Artistic Staff and Faculty

Our Faculty

 

Martine Harley, Artistic Director
Caprice Walker, Co-Associate Artistic Director, Lower Division
Francine Kessler Lavac, Co-Associate Artistic Director, Upper Division

Westside School of Ballet is composed of an esteemed faculty with extensive experience in the instruction of ballet and the presentation of its vocabulary. These instructors proudly carry on the heritage, tradition and foundation established by co-founders Yvonne Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire.

Guest Faculty have included:

  • Tiler Peck, Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet
  • Indiana Woodward, Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet
  • Megan Fairchild, Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet
  • Robert Fairchild, Principal Dancer
  • Arkady Nikolaev, Director of Moscow Ballet & Teacher of Stanislavski Method
  • Joan Boada, Principal Dancer, San Francisco Ballet
  • Sergei Polunin, International Guest Artist, Star of the documentary film, Dancer
  • Monique Meunier, New York City Ballet
  • Lauren Fadeley Veyette, Miami City Ballet
  • Francis Veyette, Pennsylvania Ballet
  • Arturo Fernandez, Ballet Master, Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet
  • Nilas Martins, New York City Ballet
  • Allynne Noelle, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Barak Ballet
  • Joy Womack, Guest Artist
  • Ikolo Griffin, San Francisco Ballet
  • Georgina Pazcoguin, New York City Ballet
  • Savannah Lowery, New York City Ballet
  • Harrison Coll, New York City Ballet
  • Brian Maloney, Royal Ballet

THE COMPANY

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Martine Harley

BOARD OFFICERS

PRESIDENT Trish Blessing
VICE PRESIDENT Allegra Clegg
SECRETARY Francine Taylor
TREASURER Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein

BOARD MEMBERS

Rachel Bennahum Manju Raman
Elizabeth Fowler Marisa Rooke
Kylie Larkin Sherwood Sheen
Nan Morales Faye Smith
Angel Myhre Julie Weinbach
Edward Polite Susan Winfield
Lynn Polite

HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS

Patricia Neary Tiler Peck

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Martine Harley Debbie Mulvaney
Adrian Blake Mitchell Caprice Walker

VOLUNTEER GUILD

GUILD PRESIDENT Jennifer Bransford-White
GUILD CO-PRESIDENTS Kelly Boston and Liz Kok
PUBLICITY Jewels Solheim-Roe

MUSIC

MUSIC COORDINATOR Rodney Lee
SANTA MONICA COLLEGE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Maestra Mercedes Juan Musotto

DEVELOPMENT

INDIVIDUAL and INSTITUTIONAL GIVING Dr. Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Jewels Solheim-Roe

MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

MARKETING AND PR Jewels Solheim-Roe
TICKETING SERVICES Faye Smith
WEB DESIGN AND HOSTING Geir Thomas Andersen, Runbox Solutions
EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH PR Julie Weinbach

PRODUCTION

PRODUCER Dr. Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein
STAGE MANAGER Christian Levatino
LIGHTING DESIGNER Jared Sayed
COSTUME DIRECTOR Liz Kok
WARDROBE COORDINATOR Liz Kok
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHERS Sarah Catania, Anne Slattery, and Todd Lechtick (In Memorium)
PHOTOGRAPHER Eric Williams, Allan Walker (In Memorium)
PRINCIPAL VIDEOGRAPHER and FILM EDITOR Jake Miller
BACKSTAGE DADS COORDINATORS Dr. Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein and Charlie Calderon
PROPS MANAGER Faye Smith
DRESSING ROOM COORDINATORS Katya Michaels, Amanda Reno, Christina Stroh
PARENT COMMUNICATIONS LIASON Holly Watson
PROGRAM, PRODUCTION, and GRAPHIC DESIGN Lisa Lewis Design