PDC - Portugal Dance Competition

Christopher Moore - Ballet Theatre UK / Director The School of Ballet Theatre UK

Christopher trained at Tring Park School of Performing Arts and The Royal Ballet School and has toured the world with many companies and choreographers. He took early retirement from the stage to focus on his choreographic development and the formation of Ballet Theatre UK. Christopher founded the Ballet Theatre UK company in 2008 and has since created over sixteen full-length ballets for the company, these include critically acclaimed productions of The Snow Queen, Romeo & Juliet, The Little Mermaid, The Nutcracker and The Wizard of Oz among others. The success of the company has subsequently led to the development of The School of Ballet Theatre UK, a training institute that holds the standards and ethos of the company as primary tools for training elite dance students. The School was founded in 2014 and has fast become one of the leading classical ballet training institutions in the country, offering a variety of training courses in partnership with University of West London. Christopher holds an MFA in Dance Pedagogy from Middlesex University, London and is an ABT® Certified Teacher, qualified from Primary through Level 7 and partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. In his dual role of Artistic Director of the Ballet Theatre UK company and Principal of The School of Ballet Theatre UK, Christopher is proud to lead the organisation forward with a passion for excellence at all levels and a clear focus on the education and development of our upcoming generation of dancers to achieve their full potential and a long and successful career. Over recent years Christopher has become a much sort after guest teacher and choreographer and has been an active jury member of many international ballet competitions including World Ballet Competition Orlando USA, Cannan Dance Asia, Masterpiece IBC Hong Kong, British Ballet Grand Prix, MIE Ballet Japan and the Grand Audition, Barcelona.

Abby Silva Gavezzoli - Fini Dance NYC / Fini Dance Italy

She grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, where she began studying dance as a child. Immediately after high school, she moved to New York City to study at Marymount Manhattan College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance and performance. It was here that she began her relationship with Parsons Dance. During her many years with the company, Abby traveled the world performing and teaching. She collaborated with Mr. Parsons on several projects, such as Verdi's Aida at the historic Arena di Verona. Other notable projects include her role as the lead dancer in Remember Me, which was filmed and broadcast by PBS in America. After the birth of her first child, Abby stopped traveling and focused on performing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she danced in Rigoletto, directed by Michael Mayer, Two Boys with music by Nico Muhly and choreography by Hofesh Shechter. At the Met, she also performed in Turandot, Aida, Les Contes d’Hoffman, Parsifal, and Don Giovanni. Throughout her career, Abby has appeared in various dance magazines. She was featured on the cover of Dancer Magazine and was named "One to Watch" in Dance Magazine. She also worked as a model for O Magazine and for Jordan Matter's photography book Dancers Among Us. She was a guest teacher for the Japan International Dance Program, teaching in Tokyo Dance and Actors and Osaka's Music and Dance School. After the birth of her second child, Abby and her family moved to Italy but remained connected to her roots with Parsons Dance. In recent years, Abby has taught and performed throughout Italy and Europe. She has collaborated with Fini Dance NYC and Fini Dance Italy, teaching performance and assisting choreographer Antonio Fini for the National Ballet of Kosovo. She became an ambassador for the Joffrey International School in New York City, recruiting dancers from all over Europe and conducting master classes. Her desire is to continue expressing her art and sharing her vast experience with talented and willing dancers worldwide.

