Meet Our Faculty

Alexander Pandiscio

Founder/Artistic Director, Principal Teacher

Mr. Pandiscio has taught ballet to dancers of all ages in the Houston area since 2004. His unique background in kinesiology and sports medicine has made him a sought-out teacher, especially for dancers recovering from injury, young students going en pointe, adult students, and advanced dancers preparing for competition.

Mr. Pandiscio began studying ballet with renowned teacher Jacqueline Cronsberg at Ballet Workshop of New England, and later studied on full scholarship at American Ballet Theater, Royal Danish Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet Schools. Mr. Pandiscio danced with the Massachusetts Youth Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Houston Ballet. As a member of Houston Ballet (2003-2010) he danced featured roles in works by Ben Stevenson, Stanton Welch, George Balanchine, and Jiri Kylian. In 2007, Mr. Pandiscio joined the teaching staff at Uptown Dance Centre in Houston, TX, and later became both Ballet Master and Company Manager for Uptown Dance Company. Mr. Pandiscio graduated summa cum laude from Rice University with a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology (Sports Medicine) and a minor in Business. While at Rice, he was the recipient of the Brotzen Award, a fellowship that enabled him to spend a summer in Vienna, Austria studying ballet kinesiology with master teacher Judith Reyn-Stroux. After graduating college, he completed the year-long Teacher Training Program at Canada’s National Ballet School, where taught in all levels of the Professional Ballet Program. While there, he received the 2015 Betty Oliphant Award for Excellence in Teaching. Following his return to Houston, Mr. Pandiscio joined the faculty at Houston Ballet Academy, teaching extensively throughout the Lower School, Boys Program, and Adult Program, and also serving as a liaison between artistic staff and the body conditioning staff. In 2018, he earned a Certificate with Distinction in Nonprofit Leadership from the Leadership Institute for Nonprofit Executives (LINE) at Rice University.

In 2019, Mr. Pandiscio opened the Bayou City Ballet School, realizing a decades-long dream of creating a professional ballet training program in a small school setting.

Nao Kusuzaki

Advanced Ballet/Pointe

Nao Kusuzaki was born in Ehime Prefecture, Japan, and began her ballet lessons at three years old at Yatsuzuka Ballet school. After moving to the U.S. at age 10, she continued her training with The Washington Ballet School and Boston Ballet School. Nao became a member of Corps de Ballet with Boston Ballet in 2001. In 2004, she joined Houston Ballet, and was promoted to Soloist in 2009.
She has danced numerous leading roles in both classical and contemporary repertoire. Some of her featured roles include: The Sugarplum Fairy and The Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Nikiya in La Bayadere, Madame Butterfly in Madame Butterfly, Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort, Sinfonietta, and Falling Angels, William Forsythe’s In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush, and Mark Morris’s Pacific.
Nao is also active in the Houston community through producing Dance for Hope, a benefit concert in response to the Japan earthquake of 2011, co-creating TSURU with Asia Society Texas Center in 2015, and directing and dancing The 45th Anniversary Ballet Performance celebrating Houston and Chiba Sister City Relations, which premiered in July 2017. Nao is the Founder of Creative Minds Collaborative Inc., a nonprofit organization which seeks to create meaning across artists, educators, and supporters of the arts.

Emily LaCourse-Ehret

Children's Ballet and Office Administration

Emily LaCourse has been teaching dance for seven years with an emphasis on creative movement and ballet. In 2012 Emily began teaching creative movement and pre-ballet at her childhood school Live Oak Dance Center and progressed to teaching all levels. She has since taught ballet at Saltare Studio and Fine Arts Center, Immersion Dance Center, and Canyon Concert Ballet.
As a student she continued her dance education with Ballet Austin and Texas Ballet Theatre in addition to her training at Live Oak Dance Center. Emily then studied dance with an emphasis in dance pedagogy at Colorado State University. While at CSU she had the opportunity to work alongside her professors at Canyon Concert Ballet teaching the Vaganova method. She also had the chance to teach creative movement for academic topics in the Poudre School Disctrict’s Laurel Elementary School- School of Arts and Technology. As a member of the Nation Dance Educator Organization, Emily has had the privilege of representing Colorado State University at the NDEO National Conference in 2016 and 2017 to expand her knowledge and advocate for dance education and the performing arts.
Emily is currently teaching early childhood education trainings with Dr. Vickie Maertz OTR, OTD of Physical and Academic Learning Services. In these trainings Emily teaches preschool educators how to implement creative movement and dance into their classrooms while Dr. Maertz explains the brain science and benefits of dance.

Allison Miller

Advanced Ballet/Pointe

Originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, Allison Miller recently retired from a 16-year career with the Houston Ballet. Growing up, she studied ballet in Ellenton, Florida with Diane Partington and at age 15 attended the North Carolina School of the Arts. She joined the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company in 2004 and Houston Ballet in 2006. At Houston Ballet she rose to the rank of First Soloist. She danced soloist and leading roles in many ballets, including Ballo della Regina (Balanchine), Serenade (Balanchine), La Sylphide (Bournonville), Kitri in Don Quixote (Stevenson), Swanhilda in Coppelia (Stevenson), as well as Clara and The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker (Stevenson and Welch). Allison is excited to pass on what she has learned to the next generation of dancers through teaching and coaching.

