Faculty Bios
Inspiring students in all Divisions to explore their passion for dance
Teachers
Isaac Bates-Vinueza, lives in Berkeley, California, where he works as a freelance dancer, choreographer, and teacher, and studies English at the University of California, Berkeley. Originally from Louisville, Colorado, he received his training from Boulder Ballet School and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and he attended summer courses at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Arts Umbrella Dance. Isaac has danced professionally with Sacramento Ballet, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, LED Boise, and SFDanceworks. He made his choreographic debut in 2022 at Sacramento Ballet, and that same year, was awarded the Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow. He teaches ballet, contemporary dance, and improvisation at levels spanning beginner to professional, and to students of all ages.
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Esther Cardona
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Colin Frederick (they/he), born and raised in Warrensburg, Missouri began their dance training at Center Stage Academy of the Performing Arts. Colin attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where they obtained a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography. While attending university, they had the privilege to perform in many faculty, undergraduate, and professional companies work - including Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company and MTH Theatre. After graduation, Colin moved to San Francisco, California where they have freelanced with several choreographers and companies including Marika Brussels, Garrett + Moulton Productions, work by Ihsan Rustem and most notably Post:ballet, under the direction of Robin Dekkers. Along with being a company dancer with Post:ballet, Colin is the Assistant to the Directors for Post:ballet and Berkeley Ballet Theater. While freelancing, Colin also produced, choreographed, and performed in a mixed bill performance called neverover : an evening celebrating queer joy and chaos. During this time Colin became a 200-hour certified yoga instructor through the Yoga Alliance. Colin is excited to continue teaching Modern at Berkeley Ballet Theater this season.
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Robert Greer, a native of California, danced throughout the U.S. for over twenty years. He performed in a number of ballet companies such as Augusta Ballet, Charleston Ballet Theatre and Ballet Idaho. He spent his summers with Ballet Montana, performing with people from all over the world. He has enjoyed dancing in many ballets; some of his favorites are Lar Lubovitch’s My Funny Valentine, Jill Bahr’s The Rite of Spring and Roy Gan’s Requiem. Greer continues to perform as a character guest artist with the Peoria Ballet. Greer began his training at the age of twenty and set out on a journey to learn as much as possible about his newfound passion. He moved back to the Bay Area in 2007 where he began teaching for Berkeley Ballet Theater and other schools. While at Berkeley Ballet Theater Greer created a number of classes including Pas de deux, Beginning 2 and Intro 2 to help build the Adult Open Division. He also added summer and winter workshops to give adults more learning opportunities and extra performance experience. Greer continues to teach many classes at Berkeley Ballet Theater and looks forward to sharing his passion with anyone wanting to learn.
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Rena Marie Guidry has been an actor and dancer for over 25 years, in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area. She studied ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, salsa, liturgical, and Samba. She has done music videos, commercials, films, performed in self-produced dance theater productions, and been a part of several theatre ensembles. She has also been a guest performer for both Sambaxe, and the Latin Dance Grooves ensemble. Guidry has led high-energy, packed classes with Rhythm & Motion since 2011. She is a trained Drama Therapist, with an MA in counseling psychology. She uses this training in her artistic work with youth and adults. Guidry believes the arts are inherently therapeutic and can be used to bring about healing and wellness.
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Emily Hansel, originally from Rochester, Minnesota, is a San Francisco-based dancer and choreographer. Hansel received her BFA in Dance from the University of South Florida, where she performed in works by Ohad Naharin, Alonzo King, Robert Moses, Katie Faulkner, Maurice Causey, Bliss Kohlmyer, Carl Flink, Paula Nunez, and Andrew Carroll, among others. Upon her graduation in 2016, Hansel relocated to San Francisco. Hansel currently dances for Robert Moses’ KIN and Mark Foehringer Dance Project and recently performed Cunningham repertory in Signals from the West: Bay Area Artists In Conversation with Merce Cunningham at 100. Hansel has also performed with The Anata Project, Talli Jackson, Marika Brussel, Alma Esperanza Cunningham, Kristin Damrow Company, Brannigan Dance Works, and SOULSKIN Dance. Hansel’s choreography has been presented at numerous venues throughout the Bay Area, Georgia, and Florida.
