Open Program Faculity
Alexi Zubiria – Artistic Director
Alexi Zubiria has danced with ballet companies worldwide including the International Ballet of Caracas, San Francisco Ballet, and Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 1982 he competed in the II U.S. International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, winning a Silver Medal. Mr. Zubiria brings a wealth of experience and a passion for teaching of the highest standards to Western Ballet.
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Francisco Avellan
Beginning III & Intermediate
Born in Nicaragua, Francisco studied classical ballet with teachers including Alexi Zubiria and Maria Vegh. He has danced professionally since 1985 with many Bay Area companies performing lead roles. Francisco is known for his warm and compassionate teaching style with students, from absolute beginners to advanced levels.
Juliann Forbes
Beginning II
Juliann trained at the New Jersey School of Ballet and performed in the New Jersey Ballet Junior Company. She continued her passion for dance into college by pursuing a BFA in Dance at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and later pivoted her major to Electrical Engineering. She continued to stay connected to dance by leading NYU’s Ballet Company, augmenting their program to include partnering and contemporary. After coming to the Bay Area, she joined Western Ballet’s Open Program and has expanded her involvement to teaching classes and performing.
Jeriel Garcia
Beginning II
Jeriel Garcia graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2020 with a B.A. in Biology. Soon after, he joined San Jose Dance theater. His repertoire includes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), the Sleeping Beauty (Bluebird), the Nutcracker (Dew Drop Cavalier, Jester Doll).
Shannon Hearn
Beginning I & Beginning II
Shannon Hearn started ballet at age 4, and continued to learn more styles of dance throughout high school and college. She has been working as a Software Engineer since graduating from UC Berkeley in 2021, but re-discovered her love for ballet after joining Western Ballet’s Open Program in March of 2023. Since then, she has been in various Open Program performances, The Nutcracker, and Beauty and the Beast. She is now an instructor for the Beginning I and Be- ginning II classes and is looking forward to all the exciting things to come at Western Ballet!
Peter Hershey
Beginning III & Intermediate/Advanced
Peter Hershey began his dance training at the Seiskaya Ballet Academy in St. James, New York at age eleven. As a member of Ballet San Jose for twelve seasons, Peter was best known for dancing the role of Johnny in Dennis Nahat’s Blue Suede Shoes. His class combines a wide range of influences from his training and career, resulting in a unique and modern approach to the art form.
Carmela Zegarelli Peter
Intermediate/Advanced
Carmela is an acclaimed performer, instructor, and artistic director. She is best known as a soloist in the Dutch National Ballet and San Francisco Ballet and as the co-founder of Professional Ballet School and Young Artists Ballet Theatre in the San Francisco Bay Area. Carmela began her career under formal training from her uncle, Richard Gibson, and received full a Ford Foundation Scholarship from the School of American Ballet in New York, performing as a teen with the original Peninsula Ballet Theatre and The San Francisco Ballet companies.
She performed with The San Francisco Ballet for seven years, appearing in a number of featured roles and television specials. In 1987 Carmela and Zoltan founded Professional Ballet School and Young Artists Ballet Theatre in Belmont, where they served as Artistic Directors and principal Ballet instructors until 2017.
Zoltan Peter
Intermediate/Advanced
Zoltan was born in Hungary where his international career began. He trained at The National Ballet Institute prior to joining The Hungarian Opera Ballet, as its youngest soloist. In 1970, he joined The Bayerische Staatsoper in Germany. Two years later, he became a principal dancer with The Dutch National Ballet, where he remained for seven years. Zoltan appeared as a guest artist with The San Francisco Ballet in 1979 and joined the company later that year performing as a principal dancer until 1985.
Alison Share
Assistant to the Artistic Director
Alison Share was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She trained at Western Ballet studying with Mark Foehringer, Marny Trounson, and Alexi Zubiria. After graduating, Alison danced with Peninsula Ballet Theatre for three years before returning to Western Ballet as a teacher and a dancer with Western Ballet Company where she has performed works by Vicente Nebrada, Yanis Pikieris, and Alexi Zubiria. She is currently dancing and teaching at Western Ballet as the Assistant Artistic Director.
Lisa Sundstrom
Beginning III & Intermediate/Advanced
Lisa Sundstrom received her early ballet training in Astoria, Oregon, and at Marin Ballet in California. At age 16, she was selected by American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov for the ABT Scholarship Program and went on to perform nationally and internationally with American Ballet Theatre, dancing a wide range of corps de ballet, soloist, and principal roles. She later joined Philadelphia Ballet as a soloist and was quickly promoted to principal dancer. Her extensive repertoire includes leading roles in Swan Lake and Coppélia, as well as works by renowned choreographers including George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, William Forsythe, and Agnes de Mille. A respected educator for over 35 years, Ms. Sundstrom has served on the faculties of The Rock School, Portland Festival Ballet, and Oregon Ballet Theatre, where she was OBT2 Program Director and Principal Teacher. Most recently, she served as Rehearsal Director for Fort Wayne Ballet from 2023–2025 and is delighted to join Western Ballet this season, teaching in both the Youth Program and Open Program.
Eileen Zubiria
Beginning II & Pointe
Eileen Zubiria received her ballet training in Marin County, California, studying at Marin Ballet, Dance Theater Seven and with Christine Walton. She danced with Oakland Ballet from 1995 through 1998, where she was a soloist and participated in three national tours. . In In 2006 she returned to Oakland Ballet to perform in The Nutcracker, and in 2009 she performed in the Western Ballet Spring Gala and The Nutcracker.