Springfield Ballet Company - STAFF

Julie Ratz (Artistic Director) is an instructor/choreographer at Dance Arts Studio, Inc., and an adjunct professor in dance at Millikin University. She has performed with SBC; ISU Dance Theatre; Twin Cities Ballet Company; Scottish American Ballet in Edinburgh, Scotland; and Harvard University Summer Dance. Julie holds a B.S. in Dance Performance/Choreography from Illinois State University (ISU); and she has studied dance in Chicago at Lou Conte and Joseph Holmes dance studios, and the Ruth Page Foundation. She has received the Springfield Area Arts Council choreography award, and is a member of the Illinois Arts Council “Partners of Excellence” panel. Julie has performed in, choreographed and directed many productions for Over the Moon Productions (OTM), Springfield Theatre Centre (STC), Muni and the Hoogland Center for the Arts (HCFTA).

Sally Hamilton (Administrative Director) joined the Springfield Ballet Company in August of 2007. Prior to joining SBC, Sally worked for 25 years at Memorial Medical Center in the Human Resources Department coordinating recruitment, employee relations and event planning. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Western Illinois University. Sally has been an active volunteer in the community for SBC, Springfield Theatre Center, Springfield Muni Opera and Sacred Heart - Griffin High School.

Gina DeCroix Russell (Ballet Mistress) is an assistant instructional professor of ballet at Illinois State University in their School of Theatre - Department of Dance and is an instructor/choreographer at Dance Arts Studio, Inc. She holds an M.A. in Communication from the University at Illinois at Springfield and a B.A. in Dance Performance from Illinois State University. Gina has performed in and choreographed for countless SBC productions and has performed with the Scottish American Ballet in the Edinburgh Arts Festival Fringe. She has choreographed Sacred Heart-Griffin’s (SHG) productions of Beauty & the Beast, Suessical: The Musical, State Fair, Back to the 80s and Godspell, and is the choreographer for SHG’s Encore!, Premiere and Mixed Chorus. Gina is actively involved in community theatre, having performed in CATS, Urinetown: The Musical, Shakespeare Shorts and Sylvia for OTM; A Chorus Line, Miss Saigon and The Producers for Muni, and Chicago for HCFTA. Gina also ran her first marathon this fall - the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon.