The Santa Clara Ballet School offers a variety of excellent classes for all levels and abilities. We provide top-caliber instructors in a personal environment, which allows the highest quality of instruction for our students. Enrollment is open now. Please visit The School for class schedule, tuition, and other general information. FACULTY Josefa Villanueva, School Director Villanueva started her training in the Philippines with Roberta and Ricardo Cassell (a student of Vincenzo Celli). She was formerly a member of the San Francisco Ballet Company and the San Francisco Opera Ballet. Previous to that, she performed as a lead dancer with the San Francisco Ballet Celeste for four years. She taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Ballet and Theatre Arts as well as San Jose City College. Her teaching experience is enriched with classes from well known Russian teachers and distinguished teachers in New York City. She has also received a Certificate for taking part in the International Vaganova Conference/Demonstration in St. Petersburg, Russia, featuring the entire 8-year system which included Classical Dance, Character, History Dance & Variations. She has taken classes in New York with Valentina Pereyslavic, Leon Danelien, Frederic Franklin, David Howard, Jurgen Schneider, and master classes with Sergeyev, Dudinskay, Golovkina, Kirsten Ralov, and Dina Bjorn. Her performing experience includes multiple lead roles from the classical repertory. Villanueva holds a degree in Music and has studied post-graduate in Early Childhood Education and Dance Education at both SF State University and San Jose State University. She co-founded Santa Clara Ballet with husband Benjamin Reyes in 1973. Peter Hershey Born in Van Nuys, California, Peter Hershey began his serious ballet training at the Seiskaya Ballet Academy in St. James, New York at age eleven. He went on to attend both the School of American Ballet and the Juilliard School, under the artistic directorship of Benjamin Harkarvy. A member of Ballet San Jose since 2001, Peter's repertoire includes the role of Johnny in Dennis Nahat's Blue Suede Shoes, the Champion Roper in Agnes de Mille's Rodeo and Prince Alexis in The Nutcracker, as well as many soloist roles in ballets such as Who Cares?, In Studio D, District Storyville and Quicksilver. In addition to his work with the company, Peter has taught various levels in the Ballet San Jose School. He has performed in both Italy and Japan and looks forward to seeing the rest of the world someday. Ramon Moreno Moreno, a native of Pina Del Rio, Cuba, joined San Jose Cleveland Ballet in 1999. Mr. Moreno has participated extensively in competitions worldwide, including appearances in Cuba, Peru, Brazil, Finland and the United States, and has been awarded seven medals including four gold. He has performed with the Classical Ballet of Havana, toured internationally and appeared as a guest artist with the Cuballet of Pittsburgh. His vast repertoire includes Apollo, Carmen, Who Cares?, Flower Festival, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Swan Lake and Involucion. As a guest artist with San Jose Cleveland Ballet in 1998, his performance in Involucion was named one of the "ten best dance events" in the California Bay Area. Ramón is currently a Principal Dancer with Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley. Jennifer Stampf Jennifer studied at San Jose Dance Theatre and Western Ballet where she performed principal roles as a student in the Nutcracker and Cinderella as well as various new works. She earned her B.A. in Dance at the University of California, Irvine with an emphasis on ballet, dance pedagogy, dance history and musical theater. In addition Jennifer has taught ballet, pointe, jazz and lyrical classes for small children thru adults at various dance schools as well as renting her own space and running a small dance school for 3 years. She currently teaches private piano lessons for children and continues my her own training with daily ballet classes from Marilyn Trounson, Kristine Elliott and many more. Mariana Sobral Sobral began her study of ballet as a student in Argentina. She attended the University of Buenos Aires where she achieved her Masters Degree in Performing Arts. While in school she studied Ballet Methodology, Production, and Regié; where she discovered her passion for creating scenery. While working on her degree, Mariana performed as a Soloist and Principal Dancer in over a dozen of classical, contemporary and neo-classical choreographies. Since arriving in the United States, Mariana has taught and directed ballet students of all ages and experience levels for the Santa Clara Ballet as well as Ballet San Jose School, South Bay Dance Center, and San Jose State University. Charles Torres Charles has taught for over 20 years throughout the country. He is currently Ballet Master at Stapleton School of the Performing Arts and teacher at The Ballet Studio in San Francisco. He is a guest teacher, coach, ballet master throughout the entire bay area. Charles has the ability and passion to work with all levels, from professionals to the younger levels of training. He has been a guest artist/teacher and currently on staff here at S.C.B. for past 5 years. Charles has been a principal dancer and guest artist for 25 years throughout the country. He has danced with Sacramento Ballet, Ballet West Arizona, Smuin Ballet, Diablo Ballet, The Carlisle Project, and The Chautauqua Ballet. Charles has danced all the full-length classics and comtempory works of our time. He recently graduated with his Master's Degree in 21st Century Leadership from St. Mary's college. Lauren Vance Born and raised in San Francisco, Ms. Vance trained and graduated from the San Francisco Ballet School. As a student in the school, she performed roles in San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker and Swan Lake. In 1996, she joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem as a corps de ballet dancer. Ms. Vance toured the United States and internationally with the company. While with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ms. Vance preformed roles in Serenade, Four Temperaments, Concerto Borroco, Dougla, Fall River Legend and Firebird. Ms. Vance has taught ballet to students ages 5-18 at dance schools throughout California. Ms. Vance graduated from Golden Gate University with a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications and U.C. Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.