INSTRUCTORS
Esther Hansen
Artistic Director
Mendocino Ballet
Esther Hansen, an accomplished dance instructor, choreographer, and dancer. A former student of the Mendocino Ballet Company, Hansen has spent the past two years back at the studio. She brings a wealth of experience in ballet, contemporary dance, and Pilates to her new position, having taught students of all levels and created standout choreography, including the piece “Waiting for Daylight” for Mendocino Ballet’s “Dance Classics”. This work was selected for performance at the Regional Dance America National Festival in Florida.
Hansen was trained in both the Vaganova and Cecchetti ballet technique, here at the Mendocino Ballet under Mary Knight Morris (Ford Foundation Scholarship student of the San Francisco Ballet and Masters Degree in Dance from University of California), Trudy McCreanor (former Director of Mendocino Ballet and Colorado West Ballet) and Susan Wilcox (danced with the Scottish-American Ballet, Long Beach Ballet and Eugene Ballet). At 16 she was accepted and trained by the American Ballet Theater for their summer intensive program. In 2005 Hansen was awarded the Helen Cochran Scholarship for Dance in Sonoma County. Esther went on to dance with Artesan Dance Company, a startup dance company with a fusion of contemporary and modern dance styles. The company was born in Redding CA, but went on to perform in Paris, France, as well as Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival at the Inside/Out Summer Dance Series. During this time, Hansen was trained under Diane Venora (Julliard Graduate) in acting, stage presence, and dance theater work. In 2019 Esther received her certification in Pilates through the Long Beach Dance Conditioning program in Orange County, with a special focus on biomechanics and therapeutic movement.
In her new role, Hansen aims to continue inspiring and educating dancers, while nurturing their creative potential. With a certification in Pilates and a focus on biomechanics, she is dedicated to providing a comprehensive, holistic approach to dance education. Her philosophy emphasizes collaboration, self-expression, discipline, and the freedom that dance offers.
Trudy McCreanor
Retired Artistic Director
Mendocino Ballet
Ms. McCreanor is Founder and past Artistic Director of Colorado West Ballet and Performing Arts Center. Trained in Pittsburgh with Charlotte Mady, she also studied with Barbara Weissberger of the Pennsylvania Ballet and Ballet Master, George Zoritch. She was awarded a full scholarship to the North Carolina School of the Arts at the age of 14 and went on to study dance and theatre arts at Stephens College, the University of Missouri and at Columbia College on full scholarship for artistic merit and academic achievement. She also studied with masters Luigi and Gus Giordano in Jazz technique, Finus Jhung and David Howard in Classical Ballet, and Michael Kravitz in Modern Dance, among others.
Ms. McCreanor was hired in July 2001 to direct the Mendocino Ballet Company and create the Mendocino Ballet School where she has implemented a comprehensive, professional Classical Ballet training program for the serious dancer and a multi-discipline recreational dance program including ballet, tap, jazz, modern and contemporary dance, character dance, creative dance, and more for students of all ages from 3 through adult. She retired as Artistic Director this last year, December 31, 2024. She continues to serve the dance community by being President of the Regional Dance America (RDA) Pacific, here on the west coast.
Jessica Howlett
Jessica Howlett has been studying ballet and modern dance since she was six, with training in both Vaganova and Royal Academy of Dance methods. She has studied all over the country with teachers such as Robert Guy Desrosiers, Jillana, and Violette Verdy, and in the Bay Area with Wendy Diamond, Kaori Ogasawara, and Nicole Liboiron.
Jessica is teaching the following classes in our Art of Classical Ballet Program: Beginning I & II, Apprentice I, and Corps and Company classes.
Morgan Cummings
Morgan Cummings has been dancing with Mendocino Ballet since she was 8. She trained at summer intensives with the Sacramento Ballet, City Ballet of San Francisco, Bossov Ballet in Maine, and American Ballet Theater in New York City.
She has been teaching for the Mendocino Ballet since 2011, and enjoys helping her students to improve their skills and understand steps as well as choreographing some of the dances they perform in Nutcracker and our Spring show.
Paloma Rodriguez
Paloma has been teaching with the Mendocino Ballet for the last few years. Her joy and enthusiasm for dance and creative movement is contagious. She also collaborates with the dance program at Mendocino College and has a passion for dance theatre . She has choreographed several works for both film and stage on dancers in the college program and dancers here at the Mendocino Ballet.
STUDENT TEACHERS
Reagan Frost
Reagan is 15 years old and has been dancing with the Mendocino Ballet since she was 3 years old. She is now in the Company and has been a student of the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive in San Francisco the last two summers. She is excited to be teaching our upcoming dancers, and share her love of ballet.
Reagan is continuing to teach the Pre - Ballet for 3-5 year olds as well as the Intro to Ballet II class, for 6-8 year olds, both on Thursdays.
Jocelyn Torres
Jocelyn is 16 years old and has been dancing with the Mendocino Ballet since she was 3 years old. She enjoys teaching and passing along her love of ballet and creative movement to the students in her classes. She is excited to teach this summer at our Summer Dance Camp!
Jocelyn is continuing to teach Pre - Ballet for 3-5 year olds as well as the Intro to Ballet I class, for 5-6 year olds, on Fridays.
Costume Mistress
Susanna Cummings
Susanna Cummings has been our Costume Mistress since 2005. She has been such a wonderful cornerstone here at the Mendocino Ballet. Some of our costumes we have had for over 35 years and she brings them back to life! We so appreciate all the work she does each year for our spring and annual Nutcracker performances and has always been such a huge support of the arts in this community.
Mary Knight Morris
Founder of
Mendocino Ballet
Knight began teaching dance in Ukiah in 1976 for Mendocino College and started Mary Knight’s Dance Studio in 1979. She founded Mendocino Ballet in 1985 and retired in 2001. Knight was a Ford Foundation scholarship student at San Francisco Ballet and later received a Master’s Degree in Dance at University of California, Los Angeles. She has studied the Russian (Vaganova) Method of teaching. Before moving to Mendocino County, Knight taught ballet and dance history at Sonoma State University. Knight has trained many local dancers here at the Mendocino Ballet, who have gone on to have professional dance careers.