DARE TO CREATE : CHOREOGRAPHIC LAB
Ballet Collective San Diego presents a choreographic lab for professional dancers and trainees in San Diego. We welcome choreographers of all ages and experience levels to join us for a week of creation, editing, and play in the studio without the pressure of a formal performance.
In 2024 we were honored to welcome choreographers from San Diego and national stages to spend a week creating, networking, and living in the process. 6 choreographers of varying places in their careers and nationally set new works on 9 local dancers. In 2025 we are pleased to expand our offerings to 8 choreographers and 10 dancers. Our hope at BCSD is that this week (June 16th - 20th) will be a respite from product and instead allows artists the freedom to mess up, change their minds, edit, and collaborate.
We are so pleased to announce this year’s Choreographers + Dancers :
Born in San Diego California and raised in Tijuana BC, Mexico. Paulette began dancing at the age of 4, starting her training at the Escuela de Danza Gloria Campobello, under the direction of Margarita Robles, continuing her training at Marycarmen Profesionales en Danza under the direction of Maria del Carmen Padron. At age 14, she was given the opportunity to live in California to continue her professional career as a full-time dancer at North County Academy of Dance and Lynch Dance Institute. Her training is developed by styles of classical training including Cuban technique, Balanchine and Vaganova.
In 2019 she continued with her training at Golden State Ballet Academy, in the Pre-Professional program for three years under the direction of Raul and Cindy Salamanca where she had the opportunity to participate as a Trainee in Golden State Ballet Company in its inaugural season performing in the Nutcracker and later participating in Valse Fantasie set by John Clifford. After one year under the Trainee program at Golden State Academy, she was promoted to Apprentice at Golden State Ballet by director Raul Salamanca. Her training experience includes Summer and Winter intensives at Cuban National Ballet for three consecutive years, American Ballet Theatre, Paris Marais dance School, Ballet West, and Dutch National Ballet.
Originally from Conifer, Colorado, Katelyn Cecil is currently a Dancer with the City Ballet of San Diego. Her repertoire with the company includes Divertimento No. 15, Four Little Swans in Swan Lake, Emeralds, Serenade, The Four Temperaments, and other notable works.
Katelyn began her ballet training at the age of four at Belliston Academy of Ballet. She went on to study at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School under the direction of Marjorie Grundvig and Dennis Marshall.
In 2020, Katelyn joined the Trainee Program at Charlotte Ballet, directed by Laszlo Berdo and Kati Hanlon Mayo. During her time there, she had the honor of working with Master Teacher Patricia McBride and performed excerpts from Le Corsaire, Who Cares?, and Raymonda Variations. She later joined Milwaukee Ballet as a second company member, performing in Michael Pink’s Swan Lake as well as contemporary works by Calvin Hilpert and Kristopher Estes-Brown.
Katelyn has also trained at several esteemed summer programs, including those at Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Charlotte Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Northwest Dance Project, and the City Ballet of San Diego.
Juliana DeBellis, originally from Carlsbad, California, is currently a company artist with the Minnesota Ballet. Previously, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Texas Christian University with a BFA in Ballet, a minor in Arts Leadership and Entrepreneurship, and Departmental Honors from the John V. Roach Honors College. At TCU’s School for Classical and Contemporary Dance, Juliana enjoyed performing in works by Gabrielle Lamb, Francesca Harper, August Bournonville, Joy Bollinger and Elizabeth Gillaspy. With the Minnesota Ballet, she has gone on to perform in Bruce Wells' "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Karl von Rabenau's "Romeo and Juliet," “Snow White,” and "Sleeping Beauty" among other works. As a choreographer, she premiered “Through Hell and Back” with Lake Arts Project in May of 2024, and later restaged the work for the Minnesota Ballet in February, 2025. She has also choreographed and directed her short films “in your presence” (2021), “Shadows in the Shape of Swan Lake” (2022), and “ceaselessly into the past.” (2024) as well as worked as an editor on the film “Sh’ma: A Story of Survival”. Juliana is thrilled to be joining this choreographic lab presented by Ballet Collective San Diego.
