Faculty
Karen Kamilos was born and raised in Sacramento and began her dance training with Pennie Davies. She continued her studies locally with Bobbi Bader, Sue Geller, Cliff Klein, and Carol Pompei, later graduating with honors from San Jose State University with both a B.A. and M.A. in Theatre Arts/Dance. Over the years, she has studied and performed works by Mina Garman, Greg Lizenberry, Claire Whistler, Kay Clark, Duncan MacFarland, Bill Evans, and Cliff Keuter, and has performed with regional modern companies throughout the San Francisco/Bay Area.
With 50 years of teaching experience, Ms. Kamilos has dedicated her career to inspiring students of all ages, from preschoolers to pre-professional dancers, college students, and older adults. She has developed special programs, received teacher training in adaptive dance from Axis Dance Company and Boston Ballet School’s Adaptive Dance Program, and has always emphasized creativity, discipline, and joy in the studio. In 2016, Ms. Kamilos was honored with a resolution from the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors recognizing her professional dance career alongside her 40 years of service in dance education, a testament to her lasting impact on the community.
Passionate about unlocking imagination, building confidence, and nurturing a lifelong love of movement, Ms. Kamilos is delighted to continue serving as an integral member of the Sacramento Ballet faculty.
Amy Frost Schultze began dancing at a young age, trained on scholarship at Virginia School of the Arts and received her BA from Hollins University with a major in dance. She danced professionally for thirteen years with companies such as Orlando Ballet, FL, Charleston Ballet, SC, Roanoke Ballet Theater, VA, and has been a guest artist with several companies and schools throughout the US. She has performed principal and soloist roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo & Juliet, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, The Firebird as well as George Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante, Serenade and Who Cares, and works by Fernando Bujones, Jerome Robbins, Jill Eathorne Bahr, David Parsons, Christopher Flemming, Thom Clower, Todd Eric Allen and Derek Reid.
Ms. Schultze has been teaching dance for over twenty five years and has enjoyed watching many of her students continue on into professional dance careers. Having taught for many studios, schools, companies, and universities, she has experience teaching all ages and abilities. She taught ballet at American Dance Festival at Duke University 2000-2006, choreographed and performed solo works as well as facilitated
post performance discussions and workshops and was sent as an adjudicator to National High School and College Dance Festivals.
Ms. Schultze has received her Professional Teaching Certificate (Dance K-12) from the
State of Florida and is certified to teach Progressing Ballet Technique. Since 2015, she
has been a teacher, choreographer, coach and stage manager for Holt Ballet
Conservatory in Nevada City, CA. She has choreographed and restaged numerous
classical and contemporary ballets and loves to see students shine onstage. She is
grateful to share her love of dance with Sacramento Ballet School.
Ava was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, and received her early training at the Flint School of Performing Arts. She then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Ballet and Legal Studies from Indiana University. She also trained at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and performed with the company while there. Since joining the Sacramento Ballet in 2010, Ava has been a leading dancer with the company; some of her favorite roles have been Choleric in The Four Temperaments (George Balanchine), Tall Girl soloist in Rubies (Balanchine), soloist in Wild Sweet Love (Trey McIntyre), Myrtha in Giselle (Ron Cunningham), and Gertrude in Hamlet (Stephen Mills). She has been a dancer with Texture Contemporary Ballet, Oakland Ballet and has performed at the Kennedy Center with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Ava is also a founding member, dancer and teacher with local company Capital Dance Project.
Ava has over a decade of teaching experience and has been on faculty at the Sacramento Ballet School, Northern California Dance Conservatory and Indiana University. She has also been invited to be a guest teacher at the Flint School of Performing Arts, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Mid-Columbia Ballet, and Ovations Dance Studio.
Sally Torres-Gil – Sally majored in dance at the University of Utah where she studied ballet, contemporary, tap, musical theater, choreography, music theory and acting. She trained at the Academy of Classical Ballet (ACB) under Karen Morell, former soloist with the Dutch National Ballet. She received instructor’s certification in the Vaganova Syllabus through ACB as well as through John White of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. Sally is also certified in Progressing Ballet Technique. Sally has been dancing and training her whole life. She owned and operated her own dance studio for 12 successfulyears before devoting her full attention to raising her daughter (who is now in college). Sally has been teaching ballet for over 20 years. Her performing career includes musical theater, music videos, traveling companies, and cruise ships in the U.S. and abroad. Sally has an excellent reputation workingwith students from beginner levels to the more advanced levels and strives to develop their skills and passion for dance while keeping her students motivated to perform their best.
