Meet our Team at
Nunnbetter Dance Theatre
Kimberly Galberaith is proud to be the Director of Nunnbetter Dance Theatre. Kimberly fell in love with Ballet at the age of 9 in Lakeland, FL at Highland School of Dance. She knew immediately that dance was her passion and continued to study, eventually training and apprenticing with the Tampa Ballet, the Milwaukee Ballet and then at North Carolina School of the Arts where she studied with such greats as Duncan Noble, Robert Lindgren and Balanchine ballerina, Melissa Hayden.
After shifting her focus from ballet to theater dance and moving to NYC, Kimberly was thrilled to be part of both the International and National tours of West Side Story. She was seen regionally in productions of A Chorus Line, Funny Girl, Fiddler on the Roof, Music Man, and other great musical theater classics. When Kimberly was cast in a regional production of Nunsense as the Sister Leo, the “ballerina Nun”, she put her fouetté turns to good use. Kimberly went on to perform that role in numerous companies across the country and in the Off-Broadway company in New York City.
As a choreographer, Kimberly has worked on productions of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Dames At Sea, A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Forever Plaid, West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz, Bye Bye Birdie, 42nd Street and others. She was also a Director/Choreographer for The Broadway Kids, a professional group of child Broadway stars who are most remembered for their musical CD series.
Kimberly has been the resident Director/Choreographer at Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township, NJ for nearly 3 decades. In addition to creating 30 full stage productions, Kimberly has helped hundreds of high school students experience the joys of being on stage. She is proud to follow many of these students as they become professional dancers, actors, singers, parents and incredible citizens.
Kimberly’s passion is working with young dancers and helping them find and embrace their creativity. She believes that a strong foundation in dance, and of course proper technique, helps to build not only beautiful dancers, but confident and responsible people.
Kimberly’s most important roles by far are those of wife to her partner of over 30 years, Jodi, and mother to Grace and Jack.
Pamela Cardona began her dance career in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She was a Cecchetti trained ballerina and a soloist with the Berkshire Ballet where she performed as a principal dancer in “ The Nutcracker,” “Petrouchka,” and “Coppelia.” Her summers were spent dancing at Jacob’s Pillow and the Tanglewood Music Festival studying with Karel Shook, Hector Zaraspe, Francis Patrelle, Igor Youskevitch, and David Howard. She received a dance scholarship to The Julliard School where she performed in numerous productions at Alice Tully Hall in NY City. Her professional career took her to Harford, Connecticut, as a member of the Connecticut Dance Theater. Pam’s favorite role was the doll in “Petrouchka” set by Vitale Fokine, famed son of Michael Fokine. She has taught dance in Teaneck, Ridgewood, and New York with students ranging from pre-ballet through professional. Miss Pam is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through level 7 and Partnering of the ABT National Training Curriculum.
Violet Hartman began her dance training at the age of fourteen at Nunnbetter Dance Theatre in Bergen County, New Jersey, under the direction of Leath Nunn. In 2015 she was accepted to the DeSales University Dance Program, where she trained in ballet and modern and contemporary dance with faculty Tim Cowart, Trinette Singleton, and Julia Mayo. While at DeSales, Violet performed in works by Er Dong Hu, Julia Mayo, and Emily Schoen. Violet has performed and taught ballroom and Latin styles for Arthur Murray Dance, as well as completed two teaching rotations with Juntos Dance Collective as a global teacher, leading virtual workshops bilingually in Guatemala as well as San Francisco. She has studied at the Paul Taylor Summer Intensive in 2017 and 2018 and, most recently, the 2022 Winter Intensive. Violet is also a current scholarship student at the Taylor School in the Professional Division. Violet is now a New Jersey/ New York City-based freelance artist and current company member of Nikki Manx Dance Project, she is also a faculty member of Heart in Motion Dance in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Lili began studying in Caracas, Venezuela and received her greatest guidance under Nina Novak in the Vaganova Method. At age 11, she was accepted into the Royal Ballet School in London, England. Four years later, she graduated to the Royal Ballet Upper School, where she studied for 3 more years while also performing as an apprentice with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. She was offered a contract with the Saddler’s Wells Royal Ballet, dancing in the corps de ballet and was soon thereafter promoted to coryphée and then soloist.
