Born in Cuba, Mr. Almaguer  graduated from the school of Ballet de Camaguey, where he began his professional dancing career under the direction of the Father of the Cuban Ballet, Fernando Alonso. Mr. Almaguer was hired as a Soloist with the National Ballet of Cuba in 1989 fallowing his two Gold Medals in 1988 in the International Ballet Competition in Peru.  While being a Soloist with BNC (Ballet Nacional de Cuba) under the direction of world-wide legendary Prima Ballerina Alicia Alonso, Mr. Almaguer toured extensively throughout Europe and Latin America, and performed as a Guest Principal Dancer in several International Ballet Companies.

Following his defection to the United States in 1993, Mr. Almaguer  has been a Guest Artist with several American Ballet Companies, including the Miami City Ballet and the Ballet Cubano  of Miami and has been a Principal Dancer in companies such as Cleveland San Jose Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, The State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara, etc. His guest artist work has taken him to a variety of companies in the Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Spain, Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, Peru,  Brazil, Mexico, UK , Italy and Canada. He has been featured in TV in many  of these countries and the USA.

​

Tita Boulger, founder and director of Peninsula School of Performing Arts, has a well-known reputation, having taught dance in the South Bay area for over 40 years. She studied tap with Melvin Kaiser, Eddie Gay, Henry LeTang, and Paul Kennedy, ballet with Olga Fricker and Patricia Stander, and jazz with Bill Hyden, Jimmy Mack and Luigi. She has taught in the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program for 20 years choreographing West Side Story, Anything Goes, The Mikado, and 42nd Street. Her students have danced in Broadway shows, The Rockettes, and Broadway touring companies as well as attending university dance programs. She performed for many years in the Hot Cotton Candies and with Le Jazz Hot and is currently featured in PeiChen Wei's book Tap on Tour Hollywood.

Tracy Jones received her early training at PSPA, San Pedro Ballet School, and Lauridsen Ballet Centre.  She has danced professionally with Ballet Austin, Sacramento Ballet, Anaheim Ballet, Kenneth Walker Dance Project, South Bay Ballet, Borealis Dance Company, Silverlake Contemporary Ballet, and San Pedro City Ballet.  She has worked with such choreographers as Ron Cunningham, Lila York, Robert Kelly, Kenneth Walker, Gina Patterson, and Stephen Mills.

​

MARINA KALININA, born in Moscow, Russia, graduated from the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy.  While a student she danced as a soloist in Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella. Marina start her professional career with very prestigious dance companies, Igor Moiseyev and Beriozka where she danced for 25 years, performing as a soloist in over 60 countries of the world. After immigrating to the USA in 1981 with her husband Alex Kalinin, the two performed on stages from New York to Las Vegas and Australia to California as members of the Kalinin Dance Company. Reviewer Jacqueline Erickson from Australia wrote,

“The stage lights up with this love match.”

Ms Kalinina start teaching ballet classes in 1990 for Southland Ballet Academy of Orange County and has continued until present.  Some of her students have started professional careers with prestigious ballet companies including  American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and New York City Ballet.  Ms. Kalinina began teaching for Peninsula School of Performing Arts in 2006 and continues to teach and coach young dancers training for professional careers.  

Born in Australia, Ms. Ninkovic studied ballet at The National Ballet School in Sofia, Bulgaria and the State Ballet School in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. While studying at London Studio Center, she was voted Dancer of the Year and performed for HRH Prince Edward. She completed her training at the Royal Ballet School in London, receiving the R.A.D. Solo Seal Award. She was a semi-finalist in the 1991 Pric De Lausanne IBC, and later joined the Basel Ballet In Switzerland. She Performed as a soloist with the Perth City Ballet in Australia and Los Angeles Classical Ballet. She has taught at several venues including the Ana Cheselka Dance Center and the Marat Daukaev School of Ballet.

Ms Ortega began her ballet training at the age of 8 in Holguin, Cuba. In 1980, upon graduating from the Escuela Nacional de Artes, she joined the Ballet de Camaguey of Cuba, dancing throughout Europe and the Americas as the featured soloist of the company. In 1988, she joined Ballet Nacional de Cuba, and in 1989, Ms Ortega won the gold medal from the International Ballet Competition in Peru. In the U.S., she danced with Cleveland Ballet and later San Jose Ballet. Today, she is a freelance ballet teacher. 

