Bob Willie , Director
Bob is a native of New York and began his career as assistant director to “Tony” award winning director/producer Joe Layton. He received his B.S. degree from East Carolina University where he was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Scholarship for excellence in theater performance. He continued his training in the M.F.A. Acting/Directing program at the University of Louisville and at H.B. Studios in New York under the tutelage of Uta Hagan and Charles Nelson Reilly. As an actor, director and fight choreographer, Bob has over sixty professional credits ranging from Shakespeare to musical comedy. Bob has directed several productions for the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, including On Golden Pond, Last Night of Ballyhoo, Moon Over Buffalo and A Lovely Sunday for Creve Couer, which each received the Miss Annie Award for Outstanding Production in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003, respectively.
Bob has served as Managing Director of the Professional Theatre Workshop working with such notable theatre dignitaries as Helen Hayes, Colleen Dewhurst, Linda Lavin, Maurice Hines, and Geoffrey Holder. Bob has also served as associate operations manager at
Bob is a native of New York and began his career as assistant director to “Tony” award winning director/producer Joe Layton. He received his B.S. degree from East Carolina University where he was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Scholarship for excellence in theater performance. He continued his training in the M.F.A. Acting/Directing program at the University of Louisville and at H.B. Studios in New York under the tutelage of Uta Hagan and Charles Nelson Reilly. As an actor, director and fight choreographer, Bob has over sixty professional credits ranging from Shakespeare to musical comedy. Bob has directed several productions for the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, including On Golden Pond, Last Night of Ballyhoo, Moon Over Buffalo and A Lovely Sunday for Creve Couer, which each received the Miss Annie Award for Outstanding Production in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003, respectively.
Bob has served as Managing Director of the Professional Theatre Workshop working with such notable theatre dignitaries as Helen Hayes, Colleen Dewhurst, Linda Lavin, Maurice Hines, and Geoffrey Holder. Bob has also served as associate operations manager at
the Julliard School working with the New York Philharmonic, The School of American Ballet and the Julliard Dance Ensemble.
Since arriving in Chattanooga in 1987, Bob has helped guide Chattanooga Ballet to new levels of artistic and professional development. Under his leadership the Company has grown to include six full time professionals and a thirty member Corps de Ballet. His dedication to the production of new works has resulted in the commissioning of over forty premiere pieces by American choreographers, three of which were presented at the Avignon Festival in France.
Bob was recently honored by the Tennessee Association of Dance with the prestigious Margaret Martin Award for distinguished service and outstanding contribution to the art of dance in Tennessee. He serves as President of Tennesseans for the Arts, Chairman of the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Theatre panel and Chairman of the dance panel of the Louisiana Division of the Arts. Bob has also served as President of the Tennessee Association of Dance and as a panelist for the Southern Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts.
Since arriving in Chattanooga in 1987, Bob has helped guide Chattanooga Ballet to new levels of artistic and professional development. Under his leadership the Company has grown to include six full time professionals and a thirty member Corps de Ballet. His dedication to the production of new works has resulted in the commissioning of over forty premiere pieces by American choreographers, three of which were presented at the Avignon Festival in France.
Bob was recently honored by the Tennessee Association of Dance with the prestigious Margaret Martin Award for distinguished service and outstanding contribution to the art of dance in Tennessee. He serves as President of Tennesseans for the Arts, Chairman of the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Theatre panel and Chairman of the dance panel of the Louisiana Division of the Arts. Bob has also served as President of the Tennessee Association of Dance and as a panelist for the Southern Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts.
Frank Hay , Ballet Master
Frank grew up in the Bay Area of California where he studied dance and gymnastics with his father. His early training included exposure to some of the finest dance companies in the world. He performed children’s roles with such notables as the San Francisco Ballet and the touring Bolshoi and Leningrad Kirov Ballet Companies.
He attended the University of Utah under a scholarship where he majored in ballet with an emphasis on performance technique. After two years, he joined Ballet West where he toured Europe for six weeks during his first season. With Ballet West he danced principal roles in major ballets including Bournonville’s Napoli Act III, Bruce Mark’s Don Juan and Lark Ascending, and Balanchine’s Four Temperaments, Serenade and Symphony in C. He also performed three soloist roles in the PBS filming of Christensen’s The Nutcracker that has been broadcast internationally. Frank marks his training with Christensen, Marks, Toni Lander and Leon Danilian during this time as the most significant in his early career.