Sophia has lived and trained in San Diego all her life. She began dancing at the age of 4 with California Ballet School, and became a California Ballet Company Trainee in 2019. She joined the Golden State Ballet Academy in 2020, where she continued to train until graduation in 2022. She has spent summers with Boston Ballet School and the School of Ballet Arizona, and has had the pleasure of competing at YAGP, California Dance Classics, and various other ballet competitions over the years. As a student, she was given many opportunities to perform in professional ballet productions in San Diego, including The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Cinderella. Sophia joined Golden State Ballet Company as an Apprentice in the 22/23 season, and is very excited to be a member of the Corps de Ballet this year. Sophia is currently enrolled in Cuyamaca College, and in her free time enjoys playing the harp and spending time with her dog Benny.
Whitney Edwards has been a professional ballet dancer, performing for audiences all over the United States. Ms. Edwards began her professional career at the world-renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem, under the direction of Arthur Mitchell. During her 4 years at DTH she had the pleasure of studying under Prima Ballerina Assoluta Eva Evdokimova and Raymond Lukens and also performing a The Kennedy Center Protégé Project. After her time at DTH, Whitney joined Nashville Ballet II, became a company member at Nevada Ballet Theater, The Georgia Ballet, City Ballet of San Diego and California Ballet. Ms. Edwards also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Kennesaw State University. Ms. Edwards hopes to continue sharing her love for the art form of ballet with students and dance enthusiasts all over San Diego County. This is Whitney’s first year choreographing for Ballet Collective.
Lester Gonzalez graduated from the National Ballet School of Havana, Cuba, in 2011. Immediately after, he joined the Ballet Laura Alonso as a company dancer. He later decided to emigrate to the United States with his siblings with the desire to expand his professional opportunities.
Throughout his career, he has performed diverse roles from the classical and contemporary repertoire, including lead roles in Septime Webre’s The Great Gatsby and Fluctuating Hemlines. While dancing with Ballet San Antonio, he performed as Romeo in Edwaard Liang’s Romeo and Juliet. Lester was featured in productions with the San Diego Opera and Arizona Opera and was invited to perform at the final gala of Yucatan Dance Stage (2019) in Mexico. In the summer of 2019, he had the immense privilege to participate in a European tour organized by mezzo-soprano Natalie Bancroft and choreographed by Kevin Jenkins. Most recently, he performed Gerald Arpino’s famous Light Rain with the Dayton Ballet.
Ms. Matsuura was born in Irvine, California, and began her dance training with Ms. Hanna Karacic at the age of six. She spent her formative years training in the Vaganova method at Southland Ballet Academy, and furthered her training at summer intensives with American Ballet Theater, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Kirov Academy of Washington, DC, the Rock School for Dance Education, and Oklahoma City Ballet. She completed her BFA in dance performance and choreography with a minor in Spanish at the University of California, Irvine, graduating with honors that included Excellence in Dance Performance (2015); Latin and Campuswide Honors; Phi Beta Kappa; the William J. Gillespie Scholarship in Ballet Studies (2013-15); and the Medici Circle Award (2014). She danced with Orange County’s Festival Ballet Theatre for six seasons, performing principal and soloist roles that included Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote; Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop, and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker; Diamond and White Fairy in Sleeping Beauty; and Monya in Giselle. Her choreography has been performed at UC Irvine, Azusa Pacific University, and Youth America Grand Prix. Ms. Matsuura served as the Director of Corps de Ballet and Youth Division at Azusa Pacific University from 2015-2016 and was on faculty at Southland Ballet Academy for six years before joining Oklahoma City Ballet’s Studio Company in 2017. Ms. Matsuura was promoted to apprentice in 2018 and corps de ballet in 2019. Her teaching certifications include Progressing Ballet Technique and the distinction of ABT® Affiliate Teacher, having completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum and successfully presented students for examination.
Born in Sheffield, England, Holly moved to Southern California with her family when she was three. She began studying dance at the age of five at San Elijo Dance Academy where she studied primarily with former Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal dancers Laurie-Michelle and Ben Houk. She was also coached by Amanda Cobb formerly of American Ballet Theatre. Holly was accepted to and attended numerous elite Summer Intensives including Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theater and Miami City Ballet.
