Cheryl Madeux
Conservatory Ballet Director, Instructor of Ballet/Pointe/Variations - Children's Program and Pre-Professional Program
Cheryl Madeux, a Connecticut native, received her training at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts under the direction of Sharon Dante and Donna Bonasera. She has enjoyed a long professional career, dancing with such venerable companies as the Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and principal dancer with the Hartford Ballet under the direction of Kirk Peterson. Madeux performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe and has been coached by such ballet luminaries as Igor Youskevitch and Eleanor D’Antuono. Her extensive classical repertoire includes all the full-length classical productions as well as principal roles in The Nutcracker, Giselle, Coppelia, The Firebird, Balanchine’s Serenade, Spectra de La Rose, and much more. It also includes works by choreographers such as Gerald Arpino, Kirk Peterson, George Balanchine, Michel Fokine, Anthony Tudor, Martha Graham, Margo Sappington, and others. Among her early accomplishments, Madeux was awarded first place in the National Society of Arts and Letters Ballet Competition at the age of 15, as well as a finalist at the III International Ballet Competition in Paris and the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. She was later recognized by the White House Commissions Program for excellence in academics and dance and was awarded a Level One Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
As an educator, Madeux has been a guest teacher and coach for many ballet institutions across New England. In 2005, she became ballet director at Franklin School for the Performing Arts and assisted in developing their conservatory ballet program, as well as choreographing and directing their full-length ballet productions. In 2009, she successfully completed her certification in the ABT National Training Curriculum for Primary through Level 7 & Partnering and was later appointed to the prestigious Board of Examiners for the curriculum. In addition, she became a summer faculty member for the ABT Young Dancer Program and ABT summer intensives, as well as an assistant instructor for the NTC teacher certifications. Madeux was a guest judge for the Connecticut Classic Ballet Competition in 2014 and 2019, an adjunct professor for ballet and pointe at Dean College and successfully coached dancers from FSPA to the YAGP finals in NY. Madeux resides in Wrentham, MA with her husband and two children.
Victoria Collins
Instructor of Ballet/Pointe and Children's Program
Victoria Collins, a former FSPA Ballet Conservatory student, has been featured in the Franklin Performing Arts Company's production of The Nutcracker as Clara. Other ballet credits include Cinderella, Coppelia, and other repertoire concerts. After her time at FSPA, she continued her studies at Dean College in Franklin. At Dean, she had the opportunity to continue learning from Cheryl Madeux and other credentialed faculty such as Marc Arensten (Dean of the Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance), Jill Silverman, Roshni Pecora, Kimberly Calore-Sedlak, Dina Ternullo Melly, and Todd Shanks. Her knowledge of dance expanded after newly receiving her ABT certification in pre-primary-Level 3 and she plans to continue her certification in the other levels in the future. Victoria is glad to be a new addition to FSPA faculty that she has long admired.
Xochitl Tejeda-Cerda
Instructor of Ballet/Pointe
Xochitl is a professional dancer trained in the classical Russian and Cuban ballet traditions. She received her degree in Dance from the National School for Classical Dance in Mexico City where she was a Ministry of Fine Arts Scholarship recipient. During her formal education, she trained under the tutelage of luminaries such as Alicia Alonso, Fernando Alonso, Nellie Happee, and Carlos Lopez. She began her professional career at the age of 16 with Mexico’s National Ballet, where she performed soloist roles such as The Romantic/Good Girl in Graduation Ball, Swan Lake’s Pas de Quarte, and Sleeping Beauty’s Jewels Pas de Trois. Additional early accomplishments include receiving honorable mentions from Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts for her contribution to the diffusion of classical dance across the country as well as achieving quarter finals at the First New York International Ballet Competition. Her career continued with a long engagement with The Ohio Ballet, where she held Soloist, Principal, and Prima Ballerina roles as well as serving as a Regisseur and Ballet Mistress. During this time, Xochitl toured extensively throughout the United States and Latin America performing numerous main roles in productions such as First Violin in George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Pas de Deux, in Paul Taylor’s Aureole, Pas de Deux in Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies, and Venus in Ruthanna Boris’ Cakewalk. Additionally, Xochitl premiered numerous principal and solo roles from acclaimed choreographers such as Heinz Poll, Donald Byrd, Laura Dean, Alonzo King, and Lynn Taylor-Corbett among others. Xochitl also performed extensively as a guest artist with companies such as Hawaii Ballet, Dayton Ballet, and Minneapolis Ballet, among others and her classical repertoire includes all full-length classical productions with principal roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, Paquita, Le Fille Mal Gardée and much more. As an educator, Xochitl served as a faculty member at The University of Akron Dance Institute and the University of New Hampshire College of Liberal Arts and has taught many aspiring dancers as Guest Faculty at institutions such as Oberlin College, The University of Akron, Canton Ballet, Wayne Center for the Arts among many others. Xochitl received the Ohio Arts Alliance Outstanding Artist Award in 2001, representing the first time this organization recognized a dancer for their contributions to the arts.
