Alyce Finwall - Director and Ballet Instructor

Alyce Finwall is the director of Moving Arts Academy of Dance and is an American Ballet Theatre certified instructor and has an MFA in dance from Mills College. 

She has danced professionally with the ground breaking company Ballet of the Dolls in Minneapolis, MN where she performed in over 20 original ballets in her seven years with the company and was its first ever guest choreographer. She also danced two years with Rincones & Company in Washington, DC, performing at the Kennedy Center and regional theaters in the area, and in New York City for independent choreographers as well as producing and dancing in her own work in NYC and Europe. She has studied with the Cullberg Ballet in Sweden, the Cunningham Dance Company in NYC, and with many teachers of ballet and contemporary techniques in NYC, Minneapolis, DC and San Francisco. 

Her choreographic work has been presented around the country and in Europe, and has been awarded funding by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Zellerbach Foundation, Jerome Foundation and MN State Arts Board. Alyce has also danced, modeled and choreographed for music videos, ad campaigns, runway shows and corporate events. She has taught in many college and pre-professional programs. In addition to directing and teaching at Moving Arts, she is on faculty at Santa Rosa Junior College, teaching in the theatre and dance departments.

Kjersti Kjesbu - Ballet Instructor

Kjersti started dancing at the age of three at San Diego Civic Youth Ballet, then when moved to Arcata at eight trained at Arcata Ballet where her mother was owner teacher and director. Her mother's passion and career helped her flourish. She then attended intensives at Brava Dance Eureka with Virginia Niekrasz-Laument, Noth Coast Dance Theatre, City Ballet school of San Francisco with Galina Alexandrova, and Nikolai Kabaniaev, and Lines Ballet with Carmen Rosenstraten, Gregory Dawson, Arturo Fernandez and Alonzo King. She then went on to dance for Oakland Ballet with Micheal Lowe performing Cinderella, Nutcracker and other works. Also dancing for Peninsula Ballet Theatre with Carlos Carvajal. She then was invited to work at Napoles Ballet Theatre with founder Luis Napoles, then Dance Wright Project with Jamie Wright. She also performed privately on a project with SFBALLET soloist Chidozie Nzerem. Later was invited to perform in San Jose for an Italian pop opera singer named Pasquale Esposito performing salsa, contemporary and ballet works. Other performances include nutcrackers around the bay area, Denia Dance with choreographer Felice Ana Dania, and private events in Northern California. She wishes to provide classical and honest training to help future young dancers.

João Sampaio - Ballet Instructor

João trained in classical ballet in his hometown of  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil under Ana Palmieri and Romulo Ramos. He has won national and international dance competitions, including the Youth America Grand Prix and the World Ballet Competition. Sampaio joined Tulsa Ballet in 2014, where he performed featured roles in Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort, Wayne McGregor’s Infra, Nacho Duato’s Remanso, Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table, Yuri  Possokhov’s Classical Symphony, and Edwaard Liang’s Romeo and Juliet and Age of Innocence. In 2018, he joined Festival Ballet Providence, performing lead roles in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker.

Dominic Barrett - Ballet Instructor

Dominic Barrett is a dancer from Cincinnati, Ohio. His training began early on, learning hip-hop and ballroom. At age 11 he started his classical ballet training at The School for the Creative and Performing Arts and the Cincinnati Ballet Academy. While in school, Dominic attended summer intensive programs at Houston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Cincinnati Ballet. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music for dance on a full scholarship and had the opportunity to perform in China at the Beijing Dance Academy’s 50th Anniversary International Gala in 2014. Since then he has performed professionally with a number of different choreographers, companies, and ballet schools in Cincinnati and around the U.S. He has worked with directors including Mary Beth Cabana at Ballet Tucson as well as Meridith Benson and Mario de la Nuez, former principal dancers with Cincinnati Ballet and directors of De La Dance Company. Dominic has performed a wide variety of classical repertoire, his favorites being Coppélia, La Bayadère, and Don Quixote. In addition, he has performed works by George Balanchine, set by Zapora Kars, and Christopher Wheeldon.