Frank grew up in the Bay Area of California where he studied dance and gymnastics with his father. His early training included exposure to some of the finest dance companies in the world. He performed children’s roles with such notables as the San Francisco Ballet and the touring Bolshoi and Leningrad Kirov Ballet Companies.
He attended the University of Utah under a scholarship where he majored in ballet with an emphasis on performance technique. After two years, he joined Ballet West where he toured Europe for six weeks during his first season. With Ballet West he danced principal roles in major ballets including Bournonville’s Napoli Act III, Bruce Mark’s Don Juan and Lark Ascending, and Balanchine’s Four Temperaments, Serenade and Symphony in C. He also performed three soloist roles in the PBS filming of Christensen’s The Nutcracker that has been broadcast internationally. Frank marks his training with Christensen, Marks, Toni Lander and Leon Danilian during this time as the most significant in his early career.
After nine years in Utah, Frank accepted a position with the Atlanta Ballet where he performed principal roles in The Nutcracker and Tom Pazik’s Cinderella and Firebird. He then spent a year as a principal dancer with the Tampa Ballet before joining the Louisville Ballet under the direction of Alan Jones. His first engagement with Louisville Ballet included a tour of Texas with Mikhail Baryshinikov. Some of the other highlights of his eight years in Louisville include dancing principal and soloist roles in such major works as Jooss’s The Green Table, Loring’s Billy the Kid, Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliant, Bournonville’s La Sylphide (staged by Erik Burhn) and Ruthanna Goris’s Cakewalk.
In addition to his duties as Ballet Master with Chattanooga Ballet, Frank teaches classes at all grade levels of the Chattanooga Ballet School. He has also restaged many of the works from the classical repertory including the second acts of Giselle and Swan Lake. Frank’s choreographic credits also include Juvenile Ambition (a work based on his training in Bournonville technique), Partita Prelude and The Creation, based on the Hayden Oratory. He recently served as choreographer of the Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s production of Oklahoma! and the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera productions of Hansel and Gretel and Orfeo and Euridice.
Amanda Walker Gray
A native of Tallahassee, Florida, Amanda trained with Natalia Botha, Charles Hagan and Gwynne Ashton at the Southern Academy of Ballet Arts and Pas de Vie Ballet, Inc. She holds a B.A. in Dance Performance from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania under the direction of Tauna Hunter. She has also danced and trained with such organizations as Lake Erie Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Boston Ballet, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts and the International Flamenco Festival. She has danced principal and soloist roles in ballets including Coppelia, Les Sylphides, Serenade, Dracula, Giselle, Raymonda, Carmen, Paquita and The Nutcracker. Amanda was the 2006 recipient of the Tennessee Arts Commission Fellowship for artistic excellence in dance performance. This is Amanda’s sixth season with Chattanooga Ballet.
A native of Tallahassee, Florida, Amanda trained with Natalia Botha, Charles Hagan and Gwynne Ashton at the Southern Academy of Ballet Arts and Pas de Vie Ballet, Inc. She holds a B.A. in Dance Performance from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania under the direction of Tauna Hunter. She has also danced and trained with such organizations as Lake Erie Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Boston Ballet, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts and the International Flamenco Festival. She has danced principal and soloist roles in ballets including Coppelia, Les Sylphides, Serenade, Dracula, Giselle, Raymonda, Carmen, Paquita and The Nutcracker. Amanda was the 2006 recipient of the Tennessee Arts Commission Fellowship for artistic excellence in dance performance. This is Amanda’s sixth season with Chattanooga Ballet.
Christine Mashburn-Paul
Originally from Atlanta, Christine grew up studying the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus under the training of Kelly Oakes-Dent at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. By the time Christine graduated high school, she had completed RAD examinations in Grades 2 through 8 and the major syllabus examinations in Pre-Elementary through Intermediate 2 (recently renamed Intermediate Foundations through Advanced 1). Christine went on to study dance at the University of Georgia, performing in the UGA Ballet Ensemble as well as the modern dance company CORE. From 2002 to 2006 Christine taught, directed and choreographed for Freedom of Movement Dance Academy in Athens, Georgia and completed a 230 hour yoga teacher training program at the Asheville Yoga Center. This is Christine’s third season with Chattanooga Ballet.
