Kevin Kaiser
Artistic Director

Mr. Kaiser started dancing when he was four years old.  He is one of five brothers that made up a professional tap dancing group.  The “Kaiser Brothers” grew up outside of Seattle and toured the United States throughout their childhood.   Mr. Kaiser began his professional ballet career at age sixteen with Pennsylvania Ballet under the Direction of Barbara Weisberger and Benjamin Harkarvey.  Mr. Kaiser returned to Seattle and joined Pacific Northwest Ballet under the direction of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell.  For fifteen years he performed a wide range of repertoire. Mr. Kaiser danced roles from world-renowned choreographers including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Paul Taylor, Kent Stowell, Marius Petipa, Anthony Tudor, Lar Lubovich and Glen Tetley.  Mr. Kaiser danced a very diverse repertoire from Paul Taylor's “Company B” to George Balanchine's “A Midsummer Night's Dream” Divertissement Pas De Deux, George Balanchine's “Serenade” to almost every male role in Kent Stowell's “Nutcracker” from the Prince to Drosselmeyer.  In addition Mr. Kaiser enjoyed dancing Anthony Tudors “Jardin Aux Lilac”, Mercucio in Kent Stowell's “Romeo and Juliet” and Glen Tetley's “Voluntaries.” 

After retiring, Mr. Kaiser was appointed Ballet Master with Oregon Ballet Theatre and later promoted to Associate Artistic Director under the direction of James Canfield. While at the Oregon Ballet Theatre Mr. Kaiser staged works choreographed by James Canfield, George Balanchine, Donald Byrd, Robert Joffrey, David Parsons and Val Caniparoli. 

Mr. Kaiser has an extensive teaching background throughout the United States which include Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Dance Educators of America, Tulsa Ballet and many more. 

Mr. Kaiser's ties to the ballet world can be felt throughout the United States.  His older brother Roy Kaiser, is Artistic Director of Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia.  His younger brother Russell danced with New York City Ballet and is now Assistant Artistic Director for Boston Ballet.  Ken and Dan Kaiser are both Artistic Directors of ballet schools and regional companies.

Mr. Kaiser was appointed Artistic Director of Evergreen City Ballet in January 2008.  He has choreographes two original works along with bringing in new choreographers to work with the Company and Performance Division.  He is excited to bring his years of dedication and experience in the field of dance to this rapidly growing area of the Northwest.

Andi Bryndza
Ballet Mistress
Instructor, Ballet

Andi has been part of Evergreen City Ballet for 15 years. She was also part of the company for 4 seasons. She loves to work with children and has volunteered in Special Education classrooms and worked with several Montessori based schools. Her experience has allowed her to blend these methods with ballet technique and integrate them into the studio. She truly enjoys teaching children and sharing her love of dance.

Andi had the opportunity to travel to Amsterdam and Salzburg, Austria, where she danced and performed with the Salzburg Ballet. She has enjoyed performing many featured and soloist roles. Her favorites include Andromeda in the original ballet Journey, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and the title role in Cinderella. Andi was also in both of Mr. Kaiser’s original works, Hmmm… and At the Club. In addition to performing, Andi had the opportunity to choreograph a classical piece titled Dawn, and a contemporary ballet titled Fix You…to the music by Coldplay.

Barney Blough
Musical Director

This year marks Barney Blough's 6^th season with the Evergreen City Ballet and his 3^rd season as the Music Director of and serving as Assistant Conductor of the Rainier Symphony. Mr. Blough conducted the Rainier Symphony for one season for ECB productions of Nutcracker and Giselle, and he conducted the Lake Union Civic Orchestra for three seasons during ECB productions of Nutcracker and Swan Lake.  Mr. Blough has also been active in musical theater. He conducted Hello, Dolly,! Chess, and Guys and Dolls with Eastside Musical Theater and Kiss Me Kate and Meet Me in St Louis at the high school level.

Mr. Blough was formerly Music Director of the Seattle Chamber Orchestra, Assistant Conductor of the Rainier Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Lake Union Civic Orchestra. He was also a Guest Conductor for the Spokane Symphony, Orchestra Seattle, and the Emerald City Philharmonic. He has studied conducting with Vilem Sokol, Director Emeritus of the Seattle Youth Symphony, Gunther Schuller, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Stewart Kershaw, Principal Conductor of the Pacific Northwest Ballet.

