ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP

Lisa Kim Sanborn began her dance training at the Princeton Ballet School in New Jersey. After moving to Illinois, Ms. Sanborn continued her training at the Ruth Page Foundation in Chicago with Larry Long, Dolores Lipinski, and Warren Conover. She later studied under many esteemed teachers, including Elisabeth Carroll and Felix Smith. Ms. Sanborn performed as a member of the Clinton Contemporary Ballet and Quad Cities Civic Ballet companies in Iowa, participated in several years of the Chicago Tribune Charities production of The Nutcracker at the Arie Crown Theater, and appeared with the Royal Danish Ballet at the Auditorium Theater in Napoli.

In 2014, Ms. Sanborn, a former attorney, distinguished teacher, and dancer, became the Artistic Director of New Haven Ballet. Her executive oversight has provided firm fiscal and organizational footing while she also expanded and improved program offerings. She established curriculums for the Children’s and Student divisions, which allow students to improve strength, flexibility, musicality, and artistry. She launched DanceAIR, which brings ballet education to children in New Haven Public Schools, providing needs-based scholarships, inviting world-renowned guest master teachers and choreographers, adding classes for teens and adults in the Open Division, and expanding Shared Ability, which offers dance and performance opportunities to disabled artists. Ms. Sanborn has staged and choreographed many works, including excerpts from Sleeping Beauty, La Sylphide, Raymonda, La Bayadère, Giselle, Le Corsaire, Swan Lake, and Paquita. In 2013, Ms. Sanborn premiered an all-new Nutcracker, which was reimagined in 2022 due to the pandemic. She established partnerships with local arts organizations and leading musicians. Ms. Sanborn choreographed the full-length children’s ballets, Beauty and the Beast, which premiered at the historic Shubert Theatre in 2018, and Peter Rabbit in 2019. In 2021, she premiered video performances of new works, including Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins and Caprice Nos. 4 and 5, composed by Polina Nazaykinskaya. In 2022, she introduced a children’s ballet version of Don Quixote. New Haven Ballet has also performed at various local community centers, events, and festivals, such as the Branford Festival and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Under Ms. Sanborn, New Haven Ballet is well-positioned to address the challenges accompanying success: maintaining a high-caliber dance program that supports students from beginner to pre-professional levels and further developing community ties within Greater New Haven and southern Connecticut.

Ms. Sanborn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Skidmore College, where she minored in dance. She received a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School of Union University. She served as corporate counsel for the Southern Connecticut Gas Company and Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation until the birth of her son in 2009. In 2015, Yale University appointed Ms. Sanborn as an Associate Fellow of Pierson College. She is also a classically trained Pilates Instructor, a member of the Arts Industry Coalition, and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Dance Alliance.

Timothy Fountain, a Bridgeport native, began his dance journey at the Bridgeport Ailey camp in 1999, training under Tina Bush, a former Rehearsal Director at the Ailey School. He continued his training at the Westport Dance Center YMCA under Jody Foster, a former Department Head of Dance at OC Music & Dance (1999-2001). Fountain attended the Regional Center for the Arts, a part-time public interdistrict magnet high school with a major in dance, and received a scholarship to the Ballet School of Stamford, studying under Stephanie Marini, a former Boston Ballet soloist and current Conservatory Program Coordinator at the Valentina Kozlova Dance Conservatory of New York (2000-2005).

Fountain participated in prestigious summer programs at the North Carolina Dance Theater in 2002 and 2005, the Harid Conservatory in 2003, and the Ailey School in 2004, training alongside dancers from renowned companies such as Cleo Parker Robinson, Boston Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.

He was a member of Cedar Lake II Contemporary Ballet (2005-2007), Missouri Contemporary Ballet (2008), and the Tina Thompson Dance Company (2016-2018). Fountain also served as an instructor for Ailey Camp Bridgeport (2008-2013) and taught the Dance II program, choreographing pieces performed by students who opened for Ailey II (2011-2013). He co-directed the dance ensemble at Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County in Bridgeport, Connecticut (2012-2018), where students showcased their work in NYC and at various Fairfield County festivals.

Fountain has choreographed numerous high school musicals and theater productions, including “Thoroughly Modern Millie” at Notre Dame High School, “The Wizard of Oz” at Woodlands High School, MAAFA Influence, and co-choreographed “Dreamgirls” at Cabaret Theatre. He has also served as a ballet instructor at Tia Russell Dance and Rising Starz.

In 2021, Fountain joined the New Haven Ballet School as the Children’s Division Director. He became an ABT® Certified Teacher, qualified to teach Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. He is passionate about sharing his love of dance with future generations.