Staff and Faculty

mvelazquez@springfieldballet.org

Maria (Hall) Velázquez early dance training began at Springfield Ballet under the direction of Ashley Paige Romines. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ballet, Modern Performance and Choreography. At UMKC, she trained under Paula Weber, Mary Pat Henry, David Justin, DeeAnna Hiett, Gary Abbott, Tobin James and Sabrina Madison-Cannon. During this time, Maria performed works by Alvin Ailey, Gregory Dawson, Peter Anastos, Kameron Saunders and Philip Jerry. She performed with Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey and the Alvin Ailey 1st Company in "Memoria.” Maria also performed "Eden” as an apprentice with Wylliams-Henry Contemporary Dance Company. She has trained at summer programs including SummerWind Youth Ballet, Giordano Dance Chicago, The Rock School for Dance Education, Kansas City Ballet and Netherlands Dance Theatre. Maria had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala to perform in the 76th Annual International Choreographers Showcase with dancers from around the world.

After graduation, Maria spent a season dancing with Missouri Contemporary Ballet, where she performed in works by Karen Grundy, Sean Aaron-Carmon, Penny Saunders and Fernando Rodriguez. As an alumna of Springfield Ballet, Maria was honored and excited to return in 2021 to the ballet school that shaped the foundation of her dancing. She has been teaching and choreographing as Associate Artistic Director of Springfield Ballet ever since. She is thrilled to continue sharing all she has learned and help the future stars of the dance world grow and flourish.

jsoares@springfieldballet.org

José Soares began his training at age 11 in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil, at the Bolshoi School. He was one of ten children selected to study ballet there, training under Dmitry Afanasiev and Galina Kravchenko, and rehearsing with Vladimir Vasiliev for Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, and the Polovtsian Dances in the Russian opera Prince Igor. After graduating from the Bolshoi School at 18, he moved to Chicago to dance with Joffrey Ballet.

During his two years with Joffrey Ballet, he performed the Arabian and Russian roles in The Nutcracker, Impulse Within by Ma Cong, the Lion in Carnival of the Animals by Alexei Kremnev, and was invited by the main company to perform in The Nutcracker and Don Quixote.

He then joined Milwaukee Ballet 2, where over two seasons he danced a range of principal and soloist roles including Basilio in Don Quixote, the principal couple in Timothy O’Donnell’s contemporary works At World’s End and And Then It Rained, the lead couple in Nadia Thompson’s Next Step, James in La Sylphide, and the pas de trois from Paquita. He also performed leading roles in Michael Pink’s works, such as Jack in The Nutcracker, the Demon in Mirror Mirror, and the pas de neuf in Don Quixote. He was also featured in Darren McIntyre’s Dracula.

Mr. Soares later joined Missouri Contemporary Ballet (now Mareck Dance), where he danced for three seasons, performing works by Sean Aaron Carmon, Lindsey Matheis, Penny Saunders, Stephanie Martinez, Darren McIntyre, Autumn Eckman, Kristopher Estes-Brown, Christian Denice, Bryn Cohn, and Joshua Blake Carter. During this time, he also performed leading roles with the Chicago Lyric Opera in Aleko and Everest.

In 2020, he moved to Andalusia, Alabama, where he served as Ballet Master of Andalusia Ballet. He has since guested with Northwest Florida Ballet and Ballet Pensacola.

In 2025, Mr. Soares joined Springfield Ballet as Co-Artistic Director, an organization he has long respected. In this role, he contributes as a teacher, mentor, and leader. Becoming part of the Springfield community marks an exciting new chapter, deepening his connection to an organization he has long admired and engaged with through dance.

alind@springfieldballet.org

While Abigail is administratively focused in her current role at Springfield Ballet as Executive Director and Vice Chair of the Missouri Dance Education Committee - her passion for dance and the performing arts is evident in all she does. She has literally grown up through theatre and dance, beginning at a family-oriented dance school in Kansas run by her initial inspiration M. Beth Bell, to her current role in guiding Springfield Ballet so the organization can bring the art of ballet to the community.