As an active freelance horn player, Mr. Blough is currently playing with the Federal Way Symphony, Orchestra Seattle, the Hiliners, and Bellevue Opera. His horn teachers include Richard Jensen at Central Washington University, and Christopher Leuba, former Solo Hornist of the Chicago Symphony. Mr. Blough received his B.A. in Music Performance from Central Washington University, his Teaching Certificate from Seattle Pacific University, and his Professional Certificate from Pacific Lutheran University. He is currently teaching band and orchestra at Giaudrone Middle School in the Tacoma School District.

Instructors

Ken Kaiser
Instructor, Tap

Mr. Kaiser began his dance training at age 4 and has studied ballet, tap, and jazz. He was "bitten by the bug" when he and his brother performed at the New York World's Fair in 1964. He and his four brothers performed with the Cleveland-based Singing Angels before President Nixon, Pope John Paul II, and appeared with Bob Hope. After moving to Seattle, they toured the Northwest with several variety groups, opened for Wayne Newton and appeared on the Kraft Music Halt Christmas Special on NBC in 1969. He also performed in off-Broadway productions of Showboat, Carousel, Music Man, Sound of Music, and Finian’s Rainbow.

Jackie McConnell
Instructor

Jackie McConnell is a native of Salem, Oregon, and trained at Willamette Ballet Academy under Deborah Higginbotham, in addition to spending six consecutive summers at Houston Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet. In May 2008, she received her BFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she was a member of the Second Avenue Dance Company. She continues to dance part-time with Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, a contemporary ballet company based in New York. In August 2008, Jackie joined the Corps of Nevada Ballet Theatre, under the direction of James Canfield. Last season she danced in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Canfield’s Giselle, Bruce Steivel’s Nutcracker and in the company’s collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. This is her first season with Evergreen City Ballet.

Hiromi Rudd
Instructor, Ballet

Ms. Rudd has studied ballet since age 5 and has taught for more than 17 years.  She has studied in Tokyo, Japan under Ms. Yaoko Sato of the Tani Ballet Company and with Mr. Chikahisa Natsuyama of the Tokyo Ballet Company.  She has performed various roles in The Nutcracker, Don Quixote and Les Sylphides and has performed as a character dancer with the International Ballet Theater.  Ms. Rudd enjoys working with all levels of students.  This is her third season with the Evergreen City Ballet.

Tamara Nyren
Instructor, Yoga/Pilates

Kisha Vaughan
Instructor, Hip Hop

Kisha Vaughan, born in Biloxi, Mississippi and raised in Sacramento, CA has been dancing in and around Seattle for the past 7 years. In her short time here she has had the opportunity to dance with Breaking Point Dance Company, In Effect Hip Hop, and Seattle Storm Hip Hop Squad. She also has appeared on Showtime at the Apollo and MTV’s Made. Kisha has performed at a number of venues and events in Seattle as well including Folklife Festival and T-Mobile. Kisha currently teaches hip hop at several area schools and dance teams.

Danielle Wilkins
Instructor, Ballet & Modern

Danielle Wilkins is from Kentucky where she trained for ten years at the Louisville Ballet. She received her BFA degree from the University of Hartford Hartt School of Music, during which she performed at the Kennedy Center as a soloist in Jean Grand Maitre's Uroborus. Danielle has worked professionally in New York with Rebecca Kelly Ballet, Mary Seidman and Dancers, Mimi Garrard Dance Company, and Steven Koplowitz, and in Seattle with Marco Carrabba, Seattle Jazz Dance, and Spectrum Dance Theater; in which she performed in PNB’s Celebrate Seattle Festival at McCaw Hall and the Spoleto Festival in Italy. Most recently Danielle appeared in the 5th Avenue Theater's production of West Side Story and The Seattle Opera’s production of The Pearl Fisher’s. Danielle has danced with DASSdance for eleven seasons performing several times at Diane von Furstenberg-The Theater and in many Festivals including the D.U.M.B.O Dance Festival NYC and Dance Now at the Joyce Soho. Danielle has been teaching Ballet & Modern at Island Dance for 6 years and at Evergreen City Ballet for 5 years.

Accompanists

	Jim Bolm
	Peter Colclasure
	Christopher Ferris
	Marleen Land
	Randy Plut

Administrative

	Brigita Sandlin Administrator
	Larry Fried Development Director