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Thiago Silva is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He Began his early dance training at Boca Ballet Theater in Boca Raton, Florida, under Dan Guin, Jane Tyree and Helen Greenford. He continued on to study with former Ballet Florida principal dancer Deborah Marquez at School of Ballet Arts in West Palm Beach. He later went on to perform professionally with Boca Ballet Theater and Arts Dance Generation in productions of The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Giselle, La Bayadere, The Nutcracker and George Balanchine’s Serenade alongside American Ballet Theater and New York City Ballet principal dancers: Julie Kent, Marcelo Gomez, Jose Manuel Correno, Daniel Ulbricht, Irina Dvorovenko, to name a few. In 2011, Thiago danced a collection of jazz repertoire for the YPO Funding Organization of the Florida Grand Opera in Miami and taught at the inaugural session of the Ballet Central New Jersey Intensive. Mr. Silva was a 2012 member of O Dance, a dance festival which takes place in West Palm Beach, FL. He has performed as a guest artist with the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in their production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mr. Silva is delighted to have trained several BalletCNJ dancers for the Youth America Grand Prix. His students have gone on to place top 12 regionally and have received invitations into the NYC Final. Thiago has taught ballet for Rutgers University. He is proud to be the Founding School Director of BalletCNJ and a founding member of NJFAB.
Teresa Hartmann spent the early part of her life as a dancer studying under Felia Doubrovska, but went on to attend the Medical Science Learning Center, NJ, serving as a stepping stone to her studies in psychology. She received a BA in both Psychology and Communications from Rutgers University, NJ, a MA in Psychology from the New School for Social Research, NY and continued her studies at Harvard University. She has an extensive background in psychology, working both in the field and managing NIMH research in health psychology, crisis intervention and perception research. In 2008, Teresa began working at Princeton Montessori School and earned her American Montessori Society Early Childhood credential through the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ. Teresa continues to teach as a Early Childhood master teacher and is an instructor for PCTE. Teresa was reintroduced into the world of dance through her daughter’s interest in ballet, often facilitating performances at BalletCNJ as a parent volunteer, helping with costumes and headpieces. Teresa is committed to the future of NJFAB and making ballet accessible to Central New Jersey through local performances, educational programs and community outreach endeavors. She is proud to be a founding member of NJFAB.
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NJFAB LEADERSHIP
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