s Agon, coached by Melissa Hayden.
 

Ms. Nadeau began teaching for the PNB School in 2006. Upon retiring from the stage in 2009 Ms. Nadeau continued to teach ballet and accepted the position of School Principal for Evergreen City Ballet in September of 2013. She returned to the PNB school faculty in the fall of 2015. In 2020 she was the Master Teacher for the Denver Ballet Guild Young Dancer Competition.

Originally from Kansas City, Lauren began her training at the Kansas City Ballet. Upon graduating she moved to New York City to dance under Gelsey Kirkland at the Joffrey Ballet. She continued her training and performance at Ballet Austin, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, and Nashville Ballet’s 2nd company. Since joining the Saint Louis Ballet in 2013, Lauren has performed in numerous ballets by renowned choreographers including George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Christopher Wheeldon, Gen Horiuchi, Emery Lecrone, and Christopher d’Amboise. Her featured roles include the Pas de Deux couple in Gerald Arpino’s “Light Rain”, Snow Queen in “The Nutcracker”, Candide and Jewels from “Sleeping Beauty”, Lead Swan in “Swan Lake”, Summer Fairy and Gypsy Queen in “Cinderella”. Lauren discovered her love of teaching in 2015 when she joined the Saint Louis Ballet School faculty.

Rebecca Cornett has been dancing as a company dancer with the St. Louis Ballet since 2014, where she has danced various roles such as Juliet in Gen Horiuchi’s Romeo and Juliet, Nine Sinatra Songs by Twyla Tharp, the Turning Girl in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Neapolitan in Gen Horiuchi’s Swan Lake, Winter Fairy in Gen Horiuchi’s Cinderella, and Princess Florine in Gen Horiuchi’s Sleeping Beauty. She has also worked with several choreographers, including Greg Dolbashian, Emery LeCrone, Tom Gold, and Michael Uthoff. Before St. Louis Ballet, she trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet under the direction of Peter Boal and Boston Ballet School under the direction of Margaret Tracey. She won the bronze medal at the World Ballet Competition in the pre-professional category in 2010. 

Originally from Springfield IL, Kendall grew up dancing with the Springfield Ballet Company and performed in theatrical productions such as “West Side Story” with the Springfield Muni Opera. In May of 2020, she graduated with departmental honors with a BFA in Dance, emphasis in Ballet, from Webster University. At Webster, Kendall trained with Michael Uthoff, Alicia Graf Mack, Maggi Dueker, Beckah Reed, and worked with many choreographers around the country. In the summer of 2018, she studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland to study Ballet and European Contemporary Dance. Since Graduating, she danced in “Do not go Gentle” with choreography by Jacob Henss and performed with The Big Muddy Dance Company as a trainee for their 2020-2021 season.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Lauren began her dance education later in life at the age of 16.  She grew up training in gymnastics and competitive cheerleading before finding and pursuing her passion in dance. Beginning at a local studio she was introduced to the dance world before moving to Springfield for college. While attending Missouri State University for a degree in Animation and Computer Science, Lauren studied ballet, modern, and conditioning with Springfield Ballet.  She also performed in their pre-professional productions including a variety of roles in their annual performance of "The Nutcracker".  Additionally, during her time in Springfield, she choreographed, directed, and animated multiple fine arts dance projects for the Missouri State Animation and Electronic Arts programs, as well as professionally. Now back in St. Louis Lauren has been training with St. Louis Ballet’s school and assistant teaching for over 4 years.  She is excited to share her experience and passion with the younger dancers alongside the St. Louis Ballet staff.

Courtney's performing arts career spans the last two decades. She got her start in the circus where she has performed, coached, and trained a variety of aerial and ground acts throughout the United States, Caribbean, Canada, and China. Her touring experience has taken her to 45 states with shows such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, SeaWorld, Club Med, and others. Her earliest professional aspiration, however, was to be a dancer. She was most influenced by the training she received at The Center for Contemporary Dance in Winter Park, FL and Esquina Tango in Austin, TX. She began teaching ballroom dance at Majestic Dance Studio in St. Louis in 2016. Courtney can currently be found producing dance content for special events throughout the greater St. Louis region as a way of sharing her love of all things ballroom.