Abigail’s dedication to the performing arts, and particularly dance, was kindled through the local support and opportunity to instruct, choreograph, design and most of all dance when Springfield became her new home. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from Missouri State University as an involved, working dance and movement artist primarily with Ruth Barnes, Sara Brummel, and Darryl K. Clark. During this time Abigail found parallels between real life and the discipline of dance that provided her with a strength that she carries with her to this day.

Continuing to build on this new found strength Abigail gained valuable experience in dance and business administration through studio, collegiate and professional experiences from a list that includes places such as Kansas, New York, South Carolina and Dublin, Ireland. In Dublin at the Dance Theatre of Ireland she gained experience and appreciation for the magnitude of the effect an art and community partnership can have through her work specifically with Olwen Grindley, Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick as this arts organization actively worked through the reality of a recession.

Abigail brings this more than 15 years of experience with various profit and nonprofit organizations managing logistics, marketing and research for these operations both on and off the stage to her position at Springfield Ballet. With this experience, and the art form of dance near and dear to her heart, she hopes to encourage the community to share in her enthusiasm for dance. In her role Abigail plans to use this enthusiasm to be a leading advocate for current and future dance and ballet students and artists, their families, the patrons, supporters and the community, showing them the difference the art form of dance can make in the world for generations to come!

outreach@springfieldballet.org

Emily Orr has a deep passion for education and dance. She holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Elementary Education from Missouri State University, along with a certificate in Gifted and Talented Education. She began her dance training at age 3 in Southwest Missouri. At age 13 she began studying under Artistic Director Ashley Paige Romines at Springfield Ballet. After high school, Emily became an instructor at Springfield Ballet, teaching ballet, pointe, tap, and outreach programs.

To further her knowledge in teaching, she attended Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet’s Teachers Workshop, where she studied the Proven Teaching Syllabus created by Marcia Dale Weary. She also completed student teaching at Springfield Little Theater's Academy of Fine and Performing Arts, a fifth-grade Choice program within Springfield Public Schools.

In 2020, Emily became Production Assistant at Springfield Ballet, and from 2022 to 2024, she served as Education Programs Coordinator. In the summer of 2024, she taught at Springfield Public School’s Middle School Fine Arts Academy. She relocated to Dallas, Texas in the fall of 2024 and became Educational Programs Coordinator at Texas Ballet Theater. In this role, she taught ballet residency programs within the Dallas Independent School District, trained in adaptive dance based on Boston Ballet's curriculum, and assisted in Level 1 ballet classes using the Royal Academy of Dance technique.

Having dedicated herself to both dance and education, Emily has continued to build her expertise, with a strong commitment to making ballet accessible to everyone in the Springfield community. Outside of her professional work, Emily enjoys performing in Springfield Little Theatre productions, spending time outdoors, traveling, and making memories with her family and friends.

Alexandra Olson began dancing at the age of two. In 2011 she started her training at Springfield Ballet under the direction of Ashley Paige Romines. She participated in many productions, most notably appearing as Snow Queen and Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker, Beauty in Beauty and the Beast, and Cinderella in Cinderella. Alexandra attended many of Springfield Ballet’s summer intensives, but she also attended Indiana University Ballet Summer Intensive in 2018, and Kansas City Ballet Summer Intensive in 2019 on merit scholarship. Throughout her training at Springfield Ballet Alexandra assisted in many classes, eventually becoming an instructor after graduating from high school in 2021. In May of 2023, she started a full-time position at Springfield Ballet as Office Administrator. She has now taken over a new role as Artistic Assistant. She loves working with the students of Springfield Ballet and is immensely proud of them!

As the Administrative and Finance Coordinator at Springfield Ballet, Kyler Dibben brings a unique combination of organization and creativity to the team. With a background in choir and musical theater during high school, Kyler’s appreciation for the performing arts is a natural fit for his current role. While new to ballet, he is passionate about supporting the local arts community. Originally from Lebanon, MO, Kyler moved to Springfield to pursue an associate degree from Ozarks Technical Community College and is now furthering his education with a degree in accounting at Missouri State University to deepen his expertise in financial management. Outside of work and studies, Kyler enjoys playing pickleball with friends, bird watching, and spending time with his Pomeranian, Geoffrey.