Terez Orr - Ballet Instructor

Terez is a ballet teacher and arts program director based in San Francisco. Originally from Hudson Valley, New York, Terez received her training at the prestigious School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. Starting her professional dance career in 2005, Terez danced with State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara and Smuin Ballet, featured in works by Jiří Kylián, Trey McIntyre, Helen Pickett, Val Caniparoli, Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, Amy Seiwert, Ma Cong, and Jennifer Archibald. Terez has her BA through the Saint Mary’s College LEAP program and recently co-founded Jettison Creative, a production studio built to assist creatives. Honing her passion for ballet and building a community, Terez's classes are rooted in technique, energy, and heart- fostering a comfortable and inclusive atmosphere that makes artists excited to explore and grow.

Lily Pitzak - Ballet Instructor

Lily earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance at BYU. There she performed and choreographed for the Dance Ensemble Company. Lily has been dancing for 20 years, and has been teaching for 6 years.

Julian Castro - Ballet Instructor/Assistant

Julian teaches Pre Primary A and Pre Primary B and assists for Pre Primary to Ballet I level ballet classes, as well as for summer and holiday camps. She attends San Francisco State University and plays the clarinet.

Solveig Libicki - Ballet Instructor, Assistant

Solveig Libicki is a trainee at The Washington Ballet in Washington D.C. She has been accepted to the summer programs of American Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet, Ellison Ballet, Houston Ballet, SF Academy of Ballet and New Ballet,, and has taught and assisted for many Moving Arts Academy of Dance camps and classes.

Zia Libicki - Assistant

Zia is an advanced dancer/performer currently enrolled at Walnut Hill School of the Arts, Theatre. She specializes in musical theater, jazz, tap and ballet and has been accepted to the UCLA Musical Theater Program, Young Actors Theater Camp, American Conservatory Theater Semester and Summer Programs, performed in the ACT production of A Christmas Carol and has taught and assisted for many Moving Arts Academy of Dance camps and classes.

GUEST INSTRUCTORS

Lucia Lorenzo - Ballet Instructor

Lucia Lorenzo trained at Rochester City Ballet’s affiliate school and as a Trainee with Rochester City Ballet under Jamey Leverett. She has spent the past two seasons as a soloist with De La Dance Company in Cincinnati performing most notably as Swanilda in Coppelia and the Sylph in La Sylphide, in addition to soloist and principal roles in La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Raymonda, and Le Corsaire. When she was 16, she moved to study at San Francisco Ballet School under Patrick Armand, dancing works by Helgi Tomasson, Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, as a demi-soloist in Serenade, and in student pieces as both a choreographer and dancer. In 2018 she joined Ballet Austin performing Paquita, Giselle, Mikhail Fokine’s Les Sylphides, and as one of the Four Little Swans in Swan Lake. While in Austin, Lucia also had the opportunity to work with Jennifer Archibald, Jennifer Hart, Jimmy Orrante, Erica Gionfriddo, Alexa Capareda and Performa/Dance Company. Throughout her time dancing, she has been given the chance to explore her love of teaching both children and adult students. Lucia is excited to be back in the Bay Area this season performing with Oakland Ballet Company and sharing her passion for ballet as a teacher.

Anny Kim - Ballet Instructor

Anny Kim, born in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, grew up in South Korea. Her ballet journey began since she was 10 years old, and she pursued her passion by attending prestigious arts schools in Korea. She graduated from Yewon Arts Middle School and Seoul Arts High School, both renowned for producing exceptional talent in the arts. She continued her ballet major at Kyung Hee University. During her four years at the university, she honed her technical skills and deepened her understanding of ballet performance and theory.

Upon graduating, she joined Korea Ballet Stars in 2021, where she began her professional career. She performed in new creation works such as METRO, BOULOT, DODO by choreographers Benoît Favre and Yeonjae Jeong, as well as in productions of Cinderella, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, and other classic ballets. After two years, she expanded her repertoire in Wise Ballet Theater in 2023. At Wise Ballet Theater, she performed in productions like Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker, taking on both corps de ballet and soloist roles. She also participated in tours, performing in the original piece VITA by choreographer Jaeman Joo across various cities.

