Classical School of Ballet Long Island| ABT Trained Teachers

Our Instructors

Founding Director Emerita

Carolyn Zettel-Augustyn
Carolyn Zettel-Augustyn,
carolyn.csbli@gmail.com, has been a ballet educator, director, examiner, adjudicator, and consultant for nearly 4 decades. She began her illustrious teaching career in 1982 when she founded and directed the Academy of Dance in Waterloo, Ontario. For the next 25 years her Academy became renowned for its incomparable dance training. She is an ABT® Affiliate Teacher Pre-Primary through Level 7 and Partnering of the ABT® National Training Curriculum and is an ABT® National Training Curriculum Examiner. She has received numerous awards for her choreography and holds an ABT Fellowship, and she has been frequently invited to guest teach for numerous schools in the USA and Canada. Carolyn Zettel-Augustyn is a certified teacher with Canadian Dance Teachers’ Association (CDTA) and has been awarded Life-Time Membership status. During her tenure with CDTA she was appointed Chair of the Ballet Division and was a member of the Examiner Syllabus Committee. In addition to her ballet certifications, she is a Certified Yoga ®Teacher and Music Together Teacher. In 2011, she founded Classical School of Ballet LI, NY, retiring from her position in 2024.

Currently, she is teaching and consulting for ballet schools in Canada and will be returning to Classical School of Ballet LI for special workshops and intensives.
carolyn.csbli@gmail.com

Founding Co-Director, Emeritus

Frank Augustyn
Frank Augustyn trained at the prestigious National Ballet School of Canada and was invited to join the National Ballet Company of Canada in 1970. He became Canada’s most renowned male ballet dancer of the 20th century. In 1973, he and Karen Kain won a special award for the best pas de deux at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow. Augustyn has performed as a principal dancer globally, including Boston Ballet, Berlin Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Beijing Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Talin Ballet and Dutch National Ballet among others. He has toured globally with the National Ballet Company of Canada dancing on nearly every major stage around the world including The Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Covent Garden, England and Caracalla Teatro, Italy to name a few. He has been decorated with three honorary degrees and in 1979 was bestowed the most distinguished title of Canada, Officer, Order of Canada (O.C.). He co-produced and hosted the television series, "Footnotes, The Classics of Ballet", first aired on Bravo Television and authored the accompanying book, "Footnotes, The World's Best Loved Ballets". From 2000 to 2024 Frank Augustyn was a tenured Associate Professor at Adelphi University, NY where he led the Department of Dance from 2000 to 2019. Currently, he is co-producing arts events, teaching, and consulting for ballet schools in Canada, and will be returning to Classical School of Ballet LI for special workshops and intensives.

Faculty, Director

Tamara Babic
Tamara Babic, a native of Croatia, graduated from the School of Classical Ballet in Zagreb, Croatia. Following graduation, she joined the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb as a classical ballet performer. Her repertoire included notable works such as "The Swan Lake," "The Sleeping Beauty," "The Nutcracker," "Coppelia," "La Bayadere," "Les Sylphides," "Paquita," "Don Quixote," "Giselle," among others. She also performed in operas and operettas.

She has been teaching dance for more than 15 years. Tamara exchanged her stage career for the classroom without regrets, believing she has found her true calling in teaching.
Ms. Babic is an experienced professional teacher in Ballet, Character Dance, Historical Dance, and related disciplines instructing both young and pre-professional dancers. Her training is based on the Vaganova method. She holds a Master’s in Education degree from the University of Zagreb and is a qualified Ballet and Piano teacher. Additionally, she became a certified NYC Ballet Workout Instructor in 2010. She is also an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum and was awarded Affiliate status for her successes at entering students in examinations.
Since September 2018, Ms. Babic has held the position of Adjunct Faculty classical ballet teacher at Adelphi University, where she has also been invited multiple times to present her original choreographic works for main stage performances.
Ms. Babic joined CSB LI faculty in the fall of 2013, working closely with Ms. Zettel-Augustyn and Mr. Augustyn continuously. During her tenure at CSB LI she has successfully prepared and entered students in the ABT® National Training Curriculum exams and has served as a resident choreographer for the school’s biannual performances.
In addition to training students in classical ballet technique, she is passionate and skilled in showcasing students through her original choreographies in ballet, pointe, character, and historical dance. Her work has been staged in NYC, Long Island, and internationally in France and Croatia.

