Artistic Staff and Faculty

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Barak began her ballet training at age eight at Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica under Yvonne Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire. She continued her training at the School of American Ballet in New York and joined NYCB in 1998, performing works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins and originating roles by Christopher Wheeldon, Elliot Feld, Robert Garland, and others.

Barak began choreographing while at SAB and NYCB. At 21, her work Telemann Overture Suite in E Minor premiered at SAB’s June Workshop and was subsequently performed by NYCB. She later became the youngest choreographer at the time to create an original work for NYCB’s Diamond Project.

Her choreography has been commissioned by leading ballet companies and arts organizations nationwide. She founded Barak Ballet in 2013 and has choreographed for artists including Sara Mearns, Tiler Peck, Justin Peck, Benjamin Millepied, and Robert Fairchild. Her honors include the Mae L. Wein and Choo San Goh Awards, Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch,” and the Virginia B. Toulmin Fellowship.

Gaudio has taught ballet at Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences and Loyola Marymount University. She currently serves as an adjunct professor in the Dance Department at Santa Monica College. Her continuing education includes training with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Teacher Training, and Balanced Body Pilates.

Gaudio continues to be inspired by working with Westside Ballet students in countless children’s productions and the Adult Showcase.

Kadow continued her training at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Ballet School in London, and the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco. She joined Ballet du Capitole in France before becoming a member of San Francisco Ballet.

Monat was a full-time faculty member in the CSULB Dance Department and now teaches at Westside Ballet and Santa Monica College. She also works extensively as a guest artist and has taught and choreographed for ballet companies and universities, including Stanford University, ODC/San Francisco, Lyon Opera Ballet, State Street Ballet, and Loyola Marymount University.

Monat is a three-time finalist at the McCallum Theater’s Choreography Festival and was one of six artists invited to participate in the Cohan Collective, a choreographic residency directed by Robert Cohan, founding director of London Contemporary Dance Theatre.

Walker is a respected teacher who has taught at Westside School of Ballet, Loyola Marymount University, and Santa Monica College. She is a member of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, one of the world’s leading dance examination boards.
Walker has choreographed extensively for younger dancers, creating works including The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1995), Mozartiana (2006), and Capriccioso (2012). She was also invited by the School of American Ballet to meet its faculty and observe classes at Lincoln Center in New York.

Walker has been associated with Westside School of Ballet since its founding by Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire in 1967. She appeared in principal roles in the company’s first productions of The Nutcracker and Coppélia. In addition to teaching, Walker is Associate Artistic Director Emeritus for Westside School of Ballet and serves on the Board of Directors for Westside Ballet of Santa Monica.

Toorvald’s dance credits include Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Opera Forum in Holland, LA Opera, Ballet Chicago, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Houston Met Dance Company, and The Daring Project with Valentina Kozlova.

He also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York with Sanford Meisner, and the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Toorvald wrote and directed the documentary The Ballerina Interviews, which premiered on PBS, and consulted on the documentaries John Neumeier: A Creative Life and the upcoming David Dawson project.

Velarde joined The Washington Ballet as an apprentice and later performed with Deep Vision Dance Company and the National Ballet Company, where she danced for seven seasons as a company dancer and soloist. She was also selected as a soloist for the reconstruction of Michel Fokine’s Niana’s Maidens through the Fokine State Archive.

Her career has also included arts administration and education with the Koresh School of Dance and Dancers’ Group. A freelance artist and guest performer, Velarde has appeared internationally. She holds ISTD Teacher Accreditation in Cecchetti Technique from Grade I through Advanced, is a certified GYROTONIC® Trainer, and serves on the faculty of Pepperdine University and Westside School of Ballet.

Youngjohn joined Sacramento Ballet, where she performed for ten seasons in full-length classics, Balanchine ballets, and original choreography. During the off-season, she was heavily involved with Westside Ballet’s summer programs alongside Mounsey and Valaire, who became both friends and mentors.

Youngjohn has set and rehearsed ballets for Westside Ballet, including Nutcracker divertissements, Yvonne Mounsey’s Classical Symphony, and Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco under Patricia Neary.

She began teaching conditioning classes in 2000. Drawing from her professional experience and studies in various movement modalities, including foundational exercises from Kniaseff Floor Barre, her classes develop awareness and strength around the demands of classical ballet. She teaches Kniaseff to LAB trainees and offers private Gyrotonic® and Pilates sessions at Westside BodyWorks.

Her certifications include Stott Pilates®, Gyrotonic®, Gyrokinesis®, PBT, Zen-ga®, NSCA-CPT, and UCLA Extension Exercise Science and Fitness Specialist.