Originally from Atlanta, Christine grew up studying the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus under the training of Kelly Oakes-
Cortney Mild
Hailing from Harlingen, Texas, Cortney began her ballet studies with Lori Read and Deborah Case. She performed in Corpus Christi Ballet’s The Nutcracker and Dracula. She received additional training from the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Boston Conservatory, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Virginia School of the Arts and Ballet Austin. She has had the pleasure of working on new works with such choreographers as Sean Curran, Robert Moses, Eloy Barragan, Jeffrey Gunshol, Tyler Walters and Alex Ossadnik. In addition she has worked on the restaging of works by Salvatore Aiello and Jiri Kylian. Cortney holds an Honors Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance, Pedagogy and Character Dance from the University of Utah. While attending school she accepted her first contract to dance in the Utah Symphony and Opera’s production of La Rondine. As a member of the Character Dance Ensemble, she toured internationally to Vancouver, Beijing and St. Petersburg. This is Cortney’s third season with Chattanooga Ballet.
Hailing from Harlingen, Texas, Cortney began her ballet studies with Lori Read and Deborah Case. She performed in Corpus Christi Ballet’s The Nutcracker and Dracula. She received additional training from the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Boston Conservatory, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Virginia School of the Arts and Ballet Austin. She has had the pleasure of working on new works with such choreographers as Sean Curran, Robert Moses, Eloy Barragan, Jeffrey Gunshol, Tyler Walters and Alex Ossadnik. In addition she has worked on the restaging of works by Salvatore Aiello and Jiri Kylian. Cortney holds an Honors Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance, Pedagogy and Character Dance from the University of Utah. While attending school she accepted her first contract to dance in the Utah Symphony and Opera’s production of La Rondine. As a member of the Character Dance Ensemble, she toured internationally to Vancouver, Beijing and St. Petersburg. This is Cortney’s third season with Chattanooga Ballet.
Kirsten Hawkins
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Kirsten began her ballet training with the Olympic Ballet Theatre under the direction of John and Helen Wilkins. In 1998 she became a member of the company which allowed her to go on tour, performing throughout the states of Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona. She has performed in Don Quixote, Peter and the Wolf, La Bayadere, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker as well as many new works. Kirsten also received training from the Boston Ballet, The Rock-Philadelphia Ballet, Walla Walla Dance and Salt Lake City’s Ballet School. In 2003 Kirsten became a member of Impact, a hip-hop dance group based in Seattle which inspired her to begin teaching hip-hop to children in the Dominican Republic over her summers. In 2006 Kirsten received her B.A. in Communication as well as minors in Dance and Women’s studies from the University of Washington. While in school Kirsten co-founded and soon became president of the University Ballet Company. In 2006 she moved to Chattanooga to work at a college ministry at UTC. This is Kirsten’s fourth season with Chattanooga Ballet.
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Kirsten began her ballet training with the Olympic Ballet Theatre under the direction of John and Helen Wilkins. In 1998 she became a member of the company which allowed her to go on tour, performing throughout the states of Washington, Oregon, California and Arizona. She has performed in Don Quixote, Peter and the Wolf, La Bayadere, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker as well as many new works. Kirsten also received training from the Boston Ballet, The Rock-
Shanelle Newton
Shanelle began her training at the School of the Hartford Ballet and at The Metropolitan Ballet Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She began dancing with Chattanooga Ballet in 1998 and has advanced through the Corps de Ballet into soloist roles. She has performed with the Company in Tom Pazik’s Guitar Concerto, Peter and the Wolf, Firebird, Les Sylphide, Swan Lake, La Bayadere and The Nutcracker, among others. Shanelle is also a talented musical theatre performer and has performed at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre in Oklahoma!, Beauty and the Beast, Children of Eden, Bye Bye Birdie and The Wizard of Oz. She is currently in her last year at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Music Performance.
Shanelle began her training at the School of the Hartford Ballet and at The Metropolitan Ballet Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She began dancing with Chattanooga Ballet in 1998 and has advanced through the Corps de Ballet into soloist roles. She has performed with the Company in Tom Pazik’s Guitar Concerto, Peter and the Wolf, Firebird, Les Sylphide, Swan Lake, La Bayadere and The Nutcracker, among others. Shanelle is also a talented musical theatre performer and has performed at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre in Oklahoma!, Beauty and the Beast, Children of Eden, Bye Bye Birdie and The Wizard of Oz. She is currently in her last year at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Music Performance.
