Faculty
Jan Burkhard (Chairman of School Faculty/Ballet Master) began her professional training at The School of American Ballet at the age of 9. She performed numerous ballets with New York City Ballet and was involved in the New York Choreographic Institute. Upon completion, she was also the recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award in 2005 for Most Outstanding Promise. In the fall of 2005, she became a member of Carolina Ballet’s corps de ballet. In 2009, Ms. Burkhard was nominated for the Princess Grace award. She has performed principal roles including Princess Aurora, Juliet, Firebird, Sugar Plum Fairy, and Giselle. Her repertoire also includes George Balanchine’s Tarantella, Valse Fantaisie, Apollo, Who Cares?, Allegro Brillante and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux; August Bournonville’s La Sylphide and Flower Festival; Robert Weiss’ A Classical Ballet, Intimate Voices, Les Saltimbanques, Lady in the White Veil, Poemes des Rivages and Lullaby; Zalman Raffael’s Rhapsody, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, In the Gray, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1, The Other Ravel, Metaphorical Heart, and Frankenstein among others.
Margaret Severin-Hansen (Director of Summer Intensive and Faculty) began her training at the Huntington School of Ballet on Long Island, NY. She was accepted into The School of American Ballet and trained there until joining as an apprentice with Carolina Ballet in the inaugural season (1998) and made a Principal in 2002. Ms. Severin-Hansen trained with the Royal Danish Ballet for six weeks in 1997 and danced with The Royal Ballet of Flanders in 2013. At Carolina Ballet, Ms. Severin-Hansen has had many ballets created on her and has danced the majority of the ballets in the repertoire. She has repeatedly been singled out for her artistry and technical merit. In January of 2009, Ms. Severin-Hansen was one of eight graduates of the School of American Ballet personally invited by Peter Martins to perform with New York City Ballet dancers in the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the school. In addition, to being a Principal at Carolina Ballet, Ms. Severin-Hansen is the Director of the Ruth S. Shur Summer Intensive and Co-Chairman of the School of Carolina Ballet. She is also a founding member of the SAB Alumni Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion as well as Assistant Director at Triangle Academy of Dance in Cary, NC. Margaret Severin-Hansen retired from the Carolina Ballet company as a dancer after 27 years in 2025.
Pablo Perez (Artistic Advisor & Ballet Master) was born in Uruguay, graduated with the highest honors from the National School of Dance. In 1994 he won a silver medal at an international dance competition in Brazil. Mr. Perez has also danced with The Teatro de Colón de Buenos Aires. Mr. Perez joined Carolina Ballet in its first season. His roles include Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet, Puck and Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hilarion in Giselle, Renfield in Dracula, and principal roles in Tarantella, Square Dance, Four Temperaments, Fancy Free, Steadfast Tin Soldier, Rubies, Valse Fantaisie. He has had several principal roles choreographed on him, including Weiss’ Adagio, Joker in Masque of the Red Death, Peter in Peter & the Wolf. In 2001, he was invited by the First Lady of Uruguay to participate in a national tour of Uruguay.
Debra Austin (Ballet Master, Founding Member) received a scholarship to the School of American Ballet when she was 12 years old. Four years later, George Balanchine personally invited her to join New York City Ballet. Praised by The New York Times for her ability to “levitate…and remain suspended in the air,” Ms. Austin danced many principal roles with New York City Ballet in works choreographed by Balanchine, including Symphony in C, Divertimento #15, and Ballo della Regina, in which Balanchine created a solo for her. She also danced lead roles for Jerome Robbins in The Four Seasons, Interplay, and Chansons Madécasses, which he created on her. She later joined the Zurich Ballet in Switzerland, where she danced principal roles (many with Rudolf Nureyev) in works by all of the major choreographers, including Myrtha in Heinz Spoerli’s Giselle. While there, she toured throughout Europe. After her return to the United States, she joined Pennsylvania Ballet as a principal dancer under Artistic Director Robert Weiss and danced roles in Swan Lake, Coppélia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Giselle, and La Sylphide.
Marin Boieru (Ballet Master and Character Dancer, Founding Member) studied ballet in his native Romania and then later at the Kirov Ballet in Russia. He won the gold medal at the International Ballet Competition-Varna and the silver at the International Ballet Competition-Moscow. Praised by The New York Times for his “heart-stopping ability,” he performed as a principal dancer in the United States at Miami City Ballet and Pennsylvania Ballet and in Europe at Maurice Béjart’s Ballet of the 20th Century (Switzerland), Roland Petit’s Ballet National de Marseille (France), and Opera of Bucharest (Romania). He has toured nationally and internationally with Stars of American Ballet partnering Susan Jaffe, Alexandra Ferri, and Leslie Brown. His television appearances include starring roles in La Sylphide on PBS, in The Magic Flute on French television and in Giselle on TVR in Romania.