Her other passions include Argentinean tango, photography and languages. She is fluent in English, Spanish, Crotian, proficient in French, and has a basic understanding of Russian. Form 2012 – 19, she served as a Festival Relations Manager at summer Salsa Beach Splash Festival in Croatia.

Faculty

Lana Hankinson

Lana Hankinson is a freelance artist currently performing, teaching, and working in New York City. Under the tutelage of Frank Augustyn, she graduated from Adelphi University Summa Cum Laude in 2017, as recipient of the Jeff and Tina Bolton Scholarship, Ruth St. Denis Prize, and Provost Talent Scholarship. Since then, Hankinson has danced with companies including Dances Patrelle, Benjamin Briones Ballet, and Thoughts in Motion.

In her career, Lana has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training (Pre-Primary through Level 5 of ABT® National Training Curriculum) and is certified by Dance Education Equity Association - an organization dedicated to ensuring that dance is safe, equitable, and inclusive for all. Currently, she serves as an instructor at Classical School of Ballet LI and a rehearsal director of Dances Patrelle. Additionally, she holds various Front of House positions at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, Park Avenue Armory, and Nederlander Theatres.

Hankinson has extensive training in dance; she studied in the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre’s Conservatory Program (Alpharetta, GA) under the direction of Maniya Barredo. In conjunction with this, she instructed Metropolitan Ballet Theatre’s Trainee Division as a co-teacher from August 2012 - May 2013. In addition to dancing, she is a classically trained pianist of eleven years.

Faculty

Isabella Francine Craven

Native to Long Island, NY, Isabella Francine Craven is a freelance classical ballet and classic/theatre jazz dancer, athlete, and performing artist. She studies at CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies (CUNY BA, Hunter College) in Performing Arts.

Isabella began her training in ballet at Classical School of Ballet LI. Since adolescence, she has attended summer intensives including American Ballet Theatre, Verdon Fosse Legacy PTP, Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet to name a few. She performed lead/ensemble roles: Verdon Fosse Legacy PTP; Bach to Basics (Kevin Jenkins), The Nutcracker, Don Quixote among others.

While being a student at CSB LI, she diligently trained and successfully completed the ABT National Training Curriculum student examinations (Honors, High Honors), eventually receiving the Scholar Artist Award (Excellence in Academics/Dance - Long Island Arts Alliance).

Isabella, even as a student, assisted at CSB LI and we are happy to have her on faculty since fall of 2023.

Adult Class Faculty

Carol Peretz

Carol Peretz began her ballet training as a child with Sylvia Umlas at the School of Ballet Repertory/National Academy of Ballet, crediting her for instilling a lifelong love of dance. She continued her studies at the School of American Ballet and the New York School of Ballet under Richard Thomas and Barbara Fallis, as well as with Oleg Briansky, Mireille Briane, Gloria Marino (Character dance), and Antonio Alba (Flamenco).

After a 20-year break for a fashion design career at Parsons, her love of ballet drew her back to the studio. Trained initially in the Cecchetti and Balanchine methods, she later studied the Vaganova technique. Her classes combine Vaganova and Cecchetti methods, focusing on strength, beauty, and technique, tailored for both adults and children.

She is a Bolshoi Ballet Curriculum certified teacher at all levels. Ms Peretz is ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.

Adult Class Faculty

Nadia Zhivotenko

Nadia Zhivotenko graduated with honor from the Tashkent State Choreographic School in Tashkent, Russia and danced with the Bolshoi State Academy Theater of Ballet in Tashkent (soloist) from 1976-1992.

From 1992-1994 she danced as a soloist with the Russian Ballet Company in Moscow before coming to the US. From 1994-1996 she danced with the Brighton Ballet Company in Brooklyn, NY and from 1996-1997 the Staten Island Ballet Company.

She has danced lead and soloist roles in a wide range of classical ballets including Nutcracker, La Bayadere, Les Sylphides, Cinderella, Paquita, Coppelia, Le Corsaire, Creation of the World, Raymonda, Don Quixote, Giselle, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Since 1995 she has taught and choreographed at several ballet and dance schools in the New York area.

Betty Prinsen
Betty Prinsen brings her unique professional dance background as performer and teacher with major dance companies to all that she does. Betty has taught at Alvin Ailey, Broadway Dance Center, and Ballet Hispanico in New York City. Betty has her B.A. from Vassar College and M.A. from Columbia University.