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Robert Gardner, Artistic Director
Anna AckerAnna received her early dance training at the School of the Albany Berkshire Ballet and went on to study in such summer programs as those of the Boston Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and on scholarship to the Milwaukee Ballet. She continued her training at the University of Missouri Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance, where she performed principal roles in Raymonda, Swan Lake, and Les Sylphides, danced in Balanchine’s Serenade, and earned her BFA. As a trainee with the Milwaukee Ballet, she performed in The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Don Quixote. For the Minnesota Ballet she has danced such memorable roles as Dream Marie in The Nutcracker and the woman in Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite. 
Suzie BaerA Stillwater native, Suzie began ballet training at the St. Croix Academy for the Arts. Suzie began study at the School of the Minnesota Ballet in the Summer Intensive 2003 at the Ballet VII level and has also studied at the Joffrey Midwest Workshop in Flint, Michigan, and on scholarship at Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet in San Francisco. For the Minnesota Ballet she has danced such memorable roles as Chinese dancer and Mirliton in The Nutcracker and in Penelope Freeh’s Flying over Greenland. She was pronounced “lovely and graceful” for her role with Robert Gardner in his Limelight. 
Benjamin BiswellBenjamin, from Kansas City, Missouri, began dance training at age nineteen with Laura Luzicka-Reinschmidt’s Classical Ballet School in Gladstone, Missouri. Summer programs included the Joffrey Midwest Workshop on full scholarship. He earned a BFA from the University of Missouri Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance, where he studied under the tutelage of Paula Weber and Michael Simms. While at UMKC he performed many classical and contemporary ballet roles, including in Les Sylphides, as well as modern dance in the Horton technique. He also performed with the Kansas City Lyric Opera, the Albany Berkshire Ballet, and as the Prince of Verona in Romeo and Juliet for the Kansas City Ballet. For the Minnesota Ballet he has performed such memorable roles as Arabian and Chinese dancer in The Nutcracker and in Penelope Freeh’s Flying over Greenland. 
Avram GoldAvram began his training in Fairfax, California, at Dance Theatre Seven. At age 17, he joined the Houston Ballet, under director Ben Stevenson. Avram performed both traditional classics and contemporary original works by some the world’s most respected choreographers such as Ivan Nagy and Christopher Bruce. Avram was fortunate to partner the acclaimed ballerina Nina Ananiashvili. His mastery of technique and artistry took him to Ballet Theater of New Mexico, where he danced as a principal guest artist. In 2002, Avram joined Omaha Theater Ballet as Principal Dancer, where he thrilled audiences with his vibrant and athletic interpretations of the title roles in many ballets including Dracula, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, The Firebird, and The Nutcracker. The Omaha World Herald lauded Mr. Gold’s performance as the Cavalier in The Nutcracker as “notable both for its beauty and its sheer physicality.” This is his first season with the Minnesota Ballet. 
Suzanne KritzbergA Chicago native, Suzanne has danced with the Minnesota Ballet since 1990. She began her dance training at age eleven, studying mainly at Ruth Page, in Chicago, also at the Houston Ballet Academy and the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Before joining the Minnesota Ballet she danced in the Chicago Tribune Charities production of The Nutcracker, and with the State Ballet of Missouri and the Wisconsin Ballet Theatre. For the Minnesota Ballet she has received much praise, such as for her “virtuosic talent” evident in her Cinderella, her “magnificent” solo as the Muse of Dance in Apollo, and for “breathtaking moments” in The Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux. For her role as Princess Rose in Sleeping Beauty: “Kritzberg steals the show with her two astounding solos and two partnering sections…” and for Swanilda in Coppélia: “She hit each feat with the grace and beauty that belied the grit needed to perform her solos…” The Minneapolis Star Tribune praised her “strong technique” and “beginnings of a signature style.” In 1999 Suzanne was awarded a McKnight Artist Fellowship for Dancers with funds administered by the Minnesota Dance Alliance, and in 2001 she was awarded a Fellowship grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature and the McKnight Foundation. In 2007 she also received an inaugural Twenty under Forty Award from the Duluth News Tribune. Duluth Mayor Don Ness declared March 20, 2010, “Suzanne Kritzberg Day” to honor her 20th season with the Ballet and her many accomplishments to her art form. 
