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Faculty / Bios
Jamey Leverett • Artistic Director
Ms. Leverett received her principal training with Timothy M. Draper at the Draper Center, the affiliated school of the Rochester City Ballet. As a former dancer with RCB, she performed major roles in Mr. Draper's Nutcracker, and danced lead role in his Firebird, choreographed specifically for her. During her performance career with RCB she was given opportunities to choreograph on the company. Her gift as a talented choreographer emerged, with several of her earlier works still performed by Rochester City Ballet today, such as Inner Voices and Gershwin in the Park.
In 2001, 2003 and 2005, Ms. Leverett's choreography was chosen for "Ballet Builders, New Choreographers on Point," a choreographer's showcase in New York City. Additionally, her work has been performed at the Jackson International Ballet Competition, where she choreographed two contemporary solos for the Women's Jr. Champion, Sarah Lane, and the 50th anniversary of Gian Carlo Menotti's Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy. Ms. Leverett was the recipient of the Outstanding Choreography Award (2004) and the Outstanding Teacher Award (2007) at the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix international ballet competition.
After the untimely death of her mentor and friend, RCB's founder Timothy M. Draper, she assumed the reigns of Artistic Director and together with Katherine Ertsgaard, the Executive Director, has overseen the growth of the company from a small regional organization to the nationally acclaimed contemporary ballet company it is today.
Insisting on artistic excellence, Ms. Leverett maintains a healthy diversity by regularly bringing in established and emerging choreographers to work with the company. She has raised RCB's level of distinction in the dance community, being awarded the rights to perform iconic works by George Balanchine (Serenade) and Gerald Arpino (Valentine).
Ms. Leverett has been a lecturer in the Dance Department at SUNY Brockport. She teaches Master Classes throughout the United States and holds the position of Artistic Director of The Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education.
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Timothy M. Draper • Founder
 Timothy Draper began his training in Rochester, New York under the tutelage of Olive McCue with Mercury Ballet and Kathleen Crofton with the Festival Ballet of New York. He pursued his dance education in New York City with the Joffrey School of Ballet, Harkness House of Ballet Arts and Steps followed by an extensive performance career with Israel Ballet, the Puerto Rican Dance Theatre and Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo. After serving as Ballet Master of Dance Miami and Co-Director of Fort Lauderdale Ballet, Mr. Draper returned to Rochester with a passion for dance excellence and a vision for creating both a school with world class instruction and a permanent ballet company for the Rochester community. The Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education and the Rochester City Ballet have evolved from that dream and both continue to grow, providing state of the art training to students and superior dancers to stages all over the world.
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Katherine Ertsgaard • Executive Director
 Ms. Ertsgaard began her training with Olive McCue and appeared with the Mercury Ballet. Ms. Ertsgaard received her B.A. degree from Hamilton College with a minor in Dance. While in school, she appeared as an ensemble member and featured soloist in annual concerts. Ms. Ertsgaard is a founding company member of the Draper Dance Theatre, currently known as the Rochester City Ballet. She has danced as a soloist for the Company as well as functioning as the Company Manager and subsequently as the Executive Director since the Company was founded. Her training in New York City includes: Richard Thomas, Finus Jhung, Merce Cunningham, David Howard, Alvin Ailey and Joffrey Ballet School. Ms. Ertsgaard is currently the Executive Director for the Rochester City Ballet.
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Stefanie Cheshire • Principal
Stefanie Cheshire has been on faculty with the Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education since 1997 acting as choreographer for dance competitions and teacher of various dance styles including jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and contemporary. She has served as the Director of Children’s Roles and Rehearsal Assistant for Rochester City Ballet since 1999. She earned her Associates Degree in Nursing from Monroe Community College and is a Registered Visiting Nurse to an average of 30 patients per week. Stefanie is currently the Principal of the Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education.
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The Draper Center Faculty
Beth Bartholomew, Julianne Deming, Fawn Doran, Kylee Fassler, Kaitlin Fitzgerald, Stephanie Mellinger, Fidel Orrillo Pugo, Sarah Rothrock-Rickel, Ginny Winter.
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The Draper Center Office Staff
Patti DiLorenzo, Stephanie Mellinger.
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