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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Astrid Arvelo
Beginning I – III & Intermediate/Advanced
She formally began her ballet studies at the age of 12 at the integral school of Terpsicore Dances. At the age of 15 he entered the Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas directed by Bailarina y Maestra Zhandra Rodríguez and Alfred Bordeianu debuting with two choreographies from his repertoire. Sin Bacilar (by Maestra María Rovira) and Los Colores de mis cinco amores (H.R.) . In 2016 she joined as a permanent artistic staff of the Company and debuted as a soloist in the Ballet Coppelia and the Ballet Don Quixote, choreographic version Master: Laura Fiorucci intrepretando: Aurora, friends of Kitri, Dríadas, Queen of Dryads and Mercedes.
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.
Miranda DaFoe
Beginning III & Intermediate/Advanced
Miranda Dafoe grew up in Sunnyvale, CA, and started dancing at the age of 3. At age 9 she began her studies at San Francisco Ballet School. After studying at San Francisco Ballet School for 8 years, Miranda moved to Houston, Texas, to train at Houston Ballet Academy on a full scholarship. She then joined Kansas City Ballet for three seasons. Miranda joined Dayton Ballet in 2018 and has performed works including Penny Saunders’ Ghostlight, Septime Webre’s Carmen, Karen Russo Burke’s The Nutcracker (Dewdrop Fairy), and a world premiere by Mariana Oliveira.
Alejandro Gomez
Intermediate/Advanced
Alejandro Gomez began his studies at the Instituto Superior de Danza in Caracas, Venezuela. He then joined the Ballet Nacional de Caracas where he danced to an array of choreographies by Vicente Nebrada. Mr. Gomez toured throughout South America, the Caribbean, the United States, and Europe. Mr. Gomez later came to the US and since then, he has danced with several companies. As a choreographer, he has created several pieces for Island Moving Company and various dance schools.
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.
Nicole Khoo
Intermediate/Advanced
Growing up in Singapore, Nicole’s first training was in Chinese Classical Dance. Subsequently, she trained in the RAD and CSTD methods under Mr. Donato C. Ferrer and Mr. Antony Tay and received distinctions in both. From 2015-2017, Nicole joined Tampa Ballet Theatre where she danced soloist and lead roles. Over the next four seasons, she grew to appreciate the Cuban style of ballet and dance roles in a multitude of classical ballets and original contemporary works. She has enjoyed dancing in Swan Lake, Giselle (Friends and Wilis), Coppelia, Paquita, Haydn, Les Sylphides, Carmen, and The Nutcracker amongst other neoclassical and contemporary works.
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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.
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.