Ernesto Lea PlaceOriginally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ernesto has trained with the Orlando Ballet School, The Ailey School, and the Academy of Ballet Florida. He has studied in summer programs at the Rock School, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, and Orlando Ballet School.He has also performed with Carolina Ballet Theatre, Orlando Ballet, Ballet Florida, and Nashville Ballet. His favorite performances include Fernando Bujones’ Spartacus, Ben Stevenson’s Cleopatra, and the role of Arabian in The Nutcracker. This is his first season with the Minnesota Ballet. 
Caitlin QuinnCaitlin was born and raised in Warner Robins, Georgia. She first trained at the International City School of Ballet, in Warner Robins, with artistic director Georne Aucoin. While there she competed at the Youth America Grand Prix where she performed variations from Esmeralda and Raymonda and qualified for the finals in New York City. She continued her training with summer intensives at the Orlando Ballet, Washington Ballet, Ballet Austin, and Nashville Ballet. She was with Ballet Austin as a trainee for one year and Nashville Ballet II for the past two years. This is her first season with Minnesota Ballet. 
Reinhard von RabenauA Duluth native, Reinhard began as a Ballet I student at the School of the Minnesota Ballet in 1997. He has also studied in summer programs at Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. For the Minnesota Ballet, his Nutcracker roles began as a student with young party guest, later graduating to the principal roles of Fritz, Russian dancer, Chinese dancer, Doll, Mouse King, and Prince. Other memorable roles he danced for the Minnesota Ballet include the Feckless Youth in Three Virgins and a Devil; Lion in “The Lion and the Lamb” variation in Sleeping Beauty, and in Penelope Freeh’s Flying over Greenland and George Balanchine’s Who Cares? 
Carrie Wanamaker-GoldCarrie began her training at the School of Ballet Omaha under Robin Welch. Her professional career has taken her to Kaliningrad, Russia, where she performed the title role in Giselle with the Kiel Tanzgruppe. As a member of the Omaha Theater Ballet, she danced in pieces set by Judith Fugate and Rochelle Zide-Booth from the Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo. Some of her favorite roles include Lucy in Dracula, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Swanhilda in Coppélia, and Lise in La Fille Mal Gardee. The Omaha World Herald said of her Snow Queen, “She danced the role with a sort of beauty and precision that defy description.” This is her first season with the Minnesota Ballet. 
Casie WheelerFrom Indianapolis, Indiana, Casie started dancing at age three, studying at Performer’s Edge in Carmel, Indiana. She received her training from Suzann Delay and performed with the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, where she had the opportunity to dance principal roles including Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and Tinkerbell in Peter Pan. Casie spent her summers on scholarship training with the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, The Rock School in Philadelphia, New York’s Chautauqua Institution School of Dance, and the Milwaukee Ballet. Casie performed the Summer Fairy variation from Kent Stowell’s Cinderella with the Ballet Theatre of Indianapolis. From there she went on to dance with the North Carolina Dance Theatre 2, where she performed in multiple works of George Balanchine and several roles in Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Nutcracker, including Dancing Doll and lead Spanish. Casie especially enjoyed working with Dwight Rhoden in his world premiere of Othello. Last year as a member of the Milwaukee Ballet II, Casie had the opportunity to perform the role of a lost boy in Michael Pink’s world premiere of Peter Pan, as well as performing in Cinderella and The Nutcracker. This is her first season with the Minnesota Ballet. 
