Lynette Mason Gregg, Volunteer Artistic Director, founded the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1972 with a desire to establish a professional training facility for aspiring dancers and to enrich the overall atmosphere of the community. Having been involved with dance since age of 3, she left the Houston area to continue her studies internationally. After a time in Europe and Asia, she established her first school in the Imperial Ballet of Tokyo. During this time, Lynette was also exposed to the world famous Kirov and Bolshoi Ballet companies. Prior to returning to Texas, she continued her studies in Washington D.C. and New York City. Lynette is certified by the South Texas Association of Teachers of Dance, which is a chapter of Dance Masters of America. Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre is an honor company member of Regional Dance America/Southwest of which Lynette continues to serve for the third consecutive year as President. In addition to her regional presidential duties, Lynette also serves on RDA’s national board. She formerly served as the Gulf Coast Regional Director to the Texas Assembly of Arts Councils and developed a ballet curriculum for San Jacinto College District where she served on the faculty for 2 years. In 1981 Lynette was named Outstanding Citizen of Deer Park by the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce. Currently Ms. Mason Gregg also serves on the board of the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County.

Heather Steele, Associate Director, joined the BAHBT artistic staff in 2005 as the Associate Director. She has studied dance since age 4 at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts under the direction of Lynette Mason Gregg. Heather has risen through the ranks of the company from an apprentice to principal, where she has had the opportunity to study with prestigious teachers and choreographers, such as Olga Kostritzky, John Magnus, Soili Arvola, Leo Ahonen, Amelie Hunter, Misha Bart and Slam. Heather has appeared in BAHBT productions of The Nutcracker from 1988 to the present, in roles ranging from Gingerchild to the Sugar Plum Fairy. She has danced the roles of Swanhilda in Coppelia, the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Myrta in Giselle as well as leading roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Dracula, and many contemporary productions. Heather was the recipient of the 2000 BAHBT Scholarship and trained in New York at Joffrey Ballet School and Broadway Dance Center. In addition to her duties as Associate Director, she is a teacher and Graded Division Coordinator at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

Luis Fuente was a principal dancer for the Joffrey Ballet, with whom he danced for 12 years and later served as Ballet Master for 3 years. He was recognized natioally and internationally in roles created especially for him by Gelald Arpino and Robert Joffrey: Viva Vivaldi, Olympics, Fanfarita and Postcards. He was principal dancer for the National Ballet of Washington, Holland’s Het Nationale Ballet, London Festival Ballet, National Ballet of Spain, Ballet Clasico y Contemporaneo de Madrid, Antonio’s Ballet de Madrid, as well as the Touring Company of Ballet Stars. Throughout his career, he has also been invited as guest artist for countless dance companies in Europe and the United States. Fuente’s critically acclaimed performances in leading classical repertory roles include: SWAN LAKE, GISELLE, SLEEPING BEAUTY, CINDERELLA and COPPELIA. He was coached by the greatest names in the dance world: Robert Joffrey, Gerald Arpino, George Ballanchine, Frederick Franklin,Ben Stevenson, Andre Eglevsky, Igor Youskevitch, Margot Fonteyn, Edward Villela, Melissa Hayden, Rudi Van Dantzig, Hans Van Manen, and Antony Tudor among others. Luis Fuente has served as director and resident choreographer for the National Ballet of Spain. He has worked extensively for television, taught throughout Europe and the U.S., and coached professional dancers in major copanies all over the world.

Zoltan Boros – Artist in Residence, was born in Hungary, Budapest in 1978. He studied ballet from 1989-1998 at the Hungarian Dance Academy. In 1996, he studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts for a summer course. Zoltan was accepted as a corps de ballet member of the Hungarian National Ballet in 1998 where he proceeded to perform in ballets such as: Swan Lake, Giselle, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Spartacus, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer’s Night Dream and various neoclassical productions, such as: Mayerling, Onegin, and live Tahgos. He has toured through the countries of Austria, China, Holland, Mexico, Portugal and Turkey. Zoltan came to the states to study at the Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre in August of 2005. He is enjoying his 3rd season with BAHBT.

John Ruth – Artist in Residence, is celebrating his 16th season with BAHBT. He counts among his teachers and friends Lea Darwin, Patsy Swayze, James Clouser, Margo Marshall, Robert Joffrey, Alexander Minz, Bruce Marks and Anna Marie Holmes. John’s appearances with respected dance companies include Alicia Alonso’s Giselle and Carmen with the National Ballet de Cuba, James Clouser’s Tristan and Isolde and Winter from The Seasons with Space/Dance/Theatre. John worked with the Boston Ballet in 1986-87, performing in The Nutcracker. Joining City Ballet of Houston as an Artist in Residence in 1988, he performed as a principal in Gaiety Parisienne, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake. With BAHBT he dances the full spectrum of repertory, including roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, and Dracula. His band, Supper’s Ready, provided live musical accompaniment for the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz.

