Jeanna Vance received her dance training at the Grand Rapids Ballet, Houston Ballet Academy, The American Academy of Dance, and Ballet Magnificat. For the first decade of her professional dance career she performed with many Houston based companies and had the privilege of being a founding member of Ad Deum Dance Co. under the direction of Randall Flinn. As a young artist, Jeanna was also welcomed into Interactive Theatre Company, where she fell in love with unruly audiences and the endless
possibilities that come by opening up the audience/performer relationship. Her love of story telling and a passion to share the Gospel through dance were fanned into flame during her 14 years of serving on faculty for Dance Revolution, a traveling dance convention that reaches thousands of students each year. In response to a growing desire to use dance as a tool to serve the “unseen” of society, in 2014 Jeanna founded Open Sky Arts Collective. Since it’s beginning, Open Sky has become a nation wide missional arts organization that fosters close knit artist communities who use dance to create inroads for people from all walks of life to experience the unstoppable love of God. Currently, Jeanna resides in the Dallas area, directing Open Sky Dallas, homeschooling her kids, dancing and dance-making, speaking, teaching, and dreaming of new ways to make dinner.
Shannon danced for several professional ballet companies including, Texas Ballet Theater (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet), Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and South African Ballet Theater. Shannon worked with many world renowned choreographers and artistic staff including Bruce Marks of Boston Ballet, Bruce Simpson of Louisville
Ballet, Stanton Welch of Houston Ballet, and Ben Stevenson O.B.E., current Artistic Director of TBT. During Shannon’s professional career he has performed in many ballet’s including George Balanchine’s Four Temperaments, Serenade, and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue; Stanton Welch’s Fingerprints; and Ben Stevenson’s Peer
Gynt, Dracula , Cinderella, and Coppelia. After his tenure with TBT, Shannon joined the famed neo-classical modern ballet troupe, The Bruce Wood Dance Company and toured in various cities across America. Shannon is a principal guest artist and has several other credits which include the South African Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and Ballet Metropolitan
Classique.
Shannon has a passion for choreography and had the opportunity to create an original work on company members of TBT. He also choreographed a full length version of Snow White which premiered in 2005. He has also choreographed award winning works for members of Lakecities Ballet Theatre. Even with a blended family of 8, he still finds time to freelance. Shannon has been involved in dance for more than 20 years. This includes over 10 years of teaching experience and an education in dance from Texas Christian University. Shannon is looking forward to
his first year with Alamyeva School of Ballet.
Marina Almayeva received her professional ballet education under Vaganova curriculum at some of the best state-sponsored schools of choreography in the former Soviet Union, such as colleges of choreography in Baku and Perm. Having competed her studies, she accepted the position of a Soloist at a well-known ballet company “Moskva” in Moscow where she danced for 6 years, touring extensively throughout Russia and Europe. In 1999 she joined “Ballet Arlington” in Arlington, TX and danced there for two seasons. It is the combination of her superb training, professional experience of the dancer and ballet instructor, and her passion for the art has allowed Marina Almayeva to build a truly unique pre-professional classical ballet program in the heart of Texas. Her teaching method is based on the best features of famous Russian Vaganova curriculum combined with the new approach to athletic conditioning of the dancer’s body with the goal to achieve an extreme flexibility, strength, and stamina. Over the years between 2003 and 2024 students of Marina Almayeva have won numerous awards at the regional semi-finals of Youth America Grand Prix International Ballet Competition, both in solo and ensemble categories
including:
– 2 Hope Awards
– 1 Youth Grand Prix
– 1 Grand Prix
– 16 First Place Awards
– 12 Second Place Awards
– 10 Third Place Awards
Marina Almayeva is a recipient of two “Outstanding Teacher” nominations by YAGP competition – in Spartanburg, SC
2008 and in Dallas, TX 2009.
Give Your Child the Gift of Dance
