Lady Holly Hathaway Kaough – Artistic Director
She is the artistic director of LCCB and an accomplished choreographer, as well as a New York Guild-Certified Pilates instructor. Lady Holly attended Emory University as a music major and studied dance with the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, City Ballet of Houston, Joffrey Ballet in San Antonio, and with many Dance Masters of National and International fame. She also received her Bachelors degree from McNeese State University. She received a Regional Dance America scholarship to the Choreographers Conference and several of her works have been selected for showing on Southwest Regional Ballet Association Gala performances. Among them are: Once Told to Me, Louisiana Saturday Night, and Paper Suite. She choreographed a full-length version of Scheherazade for performance with the Lake Charles Symphony. That same evening included Lady Holly’s version of excerpts from Firebird, and The Fable, an original piece choreographed to a score composed by the late Keith Gates. She also choreographed Petrouchka, performed with the Lake Charles Symphony. Lady Holly is wife to Andy Kaough and mother to daughters Cagle and Caroline.
Lady Leah Lafargue Hathaway – Artistic Director Emeritus
She followed her dream and established Lady Leah Lafargue School of the Dance in 1957 and chartered the Lake Charles Civic Ballet company in 1968. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from McNeese State University. She studied dance a the School of American Ballet in New York, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School and with noted tap dancers Tommy McCool and Jack Stanley. She was also a student at Lelia Haller of New Orleans as well as a theatre student of Rosa Hart and Marjorie Wilson. She has maintained the mission of LCCB by providing the total theatre experience with an emphasis on classical dance training and performance. LCCB has been used as a creative outlet for Louisiana choreographers, composers and artists, and as a means of building the audience for dance in our region. Lady Leah has created many original ballets for LCCB, most notable including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Lady Leah is a brilliant choreographer and writer who knows how to please an audience through her commitment to total theatre, her attention to detail, and her understanding of humor.
Debi Buras White – Associate Director
She is the co-founder of LCCB and has been its resident designer since 1968. She focuses on design integration to showcase the choreography. She received her education from Newcomb, Tulane, LSU and McNeese in which she obtained a M.S. in Biology and Chemistry with 60 hours in theatre and art. Also included in her dance and design repertoire are the following: Three years training at the New Orleans Academy of Art; Regional Dance America Choreographers; Conference in Costume Design; and Fine Art Academy at Banff Canada. She has received recognition from renowned dance critic Doris Herring in Dance magazine for the setting and costume design in Dauguerrotype. Her settings and costume design in L’Academi Dubriovsky inspired National Regional Dance America Adjudicator David Lindgren to place it in the Regional Dance America’s gala performance.
Fred Stark – Set Designer
He is the owner of Stark Design & Illustration and trained at the University of Texas at Arlington (1977) in Communicative Design. Fred also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from McNeese State University with an emphasis in painting and sculpture. Fred’s design awards include the following: Addy, 1977 – Cellular One Clear Across America mural/interior; Addy, 1977 – Bossier City, Ralph & Kacoo’s Louisiana Montage mural/exterior; Addy, 1996 – Big Easy Café façade mural/exterior; Special Judges Award, 1996, for exterior “outdoor illustration” – Big Easy Café Façade; and Addy, 1990 – Trade Show Presentation & Exhibit Booth Design “Culti-Loop” for Scott Labs. Set designs for LCCB include: Plantation Trilogy, Louisiana Saturday Night, Once Told to Me, The Sleeping Beauty, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Petrouchka, and Christmas in Louisiana: Once Upon a Time. His current project is a mural in downtown Lake Charles to commemorate the bicentennial of the state of Louisiana.
Danley Romero – Photographer
Danley is the owner of Romero & Romero Photography, which specializes in portrait, commercial and wedding photography. A native of Lafayette and a graduate of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, he has lived in the Lake Charles area for the past fifteen years with his wife Lorena and their six children. This is Danley’s first year collaborating with LCCB.
Cameron Durham – Assistant Photographer
Cameron Durham is a high school graduate who greatly enjoys photography. He discovered that he liked using the camera several years ago and is lucky to be mentored by excellent photographers in the area, including the ballet’s official photographer, Danley Romero. Through his brother Adrian, a company dancer in the Lake Charles Civic Ballet, Cameron began ballet photography and is honored to be helping with the ballet’s official photography. He also pursues portrait photography on his own, which is his primary interest.