Richard Krusch was born in Budapest, Hungary. He started his ballet training in 1994 at the Hungarian Dance Academy, where he received training in the classical Vaganova technique and classical repertoire. He attended numerous summer programs in the United States, including the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and The School of American Ballet in New York City. He graduated from UNCSA in the summer of 2002 and joined Carolina Ballet the same year. Mr. Krusch has also worked with the American Ballet Theatre in 2004 and the Hungarian National Ballet in 2005 where he also toured with the Hungarian Ballet in Europe. In 2006 hr returned to Carolina Ballet and was made a Principal 2011. He has danced many major roles and many roles were choreographed on him by Robert Weiss and Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Zalman Raffael. In 2011, Mr. Krusch represented Carolina Ballet at the International Ballet Festival of Miami.
Alexa Testa was born on Long Island. At the age of nine, she began her ballet training at Eglevsky Ballet and studied there for three years. She attended The School of American Ballet Summer Course on full scholarship in 2015, and was invited to join the winter term. Alexa spent six years training under Kay Mazzo, Suki Schorer, and Susan Pilarre. In 2021, she was awarded the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation Scholarship. Additionally, Alexa has spent summers training at Eglevsky Ballet, NYSSSA, Philadelphia Ballet, Ballet Academy East, Miami City Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and Carolina Ballet. Following the Carolina Ballet’s Summer Intensive in 2021, she was invited to join Carolina Ballet as an apprentice. Alexa Testa became a member of Carolina Ballet’s Corps de Ballet in 2022.
Lindsay Purrington (Instructor) began her dance training with Ann Vorus at age ten at The Raleigh School of Ballet, and went on to study with Richard Rein and Elizabeth Connell at St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, as well as at The Juilliard School in New York City. She joined Carolina Ballet as a founding member in 1998, rising to Soloist ranking in 2003 before leaving to join BalletNY in the fall of 2004. With BalletNY, Miss Purrington performed in Manhattan at The Joyce Theater, receiving critical acclaim in the New Yorker magazine and The New York Times. She also toured extensively throughout the US, performing “The Man I Love” in Balanchine’s “Who Cares?”, “Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Snow Queen” in Nutcracker, and principal roles in works by Stanton Welch, Jodie Gates, Toni Pimble, and Helen Heineman. In 2005 she performed with Angel Corella y Stars of American Ballet in Murcia, Spain, partnering with Mr. Corella in the lead pas de deux from “Who Cares?”. From 2006-2009, Ms. Purrington was a member of Pennsylvania Ballet, where she performed such featured roles as Lead Spanish in Balanchine’s Nutcracker, “Another You” in Paul Taylor’s Company B, and featured roles in Matthew Neenan’s As It’s Going and Carmina Burana.
Ayla O’Day was born in New York City and began her ballet training at the age of 2 at Ballet Academy East. She continued her training in South Carolina at Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet School and at the Conservatory of Dance at the University of South Carolina under Stacey Calvert. She moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania to continue her ballet training with Marcia Dale Weary at Central Pennsylvania Ballet at the age of 13. In 2016, O’Day attended the Boston Ballet School summer intensive and received a traineeship with Boston Ballet for the 2016-2017 season. She spent two years as a trainee at Boston Ballet before joining Carolina Ballet as a trainee in 2018. O’Day joined the Corps de Ballet of Carolina Ballet in 2019 and was promoted to soloist in August of 2022.
Courtney Schenberger began her formal ballet training at the age of eight at The Ayako School of Ballet in Okinawa, Japan. Two years later, she continued her studies at Ballet Hawaii. During her time there, she competed in the World Ballet Competition, where she earned the third-highest score in the Pre-Professional category and received the Jury’s Award for her exceptional performance. At the age of fifteen, Mrs. Schenberger was accepted into the Washington School of Ballet’s professional training program before advancing to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Mrs. Schenberger joined Carolina Ballet as a trainee in 2014. She was promoted to the Corps de Ballet in 2015, advanced to Soloist in 2017, and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2021.
Rachel Robinson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and began her ballet training at age 4. She studied at Carolina Dance Center until 15 before joining the School of Carolina Ballet in its opening year in 2018. While at the School, Robinson performed in numerous productions with the company, including Zalman Raffael’s Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto, The Planets, and Metaphorical Heart. She attended summer intensives at The HARID Conservatory, Carolina Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet, as well as the UNCSA Festival of Dance, RDA SERBA Festival, NYCDA Nationals, and UDA Nationals. Robinson was hired as an apprentice with Carolina Ballet in 2019, promoted to the Corps de Ballet at 17 in 2020, and advanced to soloist in 2023. Rachel is currently a soloist with Carolina Ballet.
Juliet Marinello began her training at Lynch School of Ballet on Long Island, later continuing at the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Ballet Academy East, and School of Carolina Ballet. Juliet was named an ABT National Training Scholar in 2017, and attended summer intensives on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet and Carolina Ballet. Juliet joined Carolina Ballet as an apprentice in 2022 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2023. She has enjoyed working with choreographers such as Amy Hall Garner, Adriana Pierce, Gianna Reisen, Julien Guérin, and Zalman Raffael.
