Alumni Emily Boe alumni Emily has been dancing since the age of three. She began her training with DanceWest Ballet under Ricardo and Regina Moyano. She became a part of DanceWest Ballet’s company in 2002. With this company she attended four Regional Dance America Festivals from 2005-2008. At this festival she won a scholarship to Craft of Choreography at Utah University in 2006. Over the years she has performed in 16 of DanceWest Ballet’s Nutcracker playing various roles from walk- on child to Clara and Dew Drop, then finishing her senior year with the roles of Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy. In 2008 she was also a part of DanceWest Ballet’s Giselle performing as a Friend and Willie. Currently she is dancing with Belmont University’s Dance Company and has recently performed in Tennessee Association of Dance’s yearly festival. <<   Return Vivi DiMarco alumni Vivi has trained at the School of DanceWest Ballet since the age of four, studying ballet, modern, and character dance. At thirteen, she joined the DanceWest Ballet Senior Company, and went on to perform (among other roles) the title role in Paquita at the Regional Dance Association's annual festival in May 2008. Vivi is currently a third-year college student at the University of Chicago, where she is close to completing her degree in chemistry. She continues her ballet training in Chicago at the Lou Conte Dance Studio, Joffrey Academy, and Ruth Page Center for the Arts. She also serves as the current Head of Teaching and former Artistic Director for her school's student ballet group, the University Ballet of Chicago. With UBallet, she has appeared as the title role in Giselle (May 2009) and will perform Odile in Swan Lake in January 2011. She is delighted to have the opportunity to perform in DanceWest's Nutcracker again, where her past roles include Snow Queen and Sugar Plum. <<   Return Patrice Geraci alumni Patrice Geraci is 15 years old and a freshman at Naperville Central High School. She has been dancing since the age of 3 at DanceWest Ballet. This December will be Patrice's 10th Nutcracker performance. Last May was the first time she attended a Regional Dance America Festival. Patrice would like to thank her close friends and family for always being there for her. Also she would like to thank her teachers for guiding her through the many years of her dancing career. <<   Return Rachel Hargis alumni Rachel Hargis grew up in Naperville, IL, and completed ten years of dance training at The School of Dance West Ballet under Ricardo and Regina Moyano. While at Dance West, Rachel was privileged to perform with the Dance West Ballet Senior Company from 2005-2009. At Dance West Ballet, she performed The Nutcracker, Carmina Burana, Paquita, Giselle, and other works original to Dance West. During high school, Rachel attended four different Regional Dance America (RDA) festivals, including one RDA National Festival. She attended summer intensive programs at Ballet Austin in 2006 and 2007, and at Ballet Magnificat! in 2008. Throughout her training, Rachel received instruction from such distinguished dancers and teachers as Ludmilla Lupu, Ernest Quenedit, Catalina Garza and Victor Alexander. Rachel currently lives in downtown Chicago as a student with Moody Bible Institute. While attending college, she takes ballet classes under Birute Barodicaite and Randy Newsome at ballet schools in the downtown area. She also is currently a ballet teacher with Turning Pointe School of Dance. <<   Return Jennifer Holoubek alumni Jennifer Holoubek is from Aurora, Illinois, and has danced under the direction of Ricardo and Regina Moyano since 1995. Performing experience include the role of Myrtha in DanceWest Ballet’s production of Giselle. In addition, Jennifer has received numerous scholarships and awards for summer intensives (Joffrey Ballet New York) and choreography (Craft of Choreography Conference). She has also attended American Ballet Theatre’s New York summer intensive, where she performed soloist roles in Act II Swan Lake and Serenade. Jennifer joined Connecticut Ballet for the 2008-2009 season. Under the direction of Brett Raphael, she danced a demi-soloist part in La Bayadere repertoire throughout Connecticut and New York. She also performed roles in full-length Romeo and Juliet as well original choreography by Brett Raphael. Jennifer is thrilled to be participating in DanceWest Ballet’s The Nutcracker for another year! <<   Return Candace Oler Alumni <<   Return Renee Oscarson Alumni <<   Return Katherine Reinertson alumni Katherine Reinertson is currently a junior studying physical therapy and dance at Northern Illinois University. She began training at DanceWest Ballet under the instruction of Regina and Ricardo Moyano at the age of eight. As a member of the DanceWest Ballet Senior Company she has had the opportunity to perform a variety of corps and soloist roles in ten annual productions of the Nutcracker, Dance Chicago, the School’s Summer Concerts, as well as other various performances throughout the years. At the age of seventeen, she attended Ballet Austin’s Summer Intensive in Texas working with artistic directors Stephen Mills and Michelle Martin. She has also studied with Randall Newsom, Judith Chitwood, Paula Frasz, Autumn Eckman, Steven Norman, Ludmila Lupu, Ernesto Quenedit, Catalina Garza, Victor Alexander, and Jonathon Levy. With NIU, she has performed as Paquita in Paquita, Grisi in Pas de Quatre, Luna in Carmina Burana, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and NIU’s Art for Life 2008, 2010 and the Student Choreographic Showcase 2008. <<   Return Kelsey Russell Alumni Kelsey Russell danced with DanceWest Ballet for 7 years. She attended 6 Regional Dance America festivals and was awarded scholarships to summer intensives with Cincinnati Ballet, Maple Conservatory, and River North Dance Chicago. She also attended American Ballet Theatre's summer intensive. Kelsey is currently a junior at University of Pittsburgh studying political science, global studies, and Chinese. She continues to pursue her love of dance by taking dance classes at Point Park University and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Kelsey is excited to once again be returning to her DanceWest family this holiday season. She would like to thank not only Ricardo and Regina for their continued support and for this wonderful opportunity, but also her mother for being a constant source of inspiration. <<   Return Michelle Zatulovsky Alumni <<   Return Lisa Zatulovsky alumni Lisa Zatulovsky, 20 of Bolingbrook, IL has been dancing for 17 years. She was a DanceWest Ballet company member from 2004-2009. In 2008 she attended American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive in Detroit where she performed as a Swan in Swan Lake Act IV. Lisa has danced in The Nutcracker, Giselle, Paquita, and most recently the Gypsy dance from Don Quixote. Lisa is a third year student at Roosevelt University majoring in journalism with a minor in psychology. Currently she studies ballet with Birute Barodicaite of Chicago. <<   Return