Meet the visionaries.

ICSB assembles a select faculty of highly qualified professionals each year and a curriculum that blends discipline and enjoyment in equal measure. Through a dedicated team and effective programs ICSB aims to challenge each student to reach their fullest individual potential and to discover a keener love for the art of dance.

 
 

GEORNÉ AUCOIN | Founder & Artistic Director

GEORNÉ AUCOIN, a California native, has studied with many well-known teachers and choreographers. She has had extensive training at the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, the Colorado Ballet, and the Joffrey Ballet. She has studied extensively under Petrus Bosman, Suki Schorer, Sven Alexander, Bill Atkinson, Ann Etgen, and Richard Steinert.

Ms. Aucoin has been the Artistic Director of the International City School of Ballet and International City Ballet Company for over 10 years. Ms. Aucoin leads the school toward true professionalism, instilling in each dancer the art of dance as a language. Dancers trained by Ms. Aucoin have received scholarships to some of the biggest ballet schools in the US, such as American Ballet Theatre, Washington Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, School of American Ballet, Ellison Ballet, The Rock School for Dance Education and many more.


In 2013, the Youth America Grand Prix, the world's largest student ballet competition, awarded Ms. Aucoin the Outstanding Teacher Award to recognize her many years of providing some of the finest ballet instruction and coaching. In addition, several students have placed First, Second, and Third in all categories as well as the Youth Grand Prix Award at YAGP since 2005 and have performed as featured soloists at the David H. Koch Theatre, the official venue of the competition's New York City Final Round and Gala performances. 


Although the school has been in operation for a brief period, Ms. Aucoin has trained dancers to dance professionally with companies such as the Royal Ballet (UK), American Ballet Theatre (NY), Royal Danish Ballet (Denmark), Stuttgart Ballet (Germany), Houston Ballet (TX), Austin Ballet (TX), Charleston Ballet Theatre (SC), Lexington Ballet (KY), Richmond Ballet (VA), and Nashville Ballet (TN) to name a few. Many of Ms. Aucoin's students have successfully gone on to higher education programs such as Colombia University, Princeton University, Barnard College, Butler University, Pace University, Brandeis University, Florida State University, the University of Georgia, Savannah School of Art and Design, Georgia State University, Mercer University, and more.

Roman Rykine | CLASSICAL TECHNIQUE, MEN’S VARIATIONS & Pas de Deux

ROMAN RYKINE began his training under the direction of Shamil Teregulov at the Rudolph Nureyev State Ballet Academy in his hometown of Ufa, Russia. Mr. Rykine graduated in 1993 and was immediately invited to join the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre as a principal dancer. That same year, he was awarded the Gold Medal and First prize at the International Ballet Competition in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a Bronze medal at the Rudolph Nureyev International Ballet Competition in Budapest, Hungary. Mr. Rykine was also awarded the honorary title of “Artist of Merit of the Republic” by the Government of Ufa, Russia, in 1993.

In 1994, Mr. Rykine received the Bronze Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, and was invited to join the English National Ballet as a principal dancer. With the English National Ballet, he starred in a wide range of full-length classical ballets, including Rudolph Nureyev’s “Romeo and Juliet,” Ben Stevenson’s “The Nutcracker,” Derek Deane’s “Giselle” and “Alice in Wonderland,” Michael Corder’s “Cinderella,” and Marius Petipa’s “Swan Lake.”

Mr. Rykine joined the San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer in 1996. In his six years with the company, he toured extensively throughout Europe, Japan, China, Korea, Russia, and the United States. In 2003, Mr. Rykine joined the Boston Ballet as a principal dancer and danced a wide variety of leading roles in the Boston Ballet’s repertoire. Mr. Rykine retired from the stage in 2010 and turned his focus to teaching.

JULIE LEE HOFFMAN | Classical Technique, Women’s Variations & Pointe Technique

From Rochester, New York, JULIE HOFFMAN began her training at age 14. With natural talent and work ethic, she was able to train solely on full scholarship within 2 years for the remainder of her training. Following a trip to the Bolshoi Ballet, she relocated to Philadelphia, PA to study with Mikhail Korogodsky. However, the bulk of her training came with Margarita De Saa and  John White at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet in Cuban Vaganova technique, also on full scholarships.

Julie’s professional performing career started at the Colorado Ballet, then moved to USA Ballet, followed by Peoria Ballet under Erich Yetter where she then began teaching and truly fell in love after attending a teacher training program at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She continued her career at The Georgia Ballet under the direction of Gigi Hyatt and that became her home as a principle dancer with the company and principle teacher in the upper academy. It was at that time that Julie also began to travel to Warner Robins, GA to work with Georne Aucoin, who was building an academy of highly talented aspiring dancers at the International City School of Ballet.

In her performing career Julie was known for her technique, musicality, and ability to tell a story. She enjoyed having roles created on her in new ballets including Mina in Dracula and Katrina in A Sleepy Hollow Story. Working with choreographers was one of her pleasures and in a recommendation Julie was described as “a choreographer’s dream”. Classically she danced principle roles with favorites being the title role in both Giselle and La Sylphide. In mixed repertoire she enjoyed performing the Grande Pas De Deux from both Don Quixote and Le Corsaire as well as the lead in Balanchine’s Valse-Fantaisie among many others.

Cammi Nevarez | Contemporary Technique & Choreography

CAMMI NEVAREZ is a Southern California native who specializes in teaching contemporary styles and techniques built on Horton fundamentals. While Cammi grew up doing commercial dance, she was always drawn to the athleticism behind movement and focused on ballet and modern-style dance while pursuing her education. During this time, Cammi performed works by the Martha Graham Company, Koresh Dance, and Ori Flomin. In 2016, she earned her B.A. in Dance with a concentration in Modern and a minor in Business Entrepreneurship from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. Upon graduating, Cammi moved to New York to join Michael MaoDance in 2017, and she also worked alongside Parsons Dance in 2018. Additionally, Cammi joined Sweetbird Productions on their 2018-2019 Germany and Switzerland tour of Rock The Ballet X as well as their France tour of Best of Rock The Ballet.

Cammi has performed in numerous productions throughout her professional performing career. Between 2019-2020, she played as Juliet Adrienne Canterna’s “Romeo and Juliet” in Germany, while in 2022, she was a principal dancer in Kevin Jenkin’s theatrical ballet, “Remember Me.” Cammi also served as the lead dancer and actress for Annie Kane’s adaptation of “The Red Shoes.” Furthermore, Cammi was the winner of the Southern California Spotlight Artistic Scholarship in the non-classical dance category in 2012. Cammi has also done past work with both Nickelodeon and Sony Pictures.

As a choreographer and instructor, Cammi holds several choreograph credits. From 2013-2017, she was an instructor for Millennium Dance Complex PGH that taught choreography and helped to grow the adult heels program. In 2016, Cammi was hired as the on-set choreographer for Concussion starring Will Smith, and in 2021, she was the choreographer for the indie-film Way Down Bundy starring Jeremy Ford. She has also choreographed competitive numbers for numerous companies, including Hudson Conservatory, Academy of Ballet Arts, and Temecula Dance Co., and she created a full production number for Scriva’s Dance that combined jazz, contemporary, and ballet dance styles. Cammi currently resides in Atlanta, GA, where she is pursuing a choreography and dance career in the TV and film industry.