David Herriott
David Herriott received his early intensive training at the Harkness Ballet School under David Howard. He danced professionally with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre, touring internationally with both companies. During that time he worked with such noted choreographers as Agnes de Mille, John Neumeier, Norbert Vesak, and Elliot Feld and performed with internationally renowned dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gelsey Kirkland, Galina & Valerie Panov, and Evelyn Hart.
Mr. Herriott taught dance at Santa Monica College in California before moving to Huntsville, Alabama where over 12 years he held the positions of General Manager, Associate Director and Artistic Director of Community Ballet Association and Huntsville Ballet Company. Under his direction the company became a performing member of SERBA. He served on grant panels and long range planning for the Alabama State Council on the Arts, served on the Executive Board of the Alabama Dance Council and on the planning committee of the Alabama Dance Summit, as well as serving as chair of The Arts Council Assembly and along with Mary Halverstadt, developed a dance video for the Arts Council’s Art in a Box education program.
Since June of 2004, Mr. Herriott has been coordinator of the ballet program at Columbus State University Continuing Education Division located in Columbus, Georgia and Executive and Artistic Director of The Columbus Ballet.
Keren Gibb Hilliard
Keren Gibb Hilliard began her dance training in Mobile as a child and continued to study during her college days in Montgomery, performing with local dance companies and theater groups in both cities. She taught dance classes at Huntingdon College while a student there and completed her degree at UAH in Huntsville. She held various positions with Community Ballet in her 40 plus years with them, including dancer, teacher, choreographer, ballet mistress, school director and both associate and interim director of Huntsville Ballet Company. She has twice won the ballet division of the Panoply Choreography Competition and became certified to teach the Zena Romett Floor Barre Technique in 2002. Her community service includes serving on the Arts Council Board, Community Ballet’s Board, and setting choreography for Community Chorus, Fantasy Playhouse, Ars Nova and Bob Jones High School presentations.