Brennan Wall - Ballet Instructor

Brennan Wall, originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, studied at Los Angeles Ballet Academy under Artistic Director Andrea Paris-Gutierrez training in the Royal Academy of Dance curriculum. She danced at Silicon Valley Ballet (previously Ballet San Jose) as a trainee before joining The New Ballet’s Studio Company where she became a certified teacher in the American Ballet Theatre curriculum. In 2017, Wall joined Ballet de Monterrey under director José Manuel Carreño for 2 years before joining Smuin Contemporary Ballet in 2019, where she is now dancing in her 4th season under direction from Celia Fushille.  

Wall has performed a wide variety of classical and contemporary works by Diego Landin, Alberto Méndez, Gina Patterson, Amy Seiwart, Luis Serrano, and Michael Smuin. 

Sarah Jordan - Ballet Instructor

Sarah Jordan, a Chicago, Illinois native, began her training at the Academy of Movement and Music in Oak Park, IL under the direction of Stephanie Clemens and Larry Ippel. Sarah attended The Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington D.C under Artistic Director Martin Fredmann and graduated Cum Laude from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN with a BFA in Dance Performance and a Minor in Art + Design. After graduation, Sarah furthered her dance education in Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Professional Program (HSPro) under Artistic Director Alexandra Wells and was invited to be an apprentice for the HSDC main company under Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton for the 2019-20 Season the following year. Sarah continued her professional career with Cleveland Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theatre, and most recently SMUIN Contemporary Ballet. Sarah has performed works by Ohad Naharin, Gerald Arpino, Peter Chu, Val Caniparoli, Alejandro Cerrudo, Paul Taylor, Isadora Duncan, and Amy Seiwert.

Stephano Candreva - Ballet Instructor

Stéphano Candreva received his early training at the Studio de Danca Com-Passos in Brazil, before graduating from Escola de Dança Alice Arja in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mr. Candreva has attended international summer programs at Miami City Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet as a full Scholarship recipient. Mr. Candreva is presently a Company Dancer with Smuin Contemporary Ballet, previously Mr. Candreva was a Dancer with Atlanta Ballet, and before that he had a positions with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet where he had a chance to dance Principal roles and Soloist roles, he was also a Principal Danseur of City Ballet of San Diego and California Ballet (Under the Direction of Maxine Mahon), California USA and has danced professionally with Milwaukee Ballet II, Wisconsin USA and as a Soloist Dancer with Sesiminas Cia de Danca, Brazil.As a Guest Artist, Mr. Candreva has performed with Cisne Negro Cia de Danca, Brazil; Twin Cities Ballet, Illinois-USA; Arizona Classical Ballet, Arizona-USA; Encinidas Ballet, California-USA and Chula Vista Ballet, California-USA; Inspire School of Ballet, California- USA.Mr. Candreva has performed the roles of Romeo/Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Basilio in Don Quixote, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Peasant Pas de Deux in Giselle, The Monster in The Firebird, Colas in La Fille Mal Gardee, Lankendem in Le Corsaire and all the Principal and Soloist roles in The Nutcracker.Stéphano has worked frequently with various Répétiteurs of The Balanchine Trust performing principal roles in Danses Concertantes,Allegro Brilliante, Donizetti Variations, Serenade, Square Dance, Emeralds, Rubies, The Four Temperaments, Star and Stripes (Regiment Leader), Gnoud Symphony (corps) ,Who Cares? & Tarantella, all choreographed by George Balanchine.His repertory also includes : Tu Tu by Stantan Welch, The World Premiere of The Premiere by Ricardo Amarante, The World Premiere of Concerto Harmonico by Max Petrov,The World Premiere of Rememberance Hereafter by Craig Davidson, Peter Pan by Septime Weber, The Requiem, Carmina Burana, Four Seasons, C-Square, Hart to Hart, A life & Leave the Light on, all by Betsey Wistrich, Munhecos by Alice Alonso, Spring Waters by Asaf Meserer, Esmeralda by Michael Pink, Beyond by Nadia Thompson, Cruzadas by Victor Ramirez, Caminhos do Amor by Carlos dos Santos, Stacatto by Cristina Helena & Clowns and Others by Salvatore Aiello.Stéphano represented his native Brazil at the 2012 Seminario Internacional de Danca de Brasilia, where he was a silver medalist and was a semifinalist at the 2006 Prix de Lausanne, Argentinian qualifications.Complete information about Mr. Stéphano Candreva can be found at www.stephanocandreva.webs.com

Yuri Rogers - Ballet Instructor

Yuri began his training with the Academy of Ballet San Francisco under the direction of Richard Gibson and Zory Karah. He then had the opportunity to continue his training and perform with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, the Grand Rapids Ballet, and BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio. Rogers has performed works by Lar Lubovitch, Leiland Charles, and Edwaard Liang. Rogers is currently dancing for Smuin Contemporary Ballet.