Genevieve Szaly began her classical ballet training at Anchorage Classical Ballet Academy under the direction of Farah Zoetmulder. While training in Alaska, she had the opportunity to work with artists such as Gilmer Duran, Dubraskha Arrivillaga, Niki Maple, and Joseph Kerwin of Finnish National Ballet.
Her performing arts education spans multiple genres, with Folklórico training with Xochiquetzal-Tiqun and tap under the legendary Diane Walker, protégée of Gregory Hines, playing a central role in her artistic development.
In 2013, Genevieve joined Ballet 5:8, where she performed and toured both classical repertoire and original works with the school and company. After stepping away from the stage, she discovered her true passion for teaching and choreography. She has since taught and choreographed for programs across Alaska, Illinois, California, and Kyiv, Ukraine.
Genevieve joined the faculty of the School of Sacramento Ballet in 2019, where she has worked with students of all ages and levels. In 2024, she was appointed Children’s Rehearsal Director and has had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Paul Vasterling, Michael Pink, Young Soon Hue, Elise Elliott, Stefan Calka, Colby Damon, and Julia Feldman.
In the summer of 2024, she was also appointed Director of Outreach and Social Media Manager. Her greatest passions are continuing to grow and expand Sacramento Ballet’s Falls Prevention program for older adults—deepening its impact on mobility, confidence, and community connection—and leading young dancers with both joy and rigor, cultivating a new generation of technically proficient, resilient artists who can pursue their craft with longevity, supported by a strong and healthy foundation.
Sacramento born choreographer, Rachel Angulo, began dancing at the young age of two with her mother; a Tap Instructor in the Orangevale area. Rachel furthered her training from multiple professional dancers such as Bernard Brown, Philip Flickinger, Heidi McLean, Nahn Ho, and Samuel Fulk within African, Contemporary, Modern, Tap, Jazz and Ballet aesthetics. Rachel is honored to have trained and performed for many well-known choreographers of the time such as Nolan T’sani, Li Chiao Ping, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Valerie Gnassounou, and Bahiya Movement’s Afia and Nafi Thompson. Rachel received her BA in Dance from Sacramento State in 2020 and plans on going back to school in the near future. Since graduation, Rachel has continued working in the dance field and occasionally showcases her own works under the company name Anguloarts.
Logan began dancing in Parkland, Florida. She was initially trained in various dance styles such as Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, and Hip Hop. After a few years, she decided to focus on Ballet and Contemporary by dancing with Ballet East and Miami City Ballet. She held various children’s roles with Miami City Ballet’s Nutcracker. She has trained with schools such as Miami City Ballet, Ballet West and Colorado Ballet. Eager to focus on dance full-time, Logan decided to graduate high school early and merged her junior and senior years together while attending Colorado Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program. In 2023, she moved to Sacramento to join Sacramento Ballet’s 2nd Company as a trainee while attending college. This is Logan’s first year teaching for the School of Sacramento Ballet.
Dacia Biletnikoff, a BFA graduate of London Contemporary Dance School, honed her skills under renowned faculty from Batsheva, NDT, Random Dance Company, and DV8 Dance Theatre. She continued her exploration of choreography and improvisation at Leggere Strutture in Italy, collaborating with members of the William Forsythe Company and Ultima Vez/Wim Vandekeybus. Following this, she performed and toured with CaraBdanza in Spain before engaging in solo performances in the United States, forging connections with Capacitor and Two Point Four Dance Theatre, exploring circus/suspended and structural dance forms. Complementing her dance knowledge, she earned an MS in sports psychology, with plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology to promote holistic athlete development and sustainable athletic careers. Dacia is excited to be part of the inception of INK cooperative and eagerly anticipates contributing to the group’s establishment and collaborative art endeavors which will premier in Chicago, June 2024. She has enjoyed her time furthering the development of the contemporary program at Northern California Dance Conservatory and looks forward to growing within her new teaching endeavors at Sacramento Ballet
Originally from Sacramento, California, Elise Elliott danced with the Houston Ballet for ten seasons, retiring as a Soloist in 2017. She enjoyed being featured in works by many choreographers, including Stanton Welch, Antony Tudor, Ben Stevenson, Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Christopher Bruce, Sir Kenneth Macmillan, Jorma Elo, Wayne MacGregor, and John Cranko. She was fortunate enough to tour with the company to many countries, including Australia, China, Canada, Germany, and Spain. In 2017, Elise became Texas Academy of Dance Arts’ Ballet Director in The Woodlands, TX, as well as the Founding Artistic Director of TADA’s Youth Ballet Company. In 2021, Elise joined Texas Ballet Theater as the School Business Manager, as well as a Professional Training Division (PTD) and Advanced Instructor and choreographer in the esteemed school.