Chad was most recently seen in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins!  He also performed in Irving Berlin's White Christmas on Broadway (Tony Nomination for Best Choreography).  Other credits include West Side Story (International Tour), 42nd Street (U.S. Tour), No, No, Nanette (Encores! City Center), Footloose,A Chorus Line, Crazy for You, and others.  Chad was thrilled to perform with President Obama for Ted Kennedy's birthday at the Kennedy Center.  He also graduated from Wabash College with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Business.

Ms. Cindy teaches all the BAT combo classes and beginning Tap and Ballet.

Kenneth Walker has danced professionally for several companies and performed throughout the United States, Canada and South America.  He trained in dance-making with many choreographers including William Forsythe, Alonzo King, Donald Byrd, and Bella Lewitzky.   As a sought after instructor, Kenneth has taught as a guest and summer intensives from Simi Valley to San Clemente as well as serving as the former director for Ballet Etudes of Huntington Beach. He currently teaches for CSU Dominguez Hills Dance Department, The Wooden Floor, and studios throughout the South Bay.  He has created dances for Sarasota Ballet of Florida, Sacramento Ballet, Chico Community Ballet, Southern California Dance Theatre, San Pedro City Ballet, South Bay Ballet, Petaluma City Ballet, Dance Peninsula, DanceCorps, Peninsula Dance Theatre and Pasadena Dance Theater. Kenneth is the recipient of the young choreographer’s award from the Southern CA Dance Theatre, and is the youngest finalist to ever compete in the Sarasota Ballet of Florida International Choreography Competition. Kenneth has a B.A. from UCLA in World Arts and Cultures and is a dual Masters of Arts in Arts Management and MBA graduate of Claremont Graduate University.  He is the director of Kenneth Walker Dance Project.

Laura Whitesides has been teaching dance in the South Bay area for 15 years. She received her training at Ballet Pacifica with Louis Carver, Jimmie De Fore Dance Studio with Jimmie De Fore, Dupree Dance Academy and Edge Performing Arts Center.
Her dance career has taken her to several states and countries abroad including international tours in Italy, Germany, and Japan. She performed and toured as a real-life dancing Barbie for Mattel Toys.
She has choreographed and coached for local Cheer and Song tryouts, local events, and choreographed and costumed shows in Italy and Germany. She has also taught Ballet and Jazz workshops throughout the U.S. and also in Japan.
Laura also choreographs and conducts theme dance birthday/special event parties in the South Bay

Tatiana started her dance training in Albuquerque, New Mexico at “New Mexico Dance Barre”. She danced competitively earning numerous awards and invitations to international competitions such as Top 12 at YAGP and Top 10 at World Ballet Competition. She danced as a contract dancer with the New Mexico Ballet Company for six years. Later on she auditioned and gained acceptance into the prestigious Edge Performing Arts Center Scholarship program, under the direction of Randy Allaire and Bill Prudich. She studied dance from many outstanding teachers and choreographers, and was lucky enough to get to assist some on televised projects. After completing the Edge program she signed with The Movement Talent Agency in Los Angeles and has been in numerous films and projects such as Universal Studios Japan “Super Nintendo World” Commercial, ”This Is Us (NBC network), In Plain Sight (NBC network),Transparent (Amazon Prime), “Dirt” (Brat network), AZRA “Dimensions” (VEVO Music Video), Skeleton crew 2019 Oscar commercial "American Idol", Santa Monica pier “To the sea” for Vincent Paterson and more. Tatiana was formerly a Ballet Teacher for Edge Performing Arts Center’s Youth Program. She has been teaching at PSPA for many wonderful years and loves sharing her extensive knowledge of dance by teaching the next generation of up and coming dancers.

Brianna grew up in California and received most of her early training under the prestigious ballet masters Patrick Frantz, (Paris Opera Ballet), Rebecca Wright, (ABT) and Marat Daukayav, (Kirov Ballet). Brianna then trained and danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet before going on to perform leading roles in many other Nationally recognized companies including: State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara, LA Classical Ballet, City Ballet of LA, California Festival Ballet, LA Opera, and Luminario Ballet of LA, where she was also the assistant rehearsal director and assistant choreographer to Mr. Stefan Wenta and Jamal Story of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Brianna has toured in many stage shows around the world and also has many film and T.V. credits including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Castle, Emmy Awards, Deal or No Deal, and Dancing With The Stars. Brianna Fields is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.

SHARON PALMER. comes to us with a performing background of singing, dancing and acting. She was a member of the Young Americans for three years, and is the dance director at Palos Verdes Intermediate School. Sharon has a BA degree in dance from UC Irvine with an emphasis in teaching and choreography and her M.Ed from Concordia University, Irvine in Education and Curriculum.

