Faculty Bios
Inspiring students in all Divisions to explore their passion for dance
Teachers
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Emma Andre is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher based in Oakland, California. Emma is originally from the North Shore of Massachusetts, where they started dancing at the age of 3. They studied contemporary dance with an emphasis in ballet at The Boston Conservatory, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2021. After graduating she moved to New York to work as a freelance performer and teacher. There, she had the pleasure of teaching children within the New York Public School system. Emma moved to Oakland in June of 2023, and has really enjoyed dancing and connecting with students in the Bay Area.
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Charmaine Butcher is a dance artist based out of San Francisco. After graduating high school with an Associate’s Degree, they continued their training at Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s Training Program in San Francisco. Charmaine has worked professionally for various choreographers, including Amy J Lambert, Chuck Wilt, Beth Terwilleger, Cameo Lethem, Dwight Rhoden, Petra Zanki, Robert Moses, and performed with Ballet22, Coriolis Dance, the Seattle Opera, SF Jazz, and Verlaine & McCann’s Burlesque Nutcracker. Charmaine currently works with Post:ballet, Sharp & Fine, and BODYSONNET. Charmaine frequently collaborates with their partner, Babatunji, showing work independently at San Francisco Trolley Dance, RAWdance’s CONCEPT Series, Dance Lovers (SF), and with Inner Child Foundation. In 2019, Charmaine completed their bachelor’s degree in Marketing & Entrepreneurship. In addition to dancing and teaching movement, Charmaine is a visual artist working in the mediums of floral, paint, and clay.
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Lawrence Chen grew up in Southern California, studying ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop from the age of thirteen under the guidance of Victor and Tatiana Kasatsky and their faculty. He went on to compete in the YAGP, placing in the Top 12 Pas De Deux in the New York Finals of 2014 as well as in the Top 3 soloist at regional venues for several years. At Pomona College, Lawrence obtained a BA in chemistry with mathematics, took on collegiate ballroom, and performed as a principal dancer for the Inland Pacific Ballet. In addition to teaching at BBT, Lawrence dances for Oakland Ballet Company and tutors high school STEM subjects. Lawrence received an Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance by an individual for his work in Oakland Ballet Company’s 22-23 season and is a contributing choreographer to their Angel Island Project.
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Ky Frances is a white, queer, artist who was born and raised on Ohlone Land/East Bay. He studied dance at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and at La Universidad de Chile in Santiago de Chile. He was the Co-Artistic Director of Kickbal, a dance company based in San Francisco. He has presented his work at Fresh Festival, ODC Pilot71, LevySalon, Works in the Works, SAFEhouse, SPF12, BAMPFA, UC Berkeley’s Hertz Hall, Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall and YBCA. In addition to creating work for dancers he has choreographed and staged choral works for the UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus, The SF Girls Chorus, 21V Choir, and the Cantabile Youth Singers of Silicon Valley.
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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 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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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 produce her own work with her sister, Jetta Martin and perform with Oakland Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, City Ballet of Boston, Robert Moses’ KIN, Capacitor, PUSH Dance, and Alexandra Pirici among others. Coral has had the privilege of teaching for Berkeley Ballet Theater since 2018, serving as School Director for the 2022-23 school year. She has also taught for Boston Ballet School, Shawl Anderson Dance Center, ODC School, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and many other local and national schools.
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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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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. Ms. Powell then joined The Alabama Ballet where she performed in works such as George Balanchine’s "The Nutcracker", as the dew drop fairy, and Tarantella. She also performed in Jiri Kylian’s "Sechs Tanze", as the Cowgirl in Agnes De Mille’s "Rodeo", and Roger Van Fleteren’s Romeo and Juliet and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 2014, she joined Ballet Memphis where she worked with many choreographers including Mark Godden, Steven McMahon, Uri Sands, Joshua L. Peugh, Gabrielle Lamb, Julia Adam and Julie Marie Niekrasz. She has also choreographed several works for Ballet Memphis’ “Pairings” and The Alabama Ballet’s “Choreographic Showcase”. Since joining Diablo Ballet in 2019, Ms. Powell has performed in ballets by Julia Adam, Val Caniparoli, Sean Kelly, Bruno Roche, Penny Saunders, Sally Streets, Stanton Welch, and Michael Wells. She has danced the female variation in Esmeralda, The Black Swan Pas de Deux in "Swan Lake", Swanhilda in "Coppélia" and in George Balanchine’s "Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux" and "Who Cares?". As a teacher, she has been teaching young and adult dancers since 2010 in dance schools and programs all over the country and bay area. Ms. Powell is excited to continue working with Berkeley Ballet Theater's Youth Division and Adult Open Division dancers.
