Lindsey Salvadalena | School Director

Raised in Louisiana, Lindsey received her classical ballet training from Constantin Apetrei, a graduate of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Kelly Fortier and Jan Miller, as well as time spent at the Washington School of Ballet, Ballet Magnificat!, and on scholarship at the Boston Ballet School. Lindsey is a graduate of New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA/Riverfront) and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from the Conservatory of Dance at State University of New York / Purchase.  Over the course of her career, she performed many classical works, including: Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, Coppélia, Raymonda, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Peter Pan and The Nutcracker. Notable roles include the "Pas de Trois" from Paquita, "Swanhilda's Friend" from Coppélia, "Tiger Lily" in Peter Pan, "Flower Couple," "Arabian Soloist," and "Snow Queen" and “Sugar Plum Fairy” from The Nutcracker.  Lindsey has danced for Liss Fain Dance, Oakland Ballet, Bay Pointe Ballet as well as freelancing as a guest artist in the San Francisco Bay Area and the New Orleans metropolitan area.

Chelsea Hix | Assistant School Director

Chelsea began her ballet training at Sebastopol Ballet School and went on to train at the Academy of International Ballet in Philadelphia. She has had the honor of working extensively with Anastasia Babayeva and Denis Gronostayskiy of the Bolshoi Ballet, and Tamara Statkoun of the Kirov Ballet. She has been a company member with International Ballet Classique, Connecticut Ballet, and Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and has had performance opportunities with Oakland Ballet, Ballet Santa Barbara, and as a guest artist throughout the Bay Area. She has also holds a BA in English and French from Sonoma State University.

Terez Dean | Ballet

Terez is a ballet teacher and arts program director based in San Francisco. Originally from Hudson Valley, New York, Terez received her training at the prestigious School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. Starting her professional dance career in 2005, Terez danced with State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara and Smuin Ballet, featured in works by Jiří Kylián, Trey McIntyre, Helen Pickett, Val Caniparoli, Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, Amy Seiwert, Ma Cong, and Jennifer Archibald. Terez has her BA through the Saint Mary’s College LEAP program and recently co-founded Jettison Creative, a production studio built to assist creatives. Honing her passion for ballet and building a community, Terez's classes are rooted in technique, energy, and heart- fostering a comfortable and inclusive atmosphere that makes artists excited to explore and grow.

Ethan Epstein | Guest Faculty - Ballet

Ethan Epstein is from Boston, MA where he began his ballet training at Boston Ballet School. Ethan went on to train at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Darla Hoover and Marcia Dale Weary, where he danced principal and soloist roles in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Emeralds, and Alan Hineline’s Coppelia. Professionally, Ethan has danced at Alabama Ballet and Oklahoma City Ballet. He danced roles including Candy Cane in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, The Champion Roper in Agnes de Mille's Rodeo, and Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty. Ethan taught at the Alabama Ballet School and Birmingham Academy of Dance while dancing professionally. Ethan has served as the Children’s Rehearsal Director for Balanchine’s Nutcracker for three years and has guest taught company class at Alabama Ballet. He also returns to CPYB to teach during the summers.

Joshua Jung | Ballet

Joshua began as a hip hop dancer when he was 10, competing at dance conventions for 3 years, during which he rounded off his dance training with ballet, jazz, tap, and contemporary. Discovering his passion for ballet, he attended Bay Pointe Ballet under the tutorship of Bruce Steivel, Lindsey Salvadelana, and Chelsea Hix where, in addition to ballet, was versed in character dance and partnering. He then attended Bay Area Ballet Conservatory following Bay Pointe Ballet's closure, where he was among the first seniors to graduate BABC. When he started his first year studying Dance and Environmental Science at San Francisco State University, Joshua also started his pre-professional dance career at the age of 17, dancing with Foley Dance, performing neoclassical-Georgian ballets around the Bay Area. He also has danced with the New Ballet Studio Company in Cinderella, The San Jose Nutcracker, and Fast Forward (a contemporary ballet showcase). Joshua has been a teacher in studios and schools in the Bay Area for 9 years now, teaching at Oberlin Dance Collective, SFSU, Principal Creative & Performing Arts, & Peninsula Lively Aarts with experience teaching ages from 2 to 80 years old. 