Lili began studying in Caracas, Venezuela and received her greatest guidance under Nina Novak in the Vaganova Method. At age 11, she was accepted into the Royal Ballet School in London, England. Four years later, she graduated to the Royal Ballet Upper School, where she studied for 3 more years while also performing as an apprentice with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. She was offered a contract with the Saddler’s Wells Royal Ballet, dancing in the corps de ballet and was soon thereafter promoted to coryphée and then soloist.
Lili was fortunate to work with, and create roles for, some of the most prominent choreographers of the 20th century including Dame Ninette de Valois, Sir Peter Wright, Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Rudolph Nureyev and David Bintley, to name but a few. While with the Saddler’s Wells Royal Ballet she participated in the company’s many international tours, dancing in all the major classics as well as contemporary works.
Upon arriving in the United States, she performed a variety of principle guest work with other companies, including the title role in Cinderella with Ballet Arizona. Since retiring from performing, Lili has taught at many studios throughout California, Arizona, New York and New Jersey, at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels. Throughout her teaching years, Lili has given private lessons and coached students for upcoming roles and auditions. She has also choreographed, rehearsed and mounted productions for bi-annual performances, as well as creating small group pieces for competitions, which won top awards.
ABT® Certified Teacher in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Robin Mahboeb was pleased to join the faculty of Nunnbetter in 2005 as well as joining other members of the teaching staff and school in Verissimo Opera’s production of L’Elxir D’amore by Donizetti.
Robin has trained with Larry Boyette in Denver, Colorado, Frank Bays and Pat Hon at the Cornish Institute of Arts in Seattle, Washington, and Maggie Black in New York City. She has performed with Ballet Arts in Company, Cornish Dance Theatre, Palisades Performing Arts Center, Debra Weiss Dance Company, and The Mantis Project.
Robin has taught at the Community Playgroup in Piermont, New York, and the Palisades Performing Arts Center. In addition to teaching ballet at Nunnbetter she has also choreographed several pieces for the student company.
Robin lives in Rockland County, New York with her husband and four children.
Kerri Mather has danced professionally for over fifteen years. As a long-time member of the modern repertory company, Rondo American Dance Theatre, she toured the United States and abroad. While with the company, she performed classic modern works by choreographers such as Jose Limon, Moses Pendelton, and Charles Weidman, as well as personally working with Anna Sokolow, Murry Lewis, Pauline Koner, Paul Sanasardo, Doug Verone and others.
Kerri was also a founding member of New York City’s Rosanna Gamson/ Worldwide, a multi-media dance company now based in Los Angeles. Even though she no longer performs with Gamson, she had the extreme pleasure of traveling to Mexico City to help create “Aura”, a dance piece with Gamson, that received its United States premier in Los Angeles at the Redcat Theatre. She’s also performed leading dance roles with Verissmo Opera Company at Bergen PAC in Englewood, NJ.
In 2009 she had the incredible opportunity to teach a master class for Nina Novak (of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo) in Caracus, Venezuela, as well as for Martha Gomez on the beautiful island of Margarita.
In 2012 she was chosen to create a children’s movement program for the research project, Optimal Defaults in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity, under Dr. Katharine Loeb in the Clinical Psychology Dept. at Fairleigh Dickinson University. .
Kerri holds a BFA in dance from the University of Illinois / Champaign-Urbana. She has taken great pleasure in teaching modern dance at Nunnbetter Dance Theatre and creative movement classes for the township of Teaneck since 2003.
Wendy Otis is a lifetime resident of Teaneck, NJ. She began dancing at age 3. Her initial training was through the Royal Academy of Dance, and she continued her studies with the School of American Ballet, Dance, Inc., and New Jersey Ballet. A graduate from Douglass College, Rutgers University, Wendy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry, as well as a Masters of Science in Elementary Education. Prior to becoming the Artistic Director of Dance, Inc., Wendy worked as an analytical chemist for the Hartz Mountain Corporation.
