Faculty and Staff

Suzanne Erlon, Founder and Artistic Director Emerita

Ms. Erlon began her carreer in 1960 as a ballerina, choreographer, and teacher. As a 10-year member of the New York City Ballet, from 1964 to 1973, Ms. Erlon worked with George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Anthony Tudor, and others in more than 100 ballets, including many premiers such as Balanchine’s Stravinsky Festival. After one season with Eliot Feld, Ms. Erlon joined Ballet West as a principal dancer in 1974, working with Willam F. Christensen, Bruce Marks, Toni Lander and Bill Evans. Ms. Erlon also performed as a guest artist with several western ballet companies in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Idaho. In 1982, Ms. Erlon co-founded the Christensen Ballet Academy in Salt Lake City. Moving to the Washington, D.C. area in 1985, Ms. Erlon taught for four years at the Washington School of Ballet and in 1989 formed Metropolitan Ballet Theatre. Her interest in choreography began while she was in Salt Lake City, creating works for Ballet West and the University of Utah. Ms. Erlon has choreographed over twenty ballets for MBT, including The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Cinderella, Swan Lake (Act II) and many others.

Robin Griffin, Artistic Director, Ballet Instructor

Ms. Griffin has been leading the artistic direction of MBT for the last six years. She trained locally and with Washington Ballet and Joffrey Ballet in New York. Ms. Griffin joined MBT in 1995 as an instructor. Since then she has performed many character roles with the company, and has choreographed as well adding new works to MBT’s repertoire. She became the Introductory Level Coordinator in 1997, Assistant Artistic Director in 2001, and was appointed Artistic Director in 2004. Certified in Early Childhood Education, Ms. Griffin incorporates her knowledge of child development and developmentally appropriate programming into all class levels within the academy.

Vanessa Carmichael-Elder, Jazz Instructor

Ms. Carmichael-Elder has studied modern, jazz and ballet with Alvin Mayes, Bonnie Slawson, Tim Roberts, and Douglass Yuell. She incorporates kinesiology and sports training into her classes making the student more physically balanced and thereby reducing injuries. She currently dances with Teatro De Danza Contemoranea.

 

 

 

Virginia Colten-Bradley, Development Manager

 

 

 

 
Rachel Coyle, Ballet Instructor

Ms. Coyle grew up in the Rockville area and received her dance training at Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and Academy studying under founder Suzanne Erlon and Aristic Director Robin Griffin.  Ms. Coyle is currently working towards a degree in psychology at Hood College.

 

 

 

Elizabeth Cunningham, Outreach Manager and FUNdraising, Ballet Instructor

Ms. Cunningham, originally from Louisville, KY, began her dance training with the University of Louisville Dance Academy under Charles Bronson and Cynthia Bronner. In high school she was accepted in to KY’s Governor’s School for the Arts and Regional Dance America’s Craft of Choreography conference. Her passion for teaching and choreographing lead her to Radford University where she earned a BS in Dance Education. Ms. Cunningham has performed classical roles in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Les Sylphides, Raymunda, Les Corsaires, and many more. Elizabeth has taught for Radford University’s Ballet Youth in Virginia, Brooklyn Jewish Dance Institute in New York City, and has also earned her license to teach dance to ages K-12 in public schools.

 

Claire Danaceau, Pilates

Ms. Danaceau has been teaching Group Exercise with Sport & Health since 1996 and has been a Group Exercise and Pilates Director since 2007. She trained with Mark Trudeau at Quatum Pilates for the original 34 Matwork exercises and has completed Level 3 with Balanced Body University on the Allegro Reformer.  Ms. Danaceau is AFAA-certified, and has earned her 200-hr RYT in Yoga through YogaFit and YOGASTEPS™. She is a certified Yamuna Body Rolling practitioner, currently working on her Yamuna Body Logic certification. She is also a certified Les Mills BodyPump instructor.

 

Brenda Lipowsky, Administrator

Ms. Lipowsky has a marketing degree from American University. Before joining MBT, she worked at the Potomac Butter and Egg Company for 23 years in sales, customer service, advertising, accounts payable and accounts receivable. Ms. Lipowsky is a former MBT board Vice President and President and joined the staff as Administrator in 2005.

Nicole Y.M. McBrayer, Ballet and Modern Instructor

Ms. McBrayer holds a BFA in Dance and a BA in Chemistry from East Carolina University. She has danced professionally with several local artists, and currently dances with Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company. Ms. McBrayer joined MBT in 2002 as instructor, and since then has performed in MBT’s production of The Nutcracker and Little Red Riding Hood. She has also choreographed several new works for MBT’s annual Spring Dance Concerts.

 
Amy Neal, Assistant Artistic Director, Marketing Director, Ballet Instructor

Ms. Neal is originally from Pennsylvania, where she began her dance training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary and continued at the Harrisburg Dance Conservatory with Forrest Gehret and Richard Hoskinson. She has performed with the Harrisburg Dance Ensemble, the Harrisburg Ballet, Upstate NY Ballet, and with several local DC choreographers.  Ms. Neal earned her BS degree from Syracuse University and her MS from the University of Maryland. She has been teaching ballet to students of all ages for the past ten plus years.

 

 
Anneliese Parisi, Ballet Instructor

Ms Parisi, originally of Laurel, Maryland, began studying ballet at The Ballet Academy in Beltsville, Maryland. She continued her studies of ballet, modern, and jazz at Suitland High School for the Visual and Performing Arts. Ms. Parisi furthered her ballet training at Arlington Center for Dance and her modern training at Alvin Ailey American dance Theatre. Anneliese received a BFA in ballet performance from The University of the Arts. She has performed with Danco2, the second company of Philadanco, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, and The Washington Reflections Dance Company. Anneliese has had the pleasure of working with such choreographers as Fernando Bujones, Christopher Huggins, Keith Lee, and Juan Carlos Rincones. Ms Parisi is currently a member of El Teatro De Danza Contemporanea de El Salvador.

Laura Wilson, Ballet Instructor

Ms. Wilson began studying dance from her mother at an early age.  She continued her studies of ballet, modern and ethnic forms at the North Carolina School of the Arts and Jacobs Pillow.  She became an apprentice to the Harkness Ballet of New York and a year later joined the company debuting at Kennedy Center in the corps dancing Firebird.  Ms. Wilson toured with Harkness Ballet for 4-5 years extensively in the U.S. and Europe.  She received her BFA degree in dance at the U.S. International University in San Diego while dancing with California Ballet.  She later went on to dance with Pacific Northwest Ballet performing works of Balanchine and numerous other choreographers, dancing a variety of roles in classics like Swan Lake and The Nutcracker as well as in Balanchine ballets such as Serenade, Square Dance, and Allegro Brilliante.  In addition to being on faculty at MBT, Ms. Wilson currently teaches special education at the Katherine Thomas School and performs liturgical dance at church.

Laurie Zavadil, Jazz Instructor

Ms. Zavadil received her core dance training at studios in southern Michigan and at Marygrove College.  She is competent in a variety of dance disciplines including jazz, tap and ballet and is an award winning musical theater choreographer.  Ms. Zavadil has held class with instructors such as Frank Hatchett, Gus Giordano, Barry Lather and AC Ciulla.   She has performed professionally in numerous industry shows, and theater projects and has over a decade of teaching experience.