Holly has danced as a Corps de Ballet member with Los Angeles Ballet, California Ballet, and Golden State Ballet. She has performed in Swan Lake, Balanchine’s Who Cares, Jerod Nelson’s Cinderella, Jerod Nelson’s Bolero, Rock and Blues Project, Trystan Merrick’s Walpurgisnacht, Thor Sutowski’s Espresso, and The Nutcracker. She has also performed in numerous works by local choreographers including Reka Gyulai, Ryan Beck, Emily Miller, Tylor Bradshaw, and Holly Clark. Over the last decade Holly has enjoyed teaching and choreographing at various studios in San Diego County. She was grateful to have her first choreographic debut with Ballet Collective of San Diego and this will mark her fourth year of working with the program.
Natasha grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon, where she trained under her mother, Christine Rader along with Angela Steidl. She continued on to train at Marin Dance Theatre with Lynn Cox and Margaret Swarthout for two years before training at Orlando Ballet School, and then moving on to Alberta Ballet School in their Post Graduate Program. Next, she was in the Studio Training Company at Texas Ballet Theater. There she was able to perform in many of Ben Stevenson's ballets including as a Snowflake in The Nutcracker, a soloist in Glazunov Variations, various roles in Alice in Wonderland as well as working with Mr. Stevenson directly to originate a role in his new ballet: Requiem.
Most recently, Natasha joined Golden State Ballet as an apprentice in the 23/24 season. She's been able to perform in Raul Salamanca's Nutcracker and Cinderella, Norbert de la Cruz III's Semblance, and Gabrielle Lamb's Hemidemisemiquaver. She was also able to choreograph for their annual Crafted fundraiser in 2025. Natasha also holds a comprehensive Pilates Certification and is teaching Pilates and freelancing around Southern California.
For the past 10 years, Dr. Diego Schoch, PT, DPT, has been focused on building a career as a physical therapist and is now the Lead Physical Therapist at RISE Physical Therapy at their Encinitas location. He treats a variety of orthopedic impairments and for the past 4 years has been carving out a reputation as a specialist in dance medicine here in North County San Diego. Prior to all that, he had an almost 30-year dance career that bridged the roles of performer, creator, director, and educator. Beginning his training here in North County San Diego under Victor Moreno, Louise Frazer, and Paul Maure, that career included: conservatory training in ballet and modern dance techniques; a national and international career as a soloist and principal dancer in classical, neo-classical, and contemporary repertoire, and original roles in new works; an MFA in Dance; serving on faculties in conservatories and colleges, company-affiliated schools, and private studios; and choreographing for professional, pre-professional, and student dancers in a variety of venues. Diego is also a certified Pilates instructor and continues to teach Pilates and dance on a limited basis in the area. Diego enters this project not having choreographed a step since his last creation in 2015 as an independent choreographer and he is excited for the opportunity to be creative again.
Celyna graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, also known as the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia. She obtained a four-year diploma with qualifications as an artist of ballet and teaching. During her years at the academy, she was blessed to perform in many ballets, including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, and Don Quixote. She was also given many opportunities to perform in concerts, in roles such as Esmeralda from Esmeralda, 3rd shade from Bayadere, Carmen from Carmen, and Queen of Dryad from Don Quixote. In addition to classical roles, she performed many character roles. She is very fortunate to have trained with many excellent teachers, including Anna Leonova (first soloist of the Bolshoi Theater), Anna Antonicheva (prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater), Valeriy Anisimov, Tatyana Pashkova, and more. Currently, Celyna dances with Golden State Ballet.
Aaron Williamson was born in Escondido, CA, and began his dance training under the Royal Academy of Dance curriculum. He later joined the Next Generation Ballet trainee program under the direction of Peter Stark and Philip Neal. Aaron completed his pre-professional training at Ballet West under the direction of Jeff Rogers and Evelyn Cisneros, performing in William Christensen’s The Nutcracker and in the corps de ballet of Snow White for Ballet West II.
In 2023, he received a contract with Kansas City Ballet II, under the direction of Christopher Ruud and Devon Carney. During his time with KCBII, Aaron performed in various corps de ballet roles, most notably in the North American premiere of Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll and Hyde; and in Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker.
He went on to dance for the Sarasota Ballet Studio Company during the 2024-25 season, beginning the season in Sir Peter Wright’s Giselle and Maria Konrad’s When Icicles Hang.
Aaron will continue his professional journey in the 2025–26 Season as a member of Sacramento Ballet 2, where he is thrilled to expand his repertoire and artistic voice across a wide range of classical and contemporary works.
