Youth Program Faculty
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.
LEARN MORE
Nikita Berevoescu
Pre – Ballet
Nikita has been dancing since she was 3 years old and joined Western Ballet in 2018. She has danced lead roles in productions such as The Nutcracker and Red Riding Hood and is excited to begin her fourth year helping teach pre-ballet students. After graduating from Western Ballet, she hopes to pursue a Biology degree and to continue dancing and teaching!
Alejandro Gomez
Ballet IVb – VII
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.
Svea Delingat
Pre – Ballet
Svea Delingat has been dancing since she was 4 years old and joined Western Ballet 11 years ago. During her time here, she has performed in various productions, including The Nutcracker, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Café Passage. Going into her third year of working with the Youth Program, she has worked both as a teaching assistant and instructor.
Shannon Hearn
Pre – Ballet III & IV
Shannon Hearn started ballet at age 4, and continued to learn more styles of dance throughout high school and college. She now works as a Software Engineer, but re-discovered her love for ballet after joining Western Ballet’s Open Program in March of 2023. Since joining, she has performed in the Open Program Spring Performance and assisted in the Beginning I classes. She is looking forward to teaching and participating more this upcoming year!
Hannah Kim
Pre – Ballet
Hannah Kim has been dancing since the age of 3, starting with tap, jazz, and ballet at Dance Connection before joining Western Ballet nine years ago. She has performed in productions such as The Nutcracker, Puss in Boots, and Les Sylphides, and has spent the past three years as a teaching assistant, model, and instructor, sharing her love for dance with younger students.
Daiane Lopes da Silva
Contemporary
Daiane Lopes da Silva is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and artistic director of Kinetech Arts, where she works on the intersection of dance, science and technology. Her work has been performed in Brazil, France, Belgium, Greece, Germany, Italy, and the U.S.A. As a dancer, she has performed with KUNST-STOFF dance company, Labayen Dance, Lisbon Dance Company, Little Seismic Dance Company, Robert Moses’ Kin, and in works of Sara Shelton Mann.
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.
Mariia Sotnikova
Contemporary
Mariia Sotnikova is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher from Vladivostok, Russia. For 15 years, she danced professionally with KAURI, a contemporary dance company based in her hometown. During her time with KAURI, Mariia became a staff teacher and a head of the youth and teens division at their school, teaching contemporary, jazz and contact improvisation to both: adults and children. Her work has been performed in Russia, China (Beijing, Dalian, Shanghai) and the US.
Maggie Zhang
Pre-Ballet
Maggie Zhang has been training at Western Ballet since she was 4 years old, performing in many productions including The Nutcracker and Snow White. She is also accomplished in piano, winning numerous international competitions, and volunteers regularly at senior centers. She hopes to pursue a career in pediatric medicine in the future. Maggie has loved assisting and working with pre-ballet classes, and is excited to teach this upcoming year!
Giulia Zubiria
Pre-Ballet & Ballet II
Giulia Zubiria grew up in the Bay Area, and is a recent graduate of University of California, Santa Cruz with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology. She danced for 13 years as a student with Western Ballet, and now is returning as a teacher. She participated in numerous productions with Western Ballet including The Nutcracker, Puss in Boots, La Fille Mal Gardee, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White. She also performed in Ballet Fantastique and Les Sylphides coached by Nina Novak in Western Ballet’s gala performances.
Eileen Zubiria
Ballet III & IVa
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.