Instructors and Staff

We have an amazing team at Northville Ballet! Each of our instructors are highly qualified and committed to helping your child thrive.

  • Trained and inspired by Rose Marie Floyd, Kathy holds a BS degree in Ballet from Indiana University and is a Diploma Fellow of the Cecchetti Council of America. She served on the National Executive Board and Board of Examiners for several years. Professionally, Kathy danced with the Scottish American Ballet, the National Ballet of MD and as a Principal Guest Artist. As a Christian artist, she danced with the Asaph Ensemble in VA.

    Kathy founded Summerwood Studio of Dance in Northern VA in 1993-2007, and Timberlane Dance/Northville Ballet, following a move back to MI in 2008. She has choreographed and participated in several community theatre productions with her husband Kim and 3 sons. Kathy is passionate about teaching the classical Cecchetti method of ballet and inspiring students to dance for the glory of God through Northville Ballet Theatre productions and Dance Ministry.

Founder

  • Isabelle is a Diploma Fellow of the Cecchetti Council of America. She has studied the complete works of Maestro Cecchetti under Kathy Cooke, DFCCA, and is passionate about passing this valuable method of ballet down to her students.

    Professionally, Isabelle has performed as a Guest Artist for NBT since 2015 and has been privileged to guest perform for numerous ballet companies in the metro Detroit area as well as out of state. She has danced principal roles in various ballets, including, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, and Don Quixote. She has received scholarships to study in Canada, Richmond VA, and west Michigan. Though she has earned all Cecchetti certifications, Isabelle believes in the importance of continuing teaching and dancing education whenever opportunity presents itself. She regularly attends teacher seminars to continue her growth and knowledge for her students.

    Teaching technique, choreography, and artistry is a passion of Isabelle’s. More than anything, she loves to pour into her students’ hearts and lives by fostering their love for dance and worship.

Artistic Director

  • Dana Cochren is chairwoman of the Eastern Michigan Committee of the Cecchetti Council of America and holds the Intermediate Teacher Certificate. She teaches ballet, tap, and adult classes at Northville Ballet. She also serves in the costuming department at Northville Ballet.

Ballet | Tap | Adult Classes

  • Brooke Johnson is a ballet and contemporary instructor and choreographer. Brooke has primarily trained at Northville Ballet under the instruction of Kathy Cooke for 12 years, and she currently holds her Cecchetti Teacher Intermediate certification. After graduating high school, Brooke danced as a Trainee with Light of the World Ballet in NY for two years. Traveling internationally with them to Israel and locally in Syracuse NY, she performed in numerous unconventional outreaches, sharing the gospel through dance.

    Brooke is passionate about teaching ballet, contemporary, and worship dance. She strives to help her students excel in technique and artistry, and to inspire them to glorify the Lord through their dancing!

Contemporary

  • Alicia Falzon (Pomponio) is a teacher and choreographer and has trained in ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, and worship dance for over 10 years, primarily at Northville Ballet Theatre. She has also trained at Christina’s Adult ballet, Eisenhower Dance Company, and Wayne State University. Alicia loves to perform anywhere she has the opportunity, whether that’s church services, music videos, or in other productions such as Music Hall’s Choreographer’s Showcase, American Ballet Theatre’s Sleeping Beauty, Project Dance, Company One at Wayne State University or, most recently, the Detroit Dance City Festival. She loves to teach ballet and pointe technique and has a passion for choreography in contemporary and worship dance.

    She is also trained in STOTT Pilates and likes to incorporate Pilates techniques into her dancing and teaching. What Alicia loves most about teaching is watching dancers learn new ways to move and grow as performers and artists. She strives always to help the dancers fall in love with dancing and excel in their own unique way because each dancer is beautiful and wonderfully gifted!

Contemporary

  • Eliana began her ballet training at the age of 11 under the instruction of Kathy Cooke, DFCCA, at Northville Ballet. She has studied the Cecchetti method extensively and has successfully completed student exams Grade I through Advanced. In 2017, she began assistant teaching and has since passed Cecchetti teacher’s exams Grade I through Intermediate. She is currently preparing for her Advanced teacher’s exam and is continuing to work toward her Diploma student exam.

    Throughout her performance career with NBT, Eliana has had the privilege of dancing many principal roles, including Kitri in Don Quixote, Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Swanhilda in Coppélia, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. As a student, she has also had the opportunity to dance many soloist roles such as Clara, Snow Queen, and Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker, Cupid in Don Quixote, and Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty. Eliana continues to guest perform for Northville Ballet, and has also guest performed with The Livonia Civic Ballet Company, and The Link School of the Arts. 

    In addition to teaching the Cecchetti Method of ballet, Eliana also has a passion for teaching Contemporary Christian Dance. She has choreographed many pieces for students of all levels, and she enjoys watching her students worship through their movement in both ballet and CCD. She loves to encourage and challenge her students to grow in their artistry, their ability, and most importantly in their relationship with the Lord. 

Ballet | Contemporary

Ballet / Contemporary

  • Rebecca Schmidt, 20, is currently teaching under the direction of Isabelle Vidosh, DFCCA, at Northville Ballet. Rebecca’s interest in teaching sparked when she got the opportunity to assistant teach Grade I and III classes in 2021. Before pursuing teacher’s examinations, Rebecca achieved her dancer's Advanced exam in 2023. While pursuing a college degree, she completed her first teachers exam in March of 2025. Now, she is training for Grade II and gearing up to teach her first Grade I classes. She seeks to expand her dancing abilities to teach future generations. 

         Rebecca began her ballet training at the age of 9 under the instruction of Kathy Cooke, DFCCA, at Northville Ballet. She has completed Cecchetti exams Grades I through Advanced. Throughout her dance career, Rebecca has had the honor of performing in several ballets as well as soloist roles. These include Enchanted Garden Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, the Spanish soloist in The Nutcracker, Bridesmaid soloist in Paquita, and a soloist role in Les Sylphides. In 2020 and 2023, she competed in the Cecchetti Classical Ballet Competition with the Cupid solo from Don Quixote and a solo from Pharaoh's Daughter, respectively. Rebecca has also attended both the Cecchetti summer intensive at Hope College and Grand Rapids Ballet summer intensive, each twice, as well as several Ballet Days hosted by the Cecchetti Council.

Ballet

Ballet

Office Manager

Owner | Chairman of the Board