Director

Nadia A. Porter Letnaunchyn

“Nadia is a patient, knowledgeable instructor. Perfect for new dancers.”

Mrs. Letnaunchyn is the founding Artistic Director of Mid Atlantic Youth Ballet and Center for Dance Education, Inc. A native of Roebling, NJ, Nadia danced with with Hamilton Ballet Theatre, under the direction of Julie Caprio prior to moving to Maryland in 1996. Mrs. Letnaunchyn received a B.A. in Dance from Goucher College in 2000 with a concentration in dance education, also receiving Maryland State Department of Education Certification in dance, grades 7-12. While a student at Goucher, Mrs. Letnaunchyn was the recipient of the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Scholarship for the Visual and Performing Arts and performed in works by renowned teachers and choreographers, including Gabriel Masson and Virginia Johnson.

Upon graduation, Nadia began her teaching career at Parkville High School in Baltimore County where she developed the school’s comprehensive dance program and instituted “A Community Nutcracker”. This community outreach project engaged over 100 students in grades pre-K through 12 each year for six years in the full length production of this holiday classic.

Mrs. Letnaunchyn has also served on the dance faculty for the Goucher Summer Arts Institute, Carver Preparatory Dance Program, and the Carroll County School for the Performing Arts. In 2008, Mrs. Letnaunchyn received her Master of Arts degree in Arts Administration from Goucher College through which the concept for MYB initially emerged.

Nadia and her husband Brian are parents to four children, Aidan, Maggie, Will and Caroline. Family is the most important thing in her life, and the students and parents at MYB are an important part of that family.

Instructors

Kathryn Jacques

Kathryn began her training at Towson University’s Children’s Dance Division. She later attended the university on scholarship and graduated with Honors with a BFA in Dance Performance. Kathryn spent summers at Baltimore Ballet and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and has performed with the Baltimore Ballet, Harford Ballet Company, Eclipse Performing Dance Company and with independent choreographers. She has been accepted into programs for Richmond Ballet, Ballet Austin, Ballet Theater of Maryland, and Nashville Ballet and received Honorable Mention as a Maryland Distinguished Scholar of the Arts. For over a decade she has taught all levels of ballet and pointe throughout northern Maryland. Her students have been accepted into programs for Boston Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Joffery Ballet, Miami City Ballet and the Carver Center for Arts and Technology to name a few, and have also competed at the Youth America Grand Prix.

Ashley Chapman

Ashley Chapman grew up in Baltimore, Maryland where she started dancing when she was four years old. She began competitive dance at a very young age, earning awards in jazz, tap, and musical theatre. In high school she switched her focus back to the fundamentals and rounded out her ballet and modern technique training with Nadia Letnaunchyn and became a member of Parkville High School’s Dance Ensemble. Ashley was inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts in her sophomore year of high school and was selected as one of the first members of the Baltimore County Honors Dance Ensemble in 2006. This ensemble consists of the top dancers from high schools throughout the Baltimore County Public School system. As a Theatre Major at Morgan State University, Ashley performed in and choreographed for many productions, including projects with the National Portrait Gallery and the Walters Art Museum. She then transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park as a Dance Major in 2008 where she performed in concerts for the Maryland Dance Ensemble as well as many other small projects. While at the University of Maryland she discovered her love of hip hop dance and joined Dynamic Dance Troupe in 2009. In 2011 Ashley began dancing with the professional hip hop troupe Culture Shock® DC where she still serves as an artistic director for one of their youth outreach programs, Mighty Shock® DC. In addition she has danced for local vocal artists and is currently a core member of the Baltimore Dance Crew Project (BDCP). Ashley has been involved with the Mid Atlantic Youth Ballet since its opening in 2007 teaching ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop dance. Through teaching and directing, Ashley carries out her true passion of bringing dance to children of all backgrounds and provides training and mentorship to young dancers who would otherwise not have the opportunity.

Katie Harrison

Katie Harrison was originally trained in ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, lyrical, theatre, tap, hip-hop, and ethnic styles at the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts located in Baltimore, MD. She has competed at national competitions, performed all over the country, and received additional training through nationally known intensives. With this training, she was asked to be a member of Parkville High School’s Dance Company.

At Parkville, she performed as a lead in the Nutcracker for four years and became the President of the National Dance Honor Society. In high school, Katie was offered a dance scholarship from Parkville, and named a 2005 Maryland Distinguished Scholar. During college she was a member of the Salisbury University Dance Company for eight semesters, where she was named Outstanding Dancer 2009, and National Outstanding Dance Minor 2008. She was also a three-time award winning choreographer, and presented her creative process of choreography at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research.

Katie graduated Cum Laude from Salisbury University where she majored in mathematics with concentrations in secondary education and statistics, and minored in dance. Currently, Katie is a math teacher at Kenwood High School located in Essex, MD and is excited to start her seventh year on staff with Mid Atlantic Youth Ballet.

Jenyfer Krauss

Jenyfer Krauss is a dancer, choreographer and teacher. She received her BA in dance from Goucher College and has shared her passion for dance with her students for over 20 years. Ms. Krauss has taught and choreographed for many local dance studios, Harford Community College, as well as in New York. She looks forward to her fourth year at MYB.