The pedagogical team
Paola Cantalupo
Artistic and pedagogical director
The Italian Ballerina Paola Cantalupo trained and danced at the Ballet of La Scala in Milan. Awarded the gold medal at the Lausanne Prize in 1977 and the bronze medal of the "USA International Ballet Competition" in Jackson in 1979, she was hired by Maurice Béjart to the 20th century Ballet, then in 1980 by John Neumeier at the Hamburg Ballet. In 1984, she continued her career as Prima Ballerina of the National Ballet of Portugal where she played the great roles of the classical repertoire including Giselle, Swan Lake and Bayadère.
She joined Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo in 1988. The following year, she was appointed by H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover, Etoile des Ballets de Monte-Carlo, where she performed until 2009, and was decorated Chevalier de l'Ordre du Mérite Culturel de la Principauté de Monaco. Her eclectic repertoire includes the major roles of the Russian Ballets (Shéhérazade, L'Oiseau de Feu, Les Sylphides), the works of G. Balanchine, A. Tudor, J. Kylian, W. Forsythe, R. Petit, as well as the creations -light by Jean-Christophe Maillot (Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker, Cinderella, La Bella).
Italian critics awarded her with the "Leonide Massine" Prize in Positano in 1991, the "Danza e Danza" Prize in Venice in 1993 and the Career Prize in 2001. Holder of the "Dance Teacher Certification", issued by the French Ministry of Culture, Paola Cantalupo has been regularly invited as a professor or member of the jury and has been in charge, from 2004 until 2017, as a member of the Artistic Committee of the Prize of Lausanne. She is also vice-president of the Dance Medicine Research Association (ADMR) and an honorary member of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS).
Since 2009 she has held the position of Artistic and Pedagogical Director of the Cannes Rosella Hightower School of Dance, and has been performing the same functions since March 2012 for the Higher Cycle of the Marseille National School of Dance. This dual direction gave rise to the creation of Pôle Nationale Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower.
On 5 December 2021, Brigitte Lefèvre, Artistic Director of the Cannes Dance Festival, had the honour of awarding Paola Cantalupo the distinction of Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. This sign of recognition from Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, then Minister of Culture, salutes a life dedicated to dance through an exceptional career.
Valène Azy-Roux
Choreographic artist, graduate of the Cycle d'Enseignement Supérieur de Danse Jazz de Poitiers. Her solid and plural training allows her to multiply experiences and work contexts. Dancer-interpreter and assistant for choreographers of various aesthetics: Babeth Angelvin-Pons, Patricia Karagozian, Raza Hammadi, Josette Baïz, Claude Aymon, Kirsten Debrock... Her career is punctuated with jazz encounters and contemporary openings, which will leave precious traces and imprints in her work. She is currently pursuing her professional career with the Cie Accord Des Nous - ADN and the Cie Item. Jazz and tap dance teacher, holder of the State Diploma and the Certificate of Aptitude, today DE and CA trainer at Cnsmd Lyon, Pnsd Rosella Hightower, Esal de Lorraine and Pesmd Bordeaux. Guest artist in different structures and training centres (Isdat - Toulouse, Pont Supérieur de Nantes, Cefedem de Normandie...) for technical courses or within the framework of transmission of jazz repertoire. She is also a member of the jury in pedagogy, in conservatories and for the FFD, and is certified in anatomy for movement. In 2017, she choreographed the imposed variations for the National Jazz Dance Competition of the French Dance Federation, and in 2018, she created her first piece "Empreinte(s)" for the Strasbourg Choreographic Centre. This piece will be remounted twice for the Tremplin jeunes de la FFD and the ISDAT in Toulouse the following year. Carried by the same impulse from dance to teaching, she leads these two careers with conviction and commitment: her stage experiences nourish her teaching, for a pedagogy in movement and in the present. Valène Roux Azy proposes an organic and contrasted dance, anchored in the specificity of jazz. Around a solid centre, the dancer develops a fine and syncopated musicality, to cross nuanced states of the body. Rhythmicity, at the heart of the quality of jazz movement, becomes an impulse towards a sensitive and available body. A free dance, nourished by multiple influences and marked by the fundamentals of jazz dance.
