UNCSA welcomes new faculty members for the 2024-25 school year and introduces the Experts Directory

UNCSA has added 20 new full-time faculty members for the 2024-25 school year, as well as nine adjunct and visiting faculty, in the schools of Dance, Design & Production, Drama, Filmmaking and Music and the Division of Liberal Arts and High School Academic Program, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Patrick J. Sims has announced. UNCSA is also introducing the online Expert Directory, a comprehensive resource for connecting with the leading minds in the arts and entertainment industry, performing arts education and educating artists.

“This year’s faculty cohort brings a wealth of knowledge and creativity,” said Sims. "Their artistry and vision will profoundly impact how we prepare our students for the ever-evolving world of the arts. With their guidance, our students will be equipped to make their own transformative mark on the industry."

New faculty include: 

School of Dance

April Ball

April Ball

Phillip Broomhead

Phillip Broomhead is teaching ballet technique, virtuosity, partnering and repertory. Originally from London, he trained at the Royal Ballet School and joined the Royal Ballet in 1981, becoming a soloist in 1983 and a principal in 1986, performing for Queen Elizabeth II and at other royal galas. In 1991, he joined Houston Ballet as a principal dancer, debuting in Ben Stevenson's "Cinderella" and featuring in many of Stevenson's works. After retiring in 2004, he began freelancing, judging for Youth America Grand Prix, staging "Sleeping Beauty Act III" for Chamberlain Ballet and teaching at prestigious institutions.

Emily Nicolaou

Emily Nicolaou

Alumna Emily Nicolaou (H.S. ’07, B.F.A. ’09) is teaching contemporary technique, emerging choreographers and repertory. Nicolaou is a dance artist, teacher and choreographer based in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Winston-Salem. After joining Hubbard Street Dance Chicago II, she pursued her career in Europe, notably with the Danish Dance Theater. She also performed, taught and choreographed worldwide, with a career that spans various genres and regions. She has studied at The Ailey School, Merce Cunningham Studio and Lines Ballet School.

Adjunct/Visiting

Alumna Janice Lancaster (H.S. ’97, B.F.A. ’01) is teaching composition. Lancaster has performed internationally with Shen Wei Dance Arts for over a decade. As an independent choreographer, she has received commissions from Hubbard Street 2, VIA Dance Collaborative, the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Bard Music Festival, Bessie Schönberg Choreographer’s Residency on the Yard, Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center, and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. At UNCSA, Lancaster previously instructed dance composition and improvisation, contemporary technique for both contemporary and ballet majors, and served as faculty for the Summer Dance Intenstive and Summer Dance Professional Studies. She holds an M.F.A. from Hollins University/American Dance Festival and certifications in teaching hatha and restorative yoga.

Jules Szabo

Jules Szabo

High School Dance alumna Jules Szabo is teaching dance fitness. Szabo is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Dancer’s Workout® (TDW), blending ballet, jazz, contemporary choreography, and conditioning exercises for fitness. After a 30-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, Szabo returned to dance, creating TDW in 2009. She has since choreographed over 500 pop songs, taught thousands of students, and developed a TDW Instructor Certification program. Szabo is a Dance Magazine “Dance Media Live!” featured instructor, a DanceTeacher+ contributor, a 2023 Good Housekeeping Fitness Award winner, and a 2024 Marquis Who’s Who Top Artist.

School of Design & Production

Full Time

Brandon Bagwell

Brandon Bagwell

Brandon Bagwell is teaching lighting design. Bagwell is a programmer and lighting designer from Tennessee who has been an active member of the lighting and entertainment community for the last 10 years. He holds an M.F.A. in lighting design from Boston University and a B.S. in theater studies from the University of Evansville. Previously, he served as the assistant professor of lighting design at the University of Southern Indiana, lighting design coordinator at Middle Tennessee State University and assistant professor of lighting design at Kennesaw State University. Bagwell also worked as a senior project manager for Michael Riotto Designs. He has extensive experience as a freelance theatrical lighting designer and associate and moving light programmer, including work on the international and U.S. tours of "The Lion King." He is a member of United Scenic Artists (USA) 829 and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Associated Cards and Technician (ACT).

