Directors of WMBA
Celebrating 25 Years of Dance!
Sandra Harris and Shari Bickel trained at the Baltimore School for the Arts, under the direction of Sylvester Campbell, Norma Pera and Stephanie Powell. The Directors received dance scholarships to Towson State University where they trained and performed with Towson University's Dance Company. While attending the University, they were selected for Towson University's Russian Exchange Program. Through Towson State University's exchange program, they were able to travel to Leningrad. In the states, they performed with Nikita Dolgushin, director of the Leningrad Conservatory to the music of Baltimore Synphony Orchestra
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Sandra and Shari danced professionally as Soloists with the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis (now Ballet Theatre of Maryland) from 1990 to 1998 in various leading roles. In 2001, they joined the modern dance company "The Moving Company" and formed the Christian dance company "Unspoken Grace."
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Throughout their careers, Ms. Harris and Ms. Bickel have had the opportunity to work and learn from such prominent choreographers as Ron Cunningham, Nikita Dolgushin, Jennifer Muller, Mitchell Rose, and Edward Stewart.
As an instructor, performance coach, and choreographer, they have been invited to teach at Ballet Royale Academy, Experimental Movement Concepts, Kinetics Dance Studio, The Talent Machine, Susan Ina's Dance Studio, Ballet Theatre of Annapolis;The School and County Ballet Dance Studio. They have currently been directing White Marsh Ballet Academy for 25 years.
Assistant Director
Lindsey Bell began her training at White Marsh Ballet Academy under the instruction of Sandra Harris and Shari Bickel in 1999. Lindsey is currently a principal dancer with the Ballet Theatre of Maryland. Lindsey joined BTM in 2015 upon graduation from the University of Oklahoma where she earned a B.F.A. in Ballet Performance. During her time at OU, Lindsey was mentored by Mary Margaret Holt, Jeremy Lindberg, Clara Cravey, Steve Brule, and Ilya Kozadayev. While with BTM, she has performed many different roles including the evil Queen Regina in Snow White, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Myrtha in Giselle, the title role in The Firebird and as the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty. In 2020, Lindsey accepted the position of Assistant Director at WMBA, and has been expanding her dance foundation to include overall business operations. Lindsey is also a comprehensive certified Pilates instructor.