Teachers & Staff

The highly regarded team of teachers at the Dutch National Ballet Academy has trained dancers who now work at prestigious ballet companies around the world, including The Royal Ballet and Hong Kong Ballet. But of course also in our country, at the Dutch National Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and Introdans, among others.
Every year, a number of dancers from the programme are selected to join the Junior Company, and some continue their professional careers with the Dutch National Ballet.
The studios of the Dutch National Ballet Academy are located in the state-of-the-art building at Nicolaas Tetterodestraat 13 in Amsterdam. All pupils and students are brought together in one building. The building includes seven large studios, one of which can serve as a theatre auditorium.
Who are the teachers and staff of the Dutch National Ballet Academy? View their profiles on this page.
Artistic director
Dario Elia
Business director (ad interim)
Miriam Kolk
Artistic Associate
Mthuthuzeli November
Artistic advisor
Ted Brandsen
Programma coördinator
Wendy Tadrous-Paulusma
Coordinator Bachelor programme
Marion Vijn
Faculty
Classical Ballet: Nathalie Caris, Simona Ferrazza, Rinat Gizatulin, Marieke van der Heijden, Jane Lord, Grigori Tchitcherine, Ernst Meisner,Ainara Garcia-Navarro, Emanouela Merdjanova, Dario Elia, Qian Liu
Guest teachers: Ryan Carroll, Fred Berlips, Ryan Carroll, Amanda Beck, Laurence Korsenti, Megan Zimny Kaftira, Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair, Anatole Babenko, Maria Chugay, Caroline Iura, , Judy Maelor Thomas, , David Makhateli,
Contemporary dance: Marion Vijn, Didy Veldman
Mental skills, tutoring: Marion Vijn
Forsythe technologies: Amy Raymond
Caractère: Grigori Tchitcherine
World Dance: Iva Lešić
Creative Dance: Dian IJkhout
International Talent Scout NBA: Christopher Powney
Pilates & Floor Barre: Reina Trifunovic, Karen Gallegos Covarrubias
Body Conditioning: Jurgen Paulusma
Dance history: Hanke Sjamsoedin
Anatomy & injury prevention: Iva Lešić
Music Theory Preliminary course/AD: Maud van Daal
Music Theorie BA: Rex Lobo
Pedagogy BA: Jelle van der Leest
Health and Performance BA: Iva Lešić, Sofia Araujo de Ornelas dos Santos Pinto
Pianists: Abel Bakema, Dessy Radeva, Elizabeth Ford, Etsuko Oga, Olga Smirnova, Frauke Lühning, Eri Hayase, Alba Calle Valiente,Tamako Suzuki, Seen Tung Lee, Leo Lethinen, Ian Plansker, Menno Dekker
Educational support: Loes Wagemans
Scheduling: Francesca dell'Innocenti
Coordinator projects and performances: Erwin Aarts
Pre-NBA & Audition, Outreach & Scouting Coordinator: Marieke van der Heijden
Classical ballet pre-NBA: Marieke van der Heijden, Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair
Werelddans pre-NBA: Wijnand Karel
Health & Performance: Sofia Araujo de Ornelas dos Santos Pinto, Marleen Grol, Iva Lešić, David Dotulung,
Kris Dekkers
Health Representative: Marleen Grol, Iva Lešić
Building management: Menno Meijners
Caretakers: Annemarie Blom, Heleen van der Hoogt, Katja Wahle, Jin Soo de Jong, Igor Kourchine
Production Manager: Dorothea Sinnema
Costumes: Ellen den Bouwmeester, Nancy Hulst, Jille van de Pas
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