Bertina Dew
Executive Director
Bertina Sixto Dew has been Executive Director of Kingsport Ballet since 1999. She led the search committee which recruited Valeria Sinyavskaya, artistic director and ballet mistress, from Russia by way of Tokyo, Japan, in 2001. Under Ms Dew’s leadership the organization merged the school and company, streamlining their efforts and becoming fully non-profit with a community-minded mission. She has served as grant writer and fundraiser for the organization, in addition to being costume and set designer for Kingsport Ballet’s productions such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle and Don Quixote. She implemented the DANCE CO project in 2003, which works with non-arts, community organizations and after school programs serving at-risk children such as Boys and Girls Club, to provide classical ballet instruction at no cost to the students. Ms. Dew secured a National Endowment for the Arts grant for the outreach program in 2006. In 2010 she led the renovation of Kingsport Ballet’s new 15,000 square foot facility, which includes four dance studios, a dance boutique, an art gallery, an arts wing subletting space to small businesses, and a fitness and wellness lounge providing physical therapy. Ms. Dew received the Arts Council of Greater Kingsport’s Arts Leadership award in 2010, the Tennessee Association of Dance award in Dance Advocacy in 2011, and a YWCA Tribute to Women award for Volunteerism in 2012. In 2016 she conceptualized the project and designed the costumes for the Company’s contemporary ballet, Seeds of Change, celebrating the city’s one hundredth anniversary. Ms Dew was recognized in 2017 by the Junior League of Kingsport’s “Women of Impact” as one of 130 outstanding women who have made significant contributions to the city during its 100 years of history. Prior to her becoming executive director at KB, she specialized in oil portraits and murals, and worked in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Augusta, GA. Ms Dew earned a Master’s degree in Art Therapy from the George Washington University and a Bachelor’s in Art Education from Florida State University. She is originally from Uruguay and currently lives in Kingsport, Tennessee with her husband Michael. They have three daughters.
Leonid Flegmatov
Artistic Director
Leonid Flegmatov graduated from the famed Bolshoi Ballet Academy (also known as Moscow State Academy of Choreography), and joined the Russian Academy of Theatrical Arts GITIS as a soloist. He was awarded a prize in the First International Chabukiani-Balanchine Ballet Competition in 2001. He has toured Europe, Asia and the United States. In the U.S. he has danced with Miami City Ballet, Columbia Classical Ballet, International Ballet Theater, Grand Rapids Ballet Company and New Jersey Ballet.
During his tenure with Grand Rapids Ballet, he danced in the Company’s productions both classical and contemporary pieces, including a special program with the Paul Taylor “Company B”, launching Grand Rapids’ 2011-2012 season. In 2013, while working as a Principal dancer with New Jersey Ballet, Mr. Flegmatov and his partner Mari Sugawa were coached by the legendary Edward Villlella, on the Company’s Balanchine repertoire.
During his more than 10 year tenure with New Jersey Ballet, Mr. Flegmatov danced numerous lead roles, including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet , and Nutcracker Cavalier in The Nutcracker , among many other classical and contemporary works. During this time he also taught and performed with Puerto Rico’s Ballet de San Juan and performed showcases with Puerto Rico’s star ballerina.
He was on the teaching faculty and dance company of New Jersey Ballet since 2007, where he taught all levels of ballet, including the professional Company classes. In 2018 Mr. Flegmatov began to transition from Principal Danseur to Master Teacher. Mr. Flegmatov joined the Kingsport Ballet full time faculty as Assistant to the Artistic Director and Master Teacher in Fall of 2019.
He has been on the panel of judges for various competitions, most recently the Jewels Festival in Brooklyn, New York, where students competed among 600 dancers from around the world. Several of Mr. Flegmatov students won top prizes, such as multiple “Grand Prix” awards, “Special Judge’s Prize” awarded by the director of the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, as well as second and third place wins. Additionally, Mr. Flegmatov won 2nd place “Best Teacher” award and Kingsport Ballet also secured 2nd place “Best School” as a result of Mr. Flegmatov’s students’ high achievement at the Festival.
Since his arrival in Kingsport, he has successfully coached various Kingsport Ballet students for auditions and competitions in competitive national programs.
