BALLET ACADEMY OF TEXAS - Key Persons
ALANA RALPHS has been dancing since she was 5 years old. She performed in numerous local ballet performances, such as Swan Lake, Coppelia, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Match Girl, Peter and the Wolf and The Nutcracker. Ms. Ralphs has been teaching dance students for almost 20 years. She's taught all ages, ranging from 3 to adult, including Ballet, Jazz and Hip Hop. Ms. Ralphs loves children and sharing her love of dance with them. She has six children of her own, and three of them are dancers as well. She loves teaching and, after teaching at several local dance studios, is honored to teach at Ballet Academy of Texas.
JENNY JOHNSTON has been with the Ballet Academy since it opened, teaching intermediate and advanced ballet. She previously taught on the ballet staff of Dallas Ballet, Ballet Dallas, and the Arts Magnet High School. She received her BFA in Ballet at TCU while also performing as a soloist with the Fort Worth Ballet. She frequently choreographs for the Ballet Ensemble of Texas, and in 2009 received the Regional Dance of America's National Choreography Plan Award.
Kendall grew up in Carrollton and trained at the Ballet Academy of Texas for 12 years including four years as a Ballet Ensemble member. At 18, she attended the University of Oklahoma to further her dance education and graduated with a degree in Ballet Performance and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2019. Professionally, Kendall danced with Ballet Frontier of Texas until 2021. She then decided to pursue a teaching career in both ballet and Pilates. She is currently getting certified in mat and reformer Pilates with the Balanced Body method.
LINDSEY YOES DANIEL is in her seventh season as Ballet Ensemble of Texas' Ballet Master. She received her training at the Ballet Academy of Texas and was a leading dancer with the Ballet Ensemble of Texas from 2001 to 2006. Following graduation, she danced professionally with The Dallas Opera, Texas Dance Theatre, Larwell Productions and Dallas Black Dance Theater II; where she was also the Assistant Director to Nycole Ray. Lindsey has worked with many renown choreographers, including Fernando Bujones and Gordon Pierce Schmidt. You can find Lindsey pictured in the book "The Nutcracker Backstage, The Story and the Magic" by Angela Whitehill and William Noble and Foreword by Wendy Whelan, Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Psychology with an emphasis in Family Studies from University of North Texas. She also attended University of Oklahoma on scholarship for collegiate dance training. Lindsey is certified in the American Ballet Theater Curriculum for the Pre-Primary level through Level Five, as well as certified in Progressing Ballet Technique. She is very excited to be on the staff of Ballet Academy of Texas, for this is her eleventh-year teaching. Lindsey's passion is spreading the joy and love she has in ballet to every student she comes across. Lindsey is an advocate of performance quality and clean technique. She loves to see each child's personality shine as they blossom into the artist whom they are meant to be. Dancing from the soul is a virtue she instills in the children she teaches. It has always been a goal of hers to know every student's name in the studio and make sure they always feel welcome and safe.
Penny Askew began her serious ballet training with Candace Jones Smalley in Clinton, and supplemented that with summer study at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, Ballet West, National Academy of Arts, and The School of Pennsylvania Ballet. She was influenced by many notable teachers during her formative years, including Robert Joffrey, Richard Englund, Lupe Serrano, David Howard, Bruce Marks, and Toni Lander.
For over 25 years, Penny was the Owner/Director of Western Oklahoma Ballet Academy in Clinton and Artistic Director of Western Oklahoma Ballet Theatre, serving as the primary artistic, administrative, and marketing force behind the organizations. She was awarded a Governor's Arts Award in 2008 for her work in building a high-quality ballet program in rural Oklahoma, and was twice awarded the Regional Dance America/Southwest Stream Award for artistic excellence and service to that organization.
From 2015-2020, Penny was the school director of the Oklahoma City Ballet Yvonne Chouteau School, where she led the school faculty, taught multiple levels, and supervised the professional training programs. She also directed the Oklahoma City Ballet Summer Intensive and the Oklahoma City Youth Ballet, in addition to serving as a company teacher and ballet master for the professional company. In the fall of 2020, she opened Askew Ballet Academy in Oklahoma City and also began working with Central Oklahoma Dance Company as ballet master and choreographer for their professional company productions.
Penny holds a Master of Science in Applied Psychology from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance/Choreography from the University of Iowa. She is also an American Ballet Theatre® Fellowship Teacher, certified in Primary through Level 7 and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She has been on faculty at AileyCamp New York, the Glenda Brown Choreography Project, Regional Dance America Festivals, the RDA National Choreography Intensive, and has guest taught for many schools and pre-professional companies. Penny was named Outstanding Choreographer of the Regional Dance America Choreography Conference in both 1996 and 1998, and her works have been commissioned by several companies. Additionally, she was the RDA/Northeast adjudicator for the 2017 National Festival in Phoenix, adjudicated RDA/Southwest for its 2022 Festival in Dallas, and has been invited to adjudicate RDA/Southeast for its 2023 Festival in Montgomery, Alabama.
Penny's students have attained professional careers in ballet, modern dance, and musical theater companies; have received scholarships to professional and university training programs; and have taught and choreographed professionally across the United States and in Europe. Her teaching is grounded in the belief that "ballet lessons are life lessons," and is focused on developing each student's full potential, both in dance and beyond.
SEANA MOTA grew up in Flower Mound and has danced since the age of three; it was her joy to dance since she was a young girl! Seana danced and competed as well as performing for multiple corporate events, starting in shows at Six Flags at the age of 16. She began teaching at age 18 at her home studio and has been teaching ever since. At age 21 she became a registered dental assistant and continues her dental career at Hal Stewart's in Flower Mound. Seana has three beautiful children Sophia, Giovanni, and Gabriel and loves being their mom!