Brent Bruin

Brent Bruin

Alumnus Brent Bruin (M.F.A. ’12) is teaching costume technology and will serve as the director of costume technology. Bruin has been a professional costumer in theater, opera, film and television for 15 years, specializing in costume construction and department management. He recently served as the costume department manager for the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. He is affiliated with Motion Picture Costumers and serves as a custom-made pattern maker and tailor with IATSE Local 705. Bruin has also built a business specializing in made-to-order costumes for film and television.

Teresa Cervantes

Teresa Cervantes

Teresa Cervantes is teaching visual arts. She is an interdisciplinary artist and educator who previously taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, Moore College of Art and Tyler School of Art and Architecture. Her work has been exhibited at Lawndale Art Center in Houston, Woodmere Art Museum, Icebox Projects and Temple Contemporary in Philadelphia, Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin and Blue Star Contemporary in San Antonio. She is a recipient of the Ilya and Emilia Kabakov Fellowship and the Future Faculty Fellowship at Tyler School of Art. Recently, she has participated in residencies at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Maine and the Arteles Creative Center in Finland. Cervantes’ work integrates historical and material research with contemporary themes and a vision for the future, expressed through performance, sculpture, installation and social practice. She received an M.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art and a B.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ryan Douglass

Ryan Douglass

Ryan Douglass is teaching scene design. He is a scenic designer, director and storyteller with a passion for musical theater and themed entertainment. He holds an M.F.A. in scenic design from Pennsylvania State University and bachelor's degrees in music and theater from Florida State University. Douglass performed at Walt Disney World for eight years. His recent work includes designing "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" for The MUNY in St. Louis and collaborating with Milagros Ponce de León on productions at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and for Disney Cruise Line. He is a member of the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology.

Kelly Simons

Kelly Simons

Kelly Simons is teaching animatronics. She is a certified 30-hour Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) professional and holds project management principles and practices certification from the University of California, Irvine. Simons served as the technical director of theater and lecturer of communication arts at Western Colorado University. Additionally, she has been a project manager for prop storage renovation and an assistant professor of professional practice of technical direction at Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University. Simons has been involved in organizations such as the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals and the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology Intermountain Desert Region, where she serves as a board member and secretary. Her educational background includes an M.F.A. in technical direction from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.F.A. in theater design and a Bachelor of General Studies in film and media studies from the University of Kansas.

Aaron Spivey

Aaron Spivey

Aaron Spivey is teaching lighting design. Spivey has been active in entertainment lighting design for over 25 years. His designs have been seen at many regional theatres including The Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Pioneer Theatre Company, Broadway by the Bay, Children’s Theater of Charlotte, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Syracuse Stage, Theatre Aspen and Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. His work has also been seen in New York off-Broadway productions and internationally. On Broadway Spivey has served as the associate or assistant designer on 30 productions including Disney’s “Aladdin,” for which he was the associate designer for nine years, re-creating productions in the U.S. and all over the world.

Adjunct/Visiting

Cassie Richardson

Alumna Cassie Richardson (M.F.A. ’21) is teaching wig and makeup design. A native of southwest Missouri, Richardson earned her B.A. in theater studies from Missouri State University and began her career at Sight and Sound Theatre, working on shows that required nearly 300 wigs each. Most recently she worked as the wig and makeup supervisor for the national tour of “Book of Mormon,” and previously held the same position for the national tour of “Waitress.” Prior to that she worked as a wig and makeup staff member at the Santa Fe Opera.

