BellÈclat Team

Lauren Ader -Cumpston

BellÈclat Director and Founder

Lauren Ader-Cumpston began her dance training at an early age in Conifer, Colorado where she studied various styles of dance including jazz, and tap. In 2004, with a growing passion for ballet, she began to pursue training in classical dance and studied primarily under Nikoloz Makhateli in Denver, Colorado in the Vaganova Technique. While continuing the study of classical ballet under Nikoloz Makhateli and later Anastasiya Buchele, Ms. Ader-Cumpston attended University of Colorado at Denver, studying Biology and Pre-physical therapy. While unable to complete her degree before pursuing a career in dance, the time studying at UCD inspired a passionate and growing interest in Dance Medicine and in cross-training/conditioning for dancers. In 2010 Ms. Cumpston had the opportunity to train at the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet (GKACB) in New York City and performed as a part of their Studio Company for two years. She is grateful to have been able to study under wonderful teachers including Gelsey Kirkland, Rinat Imaev, Karina Elver and Lyubov Fominich and to perform various works including excerpts from Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, La Bayadère, La Vivandiere, The Nutcracker, La Sylphide and Napoli among others. Following her study at GKACB, Lauren moved to Chicago, IL and became a founding member of Ballet 5:8 as a Company Artist in 2012; she was later promoted to Lead Artist in 2014. While dancing with Ballet 5:8, Lauren also served as the Ballet Mistress for Ballet 5:8 Professional Company and as the Director of Residency Programs for Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts. While serving at Ballet 5:8 school of the Arts, Ms. Ader-Cumpston played a crucial role in instituting and developing a curriculum for the Pre-Professional and Conservatory training programs based on the Vaganova syllabus. (Recently, Ms. Ader-Cumpston was excited to join Ballet 5:8 on staff again as the head instructor for their new online program Ballet 5:8 NOW).

Ms. Ader-Cumpston moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2017 with her husband Evan as he began a surgical residency at the University of Texas. In San Antonio, Lauren served as the Lead Teacher in the Pre-Professional Division at the Dance Center of San Antonio, an award winning school, as well as the Assistant to the Artistic Director at the Children’s Ballet of San Antonio for 3 years. While Ms. Ader-Cumpston is extremely grateful for the time she has spent teaching in larger schools throughout her career, in 2020 she was inspired to launch her own program BellÈclat - Private Coaching and Mentorship. Her first mentor in classical dance, Nikoloz Makhateli, is still a mentor and dear friend to Ms. Ader-Cumpston today, and her desire to mentor young students is greatly inspired by Mr. Makhateli’s influence in her life. Through an intimate mentoring and coaching program Ms. Ader-Cumpston hopes to train, encourage and prepare dancers for a professional career in dance.

Ms. Ader-Cumpston specializes in pre-professional and professional classical training, bringing a knowledge of the Vaganova technique and passion to train dancers who are, not only technicians, but also artists. With a continual passion for dance medicine, Ms. Ader-Cumpston continues to learn the best practices, conditioning programs and training methods to help dancers prevent injury and to be the strongest, healthiest dancers that they can be. She has attended online courses from Harkness Center for Dance Injuries through their DanceMedU and is also certified to teach Progressing Ballet Technique, a conditioning and cross training program designed by ballet teachers and physical therapists specifically for ballet dancers. In addition, reflecting her view of a need for a holistic approach to training, in 2020 Ms. Ader-Cumpston became a certified member of Youth Protection and Advocates in Dance (Y.P.A.D.) where she received training in and committed to creating a healthy and safe training environment for dancers. Click here to view certifications.

Hayley Ader

Contemporary Dance

Hayley Ader, originally from Colorado, graduated with a BFA in Dance and minor studies in Physiology from the University of Arizona in 2013. As part of the UofA Dance Ensemble, she was able to perform Martha Graham’s Panorama in a concert with the Martha Graham Dance Company. After graduating, she became a performing member of Inaside Chicago Dance and worked with choreographers Robert McKee, Sinead Gildea, Will Gil, Mitchell Haley, and Eddy O’Campo. She choreographed for the company in her third year and her piece “9 to 5” was performed in the Spring and Fall concerts of 2016. Additionally, she was a guest artist in works for Thodos Dance Chicago’s “New Dances” and a guest choreographer for Alliance Dance Chicago’s “Kaleidoscope” and the Emergence Choreographer’s Showcase. 

In 2016, Hayley moved to Israel in order to dance in Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company's Dance Journey Program where she was able to work closely with past and present company members as well as program director Danielle Ohn and KCDC Artist Director Rami Baer. She was also able to work with/take workshops from Eyal Dadon, Yaniv Abraham, Idan Sherabi, Noa Zuk, Vertigo Dance, and Batsheva Dance Company. Following her time Israel, she danced with the contemporary company, Adri Mascort Cia., in Barcelona, Spain performing in Silence 2.0, Autoretrat and Trilogia.

During the 2018-19 season she took time to travel for workshops in Amsterdam (Akram Kahn, Christina Mertzani), Nashville (New Dialect) and Israel (GAGA Summer Intensive) and as a freelance dance artist performed for First Fridays event at Bel Campo café in Amsterdam, hosted by the Henny Juriens Foundation, RAW Artists San Antonio and collaborated with musician Jaime Parker to create a solo for the MESH event (San Antonio). Since moving to New York in fall 2019 she has worked with choreographers Yin Yue (YYDC), Maddie Robertson (MHR Dance) and Kayla Farrish (Decent Structures Arts). In February 2020 Hayley and her dear friend and collaborator, Silvia Piponzi, an Italian dancer/artist, were granted residency and performance with Ecole de Danse Saint Etienne (Saint Etienne, France) for their piece “2000 Miles”. She loves the variety and opportunity of freelance work and hopes to continue to share and collaborate with many artists within the states as well as internationally.

Alex Ader

Modern Dance, Dancer Wellness

Coming Soon!