Donna Pidel, Executive Director

Donna Pidel founded the Ballet Royale Institute of Maryland in 1994. Ms. Pidel has won numerous awards for both her teaching and her choreography. She was awarded second palce in the North American Ballet Competition where she was presented with the Capezio Award and she is an ABT® Affiliate Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She will be continuing her training in Summer 2009 to expand her ABT Certification.

Ms. Pidel's choreograhpy has been danced in the U.S. and abroad. Her piece, Nightbird, was danced at the world famous Maryinski Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, before dignataries including former Vice President Al Gore.
Ms. Pidel has a roster of successful students, including Katherine Williams of American Ballet Theatre, Alicia Graf, a celebrated dancer throughout the world, and many more.

Ms. Pidel's most recent honor was teaching the daughter of the Crown Prince of Dubai, UAE. Ms. Pidel currently serves on the Community Relations Council of Howard County General Hospital. Ms. Pidel is actively involved in many community organizations including Linwood Children’s Center, on which she serves on the Board of Directors, and the Howard County Autism Society.

Rachel Kennelly, Assistant Director

Rachel Kennelly, an Ellicott City native, began her dance training at the age of six at the Ballet Royale Academy under the direction of Donna Pidel. She received extensive training from world-class instructors in Classical Ballet, Jazz, Modern, and Tap. Mrs. Kennelly is an ABT® Affiliate Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.

Mrs. Kennelly has attended several prestigious summer intensives as both a student and a teacher. She furthered her education at Oklahoma City University, where she performed frequently as a soloist and featured dancer with the American Spirit Dance Company under the direction of Jo Rowan. In addition to a large Classical and Contemporary Repertoire, she has also been featured in numerous musical productions such as Oklahoma!, Pippin, Crazy for You, and The King and I, with the Centennial Players and OCU’s Wanda Bass School of Music. Mrs. Kennelly has performed throughout the United States, and in Mexico as a part of the 2001 Jazz Dance World Congress. Upon earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance Performance, she joined the faculty of the Ballet Royale Institute of Maryland in 2004.

As a Ballet Royale Faculty member, Mrs. Kennelly teaches Classical Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, and Lyrical in the Institute and ABT National Training Curriculum Programs at Ballet Royale. Mrs. Kennelly choreographs for Ballet Royale Performances, and also for local, national and international competitions. Over the years, Mrs. Kennelly has won numerous awards for both her performance and choreography.

Jennifer Boothe, Administrative Director

Jennifer Boothe received her training at Caryl Maxwell Classical Ballet under the direction of Caryl Maxwell. She performed with the Ellicott City Ballet Guild for 6 years and was featured in many productions such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Coppelia, Cinderella, and numerous others. Mrs. Boothe has attended numerous teaching seminars including the American Academy of Ballet, Peabody, Dance Teacher Magazine’s Summer Conference. Mrs. Boothe also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from UMBC.

As well as serving as the Administrative Director, Mrs. Boothe is the a full-time teacher, teaching Ballet, Tap, and Lyrical in the Institute Program at the Ballet Royale Institute of Maryland She also choreographs for Ballet Royale’s Nutcracker, and stages various other productions throughout the year.

Additional Teachers

Amber Dulski

Annetta Holser

Valerie McConoughey

Giuliana Watson