Gina Hyatt-Mazon, Artistic Director
Former Principal Artist, Hamburg Ballet
Gina Hyatt-Mazon received her ballet training in Berlin and Munich, Germany. In 1981, Ms. Hyatt-Mazon won the gold medal in the German National Competition, and in 1982, the gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.

Ms. Hyatt-Mazon joined the Hamburg Ballet in 1982 and was a principal dancer from 1986 to 1997. She worked closely with choreographer John Neumeier, creating the lead roles in many of his ballets such as Othello, A Cinderella Story, Peer Gynt, and Undine, and she has danced much of the classical repertoire including Giselle, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, and The Nutcracker.

In 1997, she joined the staff of The Georgia Ballet as Ballet Mistress under the direction of Iris Hensley, and was appointed to the post of Artistic Director in August 2003. Ms. Hyatt-Mazon has staged numerous Georgia Ballet productions, including The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Serenade, Coppélia and Giselle, as well as contemporary works such as Going Bach, American Dreamer, A Sleepy Hollow Story, The Firebird, A Young Dancer’s Guide to the Orchestra and Pinocchio. Ms. Hyatt-Mazon has also worked extensively as a guest teacher and coach.

Michele Ziemann-DeVos, Executive Director & School Director

Ms. Ziemann-DeVos was appointed Executive Director of The Georgia Ballet in August of 2003. A former professional dancer, Ms. Ziemann-DeVos has an extensive background in business and has experience in management, accounting, sales, and marketing.

She has taught ballet to students for twenty years, and she has served as the director of The Georgia Ballet School since 1996. Under her direction, the school has grown considerably in size and revenue. Additionally, Ms. Ziemann-DeVos inaugerated numerous initiatives relative to structure and curriculum which dramatically strengthened the school artistically.

Ms. Ziemann-DeVos was born and raised in Chicago, IL, attended the University of Cincinnati, and has performed professionally with the Pennsylvania Ballet, Des Moines Ballet, New Haven Ballet, and The Georgia Ballet.

Ms. Ziemann-DeVos currently serves as an officer of United Arts of Cobb.  She is a member of the Dance Advisory Board of Kennesaw State University and served on the Dance Panel for the Georgia Council for the Arts from 2007-2009.  She is also a member of Cobb Executive Women.

Janusz Mazon, Ballet Master/Choreographer
Former Principal Artist, Hamburg Ballet

Janusz Mazon received his early training in Bytom, Poland and became a soloist dancer with the Bytom State Opera. In 1982, Mr. Mazon won the gold medal in the Professional Ballet Competition of Poland and was named principal dancer with the Warsaw State Opera Company. From 1985 to 1997, Mr. Mazon was a principal dancer with the Hamburg Ballet in Germany, where he danced leading roles in John Neumeier's ballets and such classical ballets as Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. He has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and South America.

Mr. Mazon joined The Georgia Ballet as Ballet Master in 1997. As a choreographer, he has created several original works for The Georgia Ballet including American Dreamer in 2001, Interruptions in 2005, A Sleepy Hollow Story in 2006, The Firebird in 2007, A Young Dancer's Guide to the Orchestra in 2009, Enigmatic Tangos in 2009, and Pinocchio in 2010.

Mr. Mazon graduated with honors from Life University, and in addition to training Georgia Ballet professional dancers and students, he operates his own chiropractic practice, Mazon Chiropractic, in Marietta.

Kara Hill-Protos received her BFA from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music. She performed with Southern Ballet Theatre, Dayton Ballet and The Georgia Ballet professional company for nine seasons. She has taught and choreographed for the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program, The Georgia Ballet’s Momentum Program, the Dance 101 Arts in Education Program and the Walker School spring play. Ms. Hill-Protos also teaches and adjudicates for the Dance Olympus/Dance America organization.

Theresa Crawford

Theresa Crawford has over 40 years of experience teaching Classical Ballet to children. She was trained as a teacher by her aunt, Marcia Dale Weary, the founder and Artistic Director of the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. While still a student, Ms. Crawford was encouraged to begin studying her aunt’s original and highly successful teaching methods.  She founded and managed her own schools as well as a non-profit children’s ballet company in Michigan. Most recently she was the Principal of Orlando Ballet’s largest feeder school in Orlando Florida. Her background includes 12 years on the permanent Faculty of CPYB and over 30 continuous years of teaching in their nationally renowned summer course.  Several of Ms. Crawford’s students have or are currently performing with well-known companies in Europe, Canada and the United States.  She is certified as a Pilates instructor, privately coaches all levels of ballet students, and has been a guest instructor in Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

Rebecca Geiger was first introduced to the art of ballet in Colombia, South America, where she spent the first fourteen years of her life. Upon returning to the United States, she moved to Pennsylvania and began serious ballet training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.  Her love of dance led her to pursue an academic dance education after graduating from high school, and Rebecca earned her B.A. in Dance from Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi in 2005.  She has taught dance at various studios both in Pennsylvania and Georgia and is currently a primary faculty member at the Georgia Ballet.  Rebecca moved to Georgia in 2008 to pursue a Master’s Degree in Community Counseling, and she ultimately plans to use her expertise in dance and the arts in a community development setting. Her recent projects include performance and research in Thailand, Cambodia and Australia.

Jennifer Inman

Jennifer joined the faculty of The Georgia Ballet School in 1997, and performed with The Georgia Ballet professional company under Iris Hensley. She began her intensive ballet training at Ballet Hysell School, the affiliate school of the New Orleans Ballet, where her teachers included Vincenzo Celli and Barbara Forbes. She continued her training at Giacobbe Academy of Dance in New Orleans and later at The Boston School of Ballet, both in the summer program and as a year-round student. In Atlanta she studied at Terpsichore Dance Expressions and The Georgia Ballet. She has a B.A. in American History and French from Washington and Lee University.

Victoria Norman

Victoria, who joins the faculty as well as The Georgia Ballet’s professional ensemble this year, began her training in Tulsa at Oklahoma Performing Arts.  At the age of 16, the director began to train Victoria on how to teach students.  She taught ballet, jazz, tap and acrobatics while still in high school.  Victoria continued her ballet training at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on a merit scholarship and performed as a member of Utah Ballet and the university’s Character Dance Ensemble, earning a BFA in Ballet Performance in May 2010.  During this time, she continued her teacher training under Regina Zharina, focusing on ballet, and instructed at local studios in Salt Lake City.  Victoria will teach classes in the PreBallet Division.