Nikolaus WourmsA native of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Nik has returned to the Minnesota Ballet Company. He began studying ballet at the Academy of Dance in Dickinson, North Dakota, then studied at the Miles Reif Performing Arts Center in Grand Rapids. He also studied at the Cecchetti Council of America’s summer program in Holland, Michigan. For the Minnesota Ballet he has danced such notable roles as the Prince and Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Von Rothbart in Swan Lake Act II, and in George Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie. His role as the Devil in Agnes de Mille’s Three Virgins and a Devil won the praise: “While already a powerful performer, Wourms’ characterization as a rude, arrogant, smarmy Beelzebub displayed his theatrical potency.” 
Megan Wolfson, ApprenticeMegan has trained for the past fifteen years under the direction of Cynthia Kaye in Palm Springs, California. Megan has also studied with the Minnesota Ballet for the last four summers as well as attending modern intensives with the Backhaus Dance Company in Orange County. Recently Megan worked with Nina Watt to stage a solo from José Limón’s A Choreographic Offering. Megan is looking forward to her first season with the Minnesota Ballet. 
Catherine Wootten, ApprenticeA native of Des Moines, Iowa, Catherine has been dancing since she was three and has recently trained with Capital City Dance Center in Des Moines under the direction of Melissa and Emery Uyehara. She has studied in summer intensives with Joffrey Midwest Workshop, Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Milwaukee Ballet on scholarships. She has performed as a soloist with the Des Moines Symphony, and her favorite roles include Gamzatti from La Bayadère and Kitri from Don Quixote. Her love and gratitude goes out to her teachers, family, and friends. This is her first season with Minnesota Ballet. Kenneth Pogin Production Manager/Tour Manager 
Since joining the Minnesota Ballet in 1997 in his role of Production Manager and Lighting Designer Ken has been gathering high praise for his lighting. The Duluth News Tribune applauded him for his
“blue velvet lighting” and more recently for his lighting in Madame Butterfly: “The lights even have their big number at the end of Act Two...The sun sets, the moon rises, the stars come out and slowly start to fade -- a veritable dance of lights.” Ken’s set construction blueprints for the 2001 production of Three Virgins and a Devil are on permanent record with the Agnes de Mille Estate in New York. Ken’s pyrotechnic career has allowed him to work with David Copperfield, Carrot Top, Toby Keith, Godsmack, Poison, and Quiet Riot among others. Ken also enjoys being the Technical Director and Lighting Designer for the Duluth Festival Opera since 2006, as well as with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra for their Pops Concerts. Other companies he has worked with are the New York City Opera, The Acting Company, and Ballet Oklahoma. Ken’s favorite accomplishments are lighting for the Duluth Festival Opera’s Madame Butterfly, the Minnesota Ballet’s Rhapsody in Blue, Route 66, The Nutcracker, plus the pyrotechnic show for the NCAA Frozen Four.
When not on tour, Ken enjoys his role as daddy to two little girls.Sandra Ehle Wardrobe Mistress/Designer 
An accomplished seamstress and tailor, Sandra has served as Wardrobe Mistress/Designer for the Minnesota Ballet since 1998, traveling with the company on tour. She specializes in historic costumes, preparing the lighthouse keeper’s uniforms, 1912-vintage, for the lighthouses at Split Rock and the Apostle Islands. She worked under Walt Disney Productions costume designer Betty Madden for Iron Will and Twentieth Century Fox costume designer Juliet Jones for Good Son. Sandra created long tutus for the Baltimore Opera’s production of Die Fledermaus and all the new short tutus worn by the Minnesota Ballet corps de ballet in Swan Lake Act II. Her most ambitious project has been as Costume Designer for the new Manhattan Nutcracker.Cheryl Vander Heyden Stage Manager/Projects Coordinator 
