This season, NJDTE Ballet Mistress Lenore Pavlakos-Morales has taken on a new role as mentor to Marie-Lorène Fichaux, who is pursuing a PhD in pedagogy at the National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance of Lyon in France.
Marie-Lorène Fichaux An accomplished ballerina, Marie graduated from Paris Opera Ballet School in France before completing her studies at the Ballet School of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. She performed with the Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company, The Ballet du Grand Theatre de Genève in Switzerland and later joined the Royal Ballet of London as a First Artist. In 2003, she was been invited by choreographer Nacho Duato to be part as a First Soloist of La Compania Nacional de Danza in Spain, where she performed until she moved to the United States. Marie furthered her studies in Dance Education, earning a Master's degree at the Centre National de la Danse in Paris as well as a Doctorate in Languages and Foreign Literature from Geneva University. Marie has also worked with Staten Island Ballet, The Paris Opera Ballet, American Ballet Theater and Friends, and as a guest soloist with Boston Ballet. She is currently a Guest Artist with The Lyon Opera Ballet in France, and has also worked as a guest artist with MoralesDance in NYC since 2011.
The mentorship requires Marie to observe and assist in NJDTE classes, as well as review lesson plans. Lenore selected the Friday Diamond Level ballet class for her observation, as they are, in her words, "no longer beginners and are diving into more complicated technical work." At the end of the mentorship, Marie will teach a few of these classes under Lenore's supervision. Stay tuned!
I've had the pleasure of being Marie's coach for the past 7 years. She is a like an exotic bird, gliding across the stage with speed, precision and grace. Her ability to dance classical, neo-classical and contemporary roles makes her the epitome of the 21st century dancer. I was greatly honored when she selected me to mentor her through this process. How wonderful for NJDTE's young dancers to have the opportunity to work with Marie, a soloist with Lyon Opera, and guest soloist with Boston Ballet!"
- Lenore Pavlakos-Morales
Lenore (back row, left) with Marie (bottom row, right) and MoralesDance dancers after a recent SummerStage performance.