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Accompanists
Daniel Berkman is a San Francisco-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and accompanist specializing in the Kora (a 21-stringed West African Harp). Daniel has composed many scores for dance and has worked with Bay Area companies and choreographers such as Sara Shelton Mann, Lizz Roman, Dexandro Montalvo, Janice Garrett and Dancers, ODC/Dance, Robin Dekkers and Post:ballet, RAWdance, Diablo Ballet, Dance Theatre San Francisco, and many others. Daniel has produced many acclaimed musical releases, created a soundtrack for the planetarium show “Earth Portal” in collaboration with the Whidbey Geodome Project, and composed the evening length score for Robin Dekkers’ “Alice in Wonderland.”
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Lucy Hudson has been a company pianist for Alonzo King Lines Ballet and a staff accompanist at Berkeley Ballet Theater for over 15 years. Previously she played for dance and theater companies in America and Europe, including San Francisco Ballet and Stadttheater Bern. In addition, she has many years of experience performing as a solo artist, composing for electronic instruments and symphony orchestra, and teaching dance-and-music workshops. Lucy is also the lead author and programmer for Lean And Mean Productions (LAMP), with three music theory apps now in the App Store and a fourth in progress.
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Judith Rosenberg received a B.M. and M.M. in Piano Performance from The Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester. She was on the Mills College faculty as Artis/Lecturer, Music Director in the Dance Department, for 37 years. As of 2001, she has been the principle composer/pianist for silent film at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive. She has performed for silent film at Telluride Film Festival, SF Silent Film Festival, Pordenone Film Festival among others and has recorded for silent film on the Flicker Alley label.
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Sky Tan is a classically trained pianist and watercolor artist who lives and works in Berkeley, California. She is currently a pianist for San Francisco Ballet and Berkeley Ballet Theater. Sky has worked with dance companies since 2004 and continues to write her own compositions and improvisations. She is also a singing pianist working with vocal artists in the Bay Area.
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Jess Bozzo (they/them) is a trans and queer interdisciplinary artist nestled in the SF/Bay Area. Their artistic practice encompasses drag, film, dance pedagogy, and movement-based performance and choreographic collaborations. As an educator, they are committed to fostering spaces of joy, empowerment, and inclusivity. They have taught contemporary, jazz funk, and vertical dance at studios and festivals across the Bay Area—including Full Out Studios, BANDALOOP Studios, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and the Queering Dance Festival—and began teaching with Rhythm & Motion in 2025. Their teaching practice prioritizes consent-driven movement, body positivity, and the sheer pleasure of dance!
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Alysia Chang was born in Berkeley, CA and grew up in the Bay Area studying ballet at the Contra Costa Ballet and attending summer programs at SFB, Boston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Alysia holds a BFA in Dance and a Minor in Arts Management from SUNY Purchase. Over the years, she's danced with the Sacramento Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, the Metropolitan Opera, SF Opera, Dawson Dance, Smuin Ballet, SFDanceworks, Radiocity and more. Choreographing for Sacramento Ballet and Ziru Dance, as well as teaching at ODC, West Coast Dance, Pacific Ballet, TruDance, Celebrity Dance and Dance Masters of America. Most recently, she received her MFA in Fashion Design as a Presidential Scholar at Academy of Art University. As a designer she has created costumes for Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Ziru Dance, Lady Camden, as well as choreographing and creating the designs for her MFA thesis collection “V”.
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Cora Cliburn is originally from Santa Fe, NM, and trained at Moving People Dance, the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program. In 2016, she was recognized as one of DANCE Magazine’s “25 to Watch.” Cora has worked as a company dancer with ODC/Dance, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, Robert Moses’ KIN, Post:ballet, and EIGHT/MOVES, and has performed with Lil Buck and Jon Boogz, GERALDCASELDANCE, ARCOS Dance, and Ana Teresa Fernández, among others. As an educator, Cora has taught classes and workshops for Stanford TAPS, the LINES Ballet Training Program, ODC, Boston Conservatory, UNCSA, and other schools. A 2019 graduate of Stanford University with a B.A. in Environmental Anthropology, she is now a graduate student in the Energy & Resources Group at UC Berkeley. Cora is honored to teach ballet and contemporary as part of the vibrant Berkeley Ballet community.