Justin Badding began his dance training at the age of 6 in Carroll, Iowa. He spent several years at a young age competing in the convention / competition circuit winning top awards and scholarships. At Celebrity Dance, he was then selected as an actual staff member for four years which led him to travel and dance while in high school.

After high school, Justin decided to further his dance training by attending the University of Arizona where he majored in dance. His primary curriculum focus was in ballet, jazz, and modern. He took additional courses in contemporary, hip hop, tap, improve, musical theater, teaching methods, kinesiology, injury prevention, and yoga. While attending college he was chosen to travel with several companies, one of which allowed him to dance in China for a month. Justin graduated from University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He then moved to Hollywood where he started teaching, choreographing, and working in the dance industry. 

As a professional dancer in Los Angeles for the past several years, Justin has danced for companies such as Reebok, Redkin, The Greatest Showman, La La Land, Grease Live, Vans, OPI Nails, and Cysco. Justin can be seen on TV with Eric Andre,  and in music videos with Joe Jonas, 5th Harmony, Bonnie McKee, and Will Sparks. Justin dove into the musical theater industry with ’Sweet Charity’ at Reprise2.0, ‘Memphis’ at MTW. Finally,  Justin was in the opening cast of FROZEN Live at the Hyperion at Disney’s California Adventure.

Damian Kelly has performed in The Nutcracker with Anaheim Ballet since 2016, alongside roles in Martini Ballet, Beach Blanket Ballet, Ballet’s Greatest Hits, #NoFilter, and Anaheim Ballet’s Christmas Card. Since Spring 2023, he has also performed with Long Beach Ballet in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Coppélia, under the direction of David Wilcox. His 15 years of performance experience also include roles with Ballet Etudes (The Nutcracker, Cinderella), Peninsula School of Performing Arts (Don Quixote, The Nutcracker), Coast City Ballet (The Nutcracker), Nouveau Chamber Ballet (Cigale, Peter & the Wolf, Mandarin Ducks), Contempo Ballet (A Will to Control), and the SoCal Ballet Scene Festival.

In addition to stage performances, Damian has brought his passion for dance to Disneyland entertainment offerings like Princess Elena’s Grand Arrival and Haunted Mansion’s 50th Anniversary, and parades such as Magic Happens, Paint The Night, Soundsational, Pixar Play, and A Christmas Fantasy Parade.

Damian has trained in ballet for over 19 years and continues to teach ballet technique and choreography across Southern California. His teaching credits include Peninsula School of Performing Arts, Legacy Dance Studio, South County Dance, Elevation Studios, Murrieta Dance Project, Center Stage Dance Academy, Anaheim Ballet, and Long Beach Ballet’s contemporary summer intensive.

Diane began her dance training with Lauridsen Ballet Centre and came to PSPA shortly thereafter.  Diane has performed soloist roles in the PSPA productions of Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.  She danced on the Palos Verdes High School Song team and was a member of the PSPA Contemporary, Lyrical, Jazz, Ballet, and Musical Theater competitive teams. Diane has attended prestigious summer intensives with the American Ballet Theater, Bolshoi Ballet Academy, and most recently with the Joffrey Grainger Academy Chicago Contemporary Ballet Trainee Program. She is also continuing her training by attending adult professional classes at Westside School of Ballet in addition to other dance classes in LA and New York City. In addition, Diane has enjoyed designing tutus and other costumes for YAGP, CDC and PSPA productions.  She is honored to be teaching at PSPA and hopes to pass on her love of dance to the current PSPA students.

Emma Giselle Mertens was born and raised in Torrance, California. She trained at Peninsula School of Performing Arts under the guidance of Vera Ninkovic, Roberto Almaguer, and Hasmik Amirian. During her time there she performed many lead roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker, Kitri from Don Quixote, and Swanilda from Coppelia. She also competed in YAGP, California Dance Classics, and the Spotlight Awards, winning multiple prizes and awards. In 2023 she graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a B.F.A in Dance Performance and Choreography. While at the university she trained with Lar Lubovitch, Tong Wang, Vitor Luiz, and Molly Lynch as well other esteemed faculty. She is a recipient of the Beth L. Koehler Scholarship for contemporary/modern dance and the William J. Gillespie Foundation Scholarship for Ballet Studies. After graduating, she danced with Golden State Ballet and is now a freelance dancer in the LA and Orange County area.