Jérôme Benezech
He completed his training at the Ecole de Danse de l'Opéra de Paris where he obtained the Diplôme de fin des études chorégraphiques. He then began his career at the Ballets de Monté Carlo, where he studied various repertoires by Kylian, Forsythe, Balanchine, Maillot, Armitage, Neumeier, Bournonville, Petit, Fokine, Massine, Lifar, Tudor, Scholz, etc.
A graduate of the C.A. (Valedictorian), he has been working at the Nice Conservatory since 1996 in charge of the largest classes with special timetables. He is regularly invited to higher education establishments as a jury member (exams, entrance exams, teacher recruitment). He has twice taken dance tests for the Ministry of Culture exams, provides pedagogical tutoring for C.A. candidates (CND in Paris and CNSMD in Lyon), is a member of the DE pedagogy jury, and finally teaches technique and pedagogy at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in the Bachelor's degree programme until 2019. He teaches the DE cycle in classical pedagogy at the PNSD.
Joelle Boulogne
Born in Cannes, she studied dance at the Internationl Dance School Rosella Hightower. In 1986 she was hired at the Jeune Ballet of France and entered the following year at the Ballets of Montecarlo where she was promoted soloist in 1991.
In 1993 he joined the Hamburg Ballet under the direction of John Neumeier. She was appointed soloist in 1995 and first dancer in 1998.
She is invited by numerous dance companies in St. Petersburg, Florence, Copenhagen, Dresden, Stuttgart, Berlin and Tokyo. Participate in 2009 in Montecarlo, at the gala that celebrates the Centenary of the Russian ballets.
Since 2008 Joëlle Boulogne has been teaching at the Pole National Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower.
Jeanne Chossat
Born in Valbonne, she studied dance at the Rosella Hightower International Dance Centre in Cannes and at the San Francisco Ballet School. After two years at the Cannes Jeune Ballet, she began her career by joining the Humaine Company (Eric Oberdorff). Eight years later, Jeanne decided to open her artistic horizon and started collaborating with other companies such as Cie Reveida (Delphine Pouilly), Trucmuche Cie (Michael Alibert), Cie Eugénie Andrin, Cie Antipode (Lisie Philip), Cie BE (Caroline Duval), Cie Trans (Laurence Marthouret)... At the same time, Jeanne is involved in numerous educational activities within the French national education system, as well as at the National Conservatory of Nice, where she will join the contemporary dance teaching team of the Pôle National Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower at the beginning of the 2020 school year.
Francesco Curci
Born in Italy, he made his dance studies at Progetto Danza Reggio Emilia, Zappalà Danza Modem, Scuola del Balletto di Toscana and Codarts Rotterdam Dance Academy. During his professional career, he dances in various contemporary repertoires with MM Company (Dir. Art. Michele Merola), Astra Roma Ballet (Dir. Art. Diana Ferrara), Station Zuid (Dir. Art. Marc Vlemmix), Holland Dance Festival (Dir. Art. Samuel Wuersten), Dance Works Rotterdam (Dir. Art. Ton Simons), Project Sally Maastricht (Dir. Art. Stefan Ernst and Ronald Wintjens) et Conny Janssen Danst (Dir. Art. Conny Janssen).
In 2013 he was nominated for the 'De Zwanen 2013', the prestigious Dutch dance award of the Theater and Concert Hall Management Association (VSCD), in the category of "most notable dancers" for his role in the How Long Is Now show by Conny Janssen Danst.
Francesco also choreographed several pieces that have been performed in the Netherlands and abroad. He has created pieces for Danslokaal (Conny Janssen Danst), Agora Coaching Project, Primero Festival de Danza Almería Espagne, Festival Parkdans Eindhoven, ISDS Stars of Tomorrow Gala Hong Kong, Choreography Lab (Dance Works Rotterdam), One Night's Dance (Dansateliers) et Codarts Rotterdam Dance Academy.
As an invited professor he has taught at the Associazione Danza Reggio Emilia, Dansateliers, SKVR, Codarts Rotterdam Dance Academy, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille, Jean M. Wong School of Ballet Hong Kong.
Every year since 2009 he has participated in the summer stages of the Canella Rosella Hightower High School of Dance, of which he is also a teacher.
In parallel to his career as a dancer, he also obtained by correspondence a degree in Psychological and Social Research at the La Sapienza University of Rome (Faculty of Medicine and Psychology).