Hurty danced as a trainee with Nashville Ballet and Ballet Idaho. She currently performs professionally with companies including Los Angeles Ballet and Ballet Orange County. She has received teacher training from Darla Hoover and Katrina Killian.

In 2015, Lassakova joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet in St. Petersburg as a soloist and was promoted to First Soloist in 2021. Her principal repertoire included Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Medora in Le Corsaire, Gamzatti in La Bayadère, the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, and the Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote.

She studied under Tatiana Legat and was later coached by former Kirov prima ballerina Zhanna Ayupova, while working with choreographers including Nacho Duato, Oleg Vinogradov, and Mikhail Messerer. From 2023–2026, Lassakova toured throughout the United States as a principal ballerina with World Ballet Company.

Throughout her career, Stroh has trained with renowned movement specialists and Balanchine master teachers, blending classical ballet with advanced movement principles. She trained directly with GYROTONIC® founder Juliu Horvath and has mentored movement educators worldwide.

Stroh specializes in helping professional dancers, pre-professional students, athletes, and performing artists build strength, mobility, resilience, and longevity. She serves as Conditioning Coach for Los Angeles Ballet and the Los Angeles Ballet Trainee Program and is a member of the Westside Ballet Wellness Team.

She went on to dance with San Antonio Ballet, Southwest Ballet in Albuquerque, LA Chamber Ballet, and Francisco Martinez Dancetheatre. She was also a principal dancer in the national tour of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. Her dance career later opened opportunities in film, television, and commercials.

For 30 years, Donnelly has owned and taught at Westside Body Works, the Pilates studio upstairs from Westside Ballet, where she works with a broad range of clients, including dancers, focusing on strength, alignment, and body awareness.

Mendicelli holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA and has extensive training in ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary dance from Los Angeles Ballet School under John Clifford, Lichine’s Academy of Dance, Westside School of Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet School, Debbie Reynolds, and EDGE Performing Arts.

She worked professionally in the Hollywood entertainment industry, appearing in music videos including Blink-182’s “All the Small Things,” national commercials for Pepsi, AT&T, and Betty Crocker, and television shows including The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show and Murder, She Wrote. She has also performed with Disney, the Radio City Rockettes, and country artist Glen Campbell.

Ady returned to Pennsylvania Ballet in 2003 as a soloist and was promoted to principal dancer in 2005. His leading roles included Romeo in John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Albrecht in Giselle, Prince Siegfried in Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake, and Colas in Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardee. He also performed extensively in works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.

After retiring from performance in 2008, Ady earned a journalism degree magna cum laude from Boise State University. In 2013, he became Ballet Master with Ballet Memphis, staging works and teaching daily company classes. He later served as an assistant professor and lecturer at the University of Utah.

Ady currently teaches at Ballet Conservatory West, Westside School of Ballet, Santa Clarita Ballet Academy, and the Colburn School, while pursuing certification in the GYROTONIC Method.

Black has built the majority of her career as a freelance dance artist in Los Angeles, performing with Los Angeles Ballet, Barak Ballet, Raiford Rogers Modern Ballet, Luminario Ballet, The Realm Company, and others, as well as in film projects and as a principal guest artist.

In 2020, Black was invited to perform and teach ballet in Mumbai and Goa, India, as a Cultural Ambassador through the State Department with Luminario Ballet. She is also a choreographer whose work has been featured at the YAGP Finals in New York City, SoCal Ballet Scene Festival, TuTu Dance Festival, and the WSB Adult Showcase.

Black teaches at Westside Ballet, The Six Compound, and Yaya Dance Academy and is a Certified Yoga and Barre Teacher at Equinox.

Diaz was resident choreographer of California Riverside Ballet and is an award-winning certified Pilates and group fitness instructor. He is currently choreographer and co-artistic director of Luminario Ballet.

Gaudio has taught ballet at Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences and Loyola Marymount University. She currently serves as an adjunct professor in the Dance Department at Santa Monica College. Her continuing education includes training with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Teacher Training, and Balanced Body Pilates.

Gaudio continues to be inspired by working with Westside Ballet students in children’s productions and the Adult Showcase.

Hodges began his career with Sacramento Ballet, where he was promoted to principal by age 20. He later joined Twyla Tharp Dance as a principal artist, performing extensively in Tharp’s repertory and earning the European Critics’ Choice Award for Best Male Dancer of the Year. He has since notated, archived, and staged Tharp’s work for companies worldwide.

On Broadway, Hodges starred in Movin’ Out and Come Fly Away, originating leading roles and earning the Fred Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer of the Year. His career also includes guest work with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and Complexions. A founding member of L.A. Dance Project, he served as dancer, rehearsal director, and interim artistic director and was recognized by LA Weekly as Person of the Year for his contributions to dance and education.

