Claire Mazza
A native New Yorker, Claire began her dance training at the School of American Ballet, where she was chosen by Madam Dudin to study at the age of nine. While being immersed in the Balanchine style, she studied privately with Francois Perron in order to focus on the classical French technique and attended Studio Maestro (currently Manhattan Youth Ballet) under his and Deborah Wingert’s direction. Claire also received scholarships to attend prestigious summer programs at the Boston Ballet School and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. As a child, Claire had the unique opportunity to perform with New York City Ballet in their productions of “The Nutcracker,” “Firebird,” “Coppelia,” and “Mozartiana.” Upon graduating and after having performed with the Manhattan Youth Ballet Studio Company, Claire launched her professional career and has danced with Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montreal, Brooklyn Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Richmond Ballet, Morales Dance, Staten Island Ballet, St. Peter’s Dance Company, Dances Patrelle, Cello Pointe, and was a soloist with Connecticut Ballet for many years. Claire is currently a soloist with New York City- based company Ballets With a Twist and Kathryn Posin Dance Company. Her repertoire spans classical to contemporary works, and she recently had the pleasure of performing as a principal in Balanchine’s “Who Care’s?” and starred as Titania in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” She has also been seen dancing in television productions such as Kings, Royal Pains, and Elementary. In addition to her thriving dance career, Claire has been featured as a model in Dance Magazine, Pointe Magazine, Italian magazine “Donna,” Kike Calvo’s National Geographic table book “World of Dances,” and in Joe McNally’s Nikon print advertisement. Claire has been teaching dance to students ages three to eighteen for the past ten years, and is currently the Director of the Darien Arts Center Dance Academy.
In 2019, Claire co-founded East Coast Contemporary Ballet.
Alejandro Ulloa
A native of Nicaragua, international freelance artist Alejandro Ulloa began his dance training at the Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Nicaragua under the direction of maestro William Herrera, and launched his professional dance career with the Compañía Ballet de Nicaragua, where he quickly became a principal dancer. He was later invited to be part of the contemporary company Danza Contemporánea Universitaria UNAN-Managua. In 2015, Alejandro and Maestro Herrera launched the first-ever ballet and neoclassical ensemble at the Nicaraguan University, where Alejandro became the Cultural Promoter for the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, as well as Director for the “Taller de Líneas Clásicas.” Later that year, he also became co-producer, teacher, and choreographer for Compañía Ballet de Nicaragua, as well as a ballet and contemporary teacher at the Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Nicaragua. Alejandro’s vast repertoire has ranged from classical to contemporary works, as he has worked with a plethora of directors and choreographers. He has appeared as a guest artist for Gainesville Ballet, Danse Etoile in Costa Rica, Island Moving Company, Neglia Ballet, Ajkun Ballet Theatre, and Connecticut Ballet, among others. He has also participated in many festivals, such as Jacob’s Pillow Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts, APAP Festival in New York City, Bitef Theater and Terazije Theater in Serbia, the International Ballet Gala in Nicaragua, the 50th anniversary of Universidad de Campeche-Mexico, the 20th Anniversary of Fundacion Ballet de El Salvador, and Great Friends Dance Festival in Newport, Rhode Island among others. In addition, Alejandro was an integral part of the Art and Science Unite as Psychological Treatment in Adults and Youth Workshop, developed by the Yale Hispanic Mental Health Clinic, and in 2016, he was awarded the “Artist of International Projection of the Year” by the Nicaraguan Artist Association. Alejandro is currently a member of Ballets with a Twist and Kathryn Posin Dance. He is also a dance instructor for the Darien Arts Center, the New Haven Ballet, and the New England Academy of Dance.
In 2019, Alejandro co-founded East Coast Contemporary Ballet.