School of Drama

Adjunct/Visiting

Fernando Carrillo

Fernando Carrillo

Fernando Carrillo is teaching theater dance. A seasoned dancer and educator, Carrillo brings over three decades of experience in the Horton Technique. Trained at The Ailey School in New York City, Carrillo has taught at renowned institutions including The Juilliard School, Kirov Academy of Ballet and New York University’s Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21) Musical Theatre Department. He has also led international Horton workshops in Japan, Mexico, France, St. Maarten and French Guiana. Carrillo's career highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall and collaborations with Ailey II, Ballet Hispanico and more. He holds a master’s degree in dance from Hollins University. Carrillo is also teaching contemporary dance in the School of Dance.

Fayth Caruso

Fayth Caruso

Alumna Fayth Caruso (H.S. ’04, B.F.A. ’07) is teaching theater dance. She holds an M.F.A. from Hollins University in collaboration with the American Dance Festival, and the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts and The Forsythe Company, both in Germany. Caruso has danced and choreographed professionally for various festivals, concerts, music videos, theater productions, and dance companies in New York, Chicago and internationally. She was awarded the UNCSA Kenan Fellowship at Lincoln Center Institute, where she pursued opportunities in teaching and also choreographed and performed numerous innovative original works. She is education director for bellicon usa, an international fitness company specializing in mini trampolines, and a co-founder of bellicon Home, an international online video fitness platform.

Adam Marple

Adam Marple is teaching devised performance and directing. Marple is the co-artistic director of The Theatre of Others and co-host of “The Theatre of Others” podcast, which has listeners in more than 80 countries. He has directed over 50 productions across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia, and is known for adapting classic texts for modern audiences. Marple directed "The Earth Turns," a climate-inspired performance for the Conference of the Parties, and served as company manager and director for "The Dream Response," a collaboration exploring Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" across Asia. He is the founder of the Sustainable Theatre Network, an organization dedicated to reducing waste in theater practices globally. Marple has taught and directed internationally, including at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore, the American University in Cairo and at UNCSA. He holds a B.F.A. in acting from Wright State University and an M.F.A. in directing from Columbia University.

Brett Radke

Brett Radke is teaching undergraduate and high school voice and speech. Radke has extensive experience as an actor, performing off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. His New York credits include "The Comedy of Errors" at Classic Stage Company, "A Doll’s House" at Signature Theatre, and "Everyday Afroplay" at The Bushwick Starr. Regionally, he has appeared in "Our Country’s Good" with Seat of the Pants, "Armature" at Cleveland Public Theatre, and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" at Performance Network. Internationally, Radke has performed in Greece and Ukraine. A member of Actors’ Equity Association, he has taught at Fordham University, Marymount Manhattan College, The City College of New York, Long Island University-Brooklyn/The New Group and The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. He holds an M.F.A. in acting from Columbia University and a B.A. in theater from Oakland University.

School of Filmmaking

Full Time

Molly Bernstein

Molly Bernstein

Molly Bernstein will teach editing. Bernstein’s career includes various roles as a director, producer and editor in the documentary field. Bernstein’s work includes documentaries about films and directors for Sundance Channel, AMC and The Criterion Collection. She developed her editing skills by assisting on feature films directed by Martin Scorsese, Arthur Penn, Melvin Van Peebles, Julie Dash and Allison Anders. Her notable projects include "Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse," a feature documentary about the creator of "MAUS"; "Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay," a feature from Kino Lorber; "An Art that Nature Makes: The Photography of Rosamond Purcell," from Film Movement; "The Show's The Thing: The Legendary Promoters of Rock," from Sky Arts; and "Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb,” from Sony Pictures Classics. Bernstein holds an M.F.A. in film from Columbia University School of the Arts and a B.S. in European history from Barnard College.

