Raymond Van Mason

Artistic Director, Founder of Imagine Ballet Theatre

Founder of Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival and Artistic Director of American Ballet Competition

Dance Credits

He was a Principal Artist with Ballet West (Salt Lake City, Utah) where he danced many leading roles such as Swan Lake, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty. He has dance main roles in many others such as Smuin’s Romeo and Juliet, Stevenson’s Cinderella, Caniparoli’s Ophelia, White Mourning and Ladies of the Camellias, Prokovsky’s Anna Karenina and Hynd’s Rosalinda.

He also danced many contemporary favorites such as Canfield’s Equinox, Taylor’s Company B, Mark’s Lark Ascending, Butler’s Carmina Burana, as well as many, many other ballets.

Choreography

His choreographic credits include four world premiere ballets for Ballet West – Seasons, Lady Guinevere, Transparencies and Desert as a Rose, commissioned for the Utah state centennial celebration.

In 1998, Mason was invited to choreograph for Ballet Pacifica’s Choreographic Project and in 1999, he was asked to join Ballet Pacifica as Ballet Master, Teacher, Choreographer and Dancer.  While with ballet Pacifica he choreographed two works – Reverie and Moonlight, which was filmed by Lloyd Rigler Foundation for Broadcast on the Classic Arts Showcase for PBS and some cable networks.

Mason has choreographed for Utah Opera Company’s Productions of Romeo & Juliet and La Traviata.

Mason created Pilgrimage:  A Liturgical Ballet (1993) and Requiem:  A Liturgical Ballet (1990) and Sacred Dances (2007) works which were commissioned for The Cathedral of the Madeleine Festival of the Arts in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He has choreographed works for Utah Ballet (Salt Lake City):  Chameleon, Carmina Burana and Symphony #7.

Additional works have been created for Ballet Etudes with the Phoenix Symphony, Les Ballet GranDiva, Abilene Texas Christian University,  Les Ballet GranDiva – as well as others.

Mason has choreographed three full length ballets for Imagine Ballet Theatre which include:  Secret Garden to an original score by Kurt Bestor.  Nutcracker, Alice: Adventures in Wonderland and most recently Cinderella.

Christie Freebairn-Perry Teaches Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Ballet

Christie Freebairn-Perry is from Sandy, Utah and began her ballet training with Karen Chatterton at Academy of Ballet Arts, where she also danced with Mountain West Ballet. As a recipient of the Willam F. Christiensen scholarship, she continued her training at the University of Utah, graduating with a BFA in ballet while dancing with Utah Ballet. Upon graduation she joined Ballet West where she danced for eight years under the direction of John Hart. While with Ballet West she danced in many classical and contemporary works and danced soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Gershwin by George. She danced for a season with City Ballet of San Diego, under the direction of Steven and Elizabeth Wistrich, where she was featured in Wistrich’s Strawfeet, Balanchine’s Who Cares? and the role of Titania in A Mid-Summer Nights Dream.

Christie has made guest appearances with Utah Opera, Imagine Ballet Theatre, Clytie Adams School of Ballet and Mountain West Ballet. Christie has thirty years of teaching experience and is currently teaching for Clytie Adams School of Ballet in Kaysville Utah. She enjoys directing, choreographing and sharing her knowledge of ballet with her students.

Jessica Gabler Teaches PALS (Performing Artists, Lengthening Strides) and Modern

Jessica graduated Cum Laude with her bachelor’s degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from Weber State University in 2014. She has over 26 years of experience in dance and has been teaching for eleven years. She has trained in many different dance styles but specializes in modern. Jessica has recently had the opportunity to start teaching the PALS class here at Imagine Ballet Theatre and absolutely loves it! She enjoys piecing dances together and cultivating an environment that welcomes creativity. Jessica is passionate about the art of dance and hopes you will join her in class!

Miriam Panek-Jones Teaches Adult Ballet

Miriam is a spirited, fun loving, follow your dreams type of gal. She was born and raised in Costa Rica where she grew up doing Hebrew Folk dance and then segued into ballet and contemporary from there. She traveled to the United States to follow her dream of becoming a professional dancer in 2020. She has been hired here and there for dance jobs, but is now a part of Imagine Ballet Theatre’s Professional Division.

Tessa Fillpot

Teaches Variations

Tessa has been dancing with Imagine Ballet Theatre since 2004. She originally fell in love with dance as a young child after her brother was prescribed dance as a way to control his body after being diagnosed with epilepsy. She has performed many memorable parts, such as Tigerlily in Alice: Adventures in Wonderland, Lily Archibald in The Secret Garden, as well as Snow Queen, Clara, and Sugarplum in the Nutcracker. She taught pre-ballet for IBT for 9 years, and assists with staging performances throughout the year. Tessa is a member of Imagine Ballet Theatre’s Professional Division.

Genevieve Frank / Teaches Beginning Ballet and is Costume Mistress

Geneviève trained for 10 years at SAB dancing many children roles with NYCB and had the honor of performing the role of Marie (Clara) for several years in George Balanchine’s Nutcracker. She attended the University of Utah Ballet Program graduating in multiple disciplines. For the last 9 years she has danced character roles in Bournonville, Nutcracker, Cinderella and Secret Garden and currently enjoys passing on her knowledge and love of ballet to the students at IBT.

Angelea Hansen / Teaches Beginning Ballet I

Angelea Hansen has been studying classical ballet since she was about 12 years old. She’s trained with many places including Excel Dance Studios, Imagine Ballet Theatre, Clytie Adam’s School of Ballet, Snow College, The Bountiful School of Ballet, and Weber State University. She’s also attended many summer intensives/workshops/master classes/etc. at Ballet Austin, the University of Utah, and Next Generation Ballet to name a few. She is currently studying at Weber State and will graduate with her Bachelors in Dance Performance and Choreography in Spring 2026.