Directors Unurbat Gunaajav, Narankhand Dondog and Faculty

Unurbat Gunaajav grew up in UlaanBaatar, Mongolia. At the age of 12, he received a full scholarship to the prestigious Perm State Ballet College in Perm, Russia where he trained under ballet instructor Marina Chechulina and artistic director Vladimir Nikolaevitch Tolstukhin.

After graduating from Perm in 1989 with an honors diploma, Mr. Gunaajav was offered a position as a full time member of the Mongolian Academic Theatre Opera and Ballet. In 1992 he participated in the International Ballet Competition “Arabesque 92” in Perm, Russia. The following year he enjoyed working as a soloist with the Moscow Ballet 21st Century and Moscow Renaissance Ballet. He moved back to Mongolia in 1995 to rejoin the Mongolian Academic Theatre Opera and Ballet and in 1996 was honored by be named as its principal dancer. In 1998 Mr. Gunaajav came to the United States where he performed with the Philadelphia Ballet Conservatory. During that same year he worked as a dancer, instructor and choreographer with the Roanoke Ballet Theatre.

Mr. Gunaajav recently served as a master teacher and guest dancer for ballet companies in Charlotte, NC, Savannah, GA, Orlando, Fl, Abington, VA, Radford University and Washington & Lee University. Since 1998 he has choreographed and performed in every major Roanoke Ballet Theatre production including: Good Night Moon, The Grinch, Beauty and The Beast, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Nascar Ballet and Bluegrass Ballet.

In the fall of 2006 he was offered a position as Head Of School for RBT. While at RBT, Mr. Gunaajav oversaw artistic planning, casting, choreography, scheduling, music production and staging. As the Head Of School, he directed his first full length, two act ballet performance, Snow White.

In 2007, Mr. Gunaajav and his wife Nara established the Virginia Ballet Academy and UNA Dance Theatre.

As a dancer, Mr. Gunaajav has danced leading roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, Paquita, La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, Les Corsaire and many others.

In 1989 Narankhand Dondog received a Fine Arts degree from prestigious Perm State Ballet College in Perm, Russia, where she trained for 8 years with Perm's most respected ballet instructor, Marina Chechulina.

After graduating, she spent 14 years with the Mongolian Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet. As a professional dancer her performing repertoire includes principal roles in Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet, and others. In 1992 she participated in the 15th International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. The following year Ms. Dondog performed Gala with the Jeune Ballet de France. In 1993 she was invited to the International Dance Festivals of La Baule, France and Krasnoyarsk, Russia. She also was involved in the International Dance Workshop in London, England.

In 2000, Ms. Dondog received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Fine Arts in Mongolia. She created a one-act Ballet suite, which debuted at Mongolian Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Mongolia. She also received a grant from the Mongolian Foundation for Open Society to choreograph, direct and edit a short documentary film, Silent Thought—a contemporary ballet created to inspire college dancers.

Ms. Dondog has won many prestigious Mongolian awards, which include: The Order of the “Polar Star” in 1998, Leading Performer of Fine Arts in 1999 and a Honorary Artist Award in 2001. She recently relocated to Roanoke, Virginia to work at Roanoke Ballet Theatre as an instructor, choreographer, and performer.

While with RBT, Ms. Dondog performed with the Roanoke Symphony, Roanoke Opera, Hollins University and Washington & Lee University. In the summer of 2007, she taught at the State Street Ballet Company's Summer Intensive Workshop in Santa Barbara, California. The following year she and her husband, Unurbat Gunaajav, established The Virginia Ballet Academy and the UNA Dance Theatre.

Since then, Ms. Dondog has been educating many of the Roanoke Valley’s young pre-professional dancers in the Vaganova method, which focuses on precise technique and artistry.

Casey Daveldek has been dancing since the age of 5. Her dance training began at Theater Dance Center in Flanders, NJ under the instruction of off-Broadway dancers Millene Michel and Mary Ellen Volz. She joined TDC’s Shooting Stars Competition Team at the young age of 8 and traveled throughout the tri-state area competing in the focuses of jazz, lyrical, tap, and ballet. Casey studied with guest teachers and ballet coaches at TDC until the age of 12 when she moved to Roanoke, VA.

In Roanoke, Casey joined Floyd Ward School of Dance and began apart of their competition team. She traveled up and down the East Coast competing in Dance Troupe Inc, Dance Makers, and Showstoppers Competition; where she won awards such as Judges Choice and First Place Overall. After three years with Floyd Ward, Casey joined Roanoke Ballet Theatre and became part of their company. She performed Visions of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow White with RBT.

In 2007, Casey became apart of Unar’s new studio Virginia Ballet Academy where she has been involved with his creations of the Holiday Pops Concert and Anastasia.

Vanessa Fassié has an extensive background in teaching Dance and the Arts with a B.A. in Dance and an M.A.L.S from Hollins University as well as a M.F.A. in Photography and Film from VCU. Her dance training includes: VCU, San Diego Mesa College, California State University at Long Beach, American Dance Festival, Hollins University, Richmond Ballet, Roanoke Ballet Theatre, and varying classes,workshops, festivals, in NYC, France, and Greece.

She has taught at various schools and institutions of higher education including: Hollins University, Roanoke College, VCU, Roanoke Ballet Theatre, and Ann Catherine Cross School of Dance. Vanessa is a recent graduate of the Integral Yoga® 200hr teacher training program and teaches at Uttara Yoga Studio, in downtown Roanoke. She is currently a full time teacher for the Roanoke city schools, teaching Dance, Visual and Digital Arts to 9-12th grades!

A Roanoke native, she is very excited to bring her love of Dance, Yoga, and the Arts to the valley! Feel free to visit her at: www.vanessafassie.com.