Madeline Rogers began ballet at the age of three with Theresa Crawford at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She continued studying under Marcia Dale Weary, Darla Hoover and Alan Hineline until age 14. She was accepted into the winter term at The School of American Ballet, where she trained from 2017-2021. While there, she performed in multiple SAB workshops, the New York Choreographic Institute, and the Student Choreographic Workshop. Madeline is a recipient of the 2021 Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise as well as the Excellence Award from the Professional Performing Arts High School. Additional training includes, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Ballet Academy East and Carolina Ballet. She has teaching experience at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Summer Intensive, Carolina Ballet’s Summer Intensive and is on faculty with The School of Carolina Ballet. She joined Carolina Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2021 and promoted to soloist in 2023.
Emily Fretz started dancing at age 6 in Buffalo, NY, then at age 15 began studying at Ballet Academy East in NYC under the direction of Darla Hoover. She attended the Carolina Ballet Summer Intensive as a scholarship student for the three summers prior to joining the company as an Apprentice in 2021, and promoted to Corps in 2022.
Joseph Gerhardt began training at age 10 at Mary Pollines. He attended summer programs at Houston Ballet, Orlando Ballet, and Harid Conservatory. In 2017, Joseph was awarded the two year male scholarship to attend the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. His favorite roles include Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and an originating role in Zalman Raffael’s Mozart Symphony No. 40. When he’s not on stage, Joseph can be found showing houses as a real estate agent.
Alyssa Pilger was born in Rochester, New York, and began her dance training at age four with Performance Plus Dance. At age 15, she continued her studies focusing in ballet with Draper Center for Dance Education. While attending she competed in Youth American Grand Prix Rhode Island, and won 1st place in the senior classical category along with third in the contemporary. She received additional training at School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet before joining Carolina Ballet in 2012. Alyssa Pilger was promoted to principal dancer with Carolina Ballet in 2019.
Shomaree Potter (Instructor) began professional ballet training at the Tidewater Ballet in Norfolk, VA, at the age of 10. They were later accepted into the professional training program at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as a full-scholarship student. Upon graduation, Shomaree was invited to attend the School of American Ballet’s summer program and subsequently the winter term, also on full scholarship, where they had the privilege of training under renowned faculty including Stanley Williams, Susan Pilarre, Suki Schorer, and Richard Rapp.
As a professional dancer, Shomaree has performed with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre under the direction of Patricia Wilde and with the Dance Theatre of Harlem under the direction of Arthur Mitchell. Their repertoire includes Serenade, Jewels, Tarantella, Square Dance, and several ballets by Marius Petipa.
In addition to performing and teaching, Shomaree serves on the School of American Ballet’s Alumni Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and is also a National Visiting Fellow at SAB.
In 2023, Shomaree joined the faculty of the School of Carolina Ballet, bringing extensive performance experience and a deep commitment to training the next generation of dancers.
Amanda Gerhardt was born in Los Angeles, California, and began her ballet training at age ten in Jacksonville, Florida under Dulce Anaya and Mary Pauline. She attended numerous summer intensives including American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Carolina Ballet and The School of American Ballet where she was chosen to perform for the New York Choreographic Institute. Adjacently, she attended Douglas Anderson School of the Performing Arts before transitioning to Miami City Ballet School’s year round pre-professional program, where she performed Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and as the Dark Angel in Balanchine’s Serenade.
Nicholas Fokine (Superintendent of School Operations) is the great-grandson of choreographer Michel Fokine and began his ballet training with the renowned Olga Kostritzky at the School of American Ballet. While training at SAB Nicholas was interviewed by ABC news magazine 20/20 and by The New York Times. He also performed many children’s roles with the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater, including the Live From Lincoln Center Broadcast of Peter Martin’s “Romeo and Juliet” and “Petrouchka,” one of Michel Fokine’s most famous works. Upon his graduation from the School of American Ballet, Nicholas joined the Miami City Ballet School where he performed with the company. He joined Carolina Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2016 and assumed his current position as the Superintendent of School Operations in 2022.
Sierra Dikeman (Administrative Associate of School Operations) a native of Colorado, commenced her dance journey at the tender age of 4 under the expert guidance of Judy Eicheldinger at Montrose Dance Academy, where she dedicated four years to honing her craft. Her high school freshman and sophomore years unfolded at A Time to Dance studio, after which she transitioned to Dance Around, LLC studio under the mentorship of Kate Florian during her junior year. Sierra’s pursuit of classical ballet training in the Cecchetti method lasted until 2013. Following her participation in Ballet Magnificat’s Summer Dance Intensive in 2013, she made the move to Jackson, Mississippi, to continue her training at Ballet Magnificat School of the Arts in the Vaganova method under the tutelage of Kathy Thibodeaux. Sierra had the honor of gracing the stage in several productions during her time at Ballet Magnificat, including The Merchant and the Thief, The Most Incredible Christmas, and The Emperor and the Nightingale. Her formal ballet training concluded in 2015.
In 2019, Sierra relocated to North Carolina. Armed with skills refined in administration, retail, and customer service, Sierra decided to reenter the professional dance industry. She dedicated two seasons to serving the students and families at Infinity Ballet Conservatory as the Studio Office Receptionist and Manager. In 2023, Sierra joined the School of Carolina Ballet where she currently resides as the Administrative Associate of School Operations.