Victoria Silva - School Director

Victoria Silva received her training at the Cumberland Dance Company (now Pennsylvania Regional Ballet) Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Boston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, and as a scholarship student at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She has performed professionally as a freelance artist in the New York area and with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Victoria has been part of the faculty for the Astoria Dance Center, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Summer Course, Greater York Youth Ballet, Harrisburg Dance Conservatory, Steps on Broadway, and is currently School Director and rehearsal coach at Pennsylvania Regional Ballet. Her choreographic credits include Peter & the Wolf for the Harrisburg Symphony’s Crayon Concert Series, several ballets that have been performed at the RDA/Northeast Festival including her work, imprint, which was shown as the final piece of the RDA/NE Festival 2009 and her ballet, Finding Harmony, performed at the National Festival in Montreal in 2012. Ms. Silva was awarded the Monticello Award for her work Linear Momentum in 2005 and scholarships to attend the RDA National Choreography Intensive 2004, 2005, and 2011. Her ballet, Fragmented Memories, was chosen to represent RDA/NE at the International Ballet Competition in June 2014. Her work has been shown in both the US and abroad.

Jeffrey Gribler – Ballet Faculty

Jeffrey Gribler began dancing at age 7 in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. His 10 years of study at the Schwartz School of the Dance included six years of performing experience with the Dayton Ballet. In 1975, at the age of 17, he was offered an apprenticeship with Pennsylvania Ballet. He joined the Corps de Ballet in 1976 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1982.

Mr. Gribler has an extensive repertoire of both classical and modern works. He has danced leading roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine, including Prodigal Son, Bugaku, The Four Temperaments, Agon, Who Cares? and A Midsummer Night's Dream. His roles in contemporary works include Paul Taylor's Arden Court and Company B, Merce Cunningham's Arcade, William Forsythe's Steptext and Love Songs, Kevin O' Day's Col Legno and Lar Lubovitch's Concerto 622 and Waiting for the Sunrise. He has also danced leading roles in classical repertoire, such as Siegfried and Benno in Swan Lake, Albrecht in Giselle, Franz and Dr. Coppelius in Coppelia, a Stepsister in Cinderella, and Mercutio in John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet.

Mr. Gribler was Ballet Master for Pennsylvania Ballet from 1986 to 2014. Among his responsibilities was the task of rehearsing the children who appear in the Company's annual production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. He choreographed several works for Shut Up and Dance, the annual benefit for MANNA, and Cricket Dances, which was performed by Pennsylvania Ballet in October 1998. He has staged works by Lynne Taylor Corbett and Peter Martins around the United States and Europe. Mr. Gribler retired from the stage in June 2001, after 26 years of performing but continued performing character roles in ballets such as Coppelia (Dr. Coppelius), Swan Lake (Wolfgang), La Sylphide (Madge, the witch) and La Fille Mal Gardee ( Widow Simone).

Mr. Gribler’s involvement with RDA stems back to the original organization, known as the National Association for Regional Ballet. As a member of Dayton Ballet, he performed at six Festivals for the Northeast Region. He has served as the Adjudicator for the Northeast Region in 1990, 1993, 1997 (first National Festival), 2003, 2008 and 2015, the Southwest in 1995 and the Southeast in 2002. He has created 4 ballets on RDA companies.

After 39 seasons with Pennsylvania Ballet, Mr. Gribler is now a freelance master teacher and occasional choreographer.

 

Erin Stiefel Inch – Ballet Faculty

Erin Stiefel Inch was born in New Haven, Connecticut and at age 9 began ballet classes at the Monona Academy of Dance in Madison, Wisconsin. Erin continued her ballet study, under scholarship, with Milwaukee Ballet School, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Carlisle Project and School of American Ballet (the official school of The New York City Ballet) in New York City. Erin was professionally contracted by Basel Ballet in Basel, Switzerland under the direction of Heinz Spoerli shortly after turning 17 years old. She also danced professionally with Bonn Ballet and Zurich Ballet where she danced numerous principal roles under the direction of Bernd Roger Bienert and Heinz Spoerli. Erin has an extensive repertoire in classical ballet having danced many of the great classics such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote, La Vivandiere, Raymonda, The Merry Widow and more. She is well versed in contemporary and modern ballets having danced ballets from such eminent choreographers as Hans Van Manen, William Forsythe, Mats Ek, Balanchine, Nijinsky, Amanda Miller, Ed Wubbe and Bejart.