Natasha Maidoff

Natasha Maidoff is teaching story and vision across screenwriting, producing and directing. Maidoff is an independent filmmaker whose works are held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Brooklyn Museum. She has received artist residencies from Yaddo, the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She has also been awarded grants from Ohio University and a Mellon Grant. Represented by Transatlantic Agency, Maidoff has developed several TV series and written and directed over 28 award-winning films, installations and documentaries that have screened internationally, including her recent film, "The Fullest Day of Summer." Before joining UNCSA, she taught screenwriting and directing at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Her accolades include a finalist position at the Sundance Writer’s Lab, a Director’s Choice Award at the Black Maria Film & Video Festival, a Gold Medal for Best Experimental at the Worldfest Houston International Film Festival, and the University of California, Los Angeles’ (UCLA) Spotlight Award from the Academy of Motion Pictures. Maidoff holds an M.F.A. in screenwriting from UCLA and a B.A. in creative writing from Oberlin College.

Jesse Scolaro

Jesse Scolaro

Jesse Scolaro is teaching story and vision across screenwriting, producing and directing. Scolaro is a Sundance-winning producer with experience creating multi-format content in various mediums including feature films, branded content, digital series, music videos and short documentaries. Much of Scolaro's work has included collaborations with first-time directors and producing stories from marginalized voices. His projects have ranged from successful independent films to branded content campaigns and short-form documentaries profiling individuals whose stories uplift and inspire.

Julia Swift

Julia Swift

Julia Swift is teaching story and vision across screenwriting, producing and directing. After years of writing for major studios and networks in Hollywood, she joined the faculty at Vermont’s Champlain College as an assistant professor teaching filmmaking, film history and appreciation courses. While on the Champlain College faculty, Swift was awarded a Fulbright Award. She is a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, a member of the Writers Guild of America, the Critics Choice Association and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.

Kim Zubick

Kim Zubick

Kim Zubick will teach writing and producing in the graduate program. With her production company, Zubick Films, she has released “TOGO” for Disney Plus and “The Zookeeper’s Wife” for Focus Features. She was the president of production for Tollin Productions (“Green Wave,” “Happy Camper” and “Crossover”) and for the Robert Simonds Company (“I Dream of Jeannie,” “Pink Panther 2,” “License to Wed” and “Yours, Mine and Ours”). As vice president of MGM Studios, her projects included “Thelma and Louise,” “The Russia House,” “Shattered,” “Not Without My Daughter,” “The Vagrant” and “Undercover Blues.” She has a Master of Arts in clinical psychology from Antioch University and a Bachelor of Arts with a triple major in international relations, French and German from Mount Holyoke College.

Adjunct/Visiting

Pilar Alessandra

Pilar Alessandra is teaching graduate screenwriting. Alessandra is the founder and director of the writing program “On The Page” and the author of “The Coffee Break Screenwriter.” She is a sought-after teacher and consultant, helping thousands of writers refine and sell their scripts. Her clients have secured deals with major studios like Disney and DreamWorks, and have won notable awards, including the Austin Film Festival and Nicholl Fellowship. Alessandra’s career began as a script reader for Amblin Entertainment and later as senior story analyst at DreamWorks. She has also worked with The Robert Evans Company, Cineville Entertainment and Radar Pictures.

School of Music

Full Time

Teodora Proud

Teodora Proud

Teodora Proud is teaching oboe. Proud previously taught oboe at the Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho and served as principal oboist of the Washington Idaho Symphony. Proud, with her husband, saxophonist Joseph Proud, formed the Proud Duo, a prize-winning group that expands the oboe-saxophone repertoire through cultural and collaborative efforts. Her experience includes second oboe and English horn with the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra and teaching at Music School Tivat in Montenegro. Proud has presented and performed at numerous institutions and International Double Reed conferences. She is co-artistic director of the Auditorium Chamber Music Series at the University of Idaho. Proud’s career highlights include her albums "Music of the Balkans" and "Two Points of View," and receiving a commissioning grant from the International Double Reed Society. Proud holds a D.M.A. from the University of Alabama, an Artist Diploma from Columbus State University in Georgia, and an M.M. from the University of Belgrade and a B.M.A. from the University of Novi Sad, both in Serbia.

