Faculty
Our Professional Dance Faculty have performed with many well-respected Dance Companies such as: Alvin Ailey 2, Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, River North Dance Chicago, Dance 2XS, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Atlanta Ballet, Luna Negra Dance Theatre, Especially Tap Company, Chi-Town Jazz Dance Company, Inaside Chicago Dance, Thodos Dance Chicago, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet, Piel Morena Contemporary Dance, and Chicago Repertory Ballet.
Scroll & click below to read more about our Professional Dance Faculty!
Lisa Gold
Lisa Gold, Director of North Shore School of Dance, holds a B.A. in Dance from Barat College. The foundation of her dance training was at the Carol Walker Dance Studio, Rory Foster Dance Studio, Joseph Holmes, and Gus Giordano Dance Center. She performed with the Mesa Community Dance Theatre, Zephyr Dance Ensemble, Emergence Dance Theatre, Rockford Ballet and the Barat Repertory Dance Company. Lisa was on the faculty of the Barat Conservatory of Dance for sixteen years teaching ballet and modern dance. Lisa recently received a Professional Award from the Royal Academy of Dance for Adult Teaching Practice. NSSD became a recognized member of the National Dance Education Organization through Lisa’s continued efforts to maintain the highest quality of dance education for her school.
Miguel Blanco
Miguel was born in Havana, Cuba and trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba. Prior to joining the Joffrey Ballet in 2009, he performed as a principal dancer with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, under the artistic direction of Alicia Alonso.
While dancing with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Blanco performed in Paris, London, Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, the United States, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, China and Egypt. Some principal roles with the company include Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried), Don Quixote (Basilio, Espada), Giselle (Albrecht), and Coppelia (Franz).
Since joining the Joffrey Ballet, Blanco has performed in a variety of works, including lead roles in Lar Lubovitch's Othello (Othello), Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake (Prince Sigfried) and The Nutcracker (Impresario), Ashton's Cinderella (Prince), Ronald Hynd's Merry Widow (Danilo), Kristof Pastor's Romeo and Juliet (Romeo) and Joffrey's The Nutcracker (Cavalier). He has created leading roles in Stanton Welch's Son of Chamber and James Kudelka's Pretty Ballet. Other significant performances include Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain, Liturgy, and Continuum, Jerome Robbins' In the Night (2nd Pas) and The Concert (Husband), Balanchine's Stravinsky Violin Concerto (Aria I) and The Four Temperaments (Sanguinic), Kylian's Forgotten Land (Black Pas), Yuri Possikov's Bells and Anna Karenina, Anthony Tudor’s Lilac Garden, Edwaard Liang's Age of Innocence, and Le Corsaire Pas de Deux
April Daly
Special Guest Faculty
Ms. Daly, native of Rockford, Illinois, studied with the Rockford Dance Company and later attended the New School University/Joffrey Ballet BFA program in New York. Ms. Daly also danced for two seasons with The Washington Ballet prior to joining the Joffrey.
Since joining The Joffrey Ballet in 2003, Ms. Daly has performed a variety of works, including lead roles in Christopher Wheeldon's Swan Lake (Odette/Odile), John Neumeier's Sylvia (Sylvia), Yuri Possokhov's Don Quixote (Kitri, Mercedes, Queen of the Dryads), Lar Lubovitch's Othello(Desdemona), Frederic Franklin's Giselle (Myrtha, Moyna), Frederick Ashton's Cinderella (Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, Autumn Fairy), Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow(Valencienne), Krzysztof Pastor's Romeo & Juliet (Juliet), Stanton Welch's La Bayadère (Gazmatti), , and Joffrey's The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum). Other significant performances include Jerome Robbins' In the Night (2nd Pas) and The Concert (or, The Perils of Everybody) (The Ballerina, The Wife); Balanchine's Stravinsky Violin Concerto (Aria I), Stars and Stripes Pas (Liberty Bell), Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Apollo (Calliope), Prodigal Son, and Allegro Brilliante; Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain, Continuum, Liturgy, Fool's Paradise (Main pas), and Carousel (A Dance) (Julie); Antony Tudor's Lilac Garden; Wayne McGregor's Infra; William Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated; Lar Lubovitch's "...smile with my heart;" Jiří Kylián's Forgotten Land (Red Pas, Black Pas); Frederick Ashton's Les Patineurs (Red Girl); Edwaard Liang's Age of Innocence; Alexander Ekman's Tulle; Ashley Page's Tipping Point; and Stanton Welch's Son of Chamber Symphony. In September 2009, she was Dance Magazine's "On the Rise."