Cornerstone Academy Staff & Instructors
Jessie Williams
Artistic Director, Instructor
Jessie Williams, now in her second season as Artistic Director of Central Illinois Ballet, is a graduate of Butler University with a BFA in Dance Performance. Originally from Suwanee, Georgia, Jessie began her dance training at Northeast Atlanta Ballet under Jennifer Gordon and later joined Next Generation Ballet as a trainee under Peter Stark.
While at Butler, Jessie had the privilege of performing corps, soloist, and principal roles in major classical ballets, including The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Cinderella, and Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. She also danced principal and soloist roles in contemporary works, including a piece by David Ingram featured at the Indiana Governor’s Arts Awards. Jessie’s passion for choreography blossomed during a summer spent training with Sidra Bell, where she contributed to the premiere of Middle Prayer. Later in her studies, Jessie toured Eastern Europe, premiering two of her own contemporary works at the National Opera House in Warsaw.
Following college, Jessie joined Central Illinois Ballet, where she quickly advanced from company dancer to Soloist. Over the years, she has performed numerous soloist and
principal roles with the company, including favorites like Phlegmatic in The Four Temperaments, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.
Jessie’s choreographic achievements include staging Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty in 2021, as well as the professional company’s production of Giselle and a brand-new, original version of The Nutcracker, both of which premiered in 2024. Additionally, her full-length ballet Sweeney Todd premiered in 2021 at the Scottish Rite Theater and was revived in 2023 to great acclaim.
Before stepping into her current role as Artistic Director, Jessie served Central Illinois Ballet for four years as Academy Director and Associate Artistic Director. With her diverse experience as a dancer, choreographer, and educator, Jessie is committed to continuing to elevate Central Illinois Ballet’s artistic vision and offering inspiring opportunities for both dancers and audiences.
Dyson Ramey
Principal Dancer and Associate Artistic Director, Instructor
Dyson Ramey is a dancer and dance teacher born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He has studied dance in all genres for 15 years including Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Tap, Hip-Hop, and Musical Theater. Dyson started his journey as a competitive dancer, but started focusing on ballet and theater dance his freshman year of high school. He attended Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, PA for his high school years, where he did several performances including The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Swing!, Matilda, and Singin’ in the Rain. At Lincoln Park he was trained by Jennifer Verba, Krista Shovlin, Stephanie Anderson, Mindy Silver, and Jeremy Czarniak. His musical theater training was by Justin Fortunado and Sharon Schaller. Dyson has performed with Allegro Ballet Academy in The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, where he met Rebekah Von Rathonyi and Joshua Gullet and was asked to join CIB as a soloist. Since joining Central Illinois Ballet, Dyson has performed numerous characters in numerous performances such as, The Nutcracker and Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Monsieur Marius in Les Misérables, Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and Romeo in Peoria Symphony’s Romance.
He also debuted his choreography titled Aura in CIB’s performance of Illuminations. Dyson is an academy instructor with Cornerstone Academy for Performing Arts where he teaches jazz, ballet, hip-hop, modern, and men’s technique. He has choreographed jazz and contemporary pieces for the students in their spring gala. Dyson is so excited for his third season with Central Illinois Ballet!
Ivana Brown
Academy Administrative Manager
Ivana Brown is from Sarasota Florida, and she began her ballet training at Diane Partington Studio of Classical Ballet. She then continued her professional training with a scholarship to Colorado Ballet under the instruction of Erica Fischbach. She later joined Nashville Ballet as an NB2 trainee. Ivana spent her summers with Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet, and Ballet Arizona. Ivana is grateful to be dancing with Central Illinois Ballet for her second season. She is excited to share and continue her love for dance!
Maya de Leon
Principal Dancer, Instructor
Maya de Leon is a Filipino-American dancer and instructor who began her training at the age of 4 at Greater Lansing Academy of Dance and Greater Lansing Ballet Company under the direction of Barbara Banasikowski Smith. She trained primarily in the Vaganova ballet technique as well as jazz, modern, character, Polish folk dance, and tap. As a student, she received scholarships to many summer intensives all over the US including Utah, Colorado, Michigan, and Mississippi. In 2014, she was selected to perform with Regional Dance America at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Maya continued her dance training at Point Park University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in dance. At Point Park, Maya had the pleasure of being cast in pieces by Jae Man Joo, Matthew Powell, Helen Simoneau, Christopher Wheeldon, and Edwaard Liang among others. She began her professional career at the age of 19 touring Michigan with Third Coast Dance Company under the direction of Kristin Bennett Harrison and Lynn Bowman. Maya began her time in Peoria as an apprentice with Central Illinois Ballet in 2020 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022. During her time in the company she has had opportunities to perform some of her favorite roles such as
Mina (Dracula), Sugar Plum Fairy (Nutcracker), Tinker Bell (Peter Pan), Juliet (excerpts from Romeo and Juliet), and Odette (excerpts from Swan Lake). Maya has spearheaded outreach programs through CIB enjoyed by Peoria Public Schools, central Illinois' homeschool community, the Montessori School of Peoria, and more. She has taught in many dance schools in Illinois in Peoria, Washington, and Pekin and out of state in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Iowa. In addition to dance, Maya is also trained in piano and enjoys making music, drawing, and reading. She is a certified Youth Protection Advocate in Dance and is excited to see dance taking strides toward wellness and inclusion. Maya hopes to continue the mission and vision of Cornerstone to help enrich the Peoria community through the arts and nurture the next generation to not only be good dancers, but great people.
Isabella Weeks
Apprentice, Instructor
Isabella has trained at Cornerstone Academy for the past 8 years and is excited to teach on faculty for her third season. Isabella values the outstanding training, character development, and the strong family environment at Cornerstone. She has had numerous teaching opportunities through the years, such as being an assistant teacher in the children’s summer camps for 3 years and in Creative Movement for 2 years. Her time training in classical ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, and contemporary with Jessie Williams and Maya de Leon, as well as her 8 years of studying tap with Mr. Don Coven, has well prepared her to lead the classroom. In addition to teaching and dancing, Isabella is a full-time student, pursuing a degree in Organizational Leadership at the Pennsylvania State University. She is excited to share her love of dance with her students this year!