"OPEN WORLD" DANCE FOUNDATION, INC.
MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA

In February 2010, after a year of redesign and renovation, BAC opened the Jerome Robbins Theater, a fixed seating venue with a flat floor stage, a 187-seat orchestra, and a 51-seat balcony. The Wooster Group became BAC’s resident theater company, inaugurating the stage with a remounting of their seminal work from 1983, The Jerome Robbins Theater is named in recognition of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s lasting friendship and collaboration with Jerome Robbins. Lead support for the theater acquisition and renovation was provided by The Jerome Robbins Foundation. The Howard Gilman Performance Space is named in honor of Howard Gilman, a philanthropist and long-time friend and supporter of Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Howard Gilman Performance Space was dedicated in November 2006.  Lead support for the theater was provided by The Howard Gilman Foundation. BAC studios range in size from 850 square feet to 3,096 square feet and are completely column-free, with sprung wood floors and ceilings ranging in height from 18 to 20 feet. Large windows provide expansive southern and western views of Manhattan and the Hudson River. The studios are home to BAC’s resident artists throughout the year, and are also available for rent. Ginger Thatcher has taught ballet for Norwegian National Ballet, Steps on Broadway, Cleveland Ballet, Houston Ballet Academy, Joffrey New School, Minnesota Ballet, USDAN, PeriDance, University of Michigan, Oakland University, Rutgers University, and BAE since 2002. Ginger’s choreography credits include: Billy The Kid, Pinocchio, Verb Ballets, “Swing” for Maine State Music Theatre, Wild Women of Planet Wongo for the NY Music Festival, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for Two River Theatre Company, the film “Far From Heaven,” and Maury Yeston’s new musical, “Hans Christian Anderson” for Maine State Music Theatre. Other New York credits include: Syncopation (Stamford Theatre Works), Big (Gateway Playhouse), The Lucky Chance (Jean Cocteau Rep., NYC), The Winter’s Tale and Othello (NYC Shakespeare Project), Barrio Babies (Amas Theatre Group NYC), and TV’s As The World Turns. Broadway Credits, as Associate, Assistant, and Resident Choreographer include: The Red Shoes, Carousel, Big, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Oklahoma!, A Year with Frog and Toad. Other Credits: PBS Othello (San Francisco Ballet, ABT), The Red Shoes (ABT, National Ballet of Canada), A Brahams Symphony (ABT), and Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame (Berlin), all with Lar Lubovitch. She has also worked on “But Not for Me” (Martha Graham Dance Company) and “Take Five” (PNB), with Susan Stroman. Rebecca has been teaching yoga at the school for 10 years. She has over 1500 hours of training in yoga and is certified with the yoga alliance in the US as well as Europe. Additionally, Rebecca is prenatal and Pilates certified. She is now an Urban Zen Integrative therapist, going into hospitals to help relax those in pain. Rebecca is dancing for Adele Myers and dancers and is touring through out the US. She has also taught in China, Africa and throughout the US. She has happily been member of the faculty at BAE since 2000. Stacy Soroczynski, a New Jersey native, graduated with a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase in 2002, where she worked with choreographers Donald Byrd, Kevin Wynn, Kazuko Hirabayashi, Ayako Kurakako, Michael Blake, Astrid Von Ussar, and Tracie Stanfield. She danced for Rioult Dance NY for 12 years, and currently co-directs and teaches for Rioult Dance NY’s DanceREACH program and youth classes. Ms. Soroczynski has restaged Pascal Rioult’s repertory in Rhode Island, Bermuda, and France, and taught on the Summer Intensive faculty at Point Park College and in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, and France. She is Rioult’s Costume Coordinator and is also Studio Manager and Production Coordinator/Backstage Advisor for Ballet Academy East. Justin Sherwood is an international dancer and choreographer. His training at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London, England, which encourages individuality and innovation in its curriculum, has shaped Justin’s extremely versatile and eclectic career. He is a recipient of the Choreographic Award of Prominence by the Central St. Marten’s School of Art and Design and Cochrane Theatre in London, and he has choreographed critically acclaimed productions both across the U.S. and in places as far away as Hong Kong and Albania. As a performer, he is in his ninth season with the Metropolitan Opera, having appeared in numerous productions on their stage. Highlights include working with some of today’s best Film and Broadway directors like Julie Taymor, Robert LePage, Anthony Minghella, and Mary Zimmerman. In addition to his ballet and contemporary experience, Mr. Sherwood is also a gifted gymnast who has performed with crossover companies, incorporating elements of acrobatics and dance. Jane Sato has been teaching yoga since 2006. She trained at Om Yoga with Christie Clark and Frank Mauro. Her background includes 20 years of dance experience and bodywork. Jane’s anatomy and alignment-based yoga class utilizes pilates-based exercises, as well as meditation techniques. Jane also dances and tours with Rioult, a modern dance company based in NYC. She has enjoyed being a yoga teacher at BAE since 2010. Meaghan Maxwell holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Ohio State University. She has performed with Eidolon Ballet and JT Lotus Dance Company. Meaghan has been teaching at BAE since 2008. Full-evening productions include Nutcracker, Coppélia, Pulcinella, and Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth. Marsha’s contemporary ballet, Of a Mind, was selected for presentation at the Kennedy Center through the adjudication process of ACDA. She guests regularly in Denver and Colorado Springs, as well as in Utah, Montana and South Dakota. Marsha is currently on a year-long sabbatical in NYC, focused on research at Ellis Island for a full-evening dance/theatre work, Six Songs from Ellis. Amanda is originally from North Carolina. She received a BFA in dance performance from Oklahoma City University, where she also performed with the American Spirit Dance Company. In addition to ballet, Amanda is also a licensed Zumba instructor.