Western Ballet Faculty ALEXI ZUBIRIA, Artistic Director Alexi Zubiria has danced with ballet companies worldwide including the International Ballet of Caracas (principal dancer), Ballet Nuevo Mundo (principal dancer), Deutsche Oper Berlin (soloist), Roland Petit’s Ballet National de Marseille (principal dancer) and San Francisco Ballet (soloist). His career with San Francisco Ballet (1986 – 1994), included roles as the male lead in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, the Pas de Deux from Le Corsaire and the Cavalier in Christensen/Tomasson’s Nutcracker. His other works with San Francisco Ballet included leading roles in Lew Christensen's Divertissement d'Auber and Tomasson’s Bizet Pas de Deux. In 1982 he competed in the II U.S. International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, winning a Silver Medal. His talents made him an extremely versatile dancer, proficient in classical, neo-classical and modern styles of dance. After retiring from San Francisco Ballet, Mr. Zubiria earned a degree in biology and has accumulated a number of years of experience in the high tech business world. Mr. Zubiria brings a wealth of experience and a passion for teaching of the highest standards to Western Ballet. EMILY BORTHWICK Emily Borthwick received her training from The Dance School of Scotland, Scottish Ballet and The Royal Ballet School, London. In addition she has also studied at The Vaganova School, St Petersburg, Russia, and has had the opportunity to work with many wonderful teachers and choreographers such as Dame Alicia Markova, Valerie Adams, Pamela May, Lynn Seymour, Christopher Wheeldon, David Long and William Glassman. Before moving to the US, Emily performed and taught throughout London and Belgium, including work with The Royal Ballet School Junior Associates, The British Primary School, and Finchley Ballet School. On arriving here she taught for eight years at The Charlotte School of Ballet, NC and performed many roles with The Charlotte Youth Ballet as a guest artist. She was also a member of Kinetyx Dance Company as well as performing with Columbia City Ballet, Opera Carolina, Albemarle City Ballet, Central Piedmont Theatre, and many televised performances with Eddie Mabry Dance. Emily has been a guest teacher for the Cecchetti Council of America, and Ballet Theatre Lancaster, PA. She holds her advanced level teaching qualifications from The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), The Cecchetti Council of America (CCA), The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance (ISTD) and The Royal Ballet School (Dip RBS, TTC). ERIC BOURMAN Eric Bourman has performed nationally and internationally with over 50 companies in such classical and contemporary works as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Giselle, Paquita, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Le Corsair, Cinderella, Anna Karenina, Rosalinda, Sylvia, The Three Musketeers and in pieces by George Balanchine, Massine, Anthony Tudor, Frederic Franklin, Paul Taylor, John Butler, and others. His teaching credits include the University of Missouri at Kansas City, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, St. Louis Municipal Theater Association, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, Ballet Tennessee, Kansas Regional Ballet, the American Academy for Dance, and others. KAI DAVIS Kai Davis began dancing at the age of 5 at the Ruth Page Foundation under Mr. Larry Long.  After graduation High School, Ms. Davis was offered a contract with the Boston Ballet where she danced for 5 years in many of the classics including Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and La Bayadere.  Kai was then offered a contract with Ballet San Jose, and most recently finished her fourth season with Ballet British Columbia of Vancouver, Canada.  Ms. Davis has moved back to California to teach and continue her dance career with Liss Fain Dance of San Francisco. DAVID FONNEGRA David Fonnegra was born in Venezuela and was a principal dancer for the Ballet de Caracas directed by the legendary choreographer, Vincente Nebrada. After seeing him perform on tour, Mr. Fonnegra was invited by Edward Villella to join the Miami City Ballet. During his tenure, he appeared in principal roles in ballets such as Romeo and Juliet and Don Quixote. Mr. Fonnegra joined State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara for their 2002-03 Season and appeared in principal roles in Taming of the Shrew, Hollywood Nutcracker, and Romeo and Juliet. Since joining Diablo Ballet in 2004, Mr. Fonnegra has been featured in The Legend of Taj Mahal, Petrushka, They’ve Lost Their Footing and Who Cares? KIM GARDNER Kim Gardner has been teaching ballet in the South Bay for over 20 years. She is known for her clarity and her ability to impart an experiential knowledge of the anatomy and aesthetics of ballet technique. Also a Certified Pilates Instructor, Kim runs the Dance Medicine program at the Center for Sports Medicine, O'Connor Hospital where she develops individualized exercise programs to serve a variety of rehabilitation issues. Her clientele includes dancers and instructors, competitive and recreational athletes and individuals affected by stroke and multiple sclerosis. In 2001, O'Connor Hospital awarded her the Certificate of Excellence. Prior to working at the Center for Sports Medicine, Kim danced professionally for 17 years, performing with the Milwaukee Ballet, Alonzo King's Lines, Margaret Wingrove Dancers and touring the United States with Oakland Ballet. As principal guest artist