Ms. Houston received her training as a scholarship student from Theresa Lee Crawford in Detroit, Michigan, the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and the Virginia School of the Arts under the direction of Petrus Bosman and David Keener, augmenting studies at summer programs in Houston, Boston, Cleveland, and Italy. As a former member of Saint Louis Ballet, Ms. Houston performed featured roles in ballets by numerous choreographers including George Balanchine, Gen Horiuchi, and Francis Patrelle. Ms. Houston has taught ballet in the St. Louis area since 1998. Also previously holding the title of Co-Artistic Director at Alexandra Ballet, during her twelve years there she taught all levels, oversaw rehearsals, served on the Board of Directors, tended to administrative duties, was a director for Regional Dance America, choreographed original works and restaged classics by Bournonville and Petipa. A lifelong enthusiast of various syllabi and repertoire, Ms. Houston has been influenced by the styles of Ashton, Balanchine, Cecchetti, Preobajenska, Vagonova, and considers the Bournonville style to be a particular specialty in her teaching. Having returned to the staff of Saint Louis Ballet School in 2015, Ms. Houston also serves as Rehearsal Director for the company.

Originally from North Carolina, Liz began her dance training at Ballet Spartanburg, in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  She then spent two years at University of North Carolina School of the Arts before being invited to train at the San Francisco Ballet School at the age of sixteen. After completing her studies in San Francisco, she joined Oregon Ballet Theater as a trainee in their Professional Division. In 2014 she joined Saint Louis Ballet as a company dancer where she performed for eight seasons, dancing roles such as “The Queen of Hearts” in Alice in Wonderland, and “Fairy Godmother” in Cinderella. While dancing with the company she also taught students of all ages at the Saint Louis Ballet School and completed her Bachelor’s degree at Washington University in St. Louis. After spending a year in New York City, she returned to the St. Louis dance community in 2023 to share her love of dance and movement with the students of SLBS. 

Ms. McCart received her training at St Louis Ballet School with Gen Horiuchi and Ellen Costanza. She continued her training at Charlotte Ballet’s Summer Intensive and attended Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Summer Intensive with a merit scholarship from the Dance Council. Lauren has danced professionally with the Saint Louis Ballet and with Missouri Ballet Theatre. She has performed in George Balanchine's “Serenade”, Pas de Trois in "Swan Lake",The Sugar Plum Fairy in "The Nutcracker", as well as in various roles in "Giselle", "Cinderella" and "The Sleeping Beauty". Along with her passion for ballet, she loves musical theatre and trained with LifeLight Youth Theatre. She performed as Belle in “Beauty and The Beast”, The Narrator in “Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat”, and has performed in the Muny chorus.

As a native of St. Louis, Missouri, Donna Patzius-Hill studied dance at her mother's studio, Patzius Performing Arts. After graduation, Donna went on to a long 20 year professional ballet career where she danced principal roles with Ballet West in Salt Lake City UT, Atlanta Ballet and Ballet Met in Columbus
OH. Donna enjoyed many leading Classical roles throughout her career including her signature role as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Sugarplum Fairy and Snow Queen in John McFall's Nutcracker, Le Corsaire, Giselle, Balanchines Allegro Brilliant, Western Symphony, Serenade, Divertimento, Violin Concerto, to name a few. Donna has also enjoyed the opportunity to work with many Contemporary Choreographers including William Forsythe, Val Caniparoli, Eddy Toussaint, John McFall, Ben Stevenson, Paul Taylor, James Kudelka, Kirk Peterson, and many more. Since retiring from the stage and returning home to St. Louis, Donna took on the position of Artistic Director of Midwest Ballet Theatre (The official student ballet company of Patzius Performing Arts) from 2002-2023. There she taught company class, coached and was their resident choreographer. Donna has choreographed dozens of Award winning Classical and Contemporary ballets for MBT along with a full length Nutcracker. Donna is proud to say that many of her students have gone on to dance professionally including both of her beautiful daughters. Currently, Donna enjoys teaching Company Class for St. Louis Ballet and The Big Muddy Dance Company along with students of COCA and Motion Express School of Dance. Mrs. Patzius-Hill is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3. Donna is also a member of Dance Masters of America certified in both Jazz and Ballet.