Fernando Coelho - Palucca University of Dance Dresden

He is a ballet professor and one of the leading international references in classical dance pedagogy. Born in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, he began his training at the Helfany & Jânia Dance Center and built a solid artistic career as a solo dancer with major companies in Brazil and Europe. He performed with, among others, Ballet Jovem Helfany & Jânia, the City of Niterói Ballet Company, the Theatro Municipal Foundation of Rio de Janeiro, and the Badisches Staatstheatre Karlsruhe, gaining extensive stage and repertory experience. In addition to his work as a performer, he created award-winning choreographic works, including recognized pieces such as Entre Nós, Oposição, Canção de Amor, and Beim Schlafen gehen. His artistic activity has always been deeply connected to a strong commitment to training and transmitting ballet as both a technical and expressive language. Fernando Coelho is the founder and director of Dance Workshop e.V., the organization behind the renowned international workshops Dresden Easter Dance and Dresden Summer Dance, which bring together professionals and students from many countries. He is also the creator of the Dance Teacher Tutorial project, focused on research and the digitalization of dance education. Since 2009, he has served as a professor of ballet, pas de deux, variations, and methodology/didactics at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden, one of Europe’s most prestigious institutions. From 2010 to 2021, he was the director of the Master’s Program in Dance Teacher Education, strengthening and expanding the field of dance pedagogy with regional, national, and international impact. In 2017, he initiated Germany’s first dual work-study program designed to support the transition of dancers into careers as ballet masters and dance teachers. With experience as rehearsal director and artistic assistant to renowned choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, George Balanchine, and Stijn Celis, Prof. Fernando Coelho is dedicated to shaping complete artists by combining technical excellence, musicality, expression, and the development of artistic personality. His work is distinguished by conveying not only the discipline of classical ballet, but also passion and openness to contemporary impulses, preparing new generations for a solid and conscious professional career.

Monica Proença - M,A Dance Pedagogy for Modern and Contemporary

Vancouver based choreographer and dance educator with over two decades of international experience in modern, contemporary dance, and contemporary ballet. She holds a Master's Degree in Dance Pedagogy for Modern and Contemporary Dance from Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden. She began her training in Rio de Janeiro and graduated from the San Francisco School of the Arts, later performing in classical, contemporary, and independent productions across North America and abroad. Her teaching and creative work span major institutions worldwide. In Germany, she has collaborated with Nordhausen Ballet Company, Schwerin Ballet, Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden, Dance Workshop e.V., and Deutsche Tanzcompanie. In Canada, she has worked with Arts Umbrella Youth Company, Goh Ballet Youth Company, and Nanaimo Contemporary Ballet. She has also created and taught for Kayzer Ballet in Portugal, Divina Danqa and Säo Paulo Companhia de Danqa in Brazil, as well as additional projects in Spain, Italy, Japan, and across Canada and Brazil. Monica's choreography includes work for stage, television, and film, with notable projects such as A Christmas Proposal (CBS/Netflix), Center Stage: On Pointe (Sony/Lifetime), Strings for 2 (BravoFact), Dualidade (Säo Paulo Companhia de Danqa), and the short film Dance First. She has served as an adjudicator for the Brasilia International Dance Seminar, Global Dance Challenge, WBAC, the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition in Paraguay, and the Goiås International Dance Festival. She was also nominated for the 4th Inspirational Latin American Awards in Vancouver. Monica is a member of the Board of Directors at Dance// Novella and the Goh Ballet Youth Company and is the cofounder of DanceWorkshop EV in Dresden, as well as DAP Dance as a Profession and MazzDance Movement in Vancouver. Now based in Vancouver, she continues to choreograph, teach, and mentor dancers, known for her expressive clarity, technical precision, and the influence of her Brazilian roots.

Isaura Gusman - Cumbre Dance Company

Isaura Guzman is an artistic director and ballet master-choreographer. She trained in classical ballet at the Higher Institute of Arts in Havana, holds a degree in pedagogy from the Lutheran University of Brazil, and studied piano, transverse flute, and classical singing at the School of Arts in Cuba.

She developed an innovative methodology that facilitates the learning process of classical dance. Throughout her career, she has taken part in international tours with the National Ballet of Cuba, Ballet de Camagüey, the Cuban Opera, and Zarzuela Cubana, as well as with Brazilian companies such as Cisne Negro, Ballet Stagium, and the Ballet of the City of São Paulo.

She is currently the director of Cumbre Dance Company and serves as a ballet master at São Paulo Escola de Dança. An international lecturer, she received the Magnífico Award (Brazil, 2009) and the award for Best Rehearsal Ballet Master at the VII Inter-American Dance Competition in Córdoba, Argentina. She also represented Brazil at festivals in Osaka, Japan, and Paris, France, in 1991 and 1992.