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Coral Rose Martin is a Berkeley native, she trained at Berkeley City Ballet with Grace Doty and Contra Costa Ballet Centre with Richard Cammack and Zola Dishong. After graduating from Harvard University with a degree in social anthropology, Coral went on to perform with Oakland Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, City Ballet of Boston, Capacitor, PUSH Dance, and Marika Brussel, among others. In addition to her work as a performer, Coral has had the privilege of teaching for Boston Ballet School, Shawl Anderson Dance Center, ODC School, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and many other local and national schools. The 2021-22 season will be Coral's second year on the Berkeley Ballet Theatre faculty.
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Leigh Marz, adores teaching for Rhythm & Motion. She sees it as critical to her master plan for joyfully transforming the world. As a teacher, Leigh is interested in helping students to find space for dance in their lives—whether they are returning to dance after a hiatus or finding their way to dance for the very first time. Leigh loves how in Rhythm & Motion classes we can lose ourselves and find ourselves again—all in one hour! Leigh took her first dance class at age 5—a free-form African dance class for kids in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This class set a high bar one that she still holds—for a class that feels warm and welcoming, spirited, and unapologetically fun. Leigh is deeply inspired by Rhythm & Motion’s mission and diverse choreography. Leigh is honored to be joining her fellow instructors—Rena Marie Guidry, Eyla Moore, Tamika Banks, and Liz Muller—and the Berkeley Ballet Theater faculty.
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Jackie McConnell, from Salem, Oregon, trained with Pacific Northwest Ballet School and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She danced with Nevada Ballet Theatre, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance in New York City, and toured with the Portland-based company, Bodyvox. In the Bay Area, she has danced with Company C Contemporary Ballet, Garrett and Moulton Productions, Menlowe Ballet and the San Francisco Opera. McConnell currently dances with Post:Ballet, Oakland Ballet Company and Diablo Ballet. She has taught all over the Bay Area including Oakland Ballet School, the Center for Community Arts in Walnut Creek, and Orinda Ballet Academy. She is very excited to be joining the Faculty at Berkeley Ballet Theater this year!
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Eyla Moore grew up in the Bay Area playing music and dancing. Moore is the daughter of the famous jazz drummer, Eddie Moore. She holds a BA in Dance, Performance & Choreography (2009) from SFSU and won the title of Queen of SF Carnaval (2011). Moore started as a student of Rhythm & Motion in 2001 and became a R&M Instructor in 2005. Moore loves the freedom she feels when teaching R&M and loves watching her students as they grow and excel in class. Moore is a certified Dunham Technique and Pilates instructor who loves music and dance from all over the world!
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Deborah Moss, a New York native, has made the Bay Area her home. A passionate dance educator, Moss firmly believes that the arts inform and enrich our lives and must be accessible to everyone. She has taught dance in public and private schools throughout the East Bay. Moss joined Berkeley Ballet Theater in 1989 serving on both Artistic Staff and Faculty, as School Principal, Director of Pre-Ballet and Outreach Coordinator. Moss is devoted to BBT’s commitment to be a place Where All Can Dance and is honored to be a part of the school’s mission. She currently teaches and choreographs in BBT’s Adult Open Division. Moss has studied with Marina Eglevsky, Nicholas Polajenko, Soili Arvola, Fred Strobel and Catherine Graves. Her studies in ballet pedagogy include: Vaganova, Legat) and Cecchetti. Moss is an ABT certified teacher for Levels Pre-Primary-3. Moss expanded her studies with modern dance, training with Dawn Horowitz (Cunningham) and Camille Hill-Long (Jack Cole and Lester Horton). Moss’ performance experience includes Berkeley Ballet Theater, Dancer’s Circle, Halifax Civic Ballet, Atlantic Dance Company and Concept 1. Moss holds Associate degrees in Arts in Humanities and Technical Illustration from Daytona State College. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a BFA in History of Art; receiving the Maybelle M.Toombs Award.