Lucy Anna Maher - Ballet Instructor

Born in San Francisco, Lucy Anna Maher began dancing when she was 3 years old. She started exploring all styles of dance at Dance Mission Theater. She then moved to ODC Theater where she focused mainly on contemporary and ballet. At the age of 11, she began training at City Ballet School where she studied Vagavona technique from 11-17 years old. She worked with the director of the school, Galina Alexandrova, in the professional division starting from when she was 15. She was awarded top 12 in the regional YAGP competiions and continued to participate in the the YAGP. She has danced lead roles in the Nutcracker, Coppelia, Swan Lake, La Fille Mal Gardee, Le Corsaire and other excerpts from multiple ballets.

Sasha Gologorskaya - Ballet Instructor

Sasha Gologorskaya was born in Kiev, Ukraine and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She trained at the San Francisco Ballet School and later went on to study at the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase, graduating summa cum laude with a BFA in Dance Performance. She has attended several intensive programs around the United States and abroad, including Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, Arts Umbrella Dance, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and Springboard Danse Montreal. Sasha has performed repertory by Marco Geocke, Margo Sappington, Bettijane Sills, Michelle Thompson-Ulerich, Norbert de la Cruz, Merce Cunningham, and George Balanchine, and has danced in theaters around San Francisco, New York, and Hong Kong. During her senior year at Purchase, Sasha performed in a featured role in Jerome Robbins’ Watermill, reimagined by Luca Veggetti for the 2018 Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival. Since returning to the Bay Area, Sasha has performed with Menlowe Ballet and ZiRu Dance, and has been a part of several creations with em(body) dance project and choreographers Marika Brussel and Alyce Finwall.

Calvin Thomas - Ballet Instructor

Hailing from Maysville, Kentucky, Calvin Thomas received foundational training at the Otto M. Budig Academy of Cincinnati Ballet. He has supplemented his studies at Boston Ballet School, The School of American Ballet, Ballet Austin Academy, and The School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. His career start began with the Cincinnati Ballet and Ballet Austin. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2011 he has performed with Company C Contemporary Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, Oakland Ballet Company, Dance Theatre of San Francisco, Kiandanda Dance Theater, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, and Garrett Moulton Productions. His repertoire includes works by Thang Dao, Gregory Dawson, Yuri Zhukov, and Maurice Causey among others. When not dancing he still enjoys time in the studio sharing knowledge and teaching the next generation of dancers. He has recently developed a passion for coaching from the inspiration of his mentor, Shannon Bresnahan.

Renee Lee - Ballet Instructor

Renee Lee, a Bay Area native, began her dance training at Contra Costa Ballet. After graduating from UCLA with degrees in World Arts and Cultures-Dance, and Statistics, she danced for Robert Moses Kin, Visceral Dance Chicago, Elisa Monte Dance, and Peninsula Ballet Theatre. Her freelance career has taken her across Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Italy, Vancouver, Chicago, NYC, and LA during which she performed works by Crystal Pite, Mats Ek, Merce Cunningham, Marguerite Donlon, and many more.

Alyssa Mitchel - Contemporary Instructor

Alyssa Mitchel, is a San Francisco based choreographer. The recipient of a Trustee Merit Scholarship, she earned a B.A. in Liberal Studies/Teacher Preparation with a minor in mathematics from the Dominican University of California, graduating Summa Cum Laude with Honors. Alyssa has danced with Garrett+Moulton Productions, SpectorDance, Peter & Co., eMotion Arts Dance Company, Labayen Dance and SOULSKIN Dance, among others. Her original and collaborative works have been set on several professional Bay Area companies and she has shown her work at numerous festivals nationwide.