Along with KBI Artistic Director Paloma Herrera, faculty and guest teachers include Kaatsbaan co-founders Martine van Hamel, Kevin McKenzie, and returning resident instructor Lorin Mathis. More faculty to be announced soon!
KBI Artistic Director, Paloma Herrera, leads a class in the Studio Complex Building
Paloma Herrera was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and began her training at the age of seven. In January 1991, having just turned 15 years old, she moved to New York and continued her studies at the School of American Ballet. After only six months, she joined the American Ballet Theatre and, in 1995, became the youngest Principal Dancer in American Ballet Theatre history at age 19. She has appeared in ballets ranging from Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, and Swan Lake, to Apollo, The Prodigal Son, and Stepping Stones. She has appeared as Guest Artist with great ballet companies around the world, including New York City Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, Teatro Colon, and National Ballet of Cuba, to name a few. She retired from American Ballet Theatre at the end of November 2015, right before turning 40. Since that, she moved back to her home, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and continued to teach all over the world.
In 2016, she wrote her autobiography that was presented at Feria del Libro in 2017. That same year, she also launched her own perfume Paloma Herrera, in 2019 her second fragrance Paloma Herrera Passion, and in 2022 her third fragrance Paloma Herrera Fantasy.
In Argentina she received the award: Konex de Platino, Maria Ruanova and distinctions by the Honorable Camara de Diputados de La Nación, Medalla del Bicentenario by the government of the Buenos Aires city, among many others, and since 2012 she is a member of the gallery of popular idols of the Argentine Government House.
In 2017, she became the artistic director of Ballet Estable del Teatro Colon, where the company has grown immensely since she arrived. She resigned in 2022.
Born in Burlington, Vermont and trained in Washington, DC by Mary Day, Kevin McKenzie won a silver medal in the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1972. After starting his professional career with the National Ballet of Washington under the direction of Fredrick Franklin and Ben Stevenson, he moved to New York City to work with the Joffrey Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre as a soloist in 1979 and promoted to Principal dancer that same year.
After enjoying a full performing career with ABT, he became Artistic Associate with the Washington Ballet and in 1992 was appointed Artistic Director of ABT. During his 30 years in that position, he nurtured 3 generations of ABT dancers while establishing and overseeing the ABT Studio Company, The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, The ABT National Training Curriculum, The ABT Innovation Initiative for choreographic development as well as welcoming Alexie Ratmansky as the Artist in Residence at ABT to create some of the most treasured additions to ABT’s repertoire in the company’s experience.
Retiring from his position at ABT, Mckenzie has turned his attention back to Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, an institution he co-founded in 1991 and now serves as Chairman and Artist Advisor.
Martine van Hamel studied ballet in Copenhagen, Java, The Hague, Caracas, and Toronto. She leapt to widespread acclaim by winning The Gold Medal, and the seldom awarded Prix de Varna, at The International Ballet Competition in 1966. She went on to stardom, first with The National Ballet of Canada, and followed by two illustrious decades as a Principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. From 1992 to 1997, she regularly performed with Nederlands Dans Theater III. She still performs character roles with American Ballet Theatre. A Co-founder of Kaatsbaan Culutral Park, which is dedicated to the preservation of professional dance, van Hamel directed the Kaatsbaan Ballet Intensive summer intensive where she continues to teach. She also teaches for the JKO school and Studio Company of American Ballet Theatre.
Mr. Mathis began his training at Ballet Arts Minnesota before training at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet School. Some of his most influential teachers included Bonnie Mathis, Lirena Branitski, Flemming Halby, Jorge Esquivel, Johan Renvall, and Ricardo Bustamante. In 1999, Mr. Mathis was hired as an apprentice with San Francisco Ballet. He continued to dance with SFB for two seasons as a member of the Corps de Ballet, before joining Alberta Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Philadelphia Ballet. During his performing career he danced leading roles by choreographers such as Marius Petipa, George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Jirí Kylián, Mikko Nissinen, Anthony Tudor, Jorma Elo, Helen Pickett, William Forsythe, John Butler, Jerome Robbins, and Nacho Duato. National and International touring has allowed him to perform throughout the United States, Canada, China, England, Ireland, and Spain.
Retiring from performing in 2016, Lorin’s mentoring experience includes teaching for Pennsylvania Ballet School, Artifact Dance Project, Saint Paul Ballet Company and School, Ballet Royale, Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota, BC Dance, and has attended the ABT National Training Curriculum. Lorin has served as Associate Artistic Director for Kaatsbaan Ballet Intensive, where he has been teaching, coaching, and choreographing since 2017. During the year Lorin teaches Ballet Technique, Men’s Technique, Ballet Repertoire, and Pas de Deux at the University of Arizona School of Dance.
