Staff & Faculty

Mary Thompson

Mary Thompson’s early training was at the Boston Ballet School under the direction of founder E. Virginia Williams. A coveted Ford Foundation Scholarship allowed her to study at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet (SAB) where she danced soloist roles in the Annual Workshop performances and was invited to audition for, and subsequently joined Makarova and Company. An injury caused Ms. Thompson to take a hiatus from dance, after which she rehabilitated with Marie Paquet in Boston and Finis Jhung in New York. Recovered, Ms. Thompson joined the Berkshire Ballet as a soloist where she progressed to Principal status and danced lead roles in Coppelia, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Anthony Tudor’s Little Improvisations and several works by Francis Patrelle. It was while working at Berkshire Ballet that Ms. Thompson began teaching. In 1986, Ms. Thompson began studying with José Mateo and began performing with the company and later teaching at the school. Over the years, Ms. Thompson has served as Principal of the Young Dancers Program, and Ballet Mistress for the company.

In 2021, Ms. Thompson was invited to join The Brookline Ballet School (TBBS) as Principal and accepted the opportunity to both share and expand her knowledge and experience with the highly respected area school. With the announcement of the acquisition of TBBS by The Boston Ballet, and the end of her tenure there, Ms. Thompson, who temporarily returned to JMBT as Nutcracker Artistic Associate for its 2024 Nutcracker season, rejoined the organization in the full time role of Associate Director of Education & Performance in July 2025.

Yenthl Spinola Babani

Bio coming soon!

Sarah Fader

Sarah Fader has taught ballet, creative movement, and theatre classes for children most of her adult life, and on the North Shore for over 15 years. She studied dance and theatre at Mount Holyoke College and graduated cum laude with a degree in English Literature. Sarah began her ballet training at the Hartford Conservatory and the Hartford Ballet Company and continued her studies with Edward Villella of the New York City Ballet and William Anderson of American Ballet Theatre.

In addition to ballet, Sarah has studied Jazz, Modern, Musical Theatre, and African dance, as well as Afro-Cuban and Cuban-Modern with the Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, in Havana. She choreographs for and performs with several theatre companies on the North Shore, including Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe, Sleepy Lion, and Henry Allen’s Folklore Theatre.

Amanda Garcia Cora

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Amanda developed as a professional ballet dancer under the guidance of Carlota Carrera at Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico. In 2014, attended a Summer Intensive in Cuba and in 2019 with the New York Dance Project.

Amanda had the opportunity of performing classical and neoclassical ballets: Coppélia, The Nutcracker, Midnight’s Summer Dream, Bach: Three Movements, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Giselle, Spring Waters, among others. Since 2015, Amanda has been a ballet teacher for ages 3-15.

In 2021, Amanda received the Certification for Progressive Ballet Technique (PBT). Amanda has a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and is currently pursuing a Master degree in Arts in Gastronomy at Boston University.

Georgia Lipari

Originally from Chicago, Georgia began her training at a Vaganova-based ballet academy where she danced many featured roles in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and many more. After graduating high school a year early to pursue a career in dance, she attended The Boston Conservatory where she earned a BFA in contemporary dance with an emphasis in Dance Pedagogy. Georgia’s passion for dance education has led her to teaching positions at the Boston Ballet School, Brookline Ballet School, Xela School for the Deaf & Blind in Guatemala, and as the Performing Arts Program Director at the Boys & Girls Club in Chelsea.

Apart from teaching and her day job at Berklee College of Music, Georgia works as a freelance stage manager, is a certified Birth Doula and founded Mini Moves Party Co., a children’s party business! www.minimovespartyco.com

Adam Miller

Originally from Providence, RI, Adam Miller trained at American Ballet Theatre School, The North Carolina School of the Arts, and The School of American Ballet. He was a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, and Hartford Ballet, and performed as a guest artist in the USA, Europe, Asia, and South America. He has served as a faculty member at the School of Pacific Northwest Ballet, and as the School and Outreach Director for Spectrum Dance Theater in Seattle, Washington. Additional teaching credits include Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Vassar College, Duke University, The North Carolina School of the Arts, Lyon Opera Ballet, the St. Paul’s School, Veroneszh Ballet (Russia) and Boston Ballet.

Adam is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Provincetown Dance Festival, now in its 17^th season, and is on faculty at the Portland Ballet. He has previously served on the board of Connecticut Dance Alliance and as a grant panelist for Connecticut Council for Arts and Tourism and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. He is the recipient of an Artist Fellowship Award from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts for Artistic Excellence as well as grants from the Hartt School Faculty Development Fund and The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation.

Kai-Lan Olson

Kai-Lan began her dance training at BalletNova Center for Dance in Northern Virginia. While sidelined with ballet injuries growing up, she gained a strong interest in safe technique, injury prevention, and movement awareness from working with physical therapists.

As a neuroscience major at Yale, Kai-Lan continued to dance with the Yale Dance Lab and Yale Modern Dance Collective, where she choreographed and performed new works.

Outside of dance, Kai-Lan is a classical harpist who continues to perform with a harp, viola, and flute trio in Boston. When not dancing or playing the harp, she enjoys exploring other movement practices, including Feldenkrais, Gaga, and Pilates. Her teaching is informed by her background in neuroscience, music, and physical therapy, as well as her lifelong love of classical ballet, which she hopes to share with her students!

Elizabeth Rookey

Elizabeth was born and raised in Framingham, MA. She received her early training at the Walnut Hill Community Dance Academy and went on to join the Walnut Hill High School in 2012.

After graduating, she joined Ballet Austin for the 2016-17 season as a part of the Butler Fellowship Program. In 2021, Elizabeth graduated from the Hartt School with a BFA in Dance Performance and a concentration in Ballet Pedagogy.

While at the university, Elizabeth trained extensively in ballet, Graham, Limon, contemporary and composition, and had the privilege to perform a myriad of works, including the lead in Martha Graham’s Chronicle, a solo from George Balanchine’s Valse-Fantasie, Fascinatin’ Rhythm from Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Primavera in Jose Limon’s Dances for Isadora, and Lar Lubovitch’s Something About Night. 

Maria Rogler

Maria began dancing at 4 years old in Dedham, Massachusetts, studying ballet with Renae Maccioli-McLeod and Leticia Guerrero, as well as at the International Ballet Academy of Norwell. She participated in multiple summer intensives at Festival Ballet Providence and competed in international ballet competitions including Bari, Italy and Atlanta, Georgia. While she focused primarily on ballet, she has a substantial amount of knowledge in Contemporary, Modern, Jazz, and Tap Dance.

After high school, she was offered a post-graduate position with the Festival Ballet Providence Company and was a trainee in the company from 2021-2023. During that time she performed in such ballets as Serenade, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and many contemporary works. She now does freelance dancing and has been honored to be a part of the JMBT’s production of The Nutcracker.

Maria is delighted to be a part of the JMBT faculty and is looking forward to continuing to share her love and knowledge of ballet with the next generation of dancers.