Elise Eslick

Elise began her training under the direction of Barbara Banakakowski Smith with The Greater Lansing Ballet Company, while annually participating in the Regional Dance America Festival. She was coached by Madame Gribinova from the Vaganova School of Ballet, and Judy Rice associate professor of dance at the University of Michigan. Elise attended her freshman year of high school at Walnut Hill Performing Arts School in Boston, Massachusetts, under the direction of Micheal Owen, former principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater, and Samuel Kurkjian, former ballet master of the Boston Ballet. She attended and graduated from Grand Valley State University as a dance major on scholarship. Here she trained under Jefferson Baum, Lisa Catrett-Belrose, Mary Lohman, Calin Radulescu and Shauna Steele. She worked with many well known guest choreographers, including Chicko Imada, Amanda Edge, Ramon Flowers, Daniel Ulbrich, and Thang Dao. She danced many principal roles in ballets including Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Coppelia, and The Nutcracker. Elise was also fortunate enough to be under the Balanchine trust and performed soloist roles in his works including La Source. Elise attended many summer programs including Ballet Moscow, Ballet Magnificat, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, The Joffrey Ballet and The Colorado Ballet on scholarship. This is Elise’s second season with Missouri Contemporary Ballet.