Upon retirement, due to a knee injury, Erin returned to the U.S. Eleven years ago she opened a small studio in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to provide coaching and specific ballet instruction to serious ballet instruction to serious ballet students. She has seen many students who have passed through her doors go on to dance professional ballet. She has also given numerous master classes at Bucknell University, as well as, has rehearsed ballets for them. Erin has served as a faculty member for the Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania in State College, Pennsylvania.

Beth Baker – Ballet, Tap & Jazz Faculty

Beth Baker began her dance training at age 4 with The Wevodau Dance Center, and also studied at The Harrisburg Dance Conservatory before attending Penn State University. At Penn State, she studied ballet and modern while performing with and choreographing for The Orchesis Dance Company. She was a teaching assistant for university jazz classes, and graduated with a degree in Exercise Science. Beth has been a part of the dance faculty of The Dance Academy of State College, The Harrisburg Dance Conservatory, The Wevodau Dance Center and CPYB. Since 2008, Beth has taught The Children’s Division ballet, tap & jazz classes and the Adult Ballet classes at PRB, and thoroughly enjoys nurturing PRB’s future pre-professional students while also encouraging adults to continue pursuing ballet as exercise and fun.

Kristina Grant – Ballet Faculty

Originally from San Diego, California, Kristina Grant began her ballet training in 1979 at the Ballet Society of San Diego under the direction of Jacqueline Hepner, eventually joining BSSD’s performing company. During her time there she danced roles in the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, the Firebird, Serenade, Giselle, Les Sylphides and Sleeping Beauty, among others. Her ballet training later continued at the California Ballet under the direction of Maxine Mahon.

During the early 1990’s, Ms. Grant choreographed for junior and senior high school show choirs in San Diego, CA. She also began creating choreography for figure skaters which has since led to becoming a member of the Professional Skaters of America in the discipline of choreography and style. From 2006-2009, Ms. Grant was the dance coach for the Twin Ponds Synchronized Skating Team “Team Reflections”, National Champions in 2006.

After moving to Harrisburg, PA in 2004, she joined the faculty of Harrisburg Dance Conservatory. In 2005, she became a guest artist and resident choreographer for HDC’s performing company, the Harrisburg Dance Ensemble. In 2006, Ms. Grant was promoted to Associate Artistic Director of HDC. In 2008, Ms. Grant co-founded the Harrisburg Ballet Theater and is currently HBT’s Artistic Director. She also is currently on the faculty of Footprints Performing Arts in Ephrata, Pa.

Ms. Grant still performs periodically as a freelance dancer performing character roles in regional ballet companies. She has also been a guest teacher for Eastern Virginia School for the Performing Arts Summer Intensives, a guest artist with American Youth Ballet and an adjudicator for Pennsylvania Regional Ballet’s Summer Intensive Scholarship Program

Lauren Eichelberger – Modern Faculty

Lauren Eichelberger began dancing at the age of three at Pennsylvania Regional Ballet, formerly the Cumberland Dance Company. Throughout her youth she attended summer programs at Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts and performed at numerous Regional Dance America Northeast Festivals. After graduating from East Pennsboro Area High School in 2004, Lauren participated in a cultural exchange in Heidelberg, Germany. Lauren then attended Marymount Manhattan College where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Dance and double majored in English. While at Marymount, Lauren performed roles in student and faculty choreographed productions as well as works by Johannes Wieland, Twyla Tharp and David Parsons. Lauren was also chosen to be a part of the Marymount Manhattan Dance Company, a small group of twenty students selected to participate in a year-long residency, in which the students work with choreographers from the New York City area. Upon graduation, Lauren attended Villanova School of Law, attaining her J.D. in 2012. Lauren currently works as the Assitant District Attorney in Perry County.

Heather Carlino - Children's Division Ballet, Pre-professional Division Tap & Jazz Faculty

Heather Carlino began dancing at the age of three at Pennsylvania Regional Ballet.  She trained primarily in Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Modern and has performed in many Regional Dance America Festivals as well as attended summer intensives with the Joffrey Midwest Workshop, Cedar Lake Ensemble and Regional Dance America’s National Choreography Intensive.  She is an alumni of the Pennsylvania State University, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Management.  Heather has taught at Charlene’s School of Dance, while attending Penn State, and at Creative Vibes while attending Pulse Beauty Academy, a Paul Mitchell partner school.  Heather is excited to be joining the faculty of PRB this season.

Regular Guest Faculty

Kimberly Chapman, Jeffrey Gribler, Kristen Weiser, Kirsten Kaschock, Leda Meredith, Heidi Robitshek, Erin Long Robbins, Taryn Kaschock Russell, Lauren Fadeley Veyette, Francis Veyette, Anton Wilson