Directors and Master Teachers
Artistic Director Thom Clower
Known as one of the most energetic and inspiring teachers across the country, Thom Clower’s “evangelistic” approach to teaching has touched the lives and careers of dancers around the world for 40 years. With extensive training in the Vaganova, Balanchine, Cecchetti, and Bournonville styles, Mr. Clower combines the qualities of each one to present a technique that is true and versatile.
Making his stage debut at the age of six, Mr. Clower began his professional training with George Skibine and Marjorie Tallchief at the Dallas Civic Ballet in 1968. He received a Ford Foundation Scholarship to the School of American Ballet in New York for two consecutive years, and also studied in Paris, Amsterdam, and London. He joined Dallas Ballet in 1978 where he spent eleven seasons performing with the company under Mr. Skibine and Flemming Flindt, and served as assistant Ballet Master for Dallas Ballet’s 1980 South American tour.As Ballet Master, Mr. Clower assisted Flindt in staging his full-length NUTCRACKER, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and PHAEDRA, and personally administrated the staging of Alvin Ailey’s THE RIVER, John Cranko’s JEU DE CARTES, Jeri Kylian’s ENGULFED CATHERDRAL, Fokine’s PRINCE IGOR and LES SYLPHIDES, and many others.
Mr. Clower served as Founding Artistic Director of the restructured Ballet Dallas and the affiliate school, the Dallas Conservatory of Ballet. Under his direction, Ballet Dallas was the resident professional ballet company for the Dallas area for eight years, carrying on the traditions of the former company. Mr. Clower served as Ballet Master for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, working closely with founding Artistic Director Lou Conte. In this capacity, he was primary teacher for the company and rehearsal director for works by Twyla Tharp, Nacho Duato, Daniel Ezerlow, and Kevin O’Day. Mr. Clower then served four seasons as Artistic Director of Yuma Ballet Theatre (AZ), and Ballet Master of the affiliate school, Dancers Workshop. He was a regular guest teacher at Allegro Ballet of Houston from 2009-2018.
As a representative of the George Skibine Trust, Mr. Clower helps maintain the integrity of Mr. Skibine’s ballets, staging them across the country.
He served on selection panels for the City of Dallas, Tarrant County, and both the Texas and Arizona Commission on the Arts Peer Review Panels. He was awarded the prestigious Legacy Award for Achievement in the Arts by the Dallas Dance Council in 2000, and placed in the Yuma Ballet Theatre’s Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2017 he was asked to serve on the Board of Directors of the Dance Council of North Texas.
Believing very strongly in Regional Dance America, Mr. Clower has served as the Director of Ballet at numerous RDA Craft of Choreography Conferences (NCI). He has been a guest teacher for Regional Festivals since 1992, and was a guest teacher at the RDA National Festivals in 1997, 2007, and 2017. Mr. Clower has proudly served in the capacity of Adjudicator for RDA/NE (00), RDA/Mid States (03, 20), SERBA (13, 19), and RDA/SW (17 National Festival in Phoenix, AZ). He was Ballet Faculty at The Glenda Brown Choreography Project many times since its inception.
Mr. Clower has staged and created ballets for companies all over the United States. He has also worked with many opera companies, including the Santa Fe Opera, the Dallas Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Dallas. Companies have performed his choreography all over the world.
Since 2001 Thom Clower has worked around the world as a freelance master teacher and choreographer. His work has included regional companies and schools, and he has been a guest teacher at professional companies such as Oklahoma City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and Atlanta Ballet. He has been a guest teacher at Broadway Dance Center, Associate Ballet Master for Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and has served annually as Ballet Master for Young! Tanzsommer – Stars of Tomorrow International since 2002.
Executive Director Tammie Reinsch
is a Texas native and has been dancing since the age of three. Her training was received at Lewisville Dance Academy where Lisa Slagle began teaching in Tammie’s high school years. She is a classically trained dancer in all forms of dance and gravitated towards jazz, tap, modern and contemporary. Tammie was unable to pursue a professional career due to a knee injury but recognizes this was not the path chosen for her.
When she joined Ballet Academy of Texas in 1999, she worked closely with Lisa Slagle to shape the jazz, tap, modern and contemporary program to reflect what the students were learning in their ballet level. She sets a positive atmosphere for all her classes. You will frequently hear her say “Just keep swimming!” and “Smile and move your feet!” As the dancers mature, she loves to teach the skill of improvisation as it cultivates artistry. She feels that each student has something to learn and something to offer.
Tammie has been a resident choreographer for the Ballet Ensemble of Texas since its formation in 2001. Her choreography includes The Race, No Pressure, and Jumpin Jack which was reviewed as “smart and snappy.” Her work Anzzziety was chosen to be performed at the Regional Dance America and her Generation# was performed across the metroplex and received the Outstanding Choreography Award from Youth America Grand Prix in 2018. Unity, which she created for BET’s 2019 Celebration of Dance review read “Tammie is known for her exceptionally creative choreography. Ms. Reinsch showcases the dancers, unity as a group and everything it represents: overall camaraderie, respect, trust, and what it means to be an artist.” Most recently she created In a Nutshell. Since 2003, The Dance Council of North Texas has awarded many scholarships to our Ballet Academy students based on her solo contemporary work. Her students have also received many awards and recognition from Youth America Grand Prix with her choreography and coaching.
She is honored to have been part of the training of students who have decided to pursue dance professionally as well as those who will forever have dance as part of their lives. She cherishes the continued relationships with her students upon graduation of the school. It’s truly a beautiful bonus gift to be a part of their lives. Tammie is excited to be the next director of Ballet Academy of Texas and to continue the legacy of the school.
Founding Director Lisa Slagle
began her professional dancing career at the age of 11 when she appeared as a solo dancer in the Elvis Presley movie, Clambake. She performed as a soloist and principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet in New York in the 1970’s. In the 1980’s she performed as a soloist with the Ballet du Grande Theatre de Geneve, and as a principal dancer with Tulsa Ballet Theatre. She has studied with world-renowned teachers in the Russian, Cecchetti, and Bournonville techniques. She is on the Advisory Board for American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum, and has been a Master Teacher in American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensives nationally for 8 years. She was a Master Teacher at the International Ballet Competition School in Jackson, MS, and at the Regional Dance Festival in 2016. In the Spring of 2018 she had the honor of being the Adjudicator for the RDA/NE Festival. Her choreography has been commissioned by such notable national schools as Orlando Ballet School and Washington Ballet.
JENNY JOHNSTON
has taught on the ballet staff of Dallas Ballet, Ballet Dallas, and the Arts Magnet High School. She received her BFA in Ballet at TCU while also performing as a soloist with the Fort Worth Ballet. Ms. Johnston has been teaching advanced and intermediate ballet for the Academy for the past twenty years. Her choreography for the Ballet Ensemble of Texas, the Academy’s resident ballet company, received the Regional Dance America National Commissioning Award in 2009.
LINDSEY YOES DANIEL
is in her fourth season as Ballet Ensemble of Texas’ Ballet Master. She received her training at the Ballet Academy of Texas and was a leading dancer with the Ballet Ensemble of Texas for several years. She has performed professionally with The Dallas Opera, Texas Dance Theatre, Larwell Productions and Dallas Black Dance Theater II; where she was also the Assistant Director to Nycole Ray. Lindsey has worked with many renown choreographers, including Fernando Bujones and Gordon Pierce Schmidt. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Psychology, and Development and Family Studies from University of North Texas, she attended University of Oklahoma on scholarship for collegiate dance training, and is certified in the American Ballet Theaters Curriculum for the Primary level through Level Three.