Kaatsbaan Ballet Intensive
Faculty

2025 COMPLETE FACULTY TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON

Paloma Herrera

KBI ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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.

CALVIN HILPERT

Calvin Hilpert began his pre-professional training at age 12 with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. At age 15, he subsequently transitioned his studies to the San Francisco Ballet School where he studied under the tutelage of Jorge Esquivel and Parish Maynard. Following this training, Hilpert joined the KUNST-STOFF dance company where he danced on multiple international tours. Ever in the pursuit of more knowledge, Hilpert decided to deepen his understanding of contemporary movement at the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz in Dresden, Germany after receiving an invitation to study as a guest with the school. While in Dresden, he was scouted to join the Saarländisches Staatstheater where he had the pleasure of dancing works by acclaimed dance makers such as Stijn Celis, Marguerite Donlon, Bernard Baumgarten, and Fernando Hernando, among others, as well as creating a brand new work himself. After gaining this new perspective on dance, movement, and art-making, Hilpert returned to the States to rejoin KUNST-STOFF dance company as an Artistic Contributor. During this second stint, he collaborated on creating several works with the company’s Artistic Director in addition to developing and performing multiple works of his own. From there, he accepted an invitation to join the Budapest Dance Theatre where he enjoyed performing various works by respected choreographers such as Jiří Pokorný, Rasa Hammadi, Béla Földi, and Alexandra Sághy.

Lorin Mathis

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.

 LUCIANA PARIS

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Luciana Paris began her ballet training at the age of seven with Elena Perez.  From 1991-1996 she studied at the Colon Theater Superior de Art Institute with Katty Gallo and Raul Candal.  Paris is a recipient of a Colon Theater Foundation Scholarship, based on her outstanding qualifications at Colon Theater Superior Ballet Institute.  She won a Gold Medal at the Latin American Dance Competition in 1995. In December 1996, Paris joined Julio Bocca’s Ballet Argentino as a principal dancer and became Bocca’s dance partner.  From 1997 to 2001, Paris and Julio Bocca danced together classical, neoclassical and modern repertoire. Paris joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in October 2001. She was appointed a Soloist in August 2015. Her repertoire with the Company is vast. In 2012 American Ballet Theatre designated Paris as a Certified Teacher.

Adrienne schulte

Born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, Adrienne Schulte began her ballet training with Marcia Dale Weary at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet at the age of seven. She continued her studies at the Paris Opera Ballet School in France from 1996 to 1998 before joining the American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company in 1998.

Schulte joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in January 1999. In 2007, she moved to London and danced as a First Artist with the English National Ballet for two seasons. Schulte rejoined American Ballet Theatre in September 2011. Schulte retired from American Ballet Theatre in July 2015. She received her Teacher’s Certification with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and has been a guest teacher with CPYB, Ballet Academy East, Eglevsky Ballet, Prodigy Dance and Performing Arts Centre, and Dallas Ballet Center. Adrienne was on faculty during the 2016–17 academic year at the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Children’s Division and again for the 2021–22 academic year with the JKO Pre-Professional Division. Schulte is currently on faculty at Greenwich Ballet Academy since 2018, and a returning faculty member for Kaatsbaan Ballet Intensives.

 Martine van hamel

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.