If it is within your means, please consider sponsoring a dancer of choreographer this year. Sponsorship perks include an invitation to rehearsals, a Q & A with the dancers and choreographers, and access to pre-sale seating at our performance at the beautiful Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center on September 27th.
Our Choreographic Lab culminates in an informal showing June 21st, 2:00 - 3:30pm at Performing Arts Workshop in Encinitas with a reception to follow. Light refreshments, adult beverages, and community discussion included! Please RSVP to attend by clicking the "RSVP" button.
2024 Choreographers :
Holly is a choreographer, performer, and artist living bi-coastally between New York City and Southern Oregon. A native of New Jersey she trained and graduated from the Rock School of Dance education, before continuing her professional performance career. Holly is a member of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet at Lincoln Center, and has previously performed with Ballet Austin, Claudia Schreier and Co., New Chamber Ballet, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago amongst others. The time away from the stage during the 2020 Pandemic allowed Holly the opportunity to cultivate her choreographic voice. Holly’s work bridges classical ballet, contemporary dance, and improvisation; and investigates how specific physicality's can result in narrative and emotion. Holly was resident choreographer for the Columbia Ballet Collaborative at Columbia University, NYC in the Spring of 2022. In 2023 Holly received the first joint-commission for music and choreography from the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival, with which she created “Half-Light” in collaboration with composer Doori Na. Additionally her has been presented at the Dancer’s Responding to Aids- Hudson Valley Dance Festival, YAGP, Youth IBC, and in local productions in Southern Oregon where Holly is an guest teacher and choreographer. Holly is thrilled to be working with Ballet Collective SD in their inaugural Choreographic Lab.
Holly Curran
Born in Sheffield, England, Holly moved to Southern California with her family when she was 3. She began studying dance at the age of 5 at San Elijo Dance Academy and studied with former Pacific Northwest Ballet Principals Laurie-Michelle and Ben Houk as well as Former Dancer with American Ballet Theater Amanda Cobb. Holly was accepted to and attended numerous elite Summer Intensives including Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Miami City Ballet.
Holly has performed as a Corps De Ballet dancer with Los Angeles Ballet, California Ballet and most recently Golden State Ballet.
Holly has performed in Swan Lake, Balanchine’s Who Cares, Jared Nelson’s Cinderella, Jared Nelson’s Bolero, and The Nutcracker with roles including Clara, Dew Drop, Arabian, Merliton, Spanish, Flowers, and Snow Flakes. She has also performed in original works from local San Diegan choreographers including Ryan Beck, Reka Gyulai, and Amanda Cobb. Holly has enjoyed teaching for many years at studios in San Diego County.
Holly Meacham
Anna Medina is a Mexican-American dancer, teacher and choreographer that hopes to inspire and empower her students and audience through her work. She began her dance training in Tijuana, Mexico and continued in San Diego and Boston. Anna has been teaching and choreographing dance for over ten years. Anna completed her BA in Political Science and Minor in International Studies at Boston College. She participated in local government as a Council Representative and Arts Organization liaison in the City of San Diego. Her work with the community inspired her to continue researching the effects of dance education for youth living in low income neighborhoods and the importance of government funding in these communities. Anna graduated Magna Cum Laude from her Masters in Fine Arts in Dance at UC Irvine in California. At UCI she was a Teacher’s Associate and taught several courses under the supervision of her faculty mentors. Her thesis was titled The Impact of Local Government Support on Arts Organizations and Their Communities and included a full dance performance titled Tales of three. The UCI Master's program allowed her to choreograph for several dance concerts presenting her work virtually and in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts Theater. Anna has also collaborated with international artists that share her creative vision, showcasing her pieces in Italy, Mexico and the US. Currently, Anna holds several teaching positions in Tijuana and San Diego. Anna is the Executive Director of Sylvia’s Dance Studio in Tijuana, Mexico and she recently earned the Best Choreography award at San Diego Dance Theater’s Emerging Choreographers Showcase and Awards with her new choreography Hunger of the Flesh, named Best of 2023 by the San Diego Union Tribune. Anna also received the Orion Choreographic Fellowship from Ballet Counterpointe and is currently creating new work for 2024 San Diego Live Arts Fest.