Emma Gooch began dancing at age three. She enrolled at Springfield Ballet in 2006 and began training under the direction of Ashley Paige Romines in 2007. During her time at Springfield Ballet, Emma participated in countless productions, performing roles such as Clara, Dew Drop Fairy, and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and Snow White in Snow White. In addition to Springfield Ballet’s summer intensives, she attended Next Generation Ballet’s intensive in 2013 and 2014 on merit scholarship. Upon high school graduation, Emma joined Springfield Ballet’s faculty while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English from Southwest Baptist University. She graduated from The University of Missouri in December 2019. She has accumulated over ten years of classical ballet teaching experience at Springfield Ballet; Dancearts of Columbia in Columbia, MO; and Joy’s School of Dance in Waco, TX. Emma is thrilled to return to Springfield Ballet to help hone young dancers' artistic talents and confidence.

Emily Harris has been a student at Springfield Ballet for twelve years, and is excited to spend her senior year at the studios. She began her training with ballet technique, and has taken classes in modern, jazz, tap, and contemporary dance throughout the years. She has taken the Springfield Ballet summer intensives, as well as participated in the school performances every year. Emily began assisting ballet classes at the age of thirteen, and developed a love of cultivating dance in young people. As Emily steps into the next season of her life, she is ready to help bring dance to the future generations.

Brandi Houck is a native of Springfield, Missouri. She started dancing at age four and studied for numerous years at Springfield Ballet. During the summers, she attended intensives at State Ballet of Missouri (now Kansas City Ballet), Virginia School of the Arts, Alabama Dance Theatre, Joffrey (on scholarship) and Milwaukee Ballet (full scholarship). She went on to attend the University of Missouri – Kansas City on scholarship and received her BFA in Dance. While in college, she returned to Springfield Ballet as the guest artist Sugar Plum Fairy two years. The highlight of her professional career was with the Albany Berkshire Ballet as a principal dancer for a winter and two summer seasons. She danced roles of Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, and the Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker as well as lead roles such as the girl in white in Carmina Burana, Emily in Our Town, pig tail girl in Graduation Ball, gypsy in Petrouchka, and the trio in Red Ellington. Brandi also performed with Kansas City Ballet as a freelance artist in the corps de ballet in the productions of Carmina Burana, Swan Lake and Serenade. Additionally, she choreographed A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Missouri Repertory Theater along with several other pieces and has taught both ballet and modern to various ages and levels and at several different schools. Brandi currently works as a Healthcare IT Epic Radiant Consultant for a health system in Champaign, Illinois.

Noah has trained with the Anaheim Ballet, the Georgetown Palace Theatre Pre-Professional Company, Lisa’s Dance Connection, West Texas A&M University, and now Missouri State University. Noah has danced professionally with TEXAS: Outdoor Musical, Pampa Civic Ballet, and the Lone Star Ballet. At MSU, Noah is pursuing a BFA in Dance, as well as working on a comprehensive Pilates certification at the Body Smith.

Netallia Lawrence began dancing at the age of four. In 2012, she started training at Springfield Ballet under the direction of Ashley Paige Romines, focusing on ballet but also taking modern, jazz, and tap. In 2020 she added irish soft and hard shoes to her training. She has participated in many productions with her favorite roles including Soldier Doll in the The Nutcracker, March Hare in Alice in Wonderland, and Scottish doll in Coppelia. She loves to choreograph and has participated in Springfield Ballet's annual Young Choreographer's Showcase since 2015. She has also been given the opportunity to perform her works in several outreach programs as well as Springfield Ballet's fundraising event, Rendezvous en Pointe, in 2023. She has attended Springfield Ballet's, Oklahoma University's, University of Missouri-Kansas City's, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet's, and Butler University's summer intensives. She has been an assistant teacher and rehearsal assistant with Springfield Ballet since 2021 and hopes to pursue a degree in Ballet Pedagogy when she graduates from high school.

Jessica is currently studying speech and theatre education and minoring in dance at Missouri State University. She has been performing and dancing in musicals since age 8, and has broadened her experience in more genres of dance since high school. Ms. Jessica loves ballet, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary! She is so excited to get to know all the dancers at Springfield Ballet this fall!