Wendy is an accomplished teacher and choreographer who enjoys working with students of all ages and levels. In 1990, she took over as Artistic Director of Dance Inc. (Teaneck), teaching Creative Movement, all levels of Ballet (child and adult), as well as all levels of Jazz. During this time Wendy created Dance, Inc. Repertory Company and one of her greatest joys was watching her students bloom into beautiful young artists.
Wendy has been working alongside Leath Nunn since NDT was founded in 1998, assisting with all NDT school and company productions, as well as working individually with students as a private coach. She has been on the faculty of Roosevelt Elementary School in River Edge, NJ for 11 years, following 8 years in the New York City Public School System. Wendy has been awarded Teacher of the Year at Roosevelt Elementary School and is praised for her teaching both in the dance studio and in the classroom.
Wendy is very excited to work under the new direction of Kim Galberaith and Portia Moldez, and is thrilled to be part of the continued excellence of dance training at Nunnbetter Dance Theatre.
Tierney Sorensen is a dance artist and teacher born and raised in New Jersey. She began her training at Jamie’s Dance Odyssey under the direction of Jamie Down. She also received private ballet training from Barbara Sandonato and Gabriella Yudenich. Sorensen trained with The Koresh Dance Company in Philadelphia and was a member of the Koresh Youth Ensemble, directed by Melissa Rector. She attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, under the direction of Susan Jaffe and Brenda Daniels, where she received her BFA in Contemporary Dance in May of 2018.
At UNCSA, Tierney performed works by Trish Casey, Natalie Desch, Sean Sullivan, Dawn Bazemore, Merce Cunningham, Brenda Daniels, Paul Taylor, Shen Wei, Aszure Barton, Robyn Mineko Williams, and Martha Graham. She attended Shen Wei Dance Arts and Paul Taylor intensives and American Dance Festival’s Summer intensive, where she performed excerpts from Shen Wei’s RE: III, staged by Sara Procopio. Sorensen was also selected to attend the Kyoto International Dance Workshop Festival in Kyoto, Japan where she took classes with artists from all over the world. Tierney worked as a Kenan Fellow with Lincoln Center Education where she continued to learn skills to be a teaching artist and presented her first full-length work at Lincoln Center’s Clark Studio Theater. Tierney performed professionally with Bryce Dance Company based in New York City and taught in New York City public schools with Dancing Classrooms and FEMCHO. In the Summer of 2022, Tierney was chosen as a Dance Artist to attend Moulin/Belle in Mareuil en Périgord, France for a dance residency where she worked on choreography for her subsequent work.
Currently, Tierney teaches all over the New Jersey and New York areas and teaches with the Kupferberg Center for the Arts. Tierney loves sharing her passion for dance with students of all levels and ages and she hopes to instill that love of dance into her students.
Meet our Team at
Nunnbetter Dance Theatre Company
Ernie Prinz is a choreographer and dancer from Detroit, Michigan trained in musical theater, ballet, jazz, and specializing in broadway jazz. He attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC on scholarship and graduated in 2006, continuing his BFA at the New School in Manhattan. He has performed regionally in numerous shows including 42nd Street, Me and My Girl, Jesus Christ Superstar, and GYPSY. Ernie had the pleasure to dance and perform in an original pas de deux, “Echo”, by Tony Award nominated choreographer Margo Sappington. He has worked with the Nunnbetter Dance Theatre for over 10 years, dancing in their annual production of The Nutcracker as the Snow Cavalier and Arabian Sultan, along with Prince Seigfried in Swan Lake, Spring Waters, Wolf in Peter in the Wolf and “Adiemus” by Thom Clower. He has also performed with Ballet for Young Audiences, and Direct Dance Ensemble.
Recently, Ernie was featured as Mother Ginger representing Universal Studios in the 90th MACY’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for NBC. His choreography has been featured across the nation, and recognized at Youth America Grand Prix succeeding to the New York Finals.
Ernie joined the faculty of Nunnbetter Dance Theatre in 2009, and recently became the Artistic Director under the guidance of his mentor Leath Nunn.
