Faculty

Avery has trained in all styles of dance with a concentration in ballet technique. She has an extensive competition and performance background which includes being a dancer for well recognized artists such as CeeLo Green and Tony Vincent.

Avery began choreographing at age 15 when she created her first self-choreographed solo which placed in the Top 4 at an International Ballet Competition in Daytona, Florida. She performed as Principal Dancer in the Phoenix Ballet’s String of Thoughts and was also a soloist in their performance of Paquita. Avery has also dabbled in acting, playing the role of Abigail in the Netflix film “Driven to Dance”. She has guested in many performances, including being the Snow Queen in a New York production of The Nutcracker and Lead Soloist in American School of Classical Ballet’s performance of The Firebird in 2018. In addition, Avery has played various roles in The Nutcracker throughout her years including Harlequin Doll Soloist, Spanish Soloist, Snow Queen, and Sugar Plum Fairy. 

In 2019, Avery attended the Arts Umbrella School in Vancouver, Canada where she worked with renowned choreographers such as Amy Raymond (Forsythe Company and Dutch National Ballet), Aurelie Caya (NDT), Crystal Pite, Jodie Gates (USC Kaufman), Lesley Telford (NDT), Lukas Timulak, Marc Boivin, Rafael Sady, Rena Narumi (NDT), Risa Steinberg (Juilliard), Tom Weinberger, Valentina Scaglia, Yvan Dubreuil, and more.

Avery has worked at several studios in the Phoenix area to teach and choreograph solos, duos, and group dances. At the same time, she pursued a BFA in dance at the University of Arizona where she was able to expand her knowledge of choreography and teaching methods. Avery has also traveled around the country teaching master classes and she is also a featured guest teacher at the Grand Premier Invitational, a ballet and dance intensive for aspiring young dancers.

Reina has an extensive competition and performance background including dancing for well recognized artists such as CeeLo Green, Tony Vincent and others. She has also been selected to perform in several ballet Galas such as Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP’s) “Dancing with the Stars” Gala, the “World Ballet Winners Gala”, and the ADC/IBC Winners Gala. 

During Reina’s formative years, her intense ballet training earned her 3 World Titles in both ballet and contemporary. With ballet training at the core, Reina was able to receive the coveted Grand Prix Award at the annual ADC|IBC (American Dance Competition/International Ballet Competition) for three consecutive years ages 9, 10, and 11. She also achieved the Silver and Bronze Medals at World Ballet Competition. Reina was also awarded the prestigious Hope Award at Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) two times and was invited to compete in their NYC Finals Competition where she placed Top 12 in the world. 

Reina also has an impressive performance repertoire. For 3 consecutive years, she performed the leading role of Clara in “The Nutcracker” with The Phoenix Ballet. Other special guest roles include White Rose, Lead Russian, and Snow Queen. She also played a lead role in “String of Thoughts”, a contemporary works performed by The Pheonix Ballet. Reina was also the Princess Lead Soloist in the American School of Classical Ballet’s performance of ‘The Firebird’. In 2017, Reina was awarded Gold Medal at both YAGP, as well as ADC/IBC Finals for her Satanella Pas De Deux which was later performed in the Winners Gala. In 2020, she was awarded the Gold Medal at YAGP for her Don Quixote Pas De Deux. 

Reina also trained in Ballroom under the guidance of world renowned Olga Ginzburg. She won nine consecutive 1st place awards at EliteDanceSport competition after just a few months of training with Olga. 

In 2020, Reina began sharing her love of dance through teaching, choreographing, and private lessons.

Bachelor of Arts, Vaganova Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia 1996

She was a Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre from 2002–2016. 

She performed principal roles in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Raymonda, Le Corsaire, La Bayadère, Manon, Sylvia, Moor’s Pavane, La Sylphide, Les Sylphides, Don Quixote, Symphony in C, Mozartiana, Apollo, Prodigal Son, Symphonie Concertante, Ballet Imperial, Lilac Garden, and more. 