Valeria Sinyavskaya
Artistic Director Emeritus
Valeria Sinyavskaya was the artistic director and ballet mistress of Kingsport Ballet from 2002 until her retirement in 2022. She was trained at the State Classical Ballet Academy in Kiev, Ukraine. She graduated first in the class of the renowned choreographer Gallina Berezova, pupil of Agrippina Vaganova, the founder of the Russian method of classical ballet training. She holds a master of Fine Arts from the Lunacharsky Institute of Theatrical Arts in Moscow. Her performing experience includes all the major classical roles with the Novosibirsk Theater of Opera and Ballet in Russia, and as a guest performer in other Russian ballet companies such as the Bolshoi Ballet. During her professional performing career with Novosibirsk Ballet, she enjoyed numerous international touring engagements, performing as the company’s Prima Ballerina. Since that time she gained extensive experience as a teacher, choreographer, and artistic director in the U.S. and abroad, including with the University of South Florida, Jacksonville University, Southern Ballet Theater, Orlando City Ballet, and the International School of Dance in Japan, where she served as a Principal Teacher and Choreographer, staging productions that blended the work of ballet students with professional performers from throughout Europe. She has staged ballet classics such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, and Giselle, among other ballets, as well as choreographed original works. Ms Sinyavskaya taught the Vaganova method of classical ballet. She was honored to be recipient of the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Individual Artist Fellowship award for choreography, KingsportArts’ artistic leadership award, YWCA Tribute to Women’s Artistic Leadership award, and Tennessee Dance Association’s Distinguished Teacher award.
Laura Markus
Dance Movement/Preparatory Ballet, Lower school Jazz and Tap, Adult Ballet
Laura Markus received her formal training under Karen Gibbons-Brown. She was one of the first graduating classes of the Kingsport Guild of Ballet and State of Franklin Dance Alliance. She continued her training with the school and company while attending ETSU Her history with the company included numerous facets from instruction t, rehearsal coach, assistant to the Director, costuming and stage craft as well as SFDA Board Member. After her time with the KGB/SFDA, Miss Markus has taught and performed for the Fayetteville Ballet Théâtre(NC), Northwest Florida Ballet and Northwest Florida State College. During her time in FL she developed an after-school dance program for Walton County School District (FL) which led to her opening her own school, Ecole de Danse in 2001. She is happy and excited to have come full circle and return to her original classical training with the Kingsport Ballet.
Adriana Dew
Ballet Instructor
Adriana Dew is a digital marketer and a classically-trained ballet and contemporary dancer. She received her primary ballet training in the Vaganova method from Valeria Sinyavskaya, former artistic director of Kingsport Ballet. Adriana attended summer intensives with American Ballet Theatre, the Kirov Academy of Ballet (Washington, D.C.), where she studied under famed ballerina, Alla Sizova, and the Hungarian Ballet Academy in Budapest at the invitation of Gyula Pandi. A graduate of Wake Forest University and recipient of the Presidential Scholarship for Distinguished Achievement in Dance, Adriana also studied under Brantly Shapiro, Fanchon Cordell, and Nina Lucas while completing her bachelor’s degree. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Wake Forest Dance Company’s award for Outstanding Achievement in Ballet.
Prior to moving to Atlanta to further her marketing career in 2012, Adriana taught Vaganova method classical ballet and floor barre classes to students of all levels at Kingsport Ballet School at the request and tutelage of her mentor, Valeria Sinyavskaya, which afforded her the opportunity to learn Vaganova pedagogy from a true master teacher. Throughout her years at Kingsport Ballet, Adriana proved herself an effective and motivating instructor, specializing in preparing beginning and intermediate level students for intensive, advanced study with the school’s artistic director. While at Kingsport Ballet, Adriana also served as rehearsal assistant for full length productions, and she had the pleasure of performing soloist and principal roles as Kingsport Ballet Company’s professional artist-in-residence. Some of her favorite roles include Kitri in Don Quixote, Princess Clara in The Nutcracker, and the Fascination pas de deux from Satanella. Adriana also taught beginner and intermediate level classical ballet classes on a part-time basis in Atlanta. She relocated to Johnson City in 2021 along with her husband and two children. She currently serves as part-time rehearsal assistant at Kingsport Ballet.
Wayne Burritt
Master Teacher
Wayne began training at age 12 in Miami, Florida as a ballroom dancer and eventually earned a scholarship to the Orlando Ballet School. In 1985 he married his wife Debi and enrolled in the School of San Francisco Ballet, continuing his studies with some of the finest teachers in the country. Wayne also took time to earn his MBA in Arts Management in 1987. He moved to Naples, Florida shortly thereafter and joined Naples Ballet Theatre, where Artistic Director Kim Salgat created a number of roles for him in contemporary and classical works. In 1991, Wayne joined the critically acclaimed Demetrius Klein Dance Company and rose to the position of Assistant Artistic Director before retiring from the stage in 1993. In 1994 Wayne formed Florida Dance Conservatory (FDC), where he served as Artistic Director, resident choreographer, and general manager. Wayne choreographed 15 ballets, managed a professional school and company, and guided gifted young artists in their pre-professional careers.
