American Ballet Theatre Faculty

WES CHAPMAN

Photo by Gene Schiavone

Wes Chapman (Artistic Director) A native of Union Springs, Alabama, Chapman joined American Ballet Theatre in 1984 as a member of the corps de ballet. He was promoted to Soloist in 1987 and to Principal Dancer in 1989. With ABT, Chapman performed all the leading roles in the ballet repertoire and in works by many of the twentieth century's master choreographers, including George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Twyla Tharp and Antony Tudor. He also created leading roles in Clark Tippet's Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 and Twyla Tharp's The Elements. In 1993, he joined the Bavarian National Ballet as a principal dancer before returning to ABT in 1995. In 1996, Chapman was named Artistic Director of Alabama Ballet. During his leadership, the company grew from 16 to 44 professional and apprentice dancers. He also founded the Alabama Ballet School, the apprentice pre-professional training program and the Alabama Ballet Summer Program. Chapman returned to ABT as ballet master in 2006 before being named Artistic Director of ABT II in 2007. He also serves as a national spokesperson for Regional Dance America and as dance advisor for Angelina Ballerina©.

DAVID JUSTIN

Formerly a Principal Dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB), a Soloist with San Francisco Ballet (SFB) and Boston Ballet, David has toured the globe extensively performing at Lincoln Center, NY, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, the London Royal Opera House, Paris Opera as well as major houses in Italy, Japan, Hong Kong and South Africa. His repertoire is vast, spanning many eras and genres of dance from the principal roles of the classics, to many of the most important masterpieces of the 20th century by Balanchine, Agnes DeMille, Jerome Robins, Fredrick Ashton, David Bintley, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Val Caniparoli, Stanton Welsh, Jiri Kylian, James Kudelka, Hans Van Manen, Anthony Tudor, Kenneth MacMillan, Paul Taylor and William Forsythe among many more. David’s dancing has been described as ‘alluring and mercurial’, ‘polished’, ‘brilliant’, and ‘fearless.’  David’s choreographic career spans over fifteen years. He has created critically acclaimed works on dancers from New York City Ballet, BRB, SFB, Joffrey Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballet de Monte Carlo, Atlanta Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem and others.  He also travels regularly as a guest teacher to work with ballet companies and schools including Boston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Royal Ballet School of London, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU, the New School for the Arts, Miami and Salzburg International Ballet Academy.  David holds a Master of Arts degree and is an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Texas at Austin.  He is also the founding Artistic Director of American Repertory Ensemble, a classical dance and chamber music company.

AMY ROSE

Amy Rose joined American Ballet Theatre in 1979 at the age of sixteen and danced with the Company until 1992, rising to the rank of Soloist.  During that time she also performed with Mikhail Baryshnikov in Spoleto, Italy, as well as Patrick Bissell at Jacob’s Pillow and Wes Chapman in Manila. From 1992-1997, she danced as a soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet. After freelancing several years as a guest artist, Rose settled down to teaching fulltime. She is on full-time staff at four different schools in the Chicago area and also guest teaches for the professional companies in the city.

CHRISTINE SPIZZO–SERRANO

Christine Spizzo-Serrano trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts and at the School of American Ballet in New York. She first performed professionally with the National Ballet of Washington (D.C.) and Ballet Repertory Co. (NY), before joining American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in 1975. She appeared in many of ABT's Live From Lincoln Center and Dance in America programs and the Herbert Ross movies The Turning Point (1977) and Dancers (1987). She was a principal dancer with Ballet Arizona (1988, 1990) and with the Nureyev and Friends North American tour in 1990. She performed on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera for ten years before retiring from the stage. She is on the dance faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and was the original Artistic Coordinator of ABT's Summer Intensive Programs (1996/1997). She has remained a primary teacher for all subsequent ABT Summer Intensives in NYC and Austin.

ROGER VAN FLETEREN

Roger Van Fleteren, a native of Michigan, began his dance training at the age of twelve with Charmaine Schick. Two years later, he was offered a scholarship to study with Madame Nathalie Krassovska in Dallas. In 1982 he joined ABT and became soloist in 1990, where his repertory included works by Antony Tudor, Kenneth Macmillan, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jiří Kylián, and Frederic Ashton among others. He was chosen by Agnes de Mille to dance the principal role in her final ballet, The Other. Van Fleteren has appeared as a guest artist with companies throughout the United States including Wes Chapman's American Ballet in 1991-1992. Van Fleteren has also performed throughout Europe at major Opera Houses including the Paris Opera and the Coliseum Theatre in London. He has also performed in productions of 42nd Street, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, the television series The Equalizer and in the film Dancers starring Mikhail Baryshnikov. Van Fleteren joined the Alabama Ballet Company from the London City Ballet in 1996 where he served as principal dancer at the renowned Sadler's Wells Theatre. His repertoire included Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Coppelia, Don Quixote pas de deux and works with Royal Ballet stars David Wall and Leslie Collier. While at the Alabama Ballet, Van Felteren has been featured as Albrecht in Giselle, Drosselmeyer in Nutcracker, Herr Stahlbaum in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, as well as principal roles in Bolero and Swan Lake. Van Fleteren continues to be closely affiliated with American Ballet Theatre. In the summer of 1998 and 1999, he was appointed Administrative Coordinator of the ABT Summer Intensive in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was on the teaching staff of the intensive in Detroit, MI. In 1998, he co-choreographed Dracula, and in the 1999-2000 season Wes Chapman and Van Fleteren choreographed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 2001 he choreographed the Alabama Ballet's one-act full-length Romeo & Juliet and the full length Cinderella, and in 2003 he created original choreography for Swan Lake. In 1999, he won the Panoply Award for best overall choreography for Tickling the Ivories, in 2001 for Bach Variations. In the 2002-2003 season he choreographed Be Major. Van Fleteren is one of the principal instructors in the Alabama Ballet School, and an Artist in Residence at the Gorham's Bluff Institute's Summer Residency.