Russell Clarke
Instructor of Ballet/Pointe
Russell Clarke was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He received his ballet training at the Royal Ballet School in London. During his time at the Royal Ballet School he performed with the Royal Ballet Company in productions that included The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. Russell joined Ballet Arizona in 2007 and performed principal roles in Don Quixote, Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, Twyla Tharp’s The Golden Section, George Balanchine’s Movements for Piano and Orchestra, La Valse, La Sonnambula, The Four Temperaments, and Ib Andersen’s Play, 1052, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mosaik, Symphonie Classique, and The Nutcracker. Russell received critical acclaim for the role of the Poet in George Balanchine’s La Sonnambula and was praised by the New York Times for the role of Phlegmatic in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. Russell originated a principal role in Andersen’s Diversions, which was seen on the Kennedy Center Stage in June 2010. In Russell’s final season with Ballet Arizona he originated the principal role in Ib Andersen’s world premiere of Cinderella, which received critical acclaim. After retiring from Ballet Arizona, Russell went on to direct the Community Dance Academy at Walnut Hill School for the Arts for four years. He is currently an Associate Professor at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee where he has taught for the past six years.
Clyde Nantais
Instructor of Ballet/Pointe - Guest Faculty
Clyde Nantais joined the FSPA Dance Faculty in 1992. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston Conservatory and a Master of Education from Temple University. He has performed leading roles in Equity Summer Stock and dinner theater productions. Mr. Nantais danced with Boston Ballet for seven years before teaching in its school for 17 years. He was the principal ballet teacher at the National Institute of the Arts in Taipei, Taiwan. He has served as Ballet Master for the Boston Conservatory Dance Theater, the Berkshire Ballet, and the Pioneer Valley Ballet. As choreographer, he has staged over 50 original works for more than 40 companies and schools worldwide. Mr. Nantais was also the Executive Director of the Boston Dance Company Studios and Associate Director of the Boston Dance Company. He recently retired from teaching Ballet for Musical Theater students at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee and has also retired from the faculties of the Boston Ballet and Charlotte Klein Dance Centers.
Dr. Marisa Babb-Wetherell, PT, DPT
Instructor of Progressing Ballet Technique - Guest Faculty
Marisa trained as a young dancer in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. She performed with the Movement Ensemble Dance Company under the direction of Liana Ciaglo, including appearances with the Commonwealth Opera. Marisa also appeared in The Nutcracker with both the Moscow Ballet and Academy of Ballet Arts.
Through her college years, Marisa performed with Springfield College’s Singers, Dancers, and Best of Broadway groups on campus. She also completed a minor in dance at Springfield College while pursuing her degrees in Physical Therapy. She has continued to dance as an adult including appearances in FPAC’s The Nutcracker.
Marisa holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and currently practices in outpatient physical therapy in North Attleboro, MA. She specializes in dance medicine and is passionate about educating young dancers to use their bodies as effectively, efficiently, and safely as possible.
Marisa achieved her initial certification in Progressing Ballet Technique in 2018 and has continued on to achieve her Level 3 PBT Certification. Marisa enjoys teaching the PBT curriculum and feels it holds great value in training safe and efficient use of the body to advance dance technique and performance while preventing injuries.
