About MAB

Our Faculty welcomes you to our school, our performances and our community.
See below to learn more about our wonderful staff!

Patrick Korstange, Artistic Director, started his dance education at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. From there he went to Point Park University, also in Pittsburgh, where he studied under Kenneth Johnson of American Ballet Theatre and Susan Abby of the Royal Canadian Ballet.

His professional career began at Miami City Ballet, where he joined the corps in 1986. He became a soloist after his first season and as such performed roles in Concerto Barocco, Rodeo and The Nutcracker. In 1990, he moved to Phildadelphia where he performed with the Philadelphia Opera Company. While working with the opera, he was introduced to modern dance and joined Dance Matrix; this connection introduced him to Sara Taylor Neal and led him to MAB.

In addition to teaching, he has appeared in numerous MAB producations including the Prince in The Firebird, Kia in The Snow Queen, the Mad Hatter and Knave of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, and Drosselmyer in The Nutcracker. He was Assistant Artistic Director of MAB for three years before being promoted to Artistic Director in 2008.  He has choreographed several shorter pieces for MAB including, Eclipse, 2/5th of Beethoven and Ripples.  In March of 2009 he premiered his first full length ballet Persephone.   Patrick also still performs with SHARP, a Philadelphia-based modern dance company under the direction of long-time friend Diane Sharp Nachsin.

Patrick's teaching credits also include Temple University and the Pennsylvania Creative and Performing Arts Conservatory in New Britain, Pennsylvania.

Sara Taylor Neal, MAB's Founding Artistic Director, performed over 40 leading roles as a principal dancer with the Fort Wayne Ballet. During her tenure there, she was promoted to serve as Artist-in-Residence, Educational Outreach Director, Resident Choreographer, and Associate Artistic Director. Three of her works have been presented at Mid-States Regional Dance America Festivals, including Notre Destin, which garnered the 1996 Monticello Award for outstanding choreography.

She founded Mid-Atlantic Ballet (MAB) in August 1997 and quickly developed it into a highly acclaimed training school and company for aspiring professional dancers. Her choreography credits for the MAB company include the full-length ballets The Fantastic Toyshop, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and The Firebird and shorter works including Ovation, Ave Maria, Ludus Tonalis, and Amalgamotion.

She served on the Newark Arts Alliance Advisory Board, the City of Newark's Cultural Steering Committee, the Downtown Newark Partnership Board, and the Governor's Performing Arts Committee. She founded and served as president of Dance Delaware which directs the annual Delaware Dance Festival. In 2003, she was awarded an Established Professional Fellowship in Choreography from the Delaware Division of the Arts.

Sara retired from MAB in 2008 and now lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with her husband and young daughter.  She is also the founder of Pointe Snaps.

      

Sandra Davis, Ballet Mistress, is a native of Philadelphia. She began her training at the Anastasi Dance Studio, where she started her teaching career in 2005. Sandra graduated from the University of the Arts in May 2007 with a B.F.A. in Ballet Performance. While at UArts, she studied the art of ballet under the direction of Anastasia Babayeva, Christine Cox, Scott Jovovich, Andrew Pap, Carole Sklaroff, Suzanne Slenn, and Eva Szabo. Sandra also trained in jazz under the direction of Ronen Koresh, Donald Lunsford, Molly Misgalla, and Wayne St. David; and in modern under Kim Bears-Bailey, Jennifer Johnson, Curt Haworth, Manfred Fishbeck, Brian Sanders, and Faye Snow.  Sandra performed in numerous ensembles and productions at the Merriam Theater and the Drake Theater while at the University of the Arts, including excerpts from La Bayadere and Coppelia, and Scott Jovovich's re-make of Carmina Burana.

Sandra completed Philadanco's training program in August 2006. She had the honor of performing in Philadanco's Danco-on-Danco in September 2006. Sandra started performing with SHARP Dance Company in March 2009, which has performed primarily in the Delaware Valley area. In addition to Mid-Atlantic Ballet, Sandra also teaches throughout the Philadelphia area at the Anastasi Dance Studio and the Blue Bell School of Dance.  Sandra is delighted to be the Ballet Mistress at Mid-Atlantic Ballet, where she can teach the love and joy of dance!

 

 

 

               

Monica Starr Biener, Resident Faculty,a native of Milford, Delaware,received her local training at Zwaanendael Dance Academy and Dance Conservatory. She has also attended summer training programs with Maryland Youth Ballet, Nutmeg Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Nashville Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, and Alba Dance International in Alba, Italy. She is a 2003 graduate of Virginia School of the Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia. Monica joins us from Milwaukee Ballet II where she danced with the company for three years. She performed ballets such as Michael Pink's Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Dracula, The Nutcracker, Kathy Poison's Scheherazade, and original contemporary works by Petr Zahradnicek. Monica also participated in Milwaukee Ballet's Education and Outreach program introducing the art of ballet to audiences of all ages throughout Wisconsin. She has performed at the Milwaukee Art Museum for the Edgar Degas exhibit and the Betty Brinn Children's Museum for the Dream! Discover! Dance! series. She also taught in Wisconsin at Milwaukee Ballet School and The Diva Housten School of Dance. Monica has most recently performed in Philadelphia with The Rebecca Davis Dance Company for their production of Helen Keller and in various guest-artist appearances. She has been instructing ballet and modern for five years and pilates for one year. She has taught throughout Delaware at Zwaanendael Dance Academy, First State Academy of Dance, and Mid-Atlantic Ballet.