Anna Fernanda Medina
Emily has been turning in circles ever since she learned to walk. After falling in love with classical ballet as a young child, she turned those circles into pirouettes at Performing Arts Workshop in Encinitas. Emily was lucky enough to attend Columbia College Chicago where she earned her BFA in Dancemaking and was supported, shaped, and radically challenged in her training and ideas about what dance was and could be. She has had the immense pleasure and honor of studying under Darrell Jones, Laura Wade, Bonnie Brooks, Carrie Hansen, Peter Carpenter, Dardi McGinley Gallivan, David Dorfman, Larry Rosenberg, Lisa Gonzales, Richard Woodbury, and Kate Corby among others. Emily has since come back to takeover and run Performing Arts Workshop armed with a love for community, a fascination with form/function, and a fervent desire to make as much room for and access to the work as possible. Emily is also the Director of Ballet Collective San Diego.
Emily Miller
Shai Mashal is a freshman BFA Ballet Pedagogy Major at the Hartt School – University of Hartford, who got his start dancing at age ten. He has experience in ballet, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, tap, jazz, Flamenco, and character. Shai has trained and performed with California Ballet, Golden State Ballet, and Lynch Dance Institute, and graduated from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. Shai completed summer intensives at The Rock School, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet Chicago, UNCSA, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Malashock Dance, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Shai aspires to a career as a choreographer, performer, and teacher.
Shai Mashal
Amy McMaster was born and raised in San Diego, California. Her training includes Southern California Ballet, BalletMet, Ballet West, and University of Utah School of Dance. In 2019, Amy received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance from the University of Utah and then danced with California Ballet and Golden State Ballet. She is currently a freelance artist throughout Southern California. She has performed works by George Balanchine, Jared Nelson, Bruce Marks, Norbert Delacruz III, Andrea Schermoly, Gabrielle Lamb, and Gregory Dawson. In March 2024, she made her choreographic debut with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach alongside Miami City Ballet.
Amy McMaster
2024’s Dancers :
Born in San Diego California and raised in Tijuana BC, Mexico. Paulette began dancing at the age of 4, starting her training at the Escuela de Danza Gloria Campobello, under the direction of Margarita Robles, continuing her training at Marycarmen Profesionales en Danza under the direction of Maria del Carmen Padron. At age 14, she was given the opportunity to live in California to continue her professional career as a full-time dancer at North County Academy of Dance and Lynch Dance Institute. Her training is developed by styles of classical training including Cuban technique, Balanchine and Vaganova.
In 2019 she continued with her training at Golden State Ballet Academy, in the Pre-Professional program for three years under the direction of Raul and Cindy Salamanca where she had the opportunity to participate as a Trainee in Golden State Ballet Company in its inaugural season performing in the Nutcracker and later participating in Valse Fantasie set by John Clifford. After one year under the Trainee program at Golden State Academy, she was promoted to Apprentice at Golden State Ballet by director Raul Salamanca.
Her training experience includes Summer and Winter intensives at Cuban National Ballet for three consecutive years, American Ballet Theatre, Paris Marais dance School, Ballet West, and Dutch National Ballet.
Paulette Andalon
Evan Arredondo grew up in San Diego, California and is an alumni of the Golden State Ballet Academy, where he graduated with honors in 2022. He has trained at many prominent schools such as San Francisco Ballet, Ballet Austin, Boston Ballet, and most recently the highly selective Choreographic Workshop at Ballet West. Evan was offered many opportunities to perform with GSBA, exploring his artistry with mentorship from Andrew Brader as well as in brand new works such as Last Warning, choreographed by Andrea Schermoly. He worked to develop his technical side through classical repertoire such as “Raymonda” and “The Nutcracker,” where he performed the role of the Nutcracker Prince. His professional career started with Grand Rapids Ballet as an apprentice in 2022. Some of his performance credits at GRB include Elemental Brubeck, Off The Canvas, Balanchine’s Serenade and Who Cares?, Val Caniparoli's The Nutcracker, James Sofranko's Romeo and Juliet, and a world premiere by Penny Saunders.