with San Jose Dance Theatre, Kim is best remembered as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the annual Nutcracker and as Beauty in Beauty and the Beast for which she received critical acclaim. SYLVIA MARTIN Sylvia was born in Lima, Peru. She graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Ballet in Lima, Peru. As a scholarship recipient, she continued her professional training in ballet at the Teatro Colon de Buenos Aires in Argentina. Among Ms. Martin's credits are soloist work with Compania del Ballet Nacional de Peru, and the Gary Palmer Dance Company where she broadened her reputation as a versatile modern/ballet dancer. Sylvia has enjoyed teaching classical ballet in the Bay Area since 1991. Some of the schools she has been an instructor at include San Jose Dance Theater and The School of Ballet San Jose/Silicon Valley. She is also a preschool teacher for the Santa Clara Unified School District. She developed curriculum and lesson plans for children 3 to 5 years old and created motor development activities for young children. She earned a certificate of achievement in Early Childhood Education from San Jose City College and is currently working on earning a Bachelor degree in Child Development. LINDA RICKERT As a student, Linda was selected for a full scholarship by Igor Youskevitch, guest teacher with the Princeton Regional Ballet Company. She was awarded a scholarship to the school of Pennsylvania Ballet, studying with Edward Caton, Maria Swoboda, David Howard, Maggie Black and Benjamin Harkavy. Linda joined the Pennsylvania Ballet upon the invitation of Benjamin Harkavy and performed numerous works including Les Sylphides, Raymonda Variations, Serenade, Four Temperaments, Concerto Barocco and Symphony in C. Linda has taught extensively in schools on both the East and West coasts including Maryland Youth Ballet and San Jose Dance Theater. RAISSA SIMPSON Raissa Simpson is an independent dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director of Push Dance Company. An award-winning dancer, she has worked with Robert Moses' Kin where she has performed for over five years and toured nationally including prestigious tours to Jacob's Pillow, Bates Dance Festival & City Center New York. She has been on the faculty of San Francisco Dance Center, City Dance Studios, and Santa Clara Ballet. Raissa holds her BFA from SUNY Purchase and has trained at Dance Theatre of Harlem, San Jose Dance Theater & the Paul Taylor School. As a guest artist she has performed with numerous companies including her work with Zaccho Dance Theater’s Depature & Arrival (SFIAF) & Invisible Wings (Jacob’s Pillow ’07). Raissa Simpson has been featured in Dance Spirit Magazine, the Village Voice and the New York Times. She formed the dance company, PUSH, in 2005 to bridge the gap between the arts and technological advancements. GRANT SPENCER Grant Spencer trained with Jon Cristofori and Kathleen Sinclair at Yuma Ballet Academy in Yuma, Arizona. He supplemented his training at Joffrey Ballet, San Antonio Ballet, Ballet Met, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, where he received full scholarships. His professional experience began with Sacramento Ballet where he danced soloist roles in works by Alan Heinlein, Septime Weber, and Katherine Posin. Grant continued his career with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, where he performed soloist roles in much of the classic Russian repertoire, including Swan Lake, Paquita, Tarantella, and Stars & Stripes. Grant is now a member of Company C Contemporary Ballet. MARA WILLIAMS Mara Williams grew up and trained in the Bay Area. She received her dance education in the Cecchetti Method of classical ballet as well as jazz, tap and modern. She attended UC Berkeley, where she continued her dance training, and graduated in 1999 with her BA in English. In 1998, she founded Adage School of Performing Arts with Heather Cooper. For seven years she co-directed the school, developed curriculum, choreographed, and taught ballet, modern, jazz and tap to dancers of all ages and levels. She co-wrote and directed the original full-length ballet "Once upon a Midnight Magic," which became an annual Adage tradition. Mara currently co-directs Adage Repertory Company, a contemporary dance company, whose work has been seen throughout California at dance festivals and exchange programs. She recently was a guest choreographer for Teen Dance Company of the Bay Area and is now teaching there as guest faculty. She was also recently a guest choreographer for TEN Music, a youth dance company from Taiwan. Mara is a founding member of Kim T. Davis Dance and is currently performing with SJ Dance Co. In addition to choreography and performance, Mara has been an advocate for the arts through her other endeavors. From 1999-2001, Mara worked for Knight Ridder Digital, an online subsidiary of Knight Ridder Newspapers. She developed the Bay Area Theater and Dance Guide, an online resource for the local arts enthusiast. She conducted interviews with prominent local choreographers, wrote previews and reviews, and developed multimedia features. She now works for The Valley Foundation, which helps support the Silicon Valley charitable and artistic community through endowments and grants. NICOLE YIP Nicole Yip, originally from Reno, Nevada, danced with Ballet San Jose from 2005-2007. Nicole grew up in Littleton, Colorado where she received the majority of her training. She attended the International Ballet School and then continued her training at the National Ballet Academy of Denver.