She also performed with the company on tour in Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, Oman, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Croatia. Performing Soloist roles for Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia 1996–2002. Her solo and principal roles included: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Raymonda, Paquita, Le Corsair, La Bayadère, The Fountain of Bakchisarai, Symphony in C, Apollo, Serenade, Jewels, and others. She performed with the company on tour in Japan, China, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Finland, Brazil

GUEST APPEARANCES

The Isadora Project, with Natalia Osipova, Stanislavsky Theater, 2018 Moscow, Russia

Giselle, Mariinsky Ballet, St. Petersburg, Russia  2014

Swan Lake, with Marcelo Gomes, Kremlin Ballet, Athens Greece 2012

“Black Swan” coda, Tribute to Natalia Makarova, Kennedy Center Honors, Washington, D.C. 2012

Dying Swan and “Black Swan” pas de deux, Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel 2012

Appearance on Late Night with David Letterman 2010

Dying Swan, with Yo-Yo Ma, A Celebration of Women in the Arts, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. 2009

Swan Lake, with the Perm Ballet in Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2007

2024- Gateway Classical Ballet 

2020- Present Independent Ballet Mistress Instructor

2019-2020 California Dance Classics Judge & Master Teacher

2018-2022 Ballet Mistress, Atlanta Ballet

2016-2017 Master Teacher, Greenwich Ballet 2017 Academy, Port Chester, CT 

Guest Artist, Royal New Zealand Ballet

Performed works by George Balanchine and Jiri Kylián

Olga is from Ukraine and has been formally trained in Standard and Latin Ballroom. 

She has won several competitions throughout the nation, including the US National Professional Rising Star International Latin Championship.

Olga is a national and championship judge. She is a Championship Licensed Ballroom Adjudicator. 

Olga Ginzburg trained with Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) Shirley Ballas  “The Queen of Latin Ballroom.” 

Olga’s experiences and awards include:

Choreographer and Coach for Dancing with the Stars Junior 

Coached and Choreographed SYTYCD Award Winning Couple 

World Open Professional Latin Rising Star Champion

Anastasia Miller is originally from Houston, Texas and has recently graduated from the University of Arizona with her BFA in Dance and BA in Biochemistry. Anastasia has trained extensively in a diverse range of dance styles, including jazz, modern, contemporary, ballroom, tap and hip hop. 

She has been fortunate to assist Francisco Gella at his intensives, including Ballet+ and 24Seven Dance Convention, as well as prominent choreographers like Jess Hendricks, Yusha Marie-Sorzano, Madi Hicks, Joshua Manculich,  Kayla Kalbfleisch, and Lenorris Arnold. Anastasia’s dedication to her craft is reflected by her choreographic abilities as well, as she is a two time finalist for New Century Dance Project and has had multiple works of her selected for the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre. 

Throughout her university years and beyond, she has had the privilege of performing works by renowned choreographers such as Kayla Kalbfleisch, Jaci Royal, Luam Keflezgy, Tammy-Dyke Compton, Yusha Marie Sorzano, Jess Hendricks, Thang Dao, Sam Watson, Lauren Edson, Francisco Gella, Juel D. Lane and many others.

Kylie Thorson is from Anaheim, California and now lives in Arizona. She has trained in many styles such as contemporary, hip hop, jazz, ballroom, ballet, tap, acro and more. 

Within her dance career she’s danced at the Superbowl LVII, Choreographers Carnival, ShowMe Showcase, Welcome to the 805, Suns Games, and more! She was a part of a dance company called Automatic Response and performed and choreographed within their show ‘C(her)ish.’ This past year, she was a part of Legendz, who won second in the nation and ninth in the world for adult crew at Hip Hop International. 

Kylie has lots of experience with teaching and is excited to continue her teaching journey at Gateway! Kylie will be teaching contemporary, jazz, hip hop and more. Her main goal with teaching is to help students find their own way of movement and to fall in love with dance!