Calvin Thomas | Guest Faculty - Ballet

Hailing from Maysville, Kentucky, Calvin Thomas received foundational training at the Otto M. Budig Academy of Cincinnati Ballet. He has supplemented his studies at Boston Ballet School, The School of American Ballet, Ballet Austin Academy, and The School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. His career start began with the Cincinnati Ballet and Ballet Austin. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2011 he has performed with Company C Contemporary Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, Oakland Ballet Company, Dance Theatre of San Francisco, Kiandanda Dance Theater, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, and Garrett Moulton Productions. His repertoire includes works by Thang Dao, Gregory Dawson, Yuri Zhukov, and Maurice Causey among others. In addition to teaching ballet, Calvin is a certified Pilates instructor.

Rowan Williams | Contemporary

Rowan received her classical ballet training at Pacific Northwest Ballet as well as training and competing in Irish Dance at her mother’s Irish Dance school in Seattle, WA. In addition to training at Pacific Northwest Ballet, she additionally spent summers studying at American Ballet Theatre NY and San Francisco Ballet School.

During her classical ballet training, Rowan performed various works by George Balanchine, including Serenade and Stars and Stripes, in addition to participating in numerous other company productions. She then pursued a BFA in Dance with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, to explore contemporary and modern dance styles. She had the opportunity to perform works by choreographers such as Sidra Bell, Gregory Dawson, Carmen Rozestraten, Dexandro Montalvo, and others.

Since earning her degree, Rowan has worked as a freelance dance artist performing for West Bay Opera, Andrea Salazar, Oceanica Ballet, and the Deborah Slater Residency. Alongside performing, Rowan is a certified GYROTONIC Trainer.

Kiara Jaro | Primary Division Ballet

Born in the Phillipines, where she received classical ballet and dance training, Kiara was a professional performer with ACTS Manila. Kiara received her Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics with an emphasis on business economics from UC Davis. Kiara has a passion for ballet that she loves sharing with her young students.

Edgar Lepe | Ballet - Adult Program

Trained in Folklorico Ballet throughout his youth, Edgar Lepe began studying classical ballet in 2008 at the San Francisco Academy of Ballet under the direction of ballet masters Richard Gibson and Zory Karah. Edgar has performed in Mexico and the United States with Collage West Ensemble, Compania Mexico Danza, Ensembles Ballet Folklorico of San Francisco, as well as Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Presidio Dance Theatre, Bay Pointe Ballet, and Oakland Ballet.

Robert Lowman | Ballet - Adult Program

Robert Burns Lowman trained at Susan Hayward School of Dancing and holds B.A.s in Dance and Theater & Performance Studies from U.C. Berkeley. He is a recipient of the Mask and Dagger Memorial Prize (2012) and the Rosalyn Schneider Eisner Prize (2013). Robert has performed with em(body) dance project and Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and has also danced in works by Marit Brook-Kothlow, Carlos Carvajal, Ron Cunningham, Katie Faulkner, and Scott Wells. Robert is currently Artistic Co-Director of Oceánica Ballet with Edgar Lepe.

Tamara Shuttle | Jazz - Adult Program

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Tamara began dancing at the age of four and later trained with the renowned Berle Davis and Ann Barrett. During her collegiate years, Tamara was heavily involved in both theatre and musical theatre, performing in Evita, Godspell, The Robber Bridegroom and Jesus Christ Superstar, to name a few.  She holds a degree in Dance and a credential in elementary school education from San Francisco State University.  Tamara toured with a five star cruise line, performing on multiple ships around the world. As an educator, Tamara teaches Jazz to both children and adults, teaching throughout the Bay Area. Tamara loves to choreograph to a variety of music, infusing a multitude of jazz styles - from classic, to funk, to lyrical.  She uses her fitness background to incorporate muscular strength, endurance and flexibility training in to her classes. She continues to take class and perform locally. Tamara believes in fostering the love of movement for dancers of all ages and levels.