Company
Artistic Director
Mikayla Reine Archambeau teaches and dances ballet with verve and insight earned from a rigorous formation. In her teaching, Mikayla inspires students to push their limits, combining a deep level of experience and technical detail with empathy and love for the art form. Before her young professional experiences dancing Giselle and The Nutcracker with the corps of the Kansas City Ballet, Mikayla learned from dancers such as Alecia Good-Boresow, Paula Weber, and Peter Pawlyshyn over six years at the Kansas City School of Ballet. Over two summers at the Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco, she studied with Meredith Webster, Carmen Rosenstraten, and Alonzo King. Preceding the latter program, she studied at the Washington School of Ballet with Kee Juan Han and Kristy Windom. Mikayla’s return to the world of dance follows a long hiatus, during which she has honed skills vital to her work as an arts executive. After an abrupt departure from dance following her success in Kansas City, Mikayla graduated summa cum laude from Phillips-Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and Pomona College in Los Angeles. She now leads a mid-sized digital marketing company, First Page Sage, as Chief Operating Officer. When not dancing or working, Mikayla studies classical violin, gardens, and spends time with her husband, a professional violist, their daughter Aurelia, and bluetick coonhound Shasta, who fancies herself a singer.Join us for our spring show, Working to Transcend, which celebrates the work of two trailblazing composers. We are honored to be joined by local professional musicians performing Rebecca Clarke’s “Sonata for Viola and Piano” (1919), choreographed by Madeleine Bonn and Mikayla Archambeau, and Florence Price’s “Piano Quintet in A-minor” (1936), choreographed by Mikayla Archambeau.
Teaching Artists
Madeleine Bonn began her classical ballet training at the age of 2 at the Royal Academy of Dance in California, and continued at the San Francisco Ballet on full-scholarship, where she was a recipient of the Rosalie Helman Merit Award for outstanding achievement. Her background includes the Vaganova method, Balanchine technique, Bournonville, Spanish/Russian character dance, modern, contemporary, and neo-classical. She was a principal dancer with José Mateo Ballet Theatre in Cambridge, MA, for 14 years and has also performed abroad in Romania and Mongolia. Bonn holds a teaching certification from American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, and received an award from the Amherst Cultural District for her choreography in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a teacher, Bonn focuses on fostering confidence and self-esteem in her students, encouraging them to find their own voices through experimentation, music appreciation, phrasing, classical technique, and artistic expression.
Teaching Artists
Hannah Kennedy Wright has been dancing in the Pioneer Valley since the age of 3 at East Street Ballet and the Academy of Ballet Arts, with Charlotte Doyle, Noble Barker, Katherine Bervera, Barbara Kauff, Irina Vakhromeeva, Carlos Molina, and Donna Bonasera. At UMass, Hannah took advanced ballet classes with Tom Vacanti and Rodger Blum and performed with the 5 College Dance Departments and Alive with Dance. During her junior and senior year at UMass, Hannah taught students of all ages at Amherst Ballet and set choreography from Le Corsaire for upper school students. After graduation, Hannah spent 6 months in Key West Florida in a Hospitality Management Program with Hilton Hotels, where she continued dancing and guest teaching at Coffee Mill Dance Studio. Since returning to Amherst in 2020, Hannah has enjoyed taking and teaching classes while encouraging strength and confidence through dance.
Toni McElrath
Toni McElrath has been teaching and choreographing with Amherst Ballet since 2024.
Creative Strategies
Jennifer Waryas is a creative strategist, arts advocate, and longtime supporter of mission-driven organizations who gravitates toward work that brings together creativity, community, and the values of equity and access. Her path through nonprofit communications, visual storytelling, and brand development has been shaped by a deep belief in the power of the arts to build connection and spark change. She has contributed to organizations near and far, from Gaynor Minden in New York, where she helped shape the visual identity of a brand beloved by dancers, to Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco, where she volunteered while soaking in the city’s vibrant arts scene. Each experience added a layer to her approach—one that blends thoughtful design with a devotion to community and creativity. Though dance was never a professional pursuit, it’s been a steady rhythm in her life. From ballet classes at five to jazz in her teens and a return to movement in adulthood, Jennifer has always found dance to be a grounding force—one that values discipline, expression, and shared presence. A Western Massachusetts native with a global outlook, she is honored to support Amherst Ballet’s mission and its enduring role as a space for artistic growth, community engagement, and inclusive dance education.