In 2022, Elise became Rehearsal Director for The Sacramento Ballet. In addition to her role as Rehearsal Director, Elise is a Certified Fitness Coach and trains the Company dancers and Second Company dancers of The Sacramento Ballet, as well as her clients at Club Studio Fitness. When not working with the dancers of Sacramento Ballet, she is also a Master Teacher and Private Ballet Coach for companies and schools around the country.
Elise is married to Second Company Director, Rhodes Elliott, and they have three children.
Rhodes Elliott is originally from Florence, South Carolina. Rhodes retired in 2018 as a Demi-Soloist with the Houston Ballet, after having been with the company for 11 years. He received his early dance training and pre-professional experience with UNCSA, as well as The School of Dance Arts and South Carolina Dance Theater under the tutelage of the esteemed Susan Rowe. He attended several summer programs throughout his training, including North Carolina Dance Theater, Houston Ballet, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. While dancing with the Houston Ballet, Rhodes enjoyed performing many works, including those by Stanton Welch, Jiri Kylian, Christopher Bruce, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Frederick Ashton, Ben Stevenson, Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, and Christopher Wheeldon. After retiring from The Houston Ballet, Rhodes was the Assistant Ballet Director at Texas Academy of Dance Arts in The Woodlands, Texas. In 2021, Rhodes joined Texas Ballet Theater School (TBTS) as a Studio Training Company Instructor, as well as the Professional Training Division Instructor at TBTS Dallas. In November of 2022, Rhodes became an instructor with the Sacramento Ballet.
Samuel Alden Fulk is a professional ballet dancer living in Sacramento. He is experienced in a wide range of dance styles and methodologies, with a focus on classical ballet, modern, and contemporary dance. Born and raised in California, he grew up performing in dance, musical theatre and dramatic productions, later joining the pre-professional company Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre, directed by Robert Kelley and Diane Cypher.
Samuel then went on to perform professionally with Utah Regional Ballet for six seasons under the direction of Jacqueline Colledge. During this time, he also attended Utah Valley University, from which he graduated with honors in 2014 with a BFA in Dance. While in Utah, Samuel also taught at Academy of Ballet directed by Lynne Thompson, and served as the Director of their second company Ballet Utah II North.
Since relocating to Sacramento in 2016, Samuel has become a highly sought after dance instructor in the region. In January of 2018 he became a professor of dance at CSU Sacramento, where he teaches upper division ballet. Samuel regularly teaches master classes and private lessons in classical and contemporary ballet, pas de deux, modern dance and broadway jazz. Samuel choreographs works on dancers with varying levels of experience, from beginning to professional. Samuel performs as a guest artist for professional and pre-professional companies. He is proud to have been a company member for three seasons with Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre, a company which partners with organizations to produce impactful work about important causes such as sign language integration, confronting cancer, and human trafficking.
Florrie Sésé Geller began her pre-professional training with the legendary Marcia Dale Weary and
the faculty of Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She continued her education at Next Generation
Ballet with Ivonne Lemus and directors Peter Stark and Philip Neal, as well as summer programs
at the School of American Ballet and San Francisco Ballet school on full tuition scholarships.
Florrie won the gold medal at the Youth America Grand Prix Semi-Finals, and distinguished
herself by placing in the Top 12 Junior Women in the Final Round of YAGP at Lincoln Center
where she was selected by Susan Jaffe and Gillian Murphy as the first recipient of the Gillian
Murphy Endowed Scholarship to UNCSA. After performing Aurora and Giselle in Next Generation
Ballet’s full-length productions, Florrie completed her pre-professional training at San Francisco
Ballet school on full scholarship.
At the age of eighteen Florrie was offered a professional contract with Cincinnati Ballet’s main
company where she performed Princess Florine in Devon Carney’s The Sleeping Beauty, the solo
role in Jiri Kylian’s Sechs Tanze, Virginia Woolf in Sarah Van PaYen’s Skylight, Cygnet in Kirk
Peterson’s Swan Lake, and a soloist role in Myles Thatcher’s Anomaly. Florrie also danced in
ballets by Adam Hougland, Victoria Morgan and Septime Webre.