Cheryl has served as Stage Manager for the Minnesota Ballet since 2005. She holds technical theater degrees from Cottey College in Missouri and from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Before coming to the Minnesota Ballet, Cheryl toured with the Italian American Festival’s production of Guys and Dolls in Italy. Other groups she has worked with are Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, The Spencers Theatre of Illusion, Riders in the Sky, and the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America.The position of Projects Coordinator was established in part by the Community Opportunity Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. Kathryn Marsaa, Costumer, Sleeping Beauty Kathryn served as Graphic Designer for the Minnesota Ballet 1992 to 2007 and Costume Designer 1998 to 2007, having served as assistant to the costumer for the Nutcracker production in 1997. An accomplished illustrator, she has created the drawings for such books as Sharing the Wonder of Birds with Kids and Boomtown Landmarks. She earned a B.S. in art at the University of Minnesota Duluth and has worked as a fashion illustrator and graphic designer for Maurices Inc. and as a free-lance artist for several local advertising agencies. The costume designs she recreated for Agnes de Mille’s Three Virgins and a Devil, from the original American Ballet Theatre designs, have become part of the historic record. For her Cinderella designs the News Tribune asserted that she “crafted finely detailed and thoroughly danceable Renaissance and Tuscany-inspired costumes that are artworks on their own.” She also paints, works in pastel and color pencil, and designs quilts. Ann Gumpper, Scenic Designer Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Ann Gumpper designed scenery for the Minnesota Ballet’s 1997 Nutcracker, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake Act II, in addition to many years of designing scenery for the theatre. Her work spans a wide range from an Art Window celebrating Duluth’s gardens, to the set for the DSSO’s Porgy and Bess, painted on the DECC’S retiring Orchestra shell, to a painting “performance” with the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra. Recent projects include the mountain mural (in Henry’s room) for Extreme Makeover Home Edition, set designs for UMD’s Voyageurs’ Pirates of the Carrot Bean and Cinderlad , several new exhibits for the Great Lakes Aquarium, and the upcoming Man of La Mancha at Teatro Zuccone. She is currently pursuing a once and future passion in book illustration. Curtis Phillips Set Designer, The Nutcracker Curtis Phillips received an MFA in Scenic Design from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Professional theatrical design credits include produced designs for Off-Off Broadway for The Mint Theater Company and the American Globe as well as Off-Broadway for the Signature Theater, Musical Theatre Works, and Manhattan Class Company in New York City. Curtis has also acted as a resident and guest designer for regional theaters across the country, including Theatre Cedar Rapids, Bristol Valley Theater, Chautauqua Theater Company, and Cumberland County Playhouse, where he designed the first licensed production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Curtis has also taught Set Design and Scenic Painting at UW-Madison, Edgewood College, and State University New York Fredonia. Mary Plaster Mask Maker, Carnival of the Animals  Mary Plaster began backstage artwork at the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company and School. Her primary mask studies were at Chabot Conservatory near San Francisco, California, and with El Estudio Busqueda de Pantomima-Teatro, Guanajuato, Mexico. Mary completed a BFA in Studio Arts and a BA in Theatre Design from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus. She has worked in the Twin Cities area with several theatres in costumes and scenic painting, completing her MA in Studio Arts at University of Wisconsin, Superior. Mary’s Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Green Man larger-than-life puppets have appeared all over the Midwest, and she was invited to the 2007 Burning Man festival in Nevada. Mary was parade artist for 2008’s MayDay with In the Heart of the Beast and ARTmoves with St. Paul Ordway theatres. She received a McKnight/Arrowhead Regional Arts Council career development grant to summer apprentice with the famed Bread & Puppet Theatre of Vermont. As guest curator at the Duluth Art Institute in fall 2008, she coordinated a giant puppet art exhibit. Mary serves as artistic director of All Souls Night, the annual community festival in early November at the Duluth Depot, in spirit of the Mexican Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead.) (photo by Michael K. Anderson)
Elena Knezevich, Company Pianist since 1998
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A native Virginian, Mr. Gardner began his studies with Mavis Ray of the Royal Ballet. After subsequent scholarships to the North Carolina School of the Arts and the School of American Ballet in New York, he was asked to join the Joffrey II dancers. With Joffrey II, he toured throughout the U.S., Europe, and the Orient, performing ballets by Antony Tudor, Sir Frederick Ashton, Robert Joffrey, and Choo-San Goh.
Allen Fields
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