Our Teachers | Ballet Academy of St. Petersburg

Instructors

Rachel DeHart grew up in Palm Harbor, Florida and began dancing at the age of 9. Growing in her deep love of movement under the watchful eyes of Dr. Dusanka Gradiski-Ivanova, director of Ballet Academy of St. Petersburg, Rachel studied all classical forms of ballet, pointe, partnering, and pedagogy. She regularly attended workshops and summer intensives such as The Rock School, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and the Sarasota Ballet and performed leading roles in a vast array of ballets and operas such as The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Carmen, and Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Just before graduating high school in 2014, Rachel was offered to continue her pre-professional training with the Margaret Barbieri Conservatory of Dance and then soon after, began working with the Sarasota Ballet. She enjoyed 3 seasons of hard work in Sarasota, performing in some of her dream ballets such as Sir Fredrick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee, Mathew Hart's John Ringling's Circus Nutcracker, Rudolf Nureyev's Raymonda Act 3, Mathew Bourne’s Boutique as well as original works by Jamie Carter, Javier and Isabel Dubrocq, Elizabeth Weil Bergmann, and Ricardo Graziano. During this time, Rachel was also continuing her knowledge of teaching, mentorship and choreography.

In 2016 Rachel moved to Houston, Tx and began diving deep into the world of modern dance. She has been privileged to work with Ad Deum II, the second company of Ad Deum Dance Co, Mei/Co Dance, and SERVE Ministries. Once becoming a company member and earning the title of Outreach Coordinator for Open Sky Arts Collective in 2017, Rachel developed a major passion to share the Performing Arts with lost, forgotten, and overlooked communities! 6 years of dancing, traveling and ministering in halfway houses, high security women prisons, childrens hospitals and homeless shelters across the United States, many memories were made and many hearts were loved on!

Now Rachel has returned to the Tampa Bay area and is a diverse dance teacher throughout the Clearwater dance community. Rachel is thrilled to begin teaching for BASP in summer 2024!

Rachel DeHart

Tamra Geinzer

Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, Tamra Geinzer's love for ballet started 18 years ago under the instruction of Judith Lee Johnson City Dancers program. She expanded her training under Award winning choreographer and ballet pedagogy, Dr. Dusanka Gradiski-Ivanova over eleven years ago focusing on Vaganova Ballet technique. Her Ballet experience includes multiple performances in full length productions to include "Raymonda", "Alice in Wonderland" and the role of Tiger Lilly in "Peter Pan". 2021 Vivaldi's Four Seasons as "Morning Glory," Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty as "Lilac Fairy," "Coppelia" as "Swanilda."and recently as a sister in La Fille Mal Gardee. She performed annually with the Moscow Ballet Russian Nutcracker. Additional dance training includes modern dance and she has been a long time member of SJ Sign and Dance team. She was chosen by . Dr. D to assist in teaching Pre-Ballet and Ballet 1 classes under the her tutelage. She has a passion for bringing the beauty of ballet to our beginner and intermediate dancers! Children are her passion! Training and developing young children to become aware of their bodies and the strength they have to express themselves through dance movement while seeing them develop confidence and find their space, is a amazing addition to their foundation.

Marcella Eckerle - Substitute Teacher

Marcella Eckerle was born in Buffalo, NY where she was introduced to the ballet studio at the age of four. It wasn’t until she lived in Tampa where she found her true spirit and discovery of the proper classical ballet schooling, under the instruction of Carol Lee Spielberger and Errki Tann, the ballet mistress and ballet maestro of the former Tampa Ballet, now the Patel Conservatory. Through these two influential teachers for the past 21 years, Marcella discovered the fundamental schooling of classical ballet under the Moscow/Vaganova syllabus. During this 21-year period, she also attended the dance department at the University of South Florida.

She performed in the Nutcracker and variations from Paquita (one solo, the “Cupid” variation, under private training from Tann). She continued to dance after Tann’s passing in late 2016, however synchronicity and fate led her to her new ballet home, and she joined Ballet Academy of St. Petersburg in the fall of 2020, where she has continued her Vaganova training and education under the ballet pedagogue, Dusanka Ivanova, PHD. She became a soloist with this company and performed Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in the Spring of 2021. Marcella taught children at Dancemakers studio in Tampa, Fl. The ages ranged from 6- 15 years of age

at three different levels. She has also taught adults for Carol Lee on and off through the years as a substitute. Early on, Dusanka continued to see this passion and schooling in her, asking her to substitute teach when she was absent, and instilling the collaboration of artistry, musicality, and movement, which are the qualities that are essential for dancers. Teaching and dancing, which are a dedication and discipline, embodies her spirit in which she has a passion to pass on the priceless knowledge Carol Lee, Errki, and now Dusanka, have instilled in her. Her vision is to preserve the proper schooling, along with the joy and passion of dance, into the lives of others.