Prima Ballerina and Master Teacher Eleanor D’Antuono was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and studied dance with Maria Papporello and E. Virginia Williams who later founded the Boston Ballet. In 1954 at the age of fourteen, she began her professional career with the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo. Within two years, she was performing solo roles in the Company’s full repertoire and on a world tour. After leaving the Ballet Russes, in 1960, she danced a season with the Robert Joffrey Ballet.
Ms. D’Antuono joined American Ballet Theatre as a soloist in 1961. She was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1963. In 20 years as a Principal and Prima Ballerina with ABT she received accolades from public and press alike. “Eleanor D’Antuono has long been one of the glories of American Ballet Theatre. She has a style and beauty that are all her own… her technique is stunning,” said the New York Times. Her leading roles have included Coppelia, Etudes, Giselle, Raymonda, the Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Tales of Hoffman, La Fille Mal Gardee, Gaite Parisienne and many other classical ballets. Inspired by her fiery virtuosity and her unique lyricism, many leading choreographers created original roles for Ms. D’Antuono in ballets such as Alvin Ailey’s The River, Brahams Quartet, Elektra, Balladen de Lieber, Kinderzanen and Lorenzo Monreal’s Romeo and Juliet. Other ballets in Ms. D’Antuono’s repertoire include La Bayadere, Jardin Aux Lilas, Corsaire, Theme and Variations, Diane and Acteon, Don Quixote and was granted permission by Bolshoi Ballet’s Yuri Grigorovitch to perform his spectacular pas de deux from “Spartacus” which she danced at the metropolitan Opera House. A much sought- after partner, Ms. D’Antuono performed with the leading premier danseurs, including Rudolf Nureyev, Alexaner Godunov, Royes Fernandez, Paolo Bortoluzzi, Fernando Bujones, to name a few.
Ms. D’Antuono has been invited to perform all over the world. She appeared at the International Ballet Festival in Havana for several years at invitation of Alicia Alonso. She was the first American ballerina to appear as a guest artist with the legendary Kirov Ballet in Leningrad and the first American Ballerina to appear as a guest artist with Mainland Chinese Companies. As a performer, Ms. D’Antuono’s fiery virtuosity has been applauded by audiences on virtually every continent of the world, and her unique lyricism and bravura technique have made her one of this century’s great ballerinas.
Since her retirement from active performing in 1986, Ms. D’Antuono has been Artistic Director to Festival Dance Theatre and Artistic Advisor in residence, teaching and coaching to The New Jersey Ballet, also Resident Coach and Artistic Advisor for the Nutmeg Ballet. She is highly in demand to teach and coach professional and regional ballet companies nationwide including American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet School, and has staged many classical ballets. Her affiliations include serving as the Artistic Director of the New York International Ballet Competition since 1994, serving on the board for the Harkness Ballet Foundation and as a dance panelist to the New York State Council on the Arts.
Recipient of many dance awards including First Gubernatorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Dance, New York State, 1979, Arts Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Art of Ballet, Columbia University, 1979, Rebekah Harkness Dance Award, 1980, the UNICEF Femme Mystique-Legendary Women Recognition Award for being the first American Ballerina to be invited to dance with the Kirov Ballet and to be invited to dance with Mainland Chinese companies,1997.
Ms. Catalana received her dance training from the Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education in Rochester, NY. Courtney joined Rochester City Ballet in 2009 and remained with the company until the summer of 2013. Ms. Catalana’s favorite roles with the company include Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, and Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade. She also had the opportunity to perform work by Artistic Director, Jamey Leverett at Jacob’s Pillow. Courtney later joined BalletMet Columbus where she danced roles such as Cygnets from Swan Lake and was a featured soloist in Edwaard Liang’s Of Heaven and Earth. Following BalletMet, Courtney joined the Dayton Ballet where she enjoyed such roles as Wendy in Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, the title Role in Cinderella, the Snow Queen in the Nutcracker, the dual role of Katerina/Lucy in Karen Russo Burke’s Dracula: Bloodlines, as well as featured contemporary works by Amy Seiwert, Jessica Lang, Septime Webre, and Melissa Barak. Ms. Catalana was chosen to compete in the prestigious New York International Ballet Competition (2009), and the Boston International Ballet Competition (2012).