Since 2014 he is permanent professor of the Pole National Superieur de Danse Rosella Hightower.
Leandro d'Andrea
Born in Civitavecchia (province of Rome), he discovered his passion for dance in a public school before joining the National Academy of Dance in Rome.
Engaged in the ballet of the Opera of Rome, under the direction of Maya Plissetskaïa, he discovered the great works of the classical repertoire such as Raymonde, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Phaedra, Petrouchka, Spartacus.
In 1988, hired by Roland Petit at the Ballet de Marseille, he danced some of the choreographer's major works: Carmen, L'Arlésienne, Les Intermittences du Cœur, Notre Dame de Paris, L'Ange Bleu, Coppélia, Les Quatre Saisons, Cyrano de Bergerac, Le Chat Botté, Ma Pavlova...
In 1993 he joined the Ballets de Monte-Carlo and performed ballets from the "Ballets Russes" repertoire such as Scheherazade, The Firebird, Prince Igor's Dances, Gaîté Parisienne, but also ballets by the American choreographer George Balanchine and contemporary choreographers such as Jean-Christophe Maillot, director of the Ballet, Angelin Preljocaj, Bertrand D'At...
In 1997, he continued his career at the " Ballet de l'Opéra National de Lyon ".
Since 2004 he has been teaching at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes-Mougins Rosella Hightower and then at the PNSD Rosella Hightower.
Joëlle Donati
Trained at the Centre International de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower and at the Ecole de l'Opéra de Nice, she was hired at the age of 16 to perform in the corps de ballet of the Opéra de Nice. Between 1980 and 1983 she continued her training in Paris and collaborated on several choreographic projects which definitively marked her interest in the possibilities of experimentation offered by contemporary dance. From 1984 to 1994 she worked with Patrick Tridon, ex soloist of the Ballet du XXème siècle, with whom she created the ETAT DE RUE Company in 1995, where she set in motion artists coming from various horizons (Dance, Theatre, Music, Circus), and confronted herself as a dancer to the universe of performance and improvisation linked to street shows. In 2001, she joined the Compagnie Système Castafiore, directed by Karl Biscuit and Marcia Barcellos, as a dancer and, in 1995, began teaching contemporary dance in training structures and professional companies.
She became a certified Feldenkrais practitioner in June 2009, and in September 2010 she was invited to join the permanent teaching team of the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes-Mougins Rosella Hightower and the PNSD Rosella Hightower.
Maurizio Drudi
He started his professional activity in 1988 in the Cosi-Stefanescu Classical Ballet Company (Italy) where he quickly performed solo roles from the classical repertoire including Giselle, Coppelia, Don Quixote. In 1992 he joined the Aterballetto company under the direction of Amedeo Amodio where he had the opportunity to enrich his experience by dancing choreographies by Jiri Kylian, Alvin Ailey, Massimo Morricone, Glen Tetley, Donald Byrd. In 1994 the choreographer director entrusted him with the main role of Don José in his version of Carmen. At the same time, he was invited on several occasions for creations at the Rovigo theatre (Italy) by the choreographer George Iancu.
In December 1995 he was hired by the Ballets de Monte-Carlo under the direction of Jean-Christophe Maillot, who, the following year, gave him the role of Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet". In 1998, he was appointed soloist and performed leading roles in the company's repertoire, including ballets by Nacho Duato, Twyla Tharp, Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine and William Forsythe.2009, he was invited as assistant to the choreographer Michele Merola by the Therazije Theatre in Belgrade (Serbia) and then at the Mittel-Festival de Danse in Cividale del Friuli (Italy). He also works as a guest teacher for the MMcompany (Italy) and as a teacher-repeater for Agora Coach Project (Italy), a professional training project.
Since 2015, he has been a permanent classical dance teacher at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes-Mougins Rosella Hightower and then at the PNSD Rosella Hightower. In 2017, he also became a coach for the Cannes Jeune Ballet Rosella Hightower.
Stephane Flechet
Trained with Maurice BEJART and at the Limon Center in New York, Stéphane FLECHET has danced in many German companies.