As a teacher, coach, and répétiteur for choreographers including Tharp and Justin Peck, Hodges has worked with dancers from leading companies including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Gibney, New Jersey Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Ballet C, L.A. Dance Project, and Twyla Tharp Dance. He has taught for more than a decade at the Colburn School and has also served on the faculties of CalArts, Westside School of Ballet, Loyola Marymount University, and other professional and pre-professional programs.

McCormick performed in 12 countries across four continents as a member of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Bavarian State Ballet, and the Bern Ballet, where he was a soloist and ballet master. Throughout his career, he performed works by choreographers ranging from Balanchine, Cranko, and Petipa to Kylián, Naharin, and Pite. He also served as Assistant Artistic Director of North Netherlands Dance and Guest Rehearsal Director with Ballet BC. His choreography for the concert stage, opera, site-specific work, and film has been performed throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Monat was a full-time faculty member in the CSULB Dance Department and now teaches at Westside Ballet and Santa Monica College. She also works extensively as a guest artist and has taught and choreographed for ballet companies and universities, including Stanford University, ODC/San Francisco, Lyon Opera Ballet, State Street Ballet, and Loyola Marymount University.

Monat is a three-time finalist at the McCallum Theater’s Choreography Festival and was one of six artists invited to participate in the Cohan Collective, a choreographic residency directed by Robert Cohan, founding director of the London Contemporary Dance Theatre.

After leaving New York City Ballet in 1967, Neary became Ballet Mistress with the Ballet of Deutsche Oper Berlin before serving as Ballet Director of the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Ballett Zürich, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Since 1987, she has worked with The George Balanchine Trust, staging Balanchine’s ballets for companies around the world and helping preserve his choreographic legacy.

Renowned for her musicality, photographic memory, and exceptional understanding of Balanchine’s work, Neary has staged ballets in more than 30 countries. Her distinguished career as a dancer, educator, director, and ambassador of Balanchine’s artistic legacy spans more than six decades.

As an adjunct professor at UC Irvine, Loyola Marymount University, and Moorpark College, Paradis prepares dancers for careers in the performing arts and collaborates with music, theater, and film departments. She has choreographed for Richmond Ballet, Ballet Project OC, and The Realm Company in Los Angeles.

Paradis is also the artistic director of LA Dance Moves, a multimedia company that creates inspiring, spirit-driven works by uniting dance, music, and art in live and virtual performances.

Originally from Boston, Prottas trained at The Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Canada’s National Ballet School, the School of American Ballet, The Actor’s Foundry, Lesly Kahn, The Groundlings School, and the Clown School LA. He is the recipient of the Christopher Ondaatje Ballet Prize and the Jerome Robbins Scholarship.

Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2023, Prottas has performed as a guest artist with Los Angeles Ballet, American Contemporary Ballet, The Realm Company, and Luminario Ballet, as well as in productions with Los Angeles Opera and La Mirada Theatre.

Swenson currently serves on the faculty at Westside Ballet School, where he is passionate about developing technically strong, confident, and well-rounded dancers. He has also taught with Joffrey Ballet School since 2021, including master classes in Europe and Asia. Drawing on his professional performance experience and extensive teaching background, Swenson strives to help students develop not only as dancers, but as thoughtful artists and individuals prepared to pursue their own paths in dance.

Toorvald’s dance credits include Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Opera Forum in Holland, LA Opera, Ballet Chicago, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Houston Met Dance Company, and The Daring Project with Valentina Kozlova.

He also studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York with Sanford Meisner, and the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Toorvald wrote and directed the documentary The Ballerina Interviews, which premiered on PBS, and consulted on the documentaries John Neumeier: A Creative Life and the upcoming David Dawson project.

Wasynczuk began her work in costume creation and direction at the Ebsen School of Ballet and continued at Westside Ballet School. At both schools, she taught ballet to students ranging from age three through adults, including pointe classes.

Her choreography has included numerous children’s dances and ballets, teen performances, and, most recently, choreography and costuming for the Adult Showcase.

Along with an extensive international touring background, Zhong competed in numerous competitions and was a semifinalist in the International Ballet Competition in Varna and Shanghai.

Zhong is an established member of the Southern California ballet community and teaches classical ballet at Westside Ballet of Santa Monica. He also specializes in coaching pas de deux. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and training in jiu-jitsu.

Yacoub holds a Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies from the Royal Academy of Dance, is fully certified in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, and is a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor. She has taught at Goh Ballet Academy in Toronto, the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, and Debbie Allen Middle School.