Florrie performed the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake with Rochester City Ballet, and
originated the role of Arsinoe in Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance’s world premier Cleopatra. She has
appeared in galas including YAGP’s Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow and was invited to
represent the United States in the Beijing International Ballet and Choreographic Competition in
2019.
As an artist with Oakland Ballet Company she danced in the premiere gala of Misty Copeland’s
short film Flower and performed works by Graham Lustig, Phil Chan, Feng Ye, and Natasha
Adorlee.
Florrie is a certified instructor in various training modalities including Progressing Ballet
Technique and mat Pilates. She has taught ballet on the faculties of Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M.
Budig Academy, Magaly Suarez’s The Art of Classical Ballet, and the Draper Center for Dance
Education and has been certified in the Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Cuba Methodology, Year 1.
Florrie has been featured in Dance Spirit Magazine’s “Dancer You Should Know,” the podcasts
Becoming Ballet, Dancer Talks, and most recently Dance Magazine’s “Pack it Up.”
Florrie is thrilled to join Sacramento Ballet for the 24/25 season.
Agata Grzelak began her training in multiple disciplines including ballet, pointe, modern, jazz, and character under the artistic direction of Ayako Takahashi and faculty which included Michael Lowe, Maria LeMance, Audie Atienza, and Mariko Takahashi. In 2010, she quickly immersed herself in the Sacramento State Dance program and began training under noteworthy faculty members such as Nolan T’Sani, Lisa Ross, Randee Pauve, Lorelei Bayne, Dr. Linda Goodrich, Philip Flickinger, and Ed Brazo. Agata has performed in numerous works on and off campus in venues such as CSUS University Theatre, Crocker Art Museum, and ODC Theatre for guest artists. In spring 2013, Agata was the very first recipient of the new Department of Theatre and Dance Joseph Allen Long Scholarship, recognizing excellence in Dance. In fall 2014, she graduated with her Bachelors of Arts in Dance. Agata is currently teaching dance at St. Francis High School.
Natasha Guilar is a passionate ballet teacher from Victoria, BC. She began dancing at a young age and received her foundational training at the Maple Leaf School of Russian Ballet. Over the years, Natasha has expanded her classical technique through prestigious summer intensives with institutions such as the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and the New York City Ballet. With over four years of teaching experience, she brings both technical precision and a deep love for the art form to every class. Natasha is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of dancers through thoughtful instruction and a supportive studio environment.
Jessica Lawrence holds a master’s degree (MA) in Dance Education from New York University and a bachelor’s degree (BA) in Liberal Studies/Dance Performance from Saint Mary’s College of California. She trained on scholarship at The Sacramento Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Rock School, Washington Ballet, and Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell. As a pre-professional student, she was awarded third place in the classical variation division at YAGP.
She began her professional career at the Sacramento Ballet at age fifteen, and later joined The Suzanne Farrell Ballet at age seventeen. She has danced principal, soloist and corps de ballet roles in over twenty ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Maurice Bejart, as well as the classics such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and The Nutcracker.
Her teaching accolades include being the first recipient of the School of American Ballet’s National Visiting Fellowship and being certified in American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum. As a dance educator, she creates a learning environment where students feel comfortable being inquisitive and creative; a place where students can foster the development of their identities through dance. With over a decade of teaching experience, Jessica is excited to return to Sacramento Ballet and to share her passion for ballet and learning with the students at the School.
Elena Martins is a professional dancer and dance educator from Boston, MA. She received her early training at Donna Miceli Dance Center and The Academy of Ballet Arts before graduating from SUNY Buffalo with a BA in dance and a minor in speech and hearing sciences. Elena’s performance career spans national and international stages, with experience in dance companies on both coasts. These include Prometheus Dance and Lorraine Chapman The Company (Boston); Robert Moses’ KIN, Liss Fain Dance, LEVYdance, Sarah Berges Dance, Axis Dance Company, West Edge Opera, and Bellwether Dance Project (San Francisco Bay Area), among others. She has had the privilege of being on faculty at prestigious institutions such as The School of Classical Ballet (Cambridge, MA), Jeannette Neill Dance Studio (Boston, MA), Dana Hall Upper School (Wellesley, MA), Shawl-Anderson Dance Studio (Berkeley, CA), ODC School (San Francisco, CA), The East Bay Center for Performing Arts (Richmond, CA), Piedmont Ballet Academy, and more. elenamartins.com
Born in Portland, OR, Wyatt McConville-McCoy began his ballet training at Oregon Ballet Theatre. In 2017 he joined Boston Ballet II, under the tutelage of Peter Stark, where he performed Harlequinade in Boston Ballet’s At Home Series and alongside the main company in Jerome Robbin’s West Side Story. Two years later he joined Atlanta Ballet II where he had the privilege of performing in ballets such as La Bayadere and in featured roles of The Nutcracker while on tour to the Kennedy Center. Wyatt joined Sacramento Ballet in 2021 where he has graced the stage in roles such Gnome in The Nutcracker, the Men’s Trio in Val Caniparoli’s Tutto Eccetto il Lavandino, and the featured pas de deux in Isaac Bates-Vineza’s Rumor as well as in Jennifer Archibald’s Soar.