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Moscelyne ParkeHarrison, is an artist from the Berkshires, MA. She is the Associate Artistic Director, Resident Choreographer, and Company Artist at Post:ballet, and director of bicoastal collective BODYSONNET. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School and recipient of the Artist as Citizen Award. She trained at Hubbard Street Pro, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, b12, Banff Centre for the Arts, and Jacob’s Pillow. She teaches contemporary, ballet, and fitness for all levels at Berkeley Ballet Theater, Lines Training and Summer Program, City Dance, Equinox, and ODC.
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Olivia Powell, is a native of the Boston area and received her ballet training from the Boston Ballet School. She attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts’ dance department and received her BFA with first class honors at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Olivia has been a professional dancer with The Alabama Ballet, Ballet Memphis, The Diablo Ballet, and has also performed as a guest principal artist for numerous companies internationally. Her teaching experience includes several schools in the Boston area, Hong Kong, and South Florida. She has also taught at Boston Ballet's Summer Dance Program and Young Dancer's Summer Workshop, The Alabama Ballet School, The School at Ballet Memphis, and various schools in the bay area. In 2021, Olivia joined BBT's Pre-Ballet faculty. This year, she is very excited to work with Level 1, Level 5, Level 7, and Adult Open Division dancers. She loves teaching dancers of all ages and is honored to be a part of the BBT community.
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Benjamin Warner, is a San Francisco based dance teacher and arts administrator serving as the Community Engagement Manager and Rehearsal Assistant for Smuin Contemporary Ballet. His teaching is rooted in musicality and building a sense of ownership over one's personal growth and development. Benjamin is thrilled to continue sharing his joy for dance with the students at Berkeley Ballet Theater.
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Accompanists
Daniel Berkman,
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Irina Friedland,
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Lucy Hudson, was a Company Pianist for San Francisco Ballet for 11 years. She has played for numerous other dance and theater companies in America and Europe, while also performing as a solo artist, composing for electronic instruments and symphony orchestra, and teaching dance-and-music workshops. She is now working as a pianist with LINES Dance Center, Academy of Ballet, ODC Dance Company, and Berkeley Ballet Theater. Hudson also plays drums for BBT's in-house rock band, Pique-Haze.
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Stephen Mello, has been accompanying ballet studios around the bay area for over 8 years, and is proud to have started his career with Berkeley Ballet Theater. As the son of a ballet dancer and a pianist, he's happy to have a profession where he can employ valuable insights from both. His playing is strongly informed by both the piano teachers and fellow accompanists who have helped him along the way, as well as the variety of amazing teachers he's worked with. Always willing to adapt his playing to fit the form and emotion of each combination, he strives to provide dancers with music that isn't just beautiful, but also supports their movement and expression.
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Judith Rosenberg, B.M. and M.M in Piano Performance from The Eastman School of Music. Director of Music and Artist/Lecturer in the Dance Department of Mills College (1973-2010). Principal pianist for silent film at Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive since 2001. Performer as composer/pianist for silent film at SFSilent Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Syracuse Film Festival, NYC at the Donnell Library, Pordenone, Italy. Several dvd’s of her music for silent film published by Flicker Alley included with Early Women Filmmakers : An International anthology.
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Linli Wang, is a Chinese-born American pianist and educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently a pianist at the San Francisco Ballet, Berkeley Ballet Theater, pianist and choir director at Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church, as well as faculty member at the Crowden Music Center and Pleasanton Academy of Music. Linli has previously served as a ballet accompanist at the San Francisco Opera, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and as staff accompanist at the University of the Pacific, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the Stockton Chorale, and Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
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Rudy Apffel, first began accompanying open and company classes for Berkeley Ballet Theater in 1982 at the invitation of BBT founder Sally Streets.