Ashleigh Bayard is an American Ballet Theatre (ABT®) Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Ashleigh grew up in California and trained with the finest the Central Coast of California had to offer. Her training began at Pat Jackson’s American Dance where she was taught classical ballet technique by Cheryl Armstrong, Theresa Slobodnik, Sydna Reed, and Gilbert Reed. (Gilbert Reed was a soloist with Ballet Alicia Alonso of Cuba, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Reed studied choreography at the Bolshoi and Kirov ballets, going on to direct three metropolitan ballet companies and founded the dance department at Indiana University). Ashleigh also studied and excelled at other dance forms being taught at Pat Jackson’s, but ballet was her main focus. She was a company member of the Gilbert Reed Ballet Company at the age of 12 and performed en pointe in many professional ballet productions: Carmen, Firebird, Othello, A Christmas Carol, and the like. She was a starring member of her high school dance team where she both taught and choreographed extensively. She even had the amazing opportunity to study abroad and learn Russian Folkloric Ballet and Classical Ballet from the the Kalinka School of Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ashleigh studied Early Childhood Education and Child Development at California Polytechnic State University and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. After getting married and having two wonderful children, she started teaching dance professionally in her hometown community. She also owned and directed an adult fitness and dance studio (Elevé Barre) where she taught barre fitness (ballet/pilates/yoga) and adult ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and contemporary.

Keylee Watkins grew up training at her local studio in Jazz, Ballet, Ballroom, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Modern, and more. She also worked with convention teachers such as Talia Favia, Tina Caspary, Brian Friedman, Curt Hansen, Nikki Charset, Tiffany Franco, and more. 

Keylee toured with NRG Dance Competition as a prodigy assistant and assisted for: Tiffany Franco, Mallory Hansen, Curt Hansen, Rustin Matthews, Emma Bradley, Katie Sneed, and more. Keylee also has experience with creating and choreographing solos and group dances.

Ryan Young is originally from California and moved to Arizona 5 years ago.  For the past decade he has been training in all styles of dance and specializes in HipHop, Acro, and Contemporary/Fusion.

For the past few years, Ryan has been attending college to get a degree in Fine Arts while also teaching dance at local studios in the area. He absolutely loves teaching and is excited to bring fun energy to Gateway Dance Center. Ryan says, “My mission is to challenge, push, and inspire students”. 

Kayli Hutchings was born and raised in Arizona. She has been training in all styles of dance since the age of four. She currently dances at Elektro Dance Academy and competes with the National Champions Elektrolytes Hip Hop crew.

During high school, her dance skills earned her the role of Captain and Team Leader of the Pom Team. Her dance training has also earned her opportunities such as performing for Taylor Shultz in Showme Showcase and Courtney Skye in MVD showcase. She was also a top finalist for the Phoenix Suns dance team in 2023.

For the past several years, Kayli has been teaching many styles of dance and choreographing pieces for all different age groups. She is thrilled to start working with and developing the young dancers at Gateway Dance Center.

Dasia Ann is from Phoenix Arizona, and has been dancing for 18 years (9 years competitive) in styles ranging from hip hop, contemporary fusion, ballet, ballroom, jazz funk, and more! After graduating, she found her love and passion for teaching. Dasia currently dances with two professional companies where she continues to train and further her knowledge of movement. Dasia has also found her love for professional work after dancing in the Super Bowl LVII Halftime show and aspires to work in the industry as well as educate a new generation of dancers. For the past few years she has been working with children on movement quality while teaching classes around the Valley. Her specialty is teaching Contemporary and Jazz.

Diana has been involved with dance and dance programs for 2 decades. She successfully managed and secured world class training in 3 separate states for her two daughters and also managed elite dance intensive programs. 

Prior to this, Diana has been a successful business owner multiple times over. She was also a Director in a Multi-level Marketing Business where she became top 10 in sales and number 1 in recruitment while working with the company. Her experience derives from her time spent as an Executive Director at one of the largest financial institutions in the world where she oversaw Education, Operations, and Marketing initiatives. 