Photo by Tony Nguyen
Born and raised in Houston, TX, Julia Payne began her ballet training at Payne Academy of Ballet. After graduating high school, Julia attended the University of Oklahoma where she continued her training in the School of Dance under the direction of Michael Bearden. In 2019, she joined Texas Ballet Theater’s Studio Training Company where she performed in many works including Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. Julia joined Sacramento Ballet in 2021 as a trainee and joined the main company this season as an Apprentice. Primarily teaching ballet, Julia also teaches a wide range of styles including jazz, tap, lyrical, and contemporary, as well as stretch and conditioning. She has had the pleasure of teaching all ages during the summer programs at School of Sacramento Ballet, including Young Dancers Workshops and the Junior and Senior Summer Intensives. This is Julia’s third year teaching for School of Sacramento Ballet.
Samantha Trained professionally on full scholarship for 4 years with Pacific Northwest ballet. She went on to dance professionally with Fort Worth Dallas Ballet, Long Beach Ballet and Inland Pacific ballet as a Principle dancer. Throughout her professional career she danced leading roles such as Myrtha in Gisselle, Dark Angel in Balanchine’s Serenade, Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, Who Cares, Concerto Barocco, Romantic girl in Graduation Ball, Prayer in Coppelia, Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop Fairy, Snow Queen, and Arabian in the Nutcracker and many more leading roles in varies ballets. Samantha became certified in Pilates in 1998 through Long Beach dance conditioning with Marie Jose Blom. After working many years rehabbing injured patients at Rehab Technical Works Physical Therapy she decided to open her own Pilates studio in 2001, State Street Pilates in Redlands California. After her retirement from her ballet career she began to fall in love with yoga. She is now also a certified yoga instructor and teaches yoga daily in Loomis and El Dorado Hills. Samantha loves working with dancers and brings her knowledge of the body and injury prevention to her teaching. She lives in Loomis with her husband and three boys.
Hailey Rozzano-Keefe, originally from Daly City, California, began her dance training at the Westlake School for the Performing Arts, under the instruction of Cristina Fargas, Malu Rivera-Peoples, Irene Liu, Adam Sage, and Zherlin Ndudi. She was trained in various styles such as Ballet, Modern/Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, and Polynesian/Hula. While being versatilely trained, Hailey has always kept a main focus in Ballet/contemporary. Hailey joined Sacramento Ballet’s trainee program in their 2022/23 season and is now going into her second year as an SB2 member in the second company. Since joining Sacramento Ballet, Hailey has danced in company productions such as Nicole Haskins, Julia Feldman, & Colby Damon’s The Nutcracker, Anthony Krutzkamps Swan Lake, and Paul Vasterlings Cinderella. She has also been in many works by choreographers such as Adam Hougland, Thang Dao, Ilana Goldman, Colby Damon, Julia Feldman, Anthony Krutzkamp and Jill Krutzkamp.
Ana grew up in Fort Worth Texas, and trained with Texas ballet theater school. Ana attended summer programs with Houston ballet, Pittsburgh ballet, and ballet Austin, before joining Texas ballet theater’s Studio training company. After one season with TBT, she accepted a trainee position with the Orlando ballet, where she stayed for two seasons. At OB, she had the opportunity to perform in the world premiere of Jorden Morris’s “The Nutcracker”, and Christopher Stowell’s “Sleeping Beauty”. She also had the opportunity to assist in ballet classes and outreach events for special needs children and adults. Ana joined Sacramento Ballet’s second company last season, and got to perform in Michael Pink’s “Dracula” and “the Nutcracker” with the main company. Her favorite moment of the season was getting to perform a pas de deux by guest choreographer Juliana Godlewiski for “Beer and ballet”. Ana is excited to be returning as a trainee with the second company for a second season.