She holds a C.A. in contemporary dance and has taught for fifteen years in Germany, notably at the National Conservatory of Frankurt am Main under the direction of William Forsythe, at the National Superior School of Göteborg and at the John Cranko National Superior School of the Stuttgart Ballet as well as in many other cities in Germany.
She is also regularly invited to teach in the theatre companies of Giessen, Kaiserslautern, Frankurt, Osnasbrück and Schwerin.
Since 2000 she has been a permanent teacher at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes-Mougins Rosella Hightower and at the PNSD Rosella Hightower.
Dominique Laine
She began classical dance at the age of six in Toulon before joining the Rosella Hightower dance centre in Cannes at the age of fourteen.
At the age of seventeen, she joined the ballet of the National Opera of Lyon where she danced for twenty years. As a soloist, she collaborated in world premieres and revivals with many choreographers: Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe, Maguy Marin, Hans Van Manen, Bill T Jones, Louis Falco, Ohad Naharin, Angelin Preljocaj, Dominique Bagouet and many others.
In 2000, she worked with the German choreographer Joachin Schlomer as a dancer and assistant.
In November 2009, she obtained the certificate of aptitude as a classical dance teacher and since 2010 she is a permanent teacher at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes-Mougins Rosella Hightower and then at the PNSD Rosella Hightower.
Dominique Larin
After three years at the Conservatoire de Nice, she perfected her skills at Mudra International and then at the Rambert Ballet School in London.
She then danced with Patrick Tridon's Ballet Antibes Côte-d'Azur, then with the Bruno Jacquin Company in Cannes where she also worked as a choreographic assistant.
Dominique Larin develops her taste for teaching with professionals and training centres. She experimented with the different fields of physical expression of the child until she became a trainer for the State Diploma of dance teachers for children.
Since 2007, she has been a permanent teacher at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes-Mougins Rosella Hightower and at the PNSD Rosella Higjhtiower.
Peter Lewton-Brain
Born in London, he began his dance and kinesiology studies in New York at George Balanchine's American Ballet School. He then studied the Cecchetti method under Margaret Craske in New York. He danced in the USA with the Los Angeles Ballet, the Chicago City Ballet and the Pennsylvania Ballet before being hired as a principal dancer with the National Ballet Company of Portugal, then with the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, where he remained for ten years, performing the great roles of the repertoire. At the same time, he worked as a dance teacher, first as a guest teacher, then as a permanent teacher at the Princess Grace Academy of Classical Dance in Monte Carlo, as well as at PNSD Rosella Hightower where he has been teaching since 2000.
He holds several degrees in the arts and sciences, a Bacholrs of Arts from the State University of New York, a Masters in Performing Arts from the Université Côte D'Azur, a Diploma in Osteopathy from the Institut Atman in Sophia-Antipolis, a D.O.E from the International Society of Osteopathy in Geneva and is currently a PhD student in Dance Science at Trinity Laban, London, UK.
He is the President of the Association Danse Médecine Recherche in Monaco and France and was the President of the International Association of Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS). In 2015, he created the Pôle Santé of the PNSD Rosella Hightower, a forerunner in the field and is the Scientific Advisor Health & Dance of the PNSD Rosella Hightower and is the Health Manager of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo.
Mikhail Soloviev
Mikhail was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1981. He was admitted to the Bolshoi Ballet Academy at the age of 10. At the age of 16, he continued his studies at the John Cranko Ballet Academy in Stuttgart, Germany, where he followed his teacher Petr Pestov. After graduation, he was hired by the Stuttgart Ballet under the direction of Reid Anderson, where he danced for the next 13 years.
In 2012 Mikhail came to France and joined the Nice Ballet Méditerranée, artistic director Eric Vu-An. Until 2018 he continued his career as a dancer, then in 2019 after his studies he obtained a state diploma as a ballet teacher in classical dance. Since then he has worked as a ballet master, teacher, choreographer and dancer in France, Germany and Italy.
In 2021, Mikhail received an engagement from the Rosella Hightower Ballet Center in Cannes under the direction of Paola Cantalupo and joined the school as a classical dance teacher.