Diana’s extensive background in sales and marketing, combined with her success in business, her knowledge of the industry, and her connections within the dance world make her an invaluable asset to @gatewaydancecenter and @gatewayclassicalballet

Shanna Hurst grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and has been married for 17 years with two beautiful girls. They moved to Gilbert, Arizona two years ago. Shanna has over 10 years of experience teaching dance and ran her own studio for five years. She started dancing at a young age and has two girls who love it as much as she does. Shanna loves teaching ballet, jazz, tap, and creative movement through a variety of music. She absolutely loves being Mrs. Shanna and says, "Little ones are my jam!"

Breanna Pryor has been dancing since the age of 2 and has been a competitive dancer for 13 years. She grew up learning tap in Columbus, Ohio while also training in all styles of dance. Since moving to Arizona, she has been teaching tap and hip hop for the past 4 years. “My mission is to show the passion I found in dance and inspire dancers to express themselves. I want to bring back the tapping fever to the west coast!”

Ambika Nagarajan grew up in Dallas, TX. Dancing since the age of 2, she has competed for 10 years. Currently, she trains with two elite teams at Elektro Dance Academy.

She pursued her passion for professional performing in halftime shows for both the Dallas Cowboys and the NBA, as well as dancing in a feature film and music videos. She has also worked under renowned artists such as Amari Marshall and Ice Cube.

Throughout high school, she served as dance team captain, where she taught and choreographed Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Contemporary. Her experience has inspired her to mentor young dancers within a supportive and inclusive community. Ambika is excited to teach the incredible talent at Gateway.

Born in Russia, Natalia Bashkatova trained at the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow and Bolshoi Ballet University. She became a principal dancer for the prestigious Bolshoi Theater Grigorovich Ballet from 1989-1995 and immediately after was a guest principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Her repertoire included many title roles in the great classics including Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Don Quixote, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake among many others. Awards include “Best Ballerina of the Festival” at the 1992 Spoleto International Arts Festival held in Spoleto, Italy. She has toured worldwide to countries including Holland, Greece, Egypt, Hong Kong, France, and Belgium among many others. After moving to the United States, she joined the Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas as a lead dancer in Mystere. In 1998, she moved to Orlando to perform in Cirque du Soleil’s “La Nouba” where she retired in 2017. She has been featured in numerous television commercials, interviews, and videos with Cirque du Soleil. L

Natalia has more than 25  years of experience in the entertainment industry, and is a highly talented artist.

EXPERIENCE

• Principal Dancer, Bolshoi Ballet,1990-1995

• Principal Dancer, Cirque Du Soleil Mystere, 1997-1998; La Nouba, 1998-2017

•Faculty Next Generation Ballet Conservatory, 2021-Present

• Judge, YAGP - Present 

• Head of Judges, World Ballet Competition, 2015

• Judge, World Ballet Competition, Orlando FL, 2014-2016, 2019

EDUCATION 

Bolshoi Ballet University , Moscow Russia 1989-1993 ( Bachelor Degree for the performing arts and choreography)

Jorge is currently the Principal Dancer with State Opera Stara Zagora in Bulgaria.  Jorge was Born in Matanzas, Cuba and graduated from the National School of Art Ballet in Havana, Cuba. In 2010, he joined the Ballet de Monterrey Company in Mexico. Barani came to the United States in August 2012. He was invited to the final YAGP gala in New York, dancing with Maria Kochetkova from San Francisco Ballet.

In 2013, he won two Gold Medals at the World Ballet Competition USA and joined the Kentucky Ballet Theatre in 2014, as a Principal Dancer. He has danced leading roles in Peter Pan, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Paquita, La Sylphide, Le Corsaire, Harlequinade, Don Quixote, Paris Flames, Talisman, Diana and Actaeon, Laurencia, and contemporary and neoclassical works.

In 2015, Barani won the Silver Medal at The Korea International Ballet Competition, in 2016 he won the Gold Medal at Vienna International Ballet Competition and the Silver Medal at Varna International Ballet Competition. Barani has also been invited to dance in international galas in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Mexico.

Jorge’s journey to America is a story made for the movies.  Not only is he an amazing Dancer, he is an amazing human being and friend.