Natalia was born and raised in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She began dancing at the age of eight. At ten, she participated in a city dance competition, where she received the Audience Choice Award and two invitation from jury members to join professional studios. Choosing ballet, she instantly knew from her very first class that dance would become a lifelong passion.
At twelve, Natalia was accepted into the professional Choreographic School of Bishkek (Vaganova method). During her studies, she performed in productions of the National Theater and danced both solo and ensemble roles in school performances. She also occasionally choreographed short works for student concerts.
Upon graduating in 2007, she made the difficult decision not to pursue a stage career due to two serious knee injuries sustained during her final years of training. She later moved to Moscow, Russia, where she continued combining ballet instruction with teaching other dance forms.
Natalia has taught a variety of dance styles — including ballet, body ballet, Latin, and Oriental dance — to both children and adults. With a deep respect for each student’s age-specific needs, Natalia builds her classes on anatomical knowledge and modern teaching approaches. Dedicated to lifelong learning, she continuously refines her skills and understanding.
In October 2023, Natalia immigrated to the United States with her husband, son, and daughter. This is her first year teaching at School of Sacramento Ballet.
Isabella Velasquez grew up training in Orange County at the Maple Conservatory. At 17 she joined The Washington Ballet in DC as a trainee, and continued training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s graduate program for two years after. Isabella joined Sacramento Ballet in 2014 where she has had the opportunity to perform many lead roles including Kitri in Don Quixote, Act 1, Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker, the lead in George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Donizetti Variations and Tarantella, and Ophelia in Stephen Mills’ Hamlet. Outside of Sacramento, Isabella has danced with The National Choreographers Initiative, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Capital Dance Project, and Ballet Project OC. Isabella has also choreographed multiple works for Sacramento Ballet, Capital Dance Project, and Ballet Project OC. Isabella has been a teacher with the Sacramento Ballet School for 4 years and has taught in the Sacramento area for 7 years. She teaches a wide variety of classes from technique, to pointe, variations, contemporary, and coaching. Isabella strives to share the technical and artistic tips she has learned as a professional dancer with her students, to better prepare them for a career in the arts. When not working Isabella loves to spend time with her two wiener dogs Luigi and Leonardo!
Jennie was born and raised in Sacramento. She began taking ballet lessons at the age of two at Janelle Sebren’s Sacramento Academy of Dance. She attended the Sacramento Ballet School under the direction of Carinne Binda and Melanie Haller, and danced various roles in Ron Cunningham’s The Nutcracker. She then attended the San Francisco Ballet School for two years, before joining The National Ballet of Canada as an apprentice in 2018. In 2019 she became a member of the corps de ballet at The National Ballet and continued with them until 2021. Her repertoire includes: Frederick Ashton’s The Dream, Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Anna Karenina, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Angels’ Atlas, Etudes, and The Sleeping Beauty, among other works. With Sacramento Ballet, Jennie has performed in The Nutcracker, Paul Vasterling’s Cinderella, Marika Brussel’s Water Ghosts, and George Balanchine’s Apollo.
Ava Grace began her training in all styles of dance under the instruction of her mom, Leigh Williams. From there, she continued to train mainly in ballet locally around her home town of Wilmington, North Carolina. Ava Grace attended summer programs such as Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Miami City Ballet, and went on to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for all four years of high school. At UNCSA, she had the opportunity to perform roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, Russian Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade, and Little Red Riding Hood in the Sleeping Beauty to name a few. While training at UNCSA and before hand, Ava Grace competed and placed in both YAGP and ADC IBC for multiple years. Not only this, but she focused on furthering her teaching experience during the time being. She has taught and assisted at many local studios in North Carolina including The Arts Company and The TuTu School. She began dancing with Sacramento Ballet in 2023 as a second company dancer directly after graduating high school, currently an apprentice with the company for the 2024/2025 season.
Kenzie Woodward, originally from Fort Worth Texas, began her training at The Texas Ballet Theater School and joined TBT’s Studio Company in 2019. After graduating she spent a year in New York at Marymount Manhattan College before moving to Sacramento in 2022. She has been with Sacramento Ballet’s Second Company for two years and is entering her second year as an SBII. She has trained in a multitude of styles and spent summers with American Ballet Theater, Next Generation, The Joffrey Ballet School, and Miami City Ballet. Over the last 5 years Kenzie has performed in professional productions of The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Peter and the Wolf, Cinderella and two productions of The Nutcracker.