Briana Sodaro – Artist in Residence, a freshman at San Jacinto College Central Campus, was introduced to dance at the age of three by her father, Tony Sodaro (former RAFA student), and aunt, Robyn Sodaro (former RAFA student and Delta Festival Ballet Principal). She has studied with Margo Marshall, Bonnie Cokinos, Keith Cross, Joseph Giacobbe, Dennis Marshall, Pamela Bolling, Dorothy Lister, Robert Atwood, Amber Thornton-Stein, Misha Bart, Milena Leben, and John Ruth. Briana has performed in various BAHBT productions over the past 10 years such as Dracula, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, A Touch of Broadway, The Nutcracker, Sleepy Hollow, and Giselle. She spent last summer dancing under the instruction of the professionals at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the last three summers dancing under the prestigious tutelage of the instructors at Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, D.C.

Caitlin Cannon – Principal, is thrilled to be in her 5th season with BAHBT. She has performed in The Nutcracker for 10 seasons, performing the role of Clara for 3 seasons. Other BAHBT productions include Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia, Cinderella, Dracula, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Favorite musical theatre credits include: Music Man (Zaneeta), 42nd Street (Annie), Dames at Sea (Joan), Annie Get Your Gun (Winnie), King and I (Tuptim), Peter Pan (Peter), and High School Musical (Sharpay). She also performed in BAHBT productions of Oklahoma and Gypsy (with Andrea McArdle). Caitlin has had the pleasure to work with many wonderful teachers such as Misha Bart, Amber Thorton, Crystal Chapman, Michael Tapley, Dontee Kiehn, Shea Sullivan, Ben Hartley, Amanda Turner, and Germain Saulsburg. For the past three summers, Caitlin traveled to New York with BAHBT’s scholarship group, and during this last trip she attended the Radio City Rockette Intensive.

Shelby Chambliss – Principal, started her dance training in Corpus Christi at age 3 under the direction of Christina Munro. Shelby performed in Corpus Christi’s The Nutcracker and Dracula. When her family relocated to the Houston area in 2003, Shelby began studying at RAFA and performed with RAFA’s preludes for 2 seasons. She has performed in BAHBT’s The Nutcracker for 4 seasons. She also performed in Giselle, Coppelia, On Edge, From Russia with Love, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Shelby completed levels II – V in RAFA’s Vaganova Program under the direction of Misha Bart. She currently studies ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop. She competed in the 2005 Grand Prix Ballet Ensemble Finals in New York City in Jewels, a piece from The Sleeping Beauty. She traveled last year to Pittsburg to perform the piece Masquerade, choreographed by Milena Leban at the National Dance Festival in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She has also studied with American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive held at UT Austin. Shelby loves being a RAFA Classroom Assistant and the Graded Division Assistant. She is currently a junior at Clear Creek High School where she was chosen to be a part of the Health Science Tech. 2 Program and The Trooper School Program.

Abby Duhon – Principal, started her dance training in Pearland at Joyce’s School of Dance at the age of four. When her family moved, she continued her dance training in Kingwood at Rowland Ballard Dance Academy. Her activities included ballet with teacher Sheryl Rowland and participation in the competitive Kingwood Jazz and Company. Since her family moved again to Clear Lake in 2002, Abby has studied at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts with teachers Lynette Mason Gregg, Amber Thornton, Misha Bart, Milena Leben, Kristina Burgess, George De La Pena, Luis Fuente, Lauren Garson, Heather Cole, and Irina Vakhromeeva. Two years ago, she became the 2005 to 2006 Helen Mason Scholarship Winner and performed as Wendy in Peter Pan for the 2006 Formal Demonstration. Last summer, she attended the American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive in Orange County, California.

Devin Jaet – Principal,began dancing at the age of 2 in Louisiana. In 1998, she moved to Texas where she began training at RAFA under the direction of Lynette Mason Gregg. She has studied under Misha Bart, Milena Leben, Amber Thornton, George de la Pena, and Irina Vakhromeeva to name a few. She has attended summer dance programs at The Kirov Academy of Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Broadway Dance Center, and BAHBT’s own International Vaganova and Cutting Edge Contemporary Workshops. She joined BAHBT in 2003 and has performed various soloist and principal roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Giselle, From Russia with Love, A Touch of Broadway, Dracula, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the Contemporary Series, and notably the Pas de Quartre, Audacious Fairy, and the Blue Bird variations from Sleeping Beauty. She has also performed in Regional Dance America’s annual festivals and is currently a senior at Clear Lake High School.