Miami native, Camila Schwarz started dancing at age 3 at Dance Town Miami under the direction of Manny and Lory Castro, where she trained in many styles of dance including ballet, ballroom, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, modern, and tap. She’s been featured on TV shows such as America’s got Talent which led her and her dance crew to be invited to represent the United States in China for CCTV’s Meeting in Beijing in 2013. She has also been featured on Season 2 of World Of Dance and So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. In February of 2020, Camila was given the opportunity to perform for Jennifer Lopez at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Most notably in April of 2022, Camila was part of the Top 24 of Season 17 on So You Think You Can Dance. Camila is currently on tour with Jump Dance Convention running their JumpStart program teaching young dancers ballroom, jazz, and lyrical every weekend. She is so excited to be joining the Gateway Dance Center Family as a guest teacher!

McKenzie grew up in California where she has trained in all styles of dance. In 2013, McKenzie debuted on the hit television show Dance Moms as a dancer for Candy Apples. Together with her brother, she filmed multiple episodes for the show. This opportunity took her all over the country for dance and allowed her to meet people and visit places she would not have otherwise. In 2016, McKenzie was selected to compete on Ellen DeGeneres’ “Twitch and Allison’s Dance Challenge.” 

Throughout her dance career she has  won over 7 national titles and has traveled across the country to perform alongside Misty Copeland. She is so excited to share what she has learned throughout the years with all of our Gateway students.

Madison Penney was born and raised in Arizona, began dancing at a very young age and trained in all different disciplines of dance. When she was eight years old, she decided to focus on ballet training and joined Master Ballet Academy, in Scottsdale Arizona. Madison continuously kept growing as a dancer and an artist. Among her many accolades and awards are winning the Gold Medal at the World Ballet Competition in 2015, the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Hope Award winner at regionals and finals in 2016, the 2017 Youth Grand Prix award at YAGP regionals and finals, and the American Dance Competition (ADC) /International Ballet Competition (IBC) Grand Prix award. Madison has performed in many productions around the world. Madison received The Royal Ballet School International Scholar from Christopher Powney in 2017 and began her full-time training at the Royal Ballet School upper school in 2020 where she performed Playfully Soby Valentino Zucchetti. She performed in roles in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker and Don Quixote. Madison graduated from the Royal Ballet School in 2023 where she received a contract from Birmingham Royal Ballet, the special award ‘3rd Year Artistic Prize for Progress and Endeavour’ and had the honor of being chosen to perform The Principal role as ‘Raymonda’ in The Royal Opera House. Madison is now currently dancing with Atlanta Ballet.

Brady Farrar discovered his love of dance at the age of five. He trained at Stars Dance Studio and The Art of Classical Ballet.

He is a five-time YAGP Finals medalist and was the 2021 Grand Prix Winner of the North American Finals. Farrar is also a three-time Best Dancer Winner at The Dance Awards, the 2021 winner of the Carla Fracci Prize at Novara Dance Experience, Novara, Italy, and a double gold medal winner at the South African International Ballet Competition in 2020.

In November of 2021, Farrar performed in Twyla Tharp’s show Twyla Now at the New York City Center. He has also performed in international galas at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, as well as around the world in Germany, Italy, Israel, and Mexico.

Brady attended the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in the 2022 spring semester under Cynthia Harvey’s direction and joined ABT Studio Company in September 2022 under the artistic direction of Sascha Radetsky. In ABT Studio Company, Farrar has created roles in ballets by Gemma Bond, Hope Boykin, and Aleisha Walker and has performed in ballets by Rena Butler and Emily Kikta. Farrar’s repertoire with ABT Studio Company also includes Paquita pas de deux, a Raymonda suite, Flames of Paris pas de deux, Daniel Ulbricht’s Tatum Pole Boogie, and George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. He has performed in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker with the Main Company of American Ballet Theatre.

Farrar has choreographed dances that have appeared in the YAGP in Tampa, Florida and at the Nervi International Dance Festival in Italy.

Brady is currently dancing with American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Studio Company.