Ms. Paxton took her first dance class at the age of 5 and it was love at first step. Over the past 38 years she has studied the art of Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Musical Theater, Hip-Hop & Modern.  In her years of training, she has been lucky to study under some of the biggest names in the industry today, such as Janice Barringer (Pace University NYC), Mia Michaels (Choreographer of Broadway’s Finding Neverland and Radio City Rockettes NYC Spectacular),Tyce Diorio (Emmy award winning choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance), Ray Leeper (Choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance), Marguerite Derricks (Choreographer of the 2009 movie "FAME" and the T.V. show "Bunheads.") Andrea has trained with Tremaine Dance, LA Dance Magic, The Edge Dance Center & Dupree Dance. She also minored in dance at Lindenwood University while majoring in Education. She is fortunate to have made a career out of her passion working as a professional dancer/singer, as well as dance instructor and award winning choreographer for the past 27 years. This job has offered many exciting opportunities and taken her all over the country, and across the world. Some highlights of her professional career include performing in shows at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, The Lotte Theatre in Busan, South Korea, The Empire Theatre at Six Flags St. Louis, The Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, Harrah's in St. Louis, Kansas City and San Diego and Line Captain and Choreographer for St. Louis Steamers Steam Heat Dance Line. In 2020, she choreographed an ensemble piece for YAGP for Saint Louis Ballet School, which was invited to compete at the Grand Finals in New York City. Andrea is committed to her craft and committed to sharing and passing her passion and knowledge of dance onto her students.

Ali Phillips is a St. Louis native who has been dancing since the age of three. Over the years, Ali has danced for some of the top competitive dance studios in St. Louis.  She has competed nationwide and has been part of numerous nationally-recognized dances. She has also had the honor of studying under some of the most acclaimed names in the industry, including Mia Michaels, Ray Leeper, Marguerite Derricks and Wade Robson to name a few. Ali began her career as a dance instructor at the age of 16 after sustaining an injury that prematurely ended her dance career.  As difficult as that was, it opened doors for her to pursue new passions, including her love for teaching an appreciation for dance to the next generations. She spent many years teaching and choreographing in the competitive dance space, helping to bring home numerous national titles. Ali is also an accomplished vocalist having worked with some of the best musicians and artists in St. Louis.  She was the lead singer with the legendary Bob Kuban Band for many years, was the American Idol St. Louis pick for Y98 radio station in 2002 and performed alongside several award-winning recording artists like Theo Peoples from The Temptations, Lloyd Knicks, Mama’s Pride and The Beach Boys. Ali is so excited to be a part of the St. Louis Ballet family and share her passion for the arts.

Roxy Shackelford started her dance training at Dance Arts Studio in her hometown of Macon, Georgia. She then went to finish her last two high school years training at the Atlanta Ballet in their full-time conservatory program. While in Atlanta she was able to dance in company productions of John McFall's The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. She then spent two years dancing as an apprentice with Charlotte Ballet where she worked closely with Patricia McBride and had the opportunity of dancing in Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux's The Nutcracker and works by Peter Chu and Stephanie Martinez. She has attended summer courses at The School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Boston Ballet. She joined Saint Louis Ballet in 2019 and is very excited to inspire and share her love of dance with the students of Saint Louis Ballet School

Ashley Genà Taylor, professionally known as Ashley Genà is a powerhouse in the emerging new dance scene of Commercial Hiphop and Jazz Fusion. Native to Saint Louis, Ashley has taught and choreographed around the Missouri region including the Saint Louis Ballet, Yes Honey Studios, Imagine Dance Project, Academy of Creative Arts, and Karah’s Academy of Dance and Performing Art. She has performed on live sets, national television, and music videos with artists for the likes of Smino, Ice-T, Kennedy Holmes, and Alpha Wolf. As a creative artist her talents can be seen through collaborations with the viral “GrooveTime” App, national haircare brand “Healthy Hair Solution” and retail chain “Golden Gems”. Currently Ashley Genà is a college bound scholar attending Washington University in Saint Louis pursuing dual degrees in dance and marketing. She prides herself in being a culture carrier and teaching fundamental technique in all styles of dance to cultivate the next generation of artists to further their passion of movement and higher education in the entertainment industry.

