Instructors

Amy began dancing at age five and then began training seriously a few years later at the American Academy of Ballet under the instruction of Maris Battaglia as well as Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook of Dance Theatre of Harlem.  She received her B.A. degree in Theater (Summa cum Laude) from Baldwin-Wallace College in Cleveland and a M.F.A. in Dance from Southern Methodist University.  Miss Amy trained not only in Classical Ballet but also received extensive Jazz and Modern pedagogy training.  She started her teaching career as well as continued her ballet training at Dallas Metropolitan Ballet under the directorship of Ann Etgen and Bill Atkinson, where Miss Amy taught ballet from pre-ballet for three year olds to advanced ballet for the company apprentices. From 1983-1990, Miss Amy continued her teaching career at studios in North Dallas, Midland, and Odessa, Texas.  In January of 1991, Miss Amy moved to Manassas, VA and became a full time teacher with Manassas School of Dance which is now Manassas Ballet Academy.  In 1994, when working with her first Russian male partner, Slava Mesropov, Miss Amy began a total retraining in the Vaganova methodology under many Russian teachers, most notable Dimitriy Tuboltsev and Inna Stabrova.  In 1997, Miss Amy became Associate Director and helped lead MBT’s expansion into a professional ballet company.  In 1999, she became Artistic Director of MBT.  In 2008, Miss Amy was presented with a Seefeldt Pioneer Award for Arts Excellence by the Prince William County Park Authority Arts Council for stellar achievement over time.

After graduating in 1989 from the Novosibirsk Ballet Academy in Russia, Mr. Slatvitskiy became the principal dancer with the Novosibirsk Theatre from 1989 until 2000 where he danced in many productions. In 2000, he became a principal dancer with the Grigorovich Ballet Company in Russia.  He has also appeared as a guest dancer across the United States.  He has danced the principal roles in The Nutcracker, Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardee, Don Quixote, Frankenstein and Cinderella just to name a few.  Mr. Slatvitskiy has toured around the world, including countries such as Argentina, China, Egypt, England, Germany and Italy.  Mr. Slatvitskiy serves as primary choreographer, ballet master, and dancer for Manassas Ballet Theatre as well as a principal teacher and Youth American Grand Prix coach for Manassas Ballet Academy.  Mr. Slavitskiy joined MBT in 2006.

Mr. Burnham was born in Lake Tahoe, CA and started his ballet training at Santa Cruz Ballet under the direction of Robert Kelly and Diane Cypher. He continued his training in Washington at Mid-Columbia Ballet under Debra Rogo. At age 13, he received full scholarships to San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Houston Ballet. In 2004, he joined San Francisco Ballet where he performed in such ballets as Helgi Tomasson’s Meiston’s Mozart, and Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes and The Four Temperments. In 2006, Mr. Burnham joined Cincinnati Ballet where he danced many lead roles. He has worked with choreographers Jorma Elo, Val Caniparoli, Mark Morris, Trey McIntyre, James Kudelka, and Twyla Tharp. In 2009-2011, he performed with Ballet Theatre of Maryland dancing as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet and the Cavalier in The Nutcracker among other roles. Mr. Burnham joined MBT in 2012. He is a teacher and YAGP coach for Manassas Ballet Academy and a Ballet Master at MBT.

Ms. Locke, from Chattanooga, TN, began her training at VanCura Ballet Conservatory and attended high school on scholarship at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under the direction of Ethan Stiefel. She attended summer intensives at Ballet Tennessee, Joffrey Midwest, American Ballet Theatre, Kaatsbaan and Boston Ballet. Ms. Locke began her professional career as a trainee with Richmond Ballet, and later served as Principal Dancer and Ballet Administrator at Ballet Tennessee. She has performed a variety of featured roles with Manassas Ballet Theatre including Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Myrtha in Giselle, Mina in Dracula, and the Mazurka in Les Sylphides. Ms. Locke joined MBT in 2018 and is also an instructor at Manassas Ballet Academy and a Publicity and Marketing Assistant with MBT.

Ms. Bartlett is a Maryland native and a 2016 graduate of Goucher College in Baltimore, where she finished Magna Cum Laude with a BA in dance and minor in psychology. Ms. Bartlett received a majority of her training at Glen Burnie, Maryland’s, Edna Lee Dance Studio, where she eventually taught ballet, pointe, jazz and contemporary/lyrical as well as choreographed for the school. She was invited as guest artist by Howard County Ballet in 2013-2015 to dance Sugar Plum Fairy.  Ms. Bartlett spent the 2016-17 season with Charlottesville Ballet as trainee and danced several corps de ballet roles, including The Nutcracker’s Waltz of the Flowers. She has danced many roles with Manassas Ballet Theatre including Lucy and a Vampire Wife in Dracula, Arabian and Lead Flower in the Nutcracker, and a Stepsister in Cinderella. Ms. Bartlett joined MBT in 2017 and the Manassas Ballet Academy faculty in 2019.

From Egypt, Mr. Nabil graduated from the Higher Institute of Ballet, the Academy of Arts and then received his Bachelor’s Degree in Choreography. He has earned several awards including First Prize (twice) at the Classical Ballet Competition of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Ahmed was a principal dancer with the Cairo Opera House where he danced many leading roles including Siegfried in Swan Lake, Basilio in Don Quixote, Romeo and Romeo and Juliet. He became the Assistant Director of the Cairo Opera Ballet Company in 2012. His ballet, Exit Door, won the Critics Award as best Egyptian Ballet in 2014. Mr. Nabil joined MBT in 2018 and also teaches at Manassas Ballet Academy.

Ms. Thomas began her training at the age of six.  She trained with Amber Rose in Culpepper, Virginia, and graduated from Manassas Ballet Academy in 2020.  As a student Ms. Thomas performed the role of Clara in The Nutcracker and has performed various roles with Manassas Ballet Theatre as a company member.  She earned her Associate’s Degree in Business Administration from Northern Virginia Community College and is currently enrolled at George Mason University to earn her Bachelor’s Degree.  Ms. Thomas joined MBT in 2020.  She is also a teacher and YAGP coach for MBA.

Ms. Wilde is from Madison, New Jersey. She began her training with Leslie Drucks at the Studio Allegro School of Ballet.  Ms. Wilde continued her training as a junior company member with the New Jersey Ballet, under the direction of Carolyn Clark. She attended summer intensives with Ballet Chicago, American Ballet Theatre, New Jersey Ballet and Atlanta Ballet. Ms. Wilde received her BFA in Ballet Performance at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music in 2019.  Ms. Wilde joined Manassas Ballet Theatre in 2018 and is also an instructor for MBT.

Ms. Gorrell is from Manassas, Virginia.  She began dancing at the age of five and is a recent graduate of Manassas Ballet Academy. She was a regular participant in Youth America Grand Prix, and attended summer intensives with The School of Pennsylvania Ballet.  As a student, Ms. Gorrell has performed various roles with Manassas Ballet Theatre including Clara in Nutcracker.  This is Ms. Gorrell’s first season with MBT.