Haley began her dance training in her home state of New Jersey with a focus in ballet since age four. She attended summer intensives with The New Jersey Ballet, The Rock School, Saratoga Summer Dance, and The Mercyhurst Dance Experience. Haley received dance and academic scholarships to attend Mercyhurst University and graduated cum laude in 2012 with a BA in Dance and a minor in Arts Administration. While at Mercyhurst she taught open ballet classes, volunteered administratively for Arts Erie, completed an administrative internship with the Erie Dance Consortium, performed with the Lake Erie Ballet Company, and played Carmen in the musical Sweet Charity. A versatile artist, Haley has also performed as an actress at the Off-Broadstreet Theatre in New Jersey as Elsie in Black Tie and The Mute in The Fantasticks.

In 2013, Haley moved to Philadelphia where she taught the members of Penn Ballet at the University of Pennsylvania, and within both the ballet and theatre departments at the Philadelphia Dance Academy. She performed with Beyond Dance Company, Reverie Dance Theatre, and Rock en Pointe while serving as the Programing Manager of the Koresh Dance Company from 2013-2016.

She moved to Vermont in 2016 and joined PH Dance as a founding company dancer and performed with the company for six seasons. During the COVID-19 pandemic she was featured in their award-winning dance film, "The One I Wanted to Be”, and became the company’s Project Manager for their second film in 2022, "The Migrant Body”. She was a faculty member at the Vermont Ballet Theatre School and the Ballet School of Vermont where she taught all ages, and educated the adult ballet community at the newly established Lines Vermont.

In 2022, she joined the staff at the world-renowned Colburn School in Los Angeles working under new Dean and former New York City Ballet dancer, Silas Farley. As Dance Administrator she managed many programs including the Youth Dance Program, Pre-Professional Colburn Dance Academy, Jumpstart Outreach Program, and Adult Classes. She was invited to join the acclaimed faculty at Colburn and taught ballet to the early childhood development classes and adult dance program.

Haley moved to Springfield in 2023 after accepting an adjunct faculty position at Missouri State University. She looks forward to sharing her knowledge with the dancers at Springfield Ballet.

Simpson’s training covers a broad range of dance techniques including classical ballet, modern, and improvisation. She holds an M.S. in Administrative Studies with a focus in Arts Management (2015) and a B.F.A. in dance performance (2008) from Missouri State University. Teresa also holds an International Teaching Diploma from the North American Montessori Center (2010) and has trained in Visual Thinking Strategies (2015). Teresa has toured with Missouri State University’s community outreach dance company, Inertia performing in works by Sara Brummel, Rhythm McCarthy, Ruth Barnes, Shirley Russon Ririe, and Rebecca Enghauser; and has presented choreography at the American College Dance Festival. She began her pre-professional dance training with the St. Louis Ballet School, performing in the company's production of *The Nutcracker* and participating in student workshops. Teresa created and implemented a performing arts after school program at the Academy of Performing Arts in Nashville, TN, designed an after-school program curriculum for Missouri State University’s Citizenship and Service Learning office, taught movement and theatre games at the Rivendale Institute of Learning, and worked alongside Springfield theatre artists to create a one-act play accessible for children with autism. Teresa is a co-founder of Springfield Dance Alliance and produces Listen.Think.Leap! A Creative Movement Podcast. She has served as per course dance faculty at Missouri State University, worked as a teaching artist with Placeworks Arts Outreach and been a part of AATE’s Missouri Theatre in Our Schools committee. She is an avid reader and enjoys spending time with her husband Matthew and sons Daniel and Arthur. Teresa is honored to be a part of the Springfield Ballet faculty.

Joshua Velazquez began his dance training at Midwest  RegionalBallet in Joplin, MO under the direction of Kaye Lewis. He continued his training under the direction of Paula Weber, David Justin, Ronald Tice, Gary Abbott, DeeAnna Hiett, and Tobin James at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He performed professionally with Störling Dance Theatre, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Andalusia Ballet, American Youth Ballet, Modern Night at the Folly, and Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, as well as performed for the Harlem Globetrotters halftime show. Joshua is very excited to be sharing his knowledge with the talented dancers at Springfield Ballet.