Carolyn Peck, Resident Faculty, Born in State College, Pennsylvania, Carolyn trained intensively with the Arts Conservatory of Central PA for 16 years.She attended prestigious summer programs such as the American Ballet Theatre and Governor's School for the Arts. Following her training in PA she spent two years as a trainee with the Fort Wayne Ballet Company of Indiana,
studying ballet, contemporary dance forms, theatre and dance pedagogy.
         She returned to PA in 2007 where she joined the faculty of the Arts Conservatory and taught preschool through advanced ballet classes for two years. During that time she also performed as an actress with the Nittany Theatre Company and danced professionally with the People's Dance Company. She has danced many lead roles such as the Sugar Plum fairy in The Nutcracker and the title role in The Firebird, and performed as Tuptim in The King and I with the Nittany Valley Symphony. She has choreographed numerous ballet pieces and musicals
such as Alice in Wonderland and Little Women.
         One of Carolyn's greatest passions is sharing her love for dance and the arts with  her students. She is excited to join the faculty of the Mid-Atlantic Ballet this year. She was recently married and lives in Hockessin with her husband, Daniel.

Leanne Higgins, Resident Faculty, has taught group exercise classes for 19 years and Pilates Mat Work for six years. She has attained numerous certifications including two from the American College of Sports Medicine as an Exercise Leader and a Health Fitness Director. Leanne has her certificate in Pilates Mat Work from SCW Fitness in addition to being CPR/First Aid/AED certified. She is safety certified by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors and the United States Gymnastics Federation. Leanne teaches Creative Movement to elementary students and health classes at the high school level. She has published articles on disordered eating in collegiate cheerleading and dance and provides lectures on health, wellness, and leadership throughout the tri-state area. Leanne received her bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University and both a master's in Exercise Physiology and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware.

Kimberly Martin, Resident Faculty, began her training in Tampa, Florida, under the tutelage of Haydee Gutierrez. She continued her dance studies with the San Francisco Ballet and Chicago City Ballet where she studied with Violette Verdi and Maria Tallchief. While in high school she performed and toured as an apprentice with the Tampa Ballet Company. Kimberly continued her academic education and dance training at Wake Forest University. There she studied with faculty from the North Carolina School of the Arts. While at Wake Forest, she was chosen to perform at the International Dance Festival in Hong Kong. Edward Villela, director of the Miami City Ballet also selected her to perform a principal role in Balanchine's Concerto Barocco and Napoli. Upon graduation, Kimberly performed and toured the U.S. and Canada with Ballet Theater of Pennsylvania for two seasons. In 1994, she performed with Russian Ballet Theater of Delaware as a guest artist and then was invited to join the company. During her five years with the Russian Ballet Theater, she had the opportunity to perform works by George Balanchine, Robert LaFosse, Matthew Neenan, Daniel Baudendistel, and Leslie Brown. In 1995, while still performing with the Russian Ballet Theater, she was invited to teach master classes and join the faculty of several dance academies in the tri-state area. In 2000, she helped create and implement a pilot dance program targeting at-risk youth. This program then became part of a citywide Arts Education Program established at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, Delaware. During her three years at the Grand, she saw the program grow to include theater and music and impact over 1,200 inner city children. Presently, Kimberly teaches full time. She finds joy in working with all age groups and continues introducing and educating children in the world of dance.

Kristin Brown, Guest Teacher, received the majority of her training with Richard Hoskinson, Donna Muzio, and Cherie Noble at the Dance Center and Brandywine Ballet in West Chester, PA. She also attended summer programs at Richmond Ballet, Washington Ballet, and the PA Governor’s School for the Arts, as a scholarship student. Ms. Brown danced professionally from 1989 – 1996 with ballet companies in Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, North Carolina, and Texas. She has had the pleasure of working with choreographers Yanis Pikeris, Russell Sultzbach, Andre Prokovsky, Christopher Fleming, Dominique Gabella, and performing Mobile by the late Tomm Ruud. Kristin began teaching in 1993 while still performing professionally. She has choreographed dances for Longwood Dance Theatre, Brandywine Ballet, and The Rock School. Ms. Brown was a principal faculty member at the Brandywine Ballet for eight years, as well as a rehearsal assistant for the company. In June of 2007, Ms. Brown joined the faculty of The Rock School for Dance Education where she is also a rehearsal mistress for the student company. In addition to dance, Ms. Brown earned a degree in Sports Medicine and was a nationally certified Athletic Trainer. She has studied anatomy, biomechanics, and kinesiology extensively, and applies sound anatomic principles to teaching dance technique.

Located in downtown Newark, Delaware, near the intersection of Main and Academy streets, MAB's 6,000-square-foot facility features two spacious, air-conditioned studios with sprung floors. The larger studio is equipped with lighting and space for seating to create an intimate in-house performance venue. MAB also performs regularly at Mitchell Hall on the University of Delaware campus.

Our building is distinguished by a beautiful 200-foot mural uniting themes of ballet and nature by artist Bruce Garrity. The building is accessible to the disabled and offers close, secure parking.

Directions to MAB

MAB's volunteer Board of Directors oversees the organization. From the beginning, MAB's Board has helped make possible the rapid development of Mid-Atlantic Ballet into a highly-acclaimed, non-profit training school for aspiring professional dancers.

Board of Directors

Dolores Ballintyn, President

Jonathan Russ, Vice-President

Claudia Sardo, Treasurer

Members-At-Large

Gretchen Bauer, Tim Boulden, Donna Dicarlo, Jill Hall,

Michael Higgins, , Mike Luck

Ex Officio Members

Patrick Korstange, Artistic Director

Katie Bloom, Office Manager/ Bookkeeper