Carol Smitherman Anglin

Ballet and Modern (Horton)

Carol Smitherman Anglin is a renowned teacher with an illustrious career spanning over four decades. She is widely recognized as the founding Artistic Director of the Louisiana Dance Foundation and Louisiana Dance Theatre, an esteemed dance company that performed across the United States, as well as in Russia, Europe, and Canada. Under her leadership, Louisiana Dance Theatre became an Honor Company and a 25-year member of Regional Dance America/SW.

Throughout her career, Carol has been dedicated to sharing her passion for dance education. She has taught over 40 classes per week to students from diverse backgrounds in various settings, including studios, public schools, colleges, and universities. Many of her students have gone on to achieve professional dance careers. Her studio, Carol Anglin Dancenter, Inc., played a pivotal role in nurturing dancers, teachers, choreographers, composers, and fostering a vibrant dance community in Shreveport. As a dance presenter from 1982-2016, she produced more than 600 master classes, dance festivals, and performances in Shreveport featuring an international roster of performing artists and residencies with more than a dozen professional dance companies. Carol's commitment to community outreach and collaboration is evident in her partnerships with over fifty organizations and educational institutions in north Louisiana. Through these collaborations, she annually reached an average of 30,000 individuals from underserved populations.
As a master teaching artist in Ballet and Modern, Carol's influence extends beyond the United States. She has taught internationally in Russia, Europe, and Canada, making her the first American to teach Modern Dance at the School of Marina Semyonova in Moscow. Her achievements also include being one of only 18 international teachers accepted to NYU to train with esteemed directors of the Paris Opera Ballet School, Mme. Claude Bessy and Serge Golovine. Carol's dedication to professional development is evident in her participation in prestigious programs and conferences. She attended the USA IBC Teachers Courses in Classical Ballet, completed the Intermediate and Advanced Horton Pedagogy Courses at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, and engaged with the National Dance Educator Organization's Annual Conferences. She holds a Master's in Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Oklahoma, where, from 2016-2019, she was a Graduate Teaching Foundation Fellow. During her time at OU, Carol taught a range of courses, set choreography on Dance Majors, and collaborated with renowned guest artists.
Carol's contributions to the dance community have been widely recognized. She received Regional Dance America’s Stream Award for outstanding artistic direction and commitment to the movement. In 2018, she was appointed as a National Adjudicator by Regional Dance America's Board of Directors. Additionally, she has served as faculty for Regional Dance America Workshops and Festivals in various cities.
Currently based in Houston, Carol continues to inspire students through her teaching engagements with notable institutions such as Dance Du Coeur, Ad Deum Dance Company, University of Houston, Houston Ballet Academy, Hunter Dance Center, Open Dance Project, Bayou City Ballet, Feijoo Ballet, Juxtapose Dance, Ft. Bend Dance Academy, among others.

Laura Catherine Hilley

Children's Ballet, Adult Ballet, and Office Administration

Laura Catherine Hilley began training at Mobile Ballet at age three. As her passion for the art grew and her performance opportunities increased—under the artistic direction of Winthrop Corey—she became singularly focused on dance. After multiple summer intensives in New York City, first with American Ballet Theatre and then with The School of American Ballet, Ms. Hilley relocated to Houston to train full-time with Houston Ballet Academy on merit scholarship. While there, she performed numerous works by Stanton Welch and Ben Stevenson O.B.E. with Houston Ballet. Ms. Hilley then became a member of Cincinnati Ballet, where she worked with choreographer Adam Hougland and toured with the company to The Kennedy Center. Some of her favorite reps include Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, Victoria Morgan’s Cinderella, and Septime Webre’s Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.
She is sought as a guest performer and master instructor. Since returning to Houston, she has taught, performed, and choreographed throughout the region including Uptown Dance Company for a few seasons. She teaches a variety of genres and ages, including adult ballet at Houston Ballet. Ms. Hilley is delighted to join the faculty and staff at Bayou City Ballet.

Randall Flinn

Modern (Graham)

Mr. Flinn began his dance training in Houston over twenty five years ago with Glenn Hunsucker, Camille Long Hill, Dina Vail and Patsy Swayze. His most recent modern dance influences have come from studies with The José Limón Dance Company and Steve Rooks, former principal dancer with Martha Graham. He has taught and choreographed locally as a guest artist for the Houston Ballet Academy, The Episcopal High School, Houston Met Dance Company, Joan Karff Dance Company, The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and North Harris Performing Arts Dance Company.
He was selected as a guest choreographer for Houston’s Dance Salad 1999, Dance Houston 2006, and Texas Weekend of Contemporary Dance 2007. Nationally, he has served as guest faculty and choreographer for Cirque Du Soleil’s-Alegria, Ballet Magnificat, Belhaven University, Friends University, Project Dance NYC, LA, and Sydney, Australia, as well as Hillsong and Dance Revolution Conventions.
Having lived throughout Europe and Asia for ten years, Mr. Flinn has also been a guest artist for Hong Kong Ballet, City Contemporary – Hong Kong, Guanzhou Modern Dance Company – China, Xaris Danz Europe, and Youth With a Mission International Schools of the Arts.

Lindsay Cortner

Contemporary, Adult Ballet, and Creative Movement