Todd Eric Allen is the Artistic Director/CEO of the Northwest Florida Ballet. He grew up in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and began his training in classical ballet at the age of 14 with Bernadette Clements. One year later, he received a scholarship to attend the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, where he studied for five consecutive years; he attended Virginia Intermont College as a scholarship student and was awarded a Dance Magazine Scholarship in 1985 to the Choreographer’s Conference in Geneva, New York.

Mr. Allen has danced with the Louisville Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and has performed as a guest artist and teacher throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. He has also had the honor of performing at the prestigious Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., on two separate occasions, for Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. Allen has an extensive background in the classics and Balanchine ballets and has performed featured roles in ballets by Elisa Monte, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Nacho Duato, James Kudelka, Hans Van Manen, and Lucinda Hughey.

In May of 2000, Mr. Allen was one of fourteen dancers asked to perform in Ocean Dance 2000 featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak Dance Project. In 2004 he was invited to perform with the Broadway cast in the Tony Award-winning Musical, Movin’ Out, choreographed and directed by Twyla Tharp, music by Billy Joel. He has choreographed 30 original works and classical ballets and eight operas, has taught at The USA International Ballet Competition, and many master classes and workshops in the US and internationally and has served on the jury of NBA Ballet’s Japanese National Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan.

In the summer of 1995, Todd returned to his hometown of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, as Artistic Director/CEO of the Northwest Florida Ballet. Over the past 20 years, he has committed himself to his community by developing young minds and bodies through innovative dance education programs, creating an awareness of dance in Northwest Florida, and exposing his audiences to a variety of classical and contemporary works. In 2003 Mr. Allen received the Cox Bravo Champion of the Arts Award in Northwest Florida for his work in establishing the NFB Académie, a free academic and artistic education elementary and middle school. He has also received the Elvie DeMarko Dance Achievement Award from The Arts Council of Northwest Florida and has served on various grant panels in the state of Florida for the Division of Cultural Affairs and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation in Baltimore, Md. His groundbreaking work in arts education was featured in Dance Teacher magazine (Nov, 2004) and in Teacher Magazine, a Department of Education publication (May 2005). The Northwest Florida Ballet is now one of the largest and most respected arts organizations in Northwest Florida and has received national recognition for its innovative programs.

Artistic Director/CEO
Company Artistic Director
Académie Instructor
Pre-Professional Program Instructor
Community School Instructor

Shari Allen holds a BFA in Dance from Radford University, a Masters in Art Education from Florida State University, and a Professional Educators Certificate from the State of Florida Department of Education. She studied at North Carolina School of the Arts, Richmond Ballet, and Boston Ballet School. She has performed with Ballet Theatre of Boston, Boston Dance Co., Impulse Dance Co., Mill Mountain Theatre, Southwest Virginia Ballet, and been a touring member of Lightwire Theater.

Ms. Allen taught ballet and jazz for the Harvard-Radcliffe Dance Department, the Jeanette Neill Dance Studio in Boston, the Fort Wayne Ballet, Florida Dance Association, and the University of West Florida. She is also a nationally certified Pilates instructor.  For over 30 years, Shari has found her passion in teaching. Shari enjoys spending time with her family, taking care of animals, and creating art.

Assistant Director
Community School Director
NFB Academié Middle School Instructor

Joy Elpedes is the Administrative & Operations Manager with Northwest Florida Ballet. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of San Francisco and a Human Resources Management business certificate from the University of California, Santa Cruz. After graduation, she began working in Silicon Valley, where she started a career in Human Resources. She has worked in several roles throughout her career, with notable experience in HR and Administrative Management. She has always been an aficionado of performing arts, having grown up in California attending Broadway and local community shows; working at NFB has brought the two worlds together.

Joy has traveled extensively overseas while stationed abroad with her husband. While overseas, she studied the local cultures – she even learned British sign language! She has volunteered as an Air Force Key Spouse, led Parent Teacher Associations, and served as a leader for hosting teams and small groups within her church.  Joy enjoys cooking and food styling, reading, interior design, and graphic design. She can be found taking trips to many theme parks with her husband and three children and obsessively pinning inspiring recipes she may or may not ever cook.

Timothy Knoll has a BFA in Ballet from the University of Utah. He has performed with Todd Rosenlieb Dance, Virginia Ballet Theatre, and Central West Ballet. Favorite ballet roles include "Solor" in La Bayadere, "Puck" in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the Purple Rain duet from "Prince Tribute." Timothy has taught with The Governor's School for the Arts, MOGA Conservatory, SLC Ballet, and the Starz Enrichment Program. He has choreographed classical and contemporary dance works for Excel Dance Theatre and En Pointe Dance Academy. He has taught students ages 2 to 70 and earned an outstanding service award for fundraising and outreach with Excel Dance Theatre.

