The perfect team

Cindy Post, Instructor

Cindy Post has been teaching and choreographing in Rochester for over 38 years.  She has experience in tap, hip hop and jazz.  Her dances have consistently won top honors at regional and national dance competitions.  Cindy continues to take class and learn the latest styles and techniques from teachers in LA, NYC and throughout the northeast.

Cindy gets her creativity through music and her students.  "When the taps sound good, I love it"  Teaching and performing are her passions.

Shannon Purpura, Instructor

Shannon Purpura received her dance training at the Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education, the official school of the Rochester City Ballet. She was invited to attend Alonzo King LINES Ballet summer intensive, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Perry Mansfield summer intensive, and has attended summer intensives at both the Juilliard School and The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. Purpura performed alongside the Rochester City Ballet in notable roles that include Lead Spanish Chocolate in “The Nutcracker”, Daniel Gwirtzman’s “Encore”, and George Balanchine’s “Serenade”. After training, she attended the University of Arizona on scholarship where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance after just two and a half years. While at the University of Arizona, Purpura performed River North Dance Chicago repertoire “Evolution of a Dream”, George Balanchine’s “Rubies”, Ernie Flatt’s “Firebird”, as well as many soloist roles in works by Michael Williams and James Clouser. Purpura also choreographed a solo that was selected to premier at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre in 2014. Following graduation, Purpura returned to Rochester and in August 2023, Shannon and Megan Kamler were announced as the Artistic Directors of Rochester City Ballet. Since then, Ms. Purpura has choreographed numerous works for Rochester City Ballet including “Peter & the Wolf” which premiered with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2024 .In April 2024, Shannon was commissioned by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra to create works for the Eclipse Spectacular: Symphonic Celebration performance at the Blue Cross Arena.

Shannon Purpura serves as the Executive Director of Rochester City Ballet, appointed to the role in June 2025 after leading the company as Artistic Director since August 2023.

Karen Sitter, Instructor

Karen is a teacher and choreographer in hip hop, jazz, tap and ballet and has studied from New York to Hollywood with dome of the greats including Frank Hatchett, Savion Glover, AC and Jermaine Salsberg. Her classes are known for their unique style and great energy.

Maine Chernjavsky, Instructor

Maine Chernjavsky has built a distinguished career performing leading roles across both classical and contemporary ballet repertoire. Born in Japan and raised in California, she trained at the Marat Daukayev School of Ballet before completing the Graduate Program at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

From 2014 to 2023, she danced with Tulsa Ballet, performing works by renowned choreographers including Wayne McGregor, Nacho Duato, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, in addition to full-length classics such as Swan Lake, Giselle, and Cinderella.

In 2023, Chernjavsky joined Cincinnati Ballet as a Soloist, where her repertoire has included principal roles in Anna Marie Holmes’ Don Quixote, Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, and George Balanchine’s Jewels, as well as works by Jiří Kylián and William Forsythe. She has also appeared as a guest artist with Barak Ballet, Moving Arts, and participated in a Jacob’s Pillow Lab residency.

In addition to her classical foundation, Chernjavsky brings a deep versatility to contemporary and theatrical movement. She has worked with acclaimed choreographers across a wide range of styles, including Broadway choreographers Andy Blankenbuehler and Joshua Bergasse, jazz icon Marguerite Derricks, and contemporary innovators Jennifer Archibald, Alejandro Cerrudo, and Itzik Galili. These collaborations have enriched her dynamic performance presence and expanded her movement fluency beyond the traditional ballet canon.

Named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2018, Chernjavsky has also appeared on screen in Amazon Prime’s Étoile (2024) and ABC Family’s Bunheads (2012).

Marlena Roberts, Instructor

Marlena Roberts was born in Baltimore, Maryland where she began dancing at the age of 3. She attended Baltimore School for the Arts to begin her formal ballet and modern training and recently graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA in Dance in May 2024. During her time at both schools, Marlena had the privilege of training under distinguished choreographers and instructors, including Thang Dao, Hayley Meier, Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Barry Hughson, and Christopher Compton. Marlena has performed many notable works such as “Waltz Girl” in George Balanchine’s “Serenade”, and Gerald Arpino’s “Light Rain.” Marlena has also attended numerous summer and winter intensives including BalletX, Philadelphia Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carolina Ballet and Washington Ballet. She will soon begin her second season with Rochester City Ballet for their 2025/2026 season.