Yacoub has taught ballet for more than ten years, working with students of all ages and levels and preparing dancers for both RAD and ABT examinations. She was selected as a 2025–26 National Visiting Fellow at the School of American Ballet, furthering her study of ballet pedagogy.

Lavallee has been commissioned to choreograph for Ballet Arizona’s Innovations program and has created works for choreographic workshops with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Now based in Los Angeles, he works as a freelance artist, choreographer, and teacher, traveling nationally to teach and collaborate with dancers.

He teaches weekly with the Los Angeles Ballet Trainee program and has received YAGP’s Outstanding Choreography Award in 2022, 2023, and 2024. His recent performance credits include Para.Mar Dance, Post.Ballet, Ishida Dance, Heidi Duckler Dance, and BODYTRAFFIC, as well as film, music video, and television projects. Lavallee is passionate about teaching, creating, and sharing his love of dance.

Baseman performed with The Washington Ballet Company from 2022–2024, appearing in Such Sweet Thunder, Serenade-Elegy Man, Theme and Variations, and as the Cavalier of Valor in The Sleeping Beauty. In 2024, he joined OBII, performing in Romeo and Juliet, Peter Pan, and Giselle.

Baseman also teaches boys’ and adult classes at Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica.

Johnson believes these practices are essential not only for dance, but for lifelong health and movement. His goal is to teach students the skills they need to strengthen, care for, and understand their bodies wherever life takes them.

Vargas has taught and coached dancers throughout the United States, China, Hong Kong, Spain, Italy, Russia, Portugal, Morocco, Mexico, the Philippines, the Netherlands, and Panama. Her international experience includes training pre-professional and professional dancers and preparing students for advanced ballet programs and professional careers. She has received international recognition for her teaching, including the Famous Teacher Award in China and Outstanding Teacher awards in Hong Kong.

Vargas is passionate about helping students develop strong technical foundations, confidence, artistry, and a deeper understanding of their bodies through safe, intelligent, and effective training.

Walker is a respected teacher who has taught at Westside School of Ballet, Loyola Marymount University, and Santa Monica College. She is a member of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, one of the world’s leading dance examination boards.
Walker has choreographed extensively for younger dancers, creating works including The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1995), Mozartiana (2006), and Capriccioso (2012). She was also invited by the School of American Ballet to meet its faculty and observe classes at Lincoln Center in New York.

Walker has been associated with Westside School of Ballet since its founding by Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire in 1967. She appeared in principal roles in the company’s first productions of The Nutcracker and Coppélia. In addition to teaching, Walker is Associate Artistic Director Emeritus for Westside School of Ballet and serves on the Board of Directors for Westside Ballet of Santa Monica.

Mendicelli holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA and has extensive training in ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary dance from Los Angeles Ballet School under John Clifford, Lichine’s Academy of Dance, Westside School of Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet School, Debbie Reynolds, and EDGE Performing Arts.

She worked professionally in the Hollywood entertainment industry, appearing in music videos including Blink-182’s “All the Small Things,” national commercials for Pepsi, AT&T, and Betty Crocker, and television shows including The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show and Murder, She Wrote. She has also performed with Disney, the Radio City Rockettes, and country artist Glen Campbell.

From 1996 through June 2026, Logvinsky regularly accompanied ballet classes at the Lauridsen Ballet Centre in Torrance. He has played for ballet classes at studios and institutions throughout Southern California, including Westside School of Ballet, the Colburn School, Santa Monica College, UCLA, Moorpark College, UC Irvine, Le Studio, Stanley Holden Studio, Conjunctive Points, and Dance Art Academy.

Logvinsky has also performed as a character and ballroom dancer, appearing as a featured performer with South Bay Ballet in The Toyshop and Graduation Ball. His festival experience includes the 1997 National Regional Festival in Houston and RDA/P Festivals in Torrance, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

Logvinsky has been playing for ballet classes at Westside School of Ballet since 1997 and at the Colburn School since 2021.

She has accompanied classes at Westside School of Ballet, San Pedro City Ballet, PSPA, and other local studios, as well as university dance programs including California State University, Long Beach, UC Irvine, USC Kaufman, and Chapman University. Yoshi has also accompanied summer intensives, competitions, master classes, and auditions associated with the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and The Royal Ballet.

Through studying ballet music and taking ballet classes herself, Yoshi developed a deeper understanding of the physical demands of dance and what dancers need from their accompanist. She carefully selects music that is enjoyable, familiar, easy to count, and supportive of movement, and has transcribed and arranged ballet music by ear for class. Yoshi currently plays for ballet classes at Westside, as well as for auditions and special events, and continues to share her love of piano and ballet with dancers and teachers.