Haley Blaise began studying ballet in Portland, Oregon at Oregon Ballet Theater. She also studied on full scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Northwest Academy and The Portland Ballet, where she received training from influential teachers Patricia Brewer-Jones, Nancy Davis, Carol Schults, Elizabeth Guerin and Robert Guitron. Mrs. Blaise has performed roles in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Balanchine’s Raymonda, Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Dennis Spaight’s Ellington Suite and Gloria, Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere, and John Clifford’s La Boutique Fantasque to name a few.

Mrs. Blaise began her teaching in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From there she relocated to Pensacola, FL to teach at Ballet Pensacola in the academy and performed as a Soloist in the resident professional company. Mrs. Blaise was invited to Virginia School of the Arts intensive programs as a guest instructor and was later hired as Ballet Mistress.  As a member of the VSA faculty, she contributed to restructuring the ballet program and staging ballets.  Haley returned to Portland and joined the Polaris Dance Theatre company and to start a family. While back in her home town she also continued teaching for Polaris Dance Theatre, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Bodyvox, DanceFusion NW, The Portland Ballet and Reed College.

NFB Alum, Lindsey Kelley Brewer is a Pre-Professional Program Instructor.  She holds a B.F.A. in Dance Performance with an emphasis in classical ballet from the University of South Florida.  Lindsey is a former company member of Contemporary Ballet Theatre, The Human Institution, Michiyo and Dancers, Naganuma Dance, and STEPS on Broadway's Repertory Ensemble.  She has freelanced with Monica Bill Barnes, Sean Curran, Rebecca Davis, Yesid Lopez, Laura Peterson, Becky Radway, Oliver and Teri Steele, and Saul Ulerio. Her choreography has been presented at the American College Dance Festival, Goucher College, Meredith College, Food for Thought/Danspace Project, PMT Dance Festival, and Triskelion Arts Festival.   She received the majority of her teacher training from The University of South Florida and Ballet Academy East in NYC.  Lindsey is a former modern and ballet teacher of Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre, Asheville Performing Arts Academy, The Asheville Ballet, Ballet Conservatory of Asheville, and Western North Carolina Dance Academy. She has also been a guest teacher for Adlai Stevenson High School, Appalachian State University, Goucher College, University of North Carolina Asheville, and Warren Wilson College.  From 2013 to 2017, Lindsey was the Artistic Director of Lindsey Kelley Dance, a modern dance company based in Asheville, NC. Lindsey is honored to be part of the NFB artistic staff!

Iryna Hampton holds a BFA and a master’s degree in Ballet Mastery, Choreography, and Teaching Dance from National University of Culture and Arts in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Vaganova-styled trained, at a young age she became a soloist with the National Classical Ballet Company in Donetsk, Ukraine, performing various solo roles in Sylphides, Swan Lake, and the lead role of Myrtha in Giselle. As she studied other dance styles, her performing career also became multi-dimensional. She performed in folk dance and modern style productions, worked with a professional jazz dance company, and relocated to Seoul, South Korea to perform and teach dance at Lotte World Park. 

Iryna Hampton has over 25 years of teaching experience in the US and internationally. She has taught ballet, jazz, character dance, and hip-hop to students of all ages. Being an army spouse, she created and led multiple dance programs at various duty stations and was presented with a Presidential Volunteer Award for her work with military children.

Kaori's introduction to ballet was with the Kubo Akemi Ballet Studios in Tokyo, Japan, in 1994, where she trained in classical ballet. Kaori then moved to the United States and started teaching her own classes in 2006 at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Arkansas. In 2010, she returned to Japan and started teaching classes at the Youth Center on Yokota Air Force Base. Later on, in 2014, Kaori moved to Florida and taught at Northwest Florida Ballet as the head dance instructor of the elementary division. Kaori has enjoyed teaching classical ballet to students from all age groups and wishes to continue passing down the art of classical ballet through the generations.

Kelly Murdock is currently a dance instructor at Northwest Florida Ballet and Northwest Florida State College. She has a B.A. from the University of Colorado and has danced with the Dayton Ballet and Northwest Florida Ballet.

Her past NWFSC choreographic credits include Dance Facets, Creative Dramatics, Soundsations, Summer Productions, and most recently choreographed NWFSC’s summer production of “Sister Act.” She has choreographed for Fort Walton Beach High School, Stagecrafters, Force Jazz, and Grain de Sables dance companies in France. Last summer, 2016, she attended a Graham Technique Workshop for Teachers in NYC. In addition to teaching and choreographing she also works for her sister, a local attorney.

Cristi is from Carbondale, Colorado, and attended Colorado Women’s College in Denver, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree. While there, she also met and married her Air Force pilot, Tim. Their travels have allowed her to dance and instruct with companies throughout the world. She has danced with Abilene Civic Ballet, Colorado Concert Ballet, Dance Wyoming, and performed in numerous theater productions. While in England, Cristi studied with The Imperial Society for Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and attained 5 Major Professional Dance Exam certifications there.