He joined Dance 10 studio as Ballet Department chair and Director of the Pre-professional Ballet Program where he directed and choreographed various full-length ballets. In 1998, Wayne was appointed Ballet Master and Artistic Director for Vero Beach Ballet, where he was responsible for the entire school’s curriculum and classes, as well as choreographing his first Sleeping Beauty.
Between 1998 and 2005 he choreographed, taught and directed numerous works in various cities in Florida, premiering new works and providing multimedia design in addition to financial management.In 2005, Wayne joined the faculty of the Asheville Ballet where he taught and coached pre-professional and professional ballet dancers. In 2007, he formed Wayne Burritt Dance – a cutting-edge contemporary ballet company in Asheville, North Carolina – and produced a series of concerts at the Diana Wortham Theatre, one of the most celebrated dance venues in the U.S. From 2007 to 2009, Wayne was appointed Ballet Master for Angie’s Dance Academy and Director of the Mountain Ballet Company (MBC), a pre-professional training company and program in Clyde, North Carolina. Wayne also staged his second Sleeping Beauty there.He helped found Ballet Conservatory of Asheville and served as Ballet Master for the Pre-Professional division, which during his tenure grew from 0 to 64 students.
Wayne is a dedicated ballet teacher with a keen sense of what makes a dancer successful. His students have won year-round or summer scholarships to many of the most prestigious ballet schools and academies in the U.S., as well as gained acceptance to top-ranked university ballet programs. He holds an MBA in Arts Management from Golden Gate University and a BA in English and Philosophy from Indiana University. Wayne makes his home in Jonesborough, TN with his wife Debi.
Cassie Williams
Contemporary
Cassie graduated from Radford University with a bachelor of fine arts in dance. During her time at Radford, she taught modern classes at New River Moving Arts, performed in the Roanoke Ballet Theatre’s production of Giselle in June 2019, and choreographed her own works in the Student Choreography Showcases. Cassie joined the West Virginia Dance Company in 2020 and performed in the virtual showing of “Souvenir: Diary 2020”. During this year, Cassie performed with the company Saltare in Elementis in their dance film “Terra”: an Appalachian environmental dance film, along with Bone and Fiddle Arts Company’s production of “Spitfire”: a piece created by and for women in the Appalachian region. In 2021 Cassie joined the Roanoke Ballet Theatre and performed various roles in Dracula, The Nutcracker, Snow White, and guest choreographer, Scotty Hardwig’s, contemporary dance film “River Wakes”. Cassie is in her second season with the company. She commutes weekly to teach contemporary classes at Kingsport Ballet.Olivia Barnes
Olivia Barnes is a Kingsport, TN native and was a Kingsport Ballet student for 12 years, most of those under the tutelage of Ms Valeria Sinyavskaya. Olivia was a company member, taking part in various full-length ballets, including The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker, and participated in yearly summer intensives. She currently works at Kingsport Ballet as Special Events Coordinator and Stag Ridge Mercantile as a Floral Preservation Project Manager. Her duties at Kingsport Ballet include overseeing special events, coordinating the company’s Spring Concert logistics, and serving as substitute teacher. In December of 2022, Olivia graduated from Northeast State with degrees in Business Administration and Accounting. When Olivia is not at the ballet or preserving flowers, she enjoys relaxing at home with her fiance and pets, or creating “do-it-yourself” crafts.Emma Parker
Emma Parker recently graduated high school a semester early. She grew up dancing at Kingsport Ballet and was a member of the Company for many years, taking part in full-length ballets such as The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and Coppelia. Emma currently teaches jazz dance at Kingsport Ballet and Tri-Cities Dance Company, she also teaches gymnastics at Flight Athletic Academy. During the day Emma works at the Johnson City Eye Clinic as a patient greeter. Before college, Emma is planning on studying in Spain to better understand Spanish and the culture. Emma hopes her future includes teaching and traveling.
Jessica Barrett
Physical Therapist
Jessica has studied all styles of dance from ballet to hip-hop at schools including University of North Carolina School of the Arts, American Ballet Theatre, and Broadway Dance Center in NYC. As a ballet student, she performed soloist roles in Coppelia, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty and was a dancer on the Furman University dance team. Ms. Barrett is an award-winning choreographer. Her professional work includes dancing in commercials and industrials for BMW and Swiffer as well as acting and dancing in films such as “Step Up 2: The Streets” and George Clooney’s “Leatherheads”. Ms. Barrett received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Furman University and a master’s degree in physical therapy from East Carolina University. While at East Carolina, she was the recipient of the George F. Hamilton Award for outstanding physical therapy student, worked with faculty to treat injured ECU dance majors, and completed an internship at The Harkness Center for Dance Injuries in NYC.