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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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ArVejon Jones is a Bay Area freelance dance artist, choreographer, and educator. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, he received his B.A. in Dance from San Francisco State University being recognized for his excellence in performance upon graduation. Professionally, ArVejon has performed with Copious Dance Theater, Robert Moses Kin, PUSH Dance, SOULSKIN Dance, ODC Dance/ SF, RAW Dance SF, Sean Dorsey Dance, Prometheus Dance Theater, Jean Appolon Expressions, Kambara+, and Garrett+Moulton Productions among others. He is very grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to tour throughout the United States of America and perform internationally in Canada and Sweden. His training is diverse having studied Tap, Jazz, specific and broad dances of the African Diaspora, and formal training in Ballet, and Modern Dance languages. He has taught for multiple institutions including San Francisco State University, BodyVox in Portland, OR, Boston Ballet, LINES/ SF Dance Center, and various private dance studios.
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Xiao Liu-Moore was born in China and began her professional training at 11. She received her B.A. in Ballet Pedagogy from the Beijing Dance Academy and has won prizes in national and provincial dance competitions. She has taught ballet at Berkeley Ballet Theater, Marin Ballet, and Smuin Ballet.
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Leigh Marz adores teaching for Rhythm & Motion. She sees it as critical to her master plan to, joyfully, transform the world. As a teacher, Leigh enjoys helping students expand their dance skills, cardio endurance, and strength—all while fostering a warm and welcoming community. All dance levels are welcome at R&M—whether you are formally trained, returning to dance after a hiatus, or finding your way to dance for the very first time. Leigh loves how in R&M 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 inclusive, spirited, and unapologetically fun. Leigh is deeply inspired by Rhythm & Motion’s mission—”anyone can dance”—and by our wide-ranging choreography—from Afro-Diaspora to Bhangra, from Modern to Salsa. Leigh is honored to be joining her fellow instructors—Eyla Moore, Jess Bozzo, and Liz Muller—and the Berkeley Ballet faculty.
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KT Nelson (ODC Fellow) joined ODC/Dance in 1976. From 1976- 2020 she danced, choreographed and partnered with Brenda Way in directing the ODC/Dance Company. KT has been awarded the Isadora Duncan Dance Award four times: in 1987 for Outstanding Performance, in 1996 and 2012 for Outstanding Choreography, and in 2001 for Sustained Achievement. Her collaborators have included Berkeley Symphony, Na Hoon Park, Shinichi Iova-Koga, and Joan Jeanrenaud. Path of Miracles, with ODC and Volti Vocal Ensemble received a NEFA National Dance Production touring grant. Nelson’s Dead Reckoning was presented in 2018 at Jacobs Pillow and in the 2019 American Dance Platform at the Joyce Theater (see Fighting Climate Change with Dance | KQED Arts ). Her collaboration with Brenda Way, boulders and bones, was presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 2017 Next Wave Festival. Her collaboration RingRoundRozi, with French-Canadian Composer Linda Bouchard, was selected for the 2008 Tansmesse International Dance Festival . Since leaving ODC in 2020, KT has focused on mentoring which has morphed into working side by side with these younger artists and working as an independent artist.
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Benjamin Warner is thrilled to be continuing to teach at Berkeley Ballet Theater this year. A dance teacher, coach and arts administrator, Benjamin serves as the Community Engagement Manager and Rehearsal Assistant at Smuin Contemporary Ballet in San Francisco. He has been teaching ballet for over fifteen years to all ages and levels. His teaching philosophies are rooted in educating dancers so they feel confident enough to take ownership of their own technique, leading to quicker technical progression. Benjamin's classes are informed by ballet history, kinesiology and physics with a large emphasis on musicality.
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Irina Friedland
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Stephen Mello began accompanying ballet classes at Berkeley Ballet Theater and has since gone on to work at studios across the San Francisco Bay area, among them the SF Ballet School, UC Berkeley, and Marin Ballet. Having trained classically, he has broadened his repertoire from Baroque and Romantic era compositions to music from the great Ballets, Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, jazz standards, pop tunes, and improvised music, to best suit the varying needs of the teachers and classes he accompanies. Having played for classes of all levels of skill, from introductory to professional, and all ages, he strives to provide music that both supports the technical and rhythmic needs of given combinations as well as the artistic and emotional expression of the dancers.
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Federico Strand Ramirez is a Bay Area cellist and San Francisco native. He performs regularly as a member of the Sixth Station Piano Trio, performing mostly at San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral. He has also performed with the Sacramento Philharmonic in collaboration with the Sacramento Ballet, Dawson Dance at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Mannes Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and has worked as a recording artist for Lisa Bielawa’s piece “Broadcast From Home”, featured at the Guggenheim Museum’s “Works and Processes” series and is now included in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. He also teaches cello through the San Francisco Symphony’s Mentor in Music program. Federico obtained a Bachelor of Music and Advanced Certificate degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music degree from the Mannes School of Music in New York City.