The company

Kathy Thibodeaux began her dance training at the age of six at Jackson Ballet School under the direction of Albia Kavan and Rex Cooper. When the Jackson Ballet Company went professional in 1978, Kathy was one of the first ballerinas to be hired. Soon after being hired, she rose to the highest positions within the Company, becoming the principal dancer, a position she successfully maintained until 1986. During her time with the Jackson Ballet (later Ballet Mississippi), she performed as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Pigtail Girl in Graduation Ball, Odette in Swan Lake – Act II, Taglioni in Pas de Quatre, and headlined important roles in Les Sylphides and La Bayadere – Act II. He danced the title role in John Butler's Othello, Todd Bolendar's Stillpoint, Jean-Paul Comelin's Daughter of the Morning and William Christensen's Bravura, as well as in the traditional Grand Pas de Deux, Don Quixote, The Corsair and Raymonda. In 1982, Kathy received a silver medal for her performance at the II International Ballet Competition (IBC), where she debuted her solo piece We Shall Behold Him. She was featured in the 90-minute ABC/PBS documentary, “To Dance for Gold,” documenting her progress through the US II IBC and achieving her silver medal. Kathy is frequently called upon as a guest teacher/instructor at several US International Ballet competitions and has performed at the Gala presentation in Jackson, Mississippi. Her desire to use her gift in dance to share her faith in Jesus Christ led Kathy to resign from Ballet Mississippi and found her own company, Ballet Magnificat!, in 1986. Through the creation of Ballet Magnificat, Kathy has played many leading roles, solo and together, as well as choreographing several works for the company; these plays include: Creation (1987), Regathering (1988), Light Eternal (1989), Joy (1989), Thy Kingdom Come(1989), A Christmas Festival (1991), Praise Magnificat (1992), Sanctuary (1992), sections of Savior (1996), Unveiled Hope (1997), Freedom (2002), A Christmas Dream (2006) as well as “Battle Scene“, and parts of Snow Queen (2011). In 2006, Kathy wrote a children's book based on the ballet “A Christmas Dream,” which she choreographed in honor of Ballet Magnificat's 20th anniversary! In 1983, “Kathy Thibodeaux Day” was proclaimed by order of then-Mississippi Governor William Winter. A public commendation of Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus from 1989 was also published, and a resolution praising Kathy given by the Alabama Senate in 1998. In 2008, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, along with the founder of Peavey Music , Hartley Peavey, presented Kathy with the annual Hartley D. Peavey Award for Business Excellence. Kathy's passion for the Lord is so evident that she has given her life to serving God and His people, praising Him with dance. She is so grateful to live this life of service and work with her husband, Keith Thibodeaux. Kathy and Keith have a daughter, Tara Drew, who is a dancer, teacher and choreographer, married to Bryce Drew, a former NBA player and head basketball coach at Valparaiso University. Tara also danced in Ballet Magnificat!

Melanie Seeger Plassmann was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she began her dance training at the age of 4. She began her professional dancing at age 14 at the National School of Arts and completed the Royal Academy of Dancing Advanced 2 with Sandra Castens. In 2001, Melanie was invited to dance with the South African Ballet Theatre. In 2003, she moved to Cape Town to study at the University of Cape Town. While at UCT, she also completed the RAD Teachers Certificate and was awarded the RAD Solo Seal Award, which is the RAD highest performing award. At the end of 2004, Melanie joined the Cape Town City Ballet. While in this ballet company, Melanie performed in many of the classical and contemporary ballets such as: La Sylphides, Carmen, Camille, The Merry Widow, the Peasant Girl in Giselle, two of the fairies in Sleeping Beauty, Winter Fairy in Cinderella, the Ballerina Doll in The Nutcracker, Solo Waltz in Les Sylph ides, and Swanilda in Coppélia. Melanie has also performed on many national tours as well as an international tour in Dublin, Ireland. In 2008, Melanie moved to Jackson, Mississippi, USA to study and dance with Ballet Magnificat! on the Trainee Program, Level 2. Upon returning to South Africa, she rejoined Cape Town City Ballet. During her time at UCT and CTCB, she was involved with teaching on the CTCB Boys Development program. In 2011, Melanie left Cape Town City Ballet to try teaching full time. Melanie ran her own studio for 4 years, at the same time she was also on the full-time faculty at the Cape Academy of Performing Arts. In 2015, Melanie returned to UCT to obtain her undergraduate degree in Dance Education. She also taught classical ballet at the UCT School of Dance, was deputy director of the Cape Junior Ballet School and assistant ballet teacher at the Cape Junior Ballet Company. Melanie aims to provide quality teaching and excellence in an informative and enjoyable environment.

Elisa Loures began her classical ballet studies at the Anna Pavlova Pró Música Theater School, in the city of Juiz de Fora, Brazil, where she was also born. At 17 she graduated from Grade 6 and Intermediate Foundation at the Royal Academy of Dance in London, where she studied ballet and character dancing under the tutelage of Mirian Mockdece. In 2012, she moved to the state of São Paulo, where she signed her first contract as a dancer at Companhia de Dança Jovem de São José dos Campos, gaining experience in classic and contemporary styles under the direction of choreographer and director Marcos Sanches. The following year she joined the Brazilian Ballet Company in Rio de Janeiro, where she received most of her professional training. There, she danced under Brazilian ballet masters Jorge Teixeira and Tadheo de Carvalho in the Cuban technique of Cuba's national ballet. In her time with this company she had the opportunity to dance to a diverse repertoire of ballets, including: Seguidillas in Don Quixote; Bathilde, Willies and Peasant Pas de Deux in Giselle; Night of the Walpurgs, The Magic Flute; Mother of Clara and Fairy in The Nutcracker, and Brides and Great Swans in Swan Lake. Elisa also taught as part of the "Aprendizes da Companhia Brasileira de Ballet" training program, where she teaches students at the pre-professional level. Elisa also has a heart for missions that has been ignited since her conversion to faith. Today, she has the opportunity to use the gift of dance to reach a life with the gospel and be used as an instrument in the hands of the Lord through her involvement in Ballet

Nayara Schlichting is from Curitiba/PR. At the age of 17, she began her professional career working in the areas of customer service and administration. In 2012 she graduated from the Administration Technician course. She gained experience in the sector, working in the administrative area of the most varied segments (sports, real estate, food). In 2021, unique and remarkable experiences with the Lord led her to discover Ballet Magnificat! Brazil, through a friend and dancer from Cia. Nayara is married to Bruno and they are Victor’s parents. She currently assists in the Company's administrative sector.

Noanna Bortoluzzi Vilela Martins was born in Laranjeiras do Sul-PR and began her ballet studies at the age of 8 at Ballerina Studio de Dança where she also worked as a teacher. Over time, she took several improvement courses as a dancer. As a teacher, she took courses on tip fitting and also a teaching program, especially the vaganova method. She has a degree in Baracharelado and a degree in dance from the State University of Paraná (Unespar-Fap), also a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning and a specialist in Interior Design and Lightning Design both from Universidade Positivo. She worked as a teacher in several schools in Curitiba such as Cecconello dance school, Dom dance and theater school, Della danca and sesc.