Magali Verin
Born in Cayenne in French Guyana (973), Magali studied dance technique at the Alvin Ailey School in New York. Between 2001 and 2002, after a great experience in the companies of Anne-Marie Porras and Rick Odums, she joined the Lion King Musical at the Lyceum Theater in London and then worked occasionally with choreographer Barry Collins on various musicals and operas (Singing in the Rain, Sugar, Orpheus in the Underworld and Aida). * The choreographers Georges Momboye, Patricia Alzetta and Géraldine Armstrong opened the doors of their companies to her, and from May to July 2008, she performed at the Casino de Paris in Jérôme Savary's show, La Revue Nègre. In April 2009, the Centre National de la Danse in Pantin hosted the Black Dance Project in which she performed choreographies by Eleo Pomare, Donald Mc Kayle and Ronald K. Brown. Holder of the C.A. in Jazz dance (2006), member of the E.A.T. and D.E. jury, she teaches at the Rick Odums Professional Training Institute and leads various Jazz and Modern workshops inspired by the Horton technique (Guyana, France, England, Belgium, Norway...). She teaches the DE cycle in Jazz pedagogy at the PNSD.
Alessio Passaquindici
He began his dance studies at the Opera School in Rome, where he graduated as a professional classical dancer under the guidance of Pablo Moret and Ofelia Gonzales, stars of the National Ballet of Cuba. He then joined the Corps de Ballet of the Opera of Rome under the direction of Carla Fracci.
In 2010, he joined the corps de ballet of the Opera de Nice under the direction of Eric Vu An and was promoted to soloist a few months later.
In his career, he dances the greatest roles of the classical repertoire but also modern and contemporary. Invited to participate in several international galas all over the world, he was awarded in 2016 the Ballet 2000 prize, at the Palais des festivals in Cannes, as well as the Positano Prize "Léonide Massine", as dancer of the year on the international scene.
In 2019, he obtained the state diploma of dance teacher at PNSD Rosella Hightower and since then has been working as a dancer, choreographer, and classical dance teacher at the school since 2022.
Carole Pastorel
She graduated in 1993 from the Paris Opera dance school and studied classical dance, contemporary dance, pas de deux, character dance, the classical repertoire as well as music, dance history and anatomy.
She began her career dancing the ballets of Marius Petipa, Michel Fokine, Leonide Massine, Vittorio Biagi, Françoise Adret and Milko Sparemblek. Promoted to soloist at the Monte Carlo Ballets, she performed the ballets of the director-choreographer, Jean-Christophe Maillot, such as Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, La Belle, Opus 40, Vers un Paysage, Dov' e la Luna... She dances the main roles of Georges Balanchine's repertoire and also ballets by William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Jacopo Godani, John Neumeier, Twyla Tharp, Luncinda Childs, Uwe Scholz, Kevin O' Day and Itzik Galili among others.
At the same time, she developed a vocation for teaching. In Rome she teaches at La Maison de la Danse and at the Dance Department of Cineccita Campus. She also gives Master Classes in Spain and Italy. In 2011, she joined the teaching team of the Princess Grace Academy, directed by Luca Masala, at Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. She teaches classical dance, variations of the classical repertoire, contemporary dance and the repertoire of Jean-Christophe Maillot.
In 2019, she obtained the exemption of the State diploma of dance teacher for confirmed teaching experience and joined the teaching team of the Pôle National Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower in 2022.
Marion Robinet
After having followed higher and professional studies in dance at Off Jazz in Nice, she worked with Angelo Monaco, Gianin Loringett, Katiuscia Onnis, among others... At the same time, she danced in companies of the region such as the Sixièmetage, Off Jazz Dance Company or the Cie Atmosphère...
She then joined the Rosella Hightower International Dance Centre in Cannes, as part of the state diploma for jazz dance teachers. She followed this training with Babeth Angelvin, Dominique Larin, Christophe Duveau... After obtaining her diploma, she taught for six years in a dance school in Valbonne... She continued to train in choreographic creation with the French dance federation through workshops with Valène Azy Roux, Claude Aymon, Patricia Karagozian, Christine Jouve...
She has been awarded several times in competitions as a choreographer at the national level and, wishing to broaden her skills and train to teach Pilates, she obtained her Matwork level I and II certification.
In 2021, at the request of Valène Azy Roux, she joined the teaching team of the PNSD Rosella Hightower, helping to monitor her work and the DE2 students.
In 2022, she intervenes again for the DE cycle in Jazz pedagogy.
