2022 Summer Intensive

Meelis Pakri, originally from Tallinn, Estonia began his ballet training at Tallinn State Ballet School and is a graduate of the world-renown, Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Mr. Pakri danced as a principal dancer with Estonian National Ballet and Colorado Ballet and performed lead roles in all the major classical ballets as well as in neoclassical and model repertoire by masters such as George Balanchine and Martha Graham.

At the early age of 22, Mr. Pakri began his teaching career teaching men’s technique and partnering at the Tallinn State Ballet School. Upon his retirement as a professional dancer, Mr. Pakri served as Ballet Master for Colorado Ballet and Houston Ballet. He is a frequent guest teacher at various schools in Japan, Denmark, Italy, United States, and The Royal Ballet Company in London, England. With his extensive knowledge and expertise, Mr. Pakri has been a judge of the Japan Grand Prix and continues judging for the Youth American Grand Prix, where his students have also won numerous awards. Today, Meelis Pakri is an instructor at the esteemed Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida.

Arcadian Broad is originally from Titusville, FL. He began dancing various styles like Tap, Hip-hop and Jazz at the early age of nine, which lead him to continue his training at the prestigious Juilliard school. After receiving a scholarship at American Dance Competition (ADC IBC) Mr. Broad attended the Orlando Ballet summer program where he was hired as a professional company member at 16, becoming the youngest hire in the company’s history to date. In 2019, Arcadian joined the Cincinnati Ballet.

Along with his professional career as a dancer, Arcadian is a dual choreographer and composer. He created several contemporary works and two full-length ballet productions; Beauty and the Beast and Wonderland: Mad Tales of the Hatter, in which he also composed original orchestral scores. Accompanying his lead roles in ballets including Romeo and Juliet, Coppelia, Swan Lake, to name a few, he was a Top 10 finalist on America’s Got Talent and has appeared on The Ellen Show and So You Think You Can Dance. Arcadian was a guest dancer with Brevard Ballet Youth Company, performing the role of Prince Charming, in the company’s premiere of Cinderella in 2019. He is currently a company member with Sarasota Ballet.

Taylor Sambola is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. Taylor has studied at prestigious schools including The School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre in New York, Ellison Ballet, Miami City Ballet, The Rock School, Houston Ballet and Orlando Ballet. With her extensive training, Ms. Sambola competed in Youth American Grand Prix and joined Orlando Ballet 2 for the 2014/2015 season under the direction of Robert Hill and Deirdre Miles Burger. She was later promoted to company apprentice in 2016 and danced with Orlando Ballet for four seasons. Taylor is currently a company member with the Sarasota Ballet and is expanding her career as a certified Pilates Instructor, model, and actress.

A graduate of The North Carolina School of the Arts, Mr. Wardlaw also trained at the prestigious Kirov Academy and the Pennsylvania Ballet on a merit scholarshiop. He started his career as a soloist for the Tulsa Ballet Theatre and Albany-Berkshire Ballet. In 1995, he joined the Cincinnati Ballet, where he danced as senior soloist for eleven years. During his fifteen-year performance career, Mr. Wardlaw made numerous guest principal appearances around the world and participated in international festivals. His work as a performing artist has been reviewed in widely known magazines such as Dance and Pointe Magazine.

Now a highly sought-after educator, Mr. Wardlaw is the former school director for Northwest Florida Ballet’s Pensacola location. He has taught on the resident faculty of the Cincinnati University Conservatory of Music, Ballet Tech of Ohio, and as an adjunct faculty member at the University of West Florida. He currently directs the ballet program at LaBelle Performing Arts and works independently in the media arts as a photographer and video producer.