Adjunct/Visiting

Elizabeth Fowle

Alumna Elizabeth Fowle (B.F.A. '14)  is a dance instructor, choreographer, and performer with experience in concert dance, opera, and musicals. She has served as ballet master for professional and pre-professional companies, including Winston-Salem Festival Ballet, High Point Ballet, and Gary Taylor Dance. Fowle has a background in ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, ballroom, and musical theatre, and has worked as a choreographer for organizations such as Piedmont Opera and Camel City Jazz Orchestra. She has also taught at the AJ Fletcher Opera Institute and the UNCSA School of Drama Summer Program. 

Polina Khatsko

Polina Khatsko, a native of Belarus, is a performer, coach, and teacher. She freelances with violin studios at East Carolina University, the cello studio of Nancy Green, and projects like the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival and Piedmont Opera. Khatsko has served on the piano faculty at the University of Michigan preparatory department and the Leipzig Summer Piano Institute. She has held collaborative piano positions at the University of Northern Iowa, the International Music Academy in Pilsen, and the Cambridge International String Academy. She earned her degrees from the Belarusian State Academy of Music, University of Nebraska, and the University of Michigan.

Yulia Roubtsova

Yulia Roubtsova

Yulia Roubtsova is teaching keyboard harmony. Roubtsova is a pianist and educator who was named the 2024 RCM Teacher of Distinction. She has led students to success in competitions such as the North Carolina Bach Festival and UNCSA Piano Weekend, with many participating in international festivals like the Gijon International Piano Festival and the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute. As the director of St. Mary’s Music Academy in High Point, NC, she oversees a faculty of fourteen and over eighty students. Roubtsova holds a Master’s degree in Western Musicology from the Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory, where she studied music history, theory, piano, and harpsichord.

Michael Winger

Michael Winger is the project director of UNCSA Media. Winger is the co-founder and CEO of ArtistManagers.io. He is a former GRAMMY Awards executive, producer, and engineer, and has worked with notable artists and bands, including Regina Spektor and Tom Petty.

Division of Liberal Arts

Jennifer King

Jennifer King is teaching science. King is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and began her teaching career at Ursinus College. Her Ph.D. is in neuroscience.

Danielle Nelson

Danielle Nelson

High School Academic Program

Full Time

Parvathy Anantnarayan is teaching AP English language and composition. Parvathy holds a B.A. in English from Moravian College in Pennsylvania and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, having successfully defended her dissertation on “Silence, Alterity and Synoptic Understanding.” Most recently, Parvathy taught English at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts.

Ryan Clark

Ryan Clark

Ryan Clark is teaching creative writing, a senior seminar, and a section of writing center support. Clark holds a B.A. in English from the University of Mississippi, an M.F.A. in writing and poetics from Naropa University in Colorado and a Ph.D. in English studies from Illinois State University. Clark most recently taught creative writing at Waldorf University in Iowa, where he also served as the chair of the English department.

Johnathan Stowe

Johnathan Stowe

Johnathan Stowe is teaching mathematics. Stowe holds a B.S. in mathematics from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and has taught math in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools since 2008. Since 2015, Stowe has served as math teacher at Carver High School, and in 2022 he also assumed the role of mathematics instructional coach for the city and county.

Adjunct/Visiting

Lauren Anderson

Lauren Anderson

Lauren Anderson is a new guidance counselor. Anderson holds a B.S. in secondary education for vocal music from Concordia University and an M.S. in school counseling from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. She has worked in a number of schools as both a teacher and counselor. Most recently, she served as a guidance counselor at Thomasville High School.

Philip Haigh

Philip Haigh is teaching English and will be working with Ryan Clark in the Writing Center. Haigh earned his B.A. in English from Leeds University, his M.A. in English from California State University, and his Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Haigh retired from UNCSA after more than 20 years of distinguished service in 2022.

Lauryn Massenburg

Lauryn Massenburg

Massenburg and Anantnarayan will be working closely together through the fall to ensure a seamless course experience for their students.

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