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FACULTY
Karen Hostler, Interim Artistic Director
Karen Hostler was born in Wilmington, Delaware and raised in Arden.
She began taking ballet lessons at the age of five with Stella Hobson, a
former member of the Ballet Russes. Karen took time off from her ballet
instruction from the age of 11 until she was 31, at which time she began
searching for an activity to do with her young daughter. Karen began taking
lessons from Marc Levy, a former student of The Academy of the Dance, and
studied with Marc for about 12 years, during which time she also began teaching
for him.
Since that
time, Karen has taught at the Performing Arts, Paul Klocke Dance Centre, Anna
Marie Dance Studio, Brandywine Y, and the Nina Robinson School of Dance. She has
also attended classes in New York at the Broadway Dance Centre. She lives by the rule that there is always something to learn,
even if it's what not to do. Karen is continually trying to find a better way
to teach, to explain and to break down the steps for her students. She feels
it is important to connect with her students so they know what to feel and how to work for clean technique, and most of all, for the love of the dance.
Arthur Hutchinson
Arthur Hutchinson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He began
dancing at the age of 7. When The Academy of the Dance opened in 1956 he
was offered a scholarship by James Jamieson and Madame Helena Antonova.
He went on to study in New York at the Ballet Russe and Ballet Theatre Schools.
In 1962, Agnes de Mille choose him to dance in a revival of Brigadoon at
the City Center in New York City. In 1963 he was invited to the White
House with the cast of Brigadoon for President Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy
and their guest the King of Morocco. Mr. Hutchinson went on to tour
throughout the world teaching, choreographing and directing. He
currently resides in Bremen, Germany. For the past 15 years, he has
returned to Wilmington to appear in the role of Herr Drosselmeyer in The
Nutcracker, presented by The Academy of the Dance, where he is
affectionately known as Mr. H.
Val Goncharov
Val Goncharov graduated from Kiev Ballet Academy in 1982, and was offered five
different company positions, but he chose the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theater
to be closer to his family. As a principal dancer with the Donetsk Opera and Ballet
Theater from 1982 to 1992, Val toured the United States four times, and danced at
the Nervi International Ballet Festival in Genoa, Italy. In 1987 he received a Bronze
medal at the Republican Ballet Competition (Donetsk, Ukraine). In 1992, while on a U.S. tour,
he defected to the United States. Working as a Principal Dancer at the Donetsk Opera and
Ballet Theater, Ballet Theater of Pennsylvania and Russian Ballet Theater of Delaware, Mr. Goncharov
performed principal roles in many classical ballets: Bahchisarai Fountain, Swan Lake,
Giselle, Francesca da Rimini, Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Chopiniana (Les Sylphide),
The Firebird, Cinderella and many more.
Hawley Rowe
Hawley Rowe began her dance training when she was four years old at The School
of the Hartford Ballet in her hometown of Hartford, Connecticut. A student there
for ten years, Ms. Rowe received the Friends of the Hartford Ballet scholarship in 1994. She
also studied with Truman Finney for four years.
In 1995, she began her professional career with American Repertory Ballet in Princeton, New Jersey.
In 1998 she danced for a year with the Cincinnati Ballet.
Ms. Rowe joined Pennsylvania Ballet in September 2000 as a member of the Corps de Ballet. She was
featured as the Wife in Jerome Robbins' The Concert, performed the big swans variation in Christopher
Wheeldon's Swan Lake, Desdemona in The Moor's Pavane, Myrta in Giselle, the I Can Dream solo in
Paul Taylor's Company B, the solo girl in Trey McIntyre's Blue Until June, and solo variations in
The Sleeping Beauty and George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. Ms. Rowe has also performed in many
of the Company's productions including Serenade, Western Symphony, Agon, Concerto Six Twenty-Two,
Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Concerto Barocco. Ms. Rowe also feels blessed to be
mother to her son Rowe Leslie Weber, who was born February 7, 2009.
Rachael Thompson
Ms. Thompson holds a BFA in Dance Education from the University of the Arts. She has
attended the Dance Theatre of Lynchburg and the Rockette Summer Intensive. Her
teaching experience includes jazz, ballet, and tap for George Nebinger Elementary
School, Philadelphia School for Creative and Performing Arts, UArts Academic Support,
and Dance and Music Creations. She has performed in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival
and performed works by Anna Sokolow, Curt Haworth, Donald Lunsford, and Cassie
Eckerman. Ms. Thompson is also a Gyrokinesis trainer.
Gina Apuzzo
Gina Apuzzo spent her youth training at the Galle & Collins Dance Academy in
Poughkeepsie, New York, under Annie Galle an Ed Collins. She attended workshops from
New York City Ballet dancer Carrie Lee Riggins and Ballet West principal Gunild Pak Symes.
She has toured internationally with the Annie Galle Dance Company, performing throughout
Denmark and Sweden. Gina continued her training and graduated from University of the Arts
with a BFA in Classical Ballet Performance. Gina is currently performing with contemporary
ballet company, Dancespora.
Erin Coughlan
Ms. Coughlan studied at the Academy of the Dance for 12 years under Mr. Victor
Wesley. She graduated from Cab Calloway School of the Arts High School in 2005,
where she majored in Dance. Erin co-taught with Susan Lawrence and Amanda Hughey
for 6 years at the Academy in the Level A classes. At the University of Delaware, Erin
learned ballroom dance and joined the team in 2006 where she taught ballroom dance and
competed in college competitions. She graduated from the University with a degree in
Biology and is currently teaching Science at Pencader Charter High School.
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