Jamie Williams, a Springfield, Illinois native, was a member of the Springfield Ballet Company in Illinois for five years. During her time there, she danced roles in Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, and many productions of The Nutcracker. Jamie then moved to Springfield, Missouri, and graduated from Missouri State University where she majored in biology and minored in dance. Jamie now works as an Education Specialist at Dickerson Park Zoo and enjoys dancing with Springfield Dance Alliance. She has been seen as Mrs. Stahlbaum in Springfield Ballet’s The Nutcracker as well as the Stepmother in Cinderella, The Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland (2013) and The Evil Queen in Snow White. Jamie is thrilled to teach as a Springfield Ballet faculty member, as well as sew costumes for productions.

Ireland Wilson started dancing with Springfield Ballet at three years old, under the instruction of Artistic Director, Ashley Paige Romines. Throughout the years, Ireland has appeared in numerous productions by Springfield Ballet. Some of her most notable roles include Clara, Dew Drop Fairy, and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker. As well as Swanhilda in Copplia, a Stepsister in Cinderella, The Tinman and Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, and The White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. For several years Ireland was on scholarship, and attended many of Springfield Ballet's summer camps and intensives. Ireland is now attending Missouri State University and wants to major in either physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech pathology, with a goal of working with kids in whichever field she ends up in. Ballet has always been the focus of her life, and she is beyond excited and honored to share her love for dance with the future and current generations of dancers!

Hattie began dancing at the age of five. She started her ballet training in 2010 at Springfield Ballet under Ashley Paige Romines, and joined the faculty in 2018. Hattie graduated in 2023 with her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Missouri State University and her Associate of Arts degree from Ozarks Technical Community College in 2020.  She performed in numerous productions during her years at Springfield Ballet, her favorite roles included Evil Enchantress in A Tale of Two Wolves, Russian Trepak, Snowflake, and Flower in The Nutcracker, and The Teapot in Beauty and the Beast. After having the opportunity to assist classes through her scholarship at the ballet, she realized that she had a passion for teaching.Throughout her years at Springfield Ballet she has taught classes, assisted with rehearsals and served as Assistant Stage Manager for productions, mentored students for the Young Choreographers Showcase, taught and choreographed for the Primary and Junior Summer Intensives, choreographed for the annual School Showcase, and recently she created and developed Springfield Ballet’s Jazz curriculum. During her time at Missouri State University Hattie trained under Ruth Barnes, Sarah Wilcoxon, and Azaria Hogans. She had the opportunity to have her choreography featured in both the Fall Dance Concert and Spring Dance Concert, she was an Arts Administration intern with the dance program, she performed in a piece choreographed by Guest Artist Ilana Goldman (Associate Professor of Dance at Florida State University) that was selected for the Gala performance at the 2023 American College Dance Association, and her own choreography was selected to be performed at the 2022 American College Dance Association. Hattie is thrilled to continue working with students at the Ballet and sharing her passion for dance!

Sara Love started her dance training at Credo Dance Academy when she was seven years old, she started with ballet, modern, and jazz. Sara attended Steve Rooks Modern Intensive while she attended Credo Dance Academy. Sara moved to Springfield Ballet in 2019 and found her passion for teaching dance.

Sara graduated from high school in May of 2024 and plans to attend Ozark Technical Community College for a year and continue dancing at Springfield Ballet. Sara then plans to transfer to a university in the fall of 2025 to pursue dance pedagogy and fashion marketing.

Daphne began her ballet journey at age 9 and quickly developed a passion for dance. By age 11, she had earned leading roles in several youth productions, showcasing her dedication and expressive stage presence. Alongside performing, she began assisting in preschool ballet classes, gaining early experience as a mentor and leader.

After taking a break from ballet at age 14, Daphne returned to the studio at age 17 with renewed focus and determination. In 2024, she proudly performed in The Nutcracker, marking a meaningful milestone in her dance journey. Now 18, Daphne serves as a teacher assistant for beginning ballet dancers, combining their performance experience and nurturing spirit to help inspire the next generation of young artists.