For the past 30 years in Fort Walton Beach, Cristi has taught at numerous local dance studios while continuing her dance education through NWFL State College (OWCC) and PJC Summer Workshops. She has choreographed and danced with NW Florida State College’s Dance Facets for the past 17 years. Cristi has also had the privilege of being the Queen of Bowlegs in 2013 and the Queen of FWB Mardi Gras Club in 2016 and is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Cristi Perry is especially proud to be a Ballet/Jazz/Character dance instructor at NFB!

Click Here for Bio: Elise Marie Preston began professional dance training as a teen, and also learned fencing. She formed “C’est Parfait!” (It’s Perfect!”) Choreography Production Co. and choreographed “Dream Girls” dance and fashion extravaganza performed at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota, FL.   She taught dance in Sarasota and Miami and was a dancer with OPUS 10 where she served as choreographer and co-choreographer and danced in commercials for MTV.

As a commercial aviation professional, Elise served as Director of Flight Operations for In-Flight Service for two major airlines, responsible for over 600 employees. Ms. Preston has experienced many career / military overseas moves and has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Pacific, Arctic, Caribbean, and Europe. At each location, she has enjoyed the opportunity to immerse herself in the local arts community and use her dance experience to help with charity events. These include: Ballet Idaho, Boise, Idaho – ballet student, volunteer; North Star Ballet, Fairbanks, Alaska – she has choreographed/produced numerous dance and fashion shows for the state or country’s local fundraising efforts. Returning stateside to Florida– Ms. Preston began to dance with Dorothy Daniels Lister of Northwest Florida Ballet and Dorothy’s Dance Plus.

At Northwest Florida Ballet Ms. Preston served as a Board Member, ballet student, and dancer/performer - “The Nutcracker”; 2008- to present, and at Dorothy’s Dance Plus – Adult classical ballet student, Licensed ZUMBA® Instructor. At present Ms. Preston teaches at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, her Pre-Ballet group in Navarre, and is a Pre-Ballet Instructor for Northwest Florida Ballet. Ms. Preston resides with her family in Navarre and has two wonderful sons and daughter-in-law and one most precious grandson. Her hobbies include ballet, hiking, mountain biking, travel …and all forms of dance!

Lindsey graduated as a National Honor Thespian and District One Representative of Florida State Thespians with experience both on stage and behind the scenes. Lindsey states "the kids have my heart and I love helping them learn their voice through the arts, especially in the world we live in today. Like the late great Stephen Sondheim said, “Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.”

Conductor, composer, author, and educator David Ott was born in Michigan and spent his youth in Janesville, Wisconsin, completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1969. His Master’s degree in Piano Performance was earned at Indiana University in 1971, and he received his Doctorate in Music Theory & Composition at the University of Kentucky in 1982.

His young music career had immediate impact, and he was named Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 1987, and Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Kentucky, College of Fine Arts, in 1996. He was inducted into the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Hall of Fame in October 2007. He has served on the faculties of Houghton College (NY), Pfeiffer College (NC), and most recently DePauw University (IN), being honored as Outstanding Professor at two of these institutions. In 1991, he was named Composer-in-Residence of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and retained that position until 1997.

He served as Music Director/Conductor of the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra from 1999 through the spring of 2002. From 2001 through the spring of 2008 David Ott was Music Director and Conductor of the Philharmonic of Northwest Florida. He has also held the appointment of Pace Eminent Scholar and Composer in Residence at the University of West Florida. Currently he serves as Director of Music Ministries and Organist at Christ the King Episcopal Church in Santa Rosa Beach.

Ranking at the top of post-World War II born American composers, Dr. Ott’s works are among the most frequently performed of any American of the era. He has been cited as “one of the greats of American symphony music composers of the last quarter of the twentieth century.” Once nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in music by renowned cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, he has composed a large portfolio of compositions in every genre of music from large-scale orchestra works to short overtures.

To contact any of our staff members at the Northwest Florida Ballet, please call 850.664.7787 or use the email address if available.

Staff

Get In Touch

Todd Eric Allen

tallen@nfballet.org

Shari Allen

sallen@nfballet.org

Joy Elpedes

jelpedes@nfballet.org

Timothy Knoll

tknoll@nfballet.org

Gena Cole

gcole@nfballet.org

Haley Blaise

hblaise@nfballet.org

Luciana Ato

Izzie Austin

Lindsey Kelley Brewer

lkbrewer@nfballet.org

Jolin Crabtree

Iryna Hampton

Angel Mier

amier@nfballet.org

Kaori Mier

kmier@nfballet.org

Kelly Murdock

kmurdock@nfballet.org

Cristi Perry

Elise Preston

Lindsey White

David Ott