Evan Arredondo
A San Diego native, she received her training from Danceology Academy of Classical Ballet with Elena Baltovik and California Professional Ballet Program with Maxim Tchnerychev. In 2020, she was invited to Tulsa Ballet on scholarship as a trainee and performed works by Ma Cong, Jera Wolfe, Marcello Angelini, and Alejandro Cerrudo. After graduating, she has danced with Richmond Ballet, Wonderbound, Zikr Dance, Ballare Carmel, and The Rosin Box Project. She has had the opportunity to perform original repertoire and new creations by Ma Cong, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jennifer Archibald, Merce Cunningham, Val Caniparoli, and Cherice Barton, among others. She has also spent summers and residencies with Carmel Dance Festival, The School at Jacob's Pillow, Merce Cunningham Trust, Netherlands Dance Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet.
Nicole Bui
Leah McCall is a professional dancer based in Los Angeles, CA. Leah has danced with Los Angeles Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet Project OC, The Realm CO, and a variety of other project based dance companies. Leah's repertoire includes: George Balanchine's ‘Agon’, 'The Four Temperaments’, ‘Concerto Barocco’, 'Divertmento No. 15', 'Who Cares?', 'Western Symphony', 'Serenade', Aszure Barton's ‘Untouched’, and ‘Les Chambres de Jacques’, Alejandro Cerrudo's ‘Lickety Split’, Menghan Lou's 'This is You', and Christopher Wheeldon’s ‘Ghost’, amongst others. Additionally, Leah is signed commercially with Bloc Talent Agency and has made appearances in commercial projects including Jennifer Lopez's Vax Live Global Concert, FIDM’s Virtual Fashion Show, The Masked Singer Season 6, and Kevin Hart's 'What The Fit’ online video series featuring Los Angeles Ballet. She recently had the opportunity to perform live at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, CA, during The Driver Era's 2023 concert tour. Leah has also appeared as a dancer for Sting's opening performance for the International Food and Wine Festival 2023 in the Bahamas. Over 2020 Leah seized the opportunity of the co-founded LA Grooves, a dance company that expanded her artistic involvement through choreographing for productions incorporating dance on film. This experience sparked the initial interest in cinematography and creative production that helped cultivate future LA Grooves and personal projects. Leah’s first commissioned piece was for Hollywood Ballet’s Inaugural Gala, a contemporary ballet piece with a live orchestra that premiered in August of 2023. Leah's educational background includes a degree in Interdisciplinary Professional Studies with an Emphasis in Business Administration from Colorado State University.
Leah McCall
Emma Sherman
Ana Schloemann is from Sacramento, California. From a very young age, she trained with The Sacramento Ballet School. There, Ana had many wonderful opportunities to dance with the company in productions such as Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, The Great Gatsby, Balanchine’s Western Symphony, and Balanchine’s Who Cares. She has trained with companies and schools such as Ballet West, Long Beach Ballet, The Washington Ballet, The Juilliard School, and Texas Ballet Theatre to name a few. Ana attended The University of Utah, where she received her BFA in Ballet.
While at The U, she studied pedagogy, kinesiology, and Pilates which sparked her love and passion for teaching, making health conscious choices, and taught her the benefits of Pilates for not only dancers, but all humans. Ana finished her senior year of college with The Oklahoma City Ballet, where she danced for two years. While in Oklahoma City, she trained to become a Pilates Instructor through Balanced Body.
Ana moved to San Diego to dance with California Ballet, where she had the privilege of working with Jared Nelson in his new The Nutcracker as well as performing in Septime Webre’s Fluctuating Hemlines and Ryan Beck’s Pink Decadence . Ana is currently with Golden State Ballet. She is very humbled and excited to be back in the studio doing what she loves most. In her free time, Ana enjoys hot yoga and Pilates, cooking with her sister, beach walks with friends, finding new coffee shops, and kissing her sweet puppy Dexter.
Ana Schloemann
Celyna graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, also known as the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia. She obtained a four-year diploma with qualifications as an artist of ballet and teaching. During her years at the academy, she was blessed to perform in many ballets, including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, and Don Quixote. She was also given many opportunities to perform in concerts, in roles such as Esmeralda from Esmeralda, 3rd shade from Bayadere, Carmen from Carmen, and Queen of Dryad from Don Quixote. In addition to classical roles, she performed many character roles. She is very fortunate to have trained with many excellent teachers, including Anna Leonova (first soloist of the Bolshoi Theater), Anna Antonicheva (prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater), Valeriy Anisimov, Tatyana Pashkova, and more. Currently, Celyna dances with Golden State Ballet.
Celyna Tran
