Kerri Lambert

Artistic Director

Kerri received her M.F.A in Dance from the University of Oklahoma, where she performed with Oklahoma Festival Ballet and OU Opera Theatre, and was the recipient of awards for choreography and contributions to the arts.  She performed soloist and principal roles with Gainesville Ballet, Bighouse Dance Theatre, Anton del Calizon’s Fusion Flamenco, and as a guest artist.  She studied the art of dance pedagogy under the direction of Diane Callahan and Mary Margaret Holt, and attended the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Teacher Training Seminar 2012 and 2013.  Kerri coaches classical works, has produced and choreographed evening length story ballets and concerts of contemporary dance.  She is currently studying for Yoga Teacher Certification.   Before relocating to Indiana with her husband and young son, Kerri was a Director of the USC Dance Conservatory and Instructor in the USC Dance Program.  

 

     

 

 

 Amy Scharf

Primary Division Instructor

An Evansville native, Amy Scharf began her dance education under Clarice Duffy at the University of Evansville Ballet and Deena Laska at the Evansville Dance Theatre.  She majored in English Composition, Education, and Theatre Performance at the University of Evansville, choreographing and dancing in various theatre department productions including Evita and Godspell.  Moving to Los Angeles, she studied dance under Stephan Wenta at The Dancer’s Studio, as well as Charles and Phillip Fuller at Le Studio.  While at Le Studio, she performed in DanceCorp’s The Nutcracker from 1997-2001.  She taught English, dance, and drama for the Los Angeles and Pasadena School Districts and received her master’s degree in American Studies from Pepperdine University.  Amy and her family moved back to Evansville in 2003 where she taught English and theatre at Signature School and established the school’s International Baccalaureate Dance program in 2011.  Currently, Amy teaches dual-credit English and theatre at Early College High School on the campus of Ivy Tech Community College.  She is a board member of CYPRESS (Committee to Promote Respect in Schools), the University of Evansville Theatre Society, and Ballet Indiana.  She continues to lead dance workshops across North America for the International Baccalaureate Organization.

 

 Ben Warner

Guest Instructor

 

Benjamin is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, where he was trained at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts.  He attended Indiana University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance and an Outside Field in Religious Studies. Benjamin has danced professionally with Ballet Memphis, Alberta Ballet, and Smuin Contemporary American Ballet. Mr. Warner has had the great privilege of teaching around the United States and Canada, he currently lives, dances and teaches in San Francisco.

  

Danielle Troyano

Guest Instructor

Danielle Troyano, from Long Island, New York, began her early training there, continuing with Sara Knight at SLKBallet, in New York City. Danielle received scholarships to summer intensives at The Rock School, The Walnut Hill School, the HARID Conservatory, Orlando Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet. She has also received training from the Gelsey Kirkland Academy, Ellison Ballet, and Tulsa Ballet summer intensives. In 2012, Danielle studied in London at the Central School of Ballet as part of an exchange program with SLK Ballet.
At 19, Danielle joined Montgomery Ballet under the direction of Darren McIntyre. There, she performed soloist roles such as Snow Queen and Arabian Princess in The Nutcracker,  Carmen Pas De Deux, and the lead female role of Liberty Bell in Mr. McIntyre’s original ballet, Liberty Bell. Danielle has worked with the Albany Berkshire Ballet for two seasons where she danced in Carmina Burana, and as Sugar Plum Fairy and Dew Drop in the ABB’s Nutcracker tour. Danielle has been a guest artist with Hinsdale Ballet Theater, originating their title role in Cinderella and in the same year, performed as the Fairy Godmother in the Charleston Ballet Theater’s Cinderella.
Since joining Ballet Idaho in 2014, Danielle has had many performance opportunities such as George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Valse Fantasie, and a demi-soloist role in Agon. She has danced lead marzipan in Peter Anastos’ The Nutcracker, the Fairy of Grace in Anastos’ The Sleeping Beauty, and a Pirate in Peter Pan. She was happy to finish out Peters last season of directorship by dancing the Pas De Trois in his Swan Lake.
In addition to teaching for the Ballet Idaho Academy, Danielle is proud to be certified and currently teaching Dance for Parkinson’s, a movement class designed to ease the symptoms of those with Parkinson’s Disease.  She remains on permanent faculty at the Hinsdale Dance Academy in Hinsdale, Illinois, which just won the Outstanding School Award at the Youth America Grand Prix finals. Over the years, she has served as the director of the young children’s program, the Nutcracker production manager and returning summer faculty. Danielle loves teaching and passing along her love of dance to the up and coming generations of talent.