River Raisin Ballet Staff
Artistic Directors
Gail Choate-Pettit
Company Director
Gail Choate-Pettit, Diploma Fellow of the Cecchetti Council of America, holds a B.S. in English from Eastern Michigan University, graduating summa cum laude. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Cecchetti Council of America, a national organization which trains, examines, and offers certification for teachers and students in classical ballet. She is a Permanent Examiner examining ballet students and teachers who are seeking certification, the Summer School Coordinator organizing the two-week intensive ballet program held on the campus of Hope College, as well as the CCA Business Administrator.
Gail received the prestigious Sylvia Hamer/Margaret Marsh Scholarship to study abroad and has attended Cecchetti Ballet Teachers' Courses in England and Canada. She danced with the Detroit City Ballet Company under the direction of Marjorie Hassard and has studied with Dawn Greene, Betty Bandyk, and Marjorie Randazzo.
Gail has presented successful teacher and student candidates through the advanced levels and has trained students who have danced in professional ballet companies, such as Miami City Ballet, Richmond Ballet, North Carolina Ballet; students who have attended year-round pre-professional schools such as the School of American Ballet in New York City and the Virginia School of the Arts; and students who have attended prestigious universities, majoring in dance who are now successfully employed in the dance field.
She is currently on faculty at the River Raisin Centre for the Arts in Monroe where she teaches classical ballet and serves as the Director of the River Raisin Ballet Company setting full-length productions of the annual Nutcracker, Coppelia, Cinderella, Graduation Ball, Peter and the Wolf as well as presenting premiere performances such as The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan. Away from the RRCA, she is a frequent guest teacher for student workshops and teacher seminars across the United States and has been a guest faculty member for Dance Masters of America.
Melissa Moore
Assistant Company Director
Melissa Moore holds a B.A. in Dance Performance from Western Michigan University. As a scholarship student, Melissa danced soloist roles in Giselle and in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?
Melissa also attended, on scholarship, the University of Michigan where she studied modern dance with Peter Sparling and Sandra DeYoung.
She performed in the ballets Carmen and Raymonda with the Ballet Concerto of Fort Worth, Texas. Melissa has also performed contemporary works at the La Femme Dance Concert in Louisville, Kentucky. She began her early training from Gail Choate-Pettit in Monroe with additional studies at the Kirov Ballet Academy, Cleveland Ballet School, the Milwaukee Ballet as well as studies in England and Denmark. As a member of the Monroe Ballet Company, she performed soloist roles in Nutcracker, Cinderella, Le Sylphide, Coppelia and Graduation Ball. As a part of the River Raisin MusicTheater Company, she has danced in 42nd Street, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Chicago.
Melissa holds the Advanced Professional Certificate from the Cecchetti Council of America and is currently a member teacher of the CCA.
| Julie Merz Rehearsal Mistress |
Dyanne Howland Costume Mistress |
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River Raisin Ballet General Committee
Gail Choate-Pettit
Melissa Moore
Julie Merz
Laura Langmeyer
Jeff Boze
Dyanne Howland
Lucy Ingels
John & Laura McCarthy