Professeurs et Coachs
LAURENCE LAFFON
Teacher at Paris Opera Ballet School
She start her ballet education in south of France, after in age of 12 years she joined the Paris Opera Ballet School. In 1996 Laurence joined the company of Paris Opera Ballet.
For 23 years Laurence danced with the Paris Opera Ballet. She participated in many tours and had the chance to dance a various repertory, such as Balanchine, Forsythe, Lacotte or Noureev.
Laurence as a teacher has been crossed with different approaches. She keeps the rigor of Paris Opera School and at the same time the feeling of play and joy. She also tries to share her experience in her way of teaching.
PATRICK ARMAND
Director of San Francisco Ballet School
Born in Marseille, France, Patrick Armand studied with Rudy Bryans, his mother Colette Armand, and at the Ecole de Danse de Marseille. He won the Prix de Lausanne in 1980 and continued his studies at the School of American Ballet and at the Centre de Danse International in Cannes. In 1981, he joined the Ballet Theatre Français and was promoted to principal dancer in 1983. That same year, Patrick was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in Béjart’s Song of a Wayfarer with Rudolf Nureyev. In 1984 he was invited by Peter Schaufuss to join the London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet), where he danced for six years before joining the Boston Ballet in 1990, under the direction of Bruce Marks. While in Boston he received the E Virginia Williams Inspirational award for his work with the company.
Patrick’s repertoire includes many leading roles in works by Ashton, Balanchine, Cranko, MacMillan, Petit, Tetley, and van Manen. Notably, in 1988, Patrick performed Siegfried in the world premiere of Natalia Makarova’s Swan Lake at London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet). That same year, he was voted best dancer of the year by the British magazine, Dance and Dancers. In addition, he has had work created on him by such choreographers as Bohbot, Bruce, Tharp, and Wheeldon, among others. As a guest artist, Patrick performed with the Australian Ballet, the Bayerische Staatsballet, the Deutsche Oper Ballet (Berlin), the Kirov Ballet, and the Noriko Kobayashi Ballet Theatre.
ALLISON BROWN
Teacher & Coach for William Forsythe ballets
Allison is Professor of Classical Ballet for Contemporary Dancers at the Center for Contemporary Dance at the Academy for Music and Dance in Cologne. From 2010 to 2019 she was on faculty at the University for Musik and Performing Arts in Frankfurt.
An important focus of her teaching is trying to work on a daily basis towards the development and advocation of anti-competitive, democratic frameworks and formats welcoming diverse bodies and artistic practices. Strength training and sports science are additional areas of concentration in her work with young dancers. As an instructor on William Forsythe’s Improvisation Technologies, Allison has taught at numerous schools, festivals and companies.
She staged Forsythe works such as Duo, Workwithinwork and Artifact Suite on various occasions for dance companies worldwide. As a choreographer, Allison Brown has been creating works since 1998. These include works for Pretty Ugly/Ballett Freiburg, the Künstlerhaus Mousonturm - Frankfurt ,Transitions Dance Company Laban - London and Gärtnerplatztheater - Munich.
Allison danced with the New York City Ballet, Twyla Tharp and Dancers, Amanda Miller’s Pretty Ugly Dance Company and Saburo Teshigawara’s Karas Company. From 1996 to 2004 she was a member of William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt.
AGNES LASCOMBES
Professeur de Danse classique
Après avoir fait ses classes au conservatoire d’Avignon, Agnès Lascombes entre au Ballet de l’Opéra d’Avignon sous la direction de Michel Bruel, où elle se perfectionne avec la venue de Loipa Araujo, Francesca Zumbo et d’autres répétiteurs issus du Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris. Elle y danse des grands ballets classiques comme « le Lac des cygnes, les Sylphides, Giselle … »
ANTON ZVIR
Professeur de Danse et instructeur de Pilates
Mon histoire, avec la danse, commence alors que mes parents sont tous les deux danseurs. C'est donc naturellement que j’entreprends, dès l'âge de 5 ans le même parcours, en commençant un travail basé sur la danse folklorique de mon pays.
J’intègre l'école du Bolchoï à Minsk à l'âge de 10 ans.
En 2000, je quitte la République du Belarus, pour la France, et intègre le Jeune Ballet du Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon. Par la suite, je suis engagé à l’Opéra National de Bordeaux, en tant que danseur professionnel.
Je poursuis ma formation à l'École de Rosella Hightower à Cannes (2003). Après un séjour à Lille (Compagnie Caroline Carlson), je me rends à Turin en 2005 pour intégrer le Balleto Theatro di Torino.
En 2007, j’entre au Ballet National de Marseille.
Ma carrière de danseur professionnel s’achève en juillet 2020.
Conscient, depuis longtemps que ma carrière de danseur sur scène allait prendre fin, j’ai muri et travaillé mon projet d’enseigner que j’avais depuis longtemps en moi.
J’ai donc entrepris ces années d’études qui me conduiront au DE de danseur, non sans envisager dans un premier temps d’entreprendre le cursus diplômant de professeur de Pilâtes. Par l’ensemble des techniques qu’elle porte et pour tous les bienfaits que j’ai pu expérimenter, cette méthode m’a semblé être le meilleur enseignement à proposer pour une grande variété de public en recherche de multiples objectifs : sportifs, bien être, récupération physique…et qui constitue en définitive un apport significatif à l’enseignement de la danse.
ALEXANDRE KALIBABCHUK
Balletmaster at the State Theater Karsruhe
born in Kiew (Ukraine). He start his dance education at State Ballet Academy in Kiew. In 1994, he graduate with the diploma for ballet Teacher at the Moscow Academy of Dance. Since 2006, he is professor for classical dance at the State Academy of dance in Manheim, Germany. From 2003, he is as well Ballet master at the State Theater Karlsruhe.