TAMMIE REINSCH is a Texas native and has been dancing since the age of three. Her training was received at Lewisville Dance Academy where Lisa Slagle began teaching in Tammie's high school years. She is a classically trained dancer in all forms of dance and gravitated towards jazz, tap, modern and contemporary. Tammie was unable to pursue a professional career due to a knee injury but recognizes this was not the path chosen for her.
When she joined Ballet Academy of Texas in 1999, she worked closely with Lisa Slagle to shape the jazz, tap, modern and contemporary program to reflect what the students were learning in their ballet level. She sets a positive atmosphere for all her classes. You will frequently hear her say "Just keep swimming!" and "Smile and move your feet!" As the dancers mature, she loves to teach the skill of improvisation as it cultivates artistry. She feels that each student has something to learn and something to offer.
Tammie has been a resident choreographer for the Ballet Ensemble of Texas since its formation in 2001. Her choreography includes The Race, No Pressure, and Jumpin Jack which was reviewed as "smart and snappy." Her work Anzzziety was chosen to be performed at the Regional Dance America and her Generation# was performed across the metroplex and received the Outstanding Choreography Award from Youth America Grand Prix in 2018. Unity, which she created for BET's 2019 Celebration of Dance review read "Tammie is known for her exceptionally creative choreography. Ms. Reinsch showcases the dancers, unity as a group and everything it represents: overall camaraderie, respect, trust, and what it means to be an artist." Most recently she created In a Nutshell. Since 2003, The Dance Council of North Texas has awarded many scholarships to our Ballet Academy students based on her solo contemporary work. Her students have also received many awards and recognition from Youth America Grand Prix with her choreography and coaching.
She is honored to have been part of the training of students who have decided to pursue dance professionally as well as those who will forever have dance as part of their lives. She cherishes the continued relationships with her students upon graduation of the school. It's truly a beautiful bonus gift to be a part of their lives. Tammie is excited to be the next director of Ballet Academy of Texas and to continue the legacy of the school.
Job Titles:
- Director of Ballet
- Representative of the George Skibine Trust
THOM CLOWER Known as one of the most energetic and inspiring teachers across the country, Thom Clower's "evangelistic" approach to teaching has touched the lives and careers of dancers around the world. With extensive training in the Vaganova, Balanchine, Cecchetti, and Bournonville styles, Mr. Clower combines the qualities of each one to present a technique that is true and versatile.
Making his stage debut at the age of six, Mr. Clower began his professional training with George Skibine and Marjorie Tallchief at the Dallas Civic Ballet in 1968. He attended School of American Ballet on a Ford Foundation Scholarship, and studied in Paris, Amsterdam, and London. He joined Dallas Ballet in 1978 where he spent eleven seasons performing with the company under Mr. Skibine and Flemming Flindt, and served as assistant Ballet Master for Dallas Ballet's 1980 South American tour.
As Ballet Master, Mr. Clower assisted Flindt in staging his full-length NUTCRACKER, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and PHAEDRA, and personally administrated the staging of Alvin Ailey's THE RIVER, John Cranko's JEU DE CARTES, Jeri Kylian's ENGULFED CATHERDRAL, Fokine's PRINCE IGOR and LES SYLPHIDES, among others.Mr. Clower served as Founding Artistic Director of the restructured Ballet Dallas and the affiliate school, the Dallas Conservatory of Ballet. Under his direction, Ballet Dallas was the resident professional ballet company for the Dallas area for eight years, carrying on the traditions of the former company. Mr. Clower served as Ballet Master for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, working closely with founding Artistic Director Lou Conte. In this capacity, he was primary teacher for the company and rehearsal director for works by Twyla Tharp, Nacho Duato, Daniel Ezerlow, and Kevin O'Day. Mr. Clower then served four seasons as Artistic Director of Yuma Ballet Theatre (AZ), and Ballet Master of the affiliate school, Dancers Workshop. He was a regular guest teacher at Allegro Ballet of Houston from 2009-2018.
He served on selection panels for the City of Dallas, Tarrant County, and both the Texas and Arizona Commission on the Arts Peer Review Panels. He was awarded the prestigious Legacy Award for Achievement in the Arts by the Dallas Dance Council in 2000 and placed in the Yuma Ballet Theatre's Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2017 he was asked to serve on the Board of Directors of the Dance Council of North Texas, working specifically with the Scholarship Program.
Believing very strongly in Regional Dance America, Mr. Clower has served as the Director of Ballet at numerous RDA Craft of Choreography Conferences (NCI). He has been a guest teacher for Regional Festivals since 1992 and was a guest teacher at the RDA National Festivals in 1997, 2007, and 2017. Mr. Clower has proudly served in the capacity of Adjudicator for RDA/NE (00), RDA/Mid States (03, 22), SERBA (13, 19), and RDA/SW (17 National Festival in Phoenix, AZ). He was Ballet Faculty at The Glenda Brown Choreography Project many times since its inception.
Mr. Clower has staged and created ballets for companies all over the United States. He has also worked with many opera companies, including the Santa Fe Opera, the Dallas Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Dallas. Companies have performed his choreography all over the world,
As a representative of the George Skibine Trust, Mr. Clower helps maintain the integrity of Mr. Skibine's ballets, staging them across the country. Beginning in 2001 Thom Clower worked around the world as a freelance master teacher and choreographer. His work has included regional companies and schools, and he has been a guest teacher at professional companies such as Oklahoma City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and Atlanta Ballet. He has been a guest teacher at Broadway Dance Center, Associate Ballet Master for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and has served annually as Ballet Master for Young! Tanzsommer - Stars of Tomorrow International since 2002. Since 2018 Mr. Clower has been the Artistic Director of the Ballet Ensemble of Texas, and on the faculty of the Ballet Academy of Texas, both in Coppell, TX.