Ms. Wilson began her training at Ballet Lubbock with Suzanne Aker under the direction of Yvonne Racz-Key. She later attended The Rock School for Dance Education where she competed in Youth America Grand Prix and placed in the top twelve for her contemporary solo choreographed by Christopeher Fleming. While attending the Chatauqua Institute's summer ballet program, she had the honor of performing Mark Diamond's world premiere, Maestoso, with the North Carolina Dance Theatre (now the Charlotte Ballet). In the summer of 2008, Ms. Wilson toured China performing with the Long Beach Ballet. Since joining St. Louis Ballet in 2008, Ms. Wilson has had the honor of dancing numerous leading and title roles in ballets such as: Cinderella, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Swan Lake, Giselle and Romeo and Juliet. She has worked with choreographers such as Pam Tanowitz, Amy Siewert, Christopher D'amboise, Francis Patrelle, Emery Lecrone, Kam Saunders and Brian Enos among others. Ms. Wilson has also danced in numerous Balanchine ballets such as Serenade, Western Symphony, Who Cares?, Allegro Brilliante, Valse Fantasie and Rubies. She has had the honor of originating roles in a myriad of ballets created by director Gen Horiuchi. Ms. Wilson has also danced works by notable choreographers such as Christopher Wheeldon, Gerald Arpino, and Twyla Tharp. She has been a guest artist with several ballet schools including: Evansville Ballet, Indiana Ballet, Ballet Lubbock, Toledo Ballet, and Huntsville Ballet. Ms. Wilson had her choreographic debut in 2018 with the premiere of her ballet, Night Rise. She recently completed her second work for the company to premiere in the fall. Ms. Wilson has been a permanent faculty member of St. Louis Ballet School since 2013. She is a passionate and energetic teacher who is thrilled to pass on her experiences and love of ballet to her students.

Ms. Wolfsberger's dance background is broad in scope and has taken her nationwide and throughout Europe. Born in St.Louis, she has been a teacher of classical ballet for over 40 years. Her early training came from Alexandria Zaharias, Nathalie LeVine, and Michael Simms. Her professional career began with Missouri Concert Ballet (now St.Louis Ballet) where she danced as Principal for over 10 years with directors Ludmila Dokoudovski and Antoni Zelewski.

In all humility and with great pride Lisa wants it known that she was one of the original and pioneering members of the St Louis Ballet Company. All those years ago Lisa and a group of local dancers dedicated themselves to realizing a dream for a professional ballet company in their home town of St Louis. She is extremely proud of her legacy and the dream realized!

She studied under Gary Hubler at Webster University while working towards a Bachelors degree in Dance. She has also studied extensively in New York City. Ms. Wolfsberger later became the ballet director at Dancers' Alley in Jefferson City Missouri. While living in Columbia Missouri, she was guest artist in residence, teaching ballet for Stephens College. Lisa has taught ballet at St. Mary's College and Notre Dame University in South Bend Indiana. When she lived in England, Ms. Wolfsberger taught master classes throughout the country and intiated her own training school. Lisa has been on staff with Chicago National Association of Dance Masters where she taught ballet and adjudicated dance competitions. Her students have gone on to dance professionally, earning college dance degrees, and teaching. Lisa continues to be invited as a guest artist, teaching master classes and summer programs throughout the country. She helped to intiate and was co-director of St. Louis Ballet School Ensemble, a student performance company. Ms. Wolfsberger has been on staff with St.Louis Ballet School since 2001.