Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1209,cg:true)
Mr Zachary Leighton
BALLET, PAS DE DEUX & PROGRESSING BALLET TECHNIQUE
Zachary Leighton was born and raised in southern California, and began dancing at the age of nine when he tried out a boy’s Jazz/Tap class at Dancin’ in Acton in his home town of Acton, California.
Three years after joining DIA, Zachary danced in his first evening length ballet: The Nutcracker, with the Antelope Valley Ballet in Lancaster California. This experience solidified for Zachary that he wanted to make dance his life. Zachary then continued to expand his range as an artist dancing competitively for Dancin’ in Acton in a
wide variety of styles, performing with the Antelope Valley Ballet, as well as, playing percussion, and performing in Community Theater.
From there, Zachary left home to pursue his career, first by attending the Houston Ballet Academy on partial scholarship, then dancing with the Oklahoma Festival Ballet while attending the University of Oklahoma, before joining the Dayton Ballet in 2013.
While with the Dayton Ballet, Zachary performed in many different ballets and operas in addition to teaching Tap and Ballet at the Dayton Ballet Academy.
After three seasons with the Dayton Ballet, Zachary returned to southern California to further his teaching and dancing experience, dancing with the Pacific Ballet Dance Theater, City Ballet of Los Angeles (to name a few), as well as teaching at various dance schools in the Los Angeles area including Dancin’ in Acton, bringing his career full circle.
Most recently, Zachary was the Assistant Artistic Director of the Ketchikan Theater Ballet School in Ketchikan, Alaska. While there he taught the majority of the classes offered by the school, choreographed and produced several performances, and coordinated with the rest of the staff with the help of the Artistic Director.
Ms Diana Nicastro
BALLET, PBT, CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE
Born in Greece, Diana Nicastro grew up in New York where she studied classical ballet technique at the Harkness Ballet School under the direction of David Howard; she trained at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance and The Boston Conservatory of Music. Diana received her Dance Teaching Certification through the University of Surrey, England, in association with the Royal Academy of Dance.
Diana is a certified Instructor who completed the (ABT) American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum for Levels Pre-Primary through 5. She holds a full teaching membership with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). She is a PBT (Progressing Ballet Technique) certified instructor and trained with PBT Founder Marie Walton-Mahon. In addition, she is a certified Perfect Form Physiotherapy Dance Teacher and trained with founder Lisa Howell.
Diana is a dedicated, creative, and patient instructor; for the past 35 years she has shared her extensive knowledge of classical ballet, modern and contemporary dance with countless students of all ages in the San Diego region.
Diana is also a teaching artist at Inspired Movement Dance and West Coast Dance Complex in North County, San Diego. She was an instructor and Branch Manager with the California Ballet School, instructor with Academy of Performing Arts, Del Mar Ballet, Pacific Arts Dance Center, North County Dance Arts, Scripps Performing Arts, and Malashock Dance as Educational Out-Reach and In-Reach Creative Dance Programs for Children; specializing in inclusive contemporary and creative movement classes.
Diana was the 2010 National Recipient of the KIT (Kids Included Together) Rising Star Award. She has presented Workshops and Webinars for KIT with a focus on creating movement opportunities for children of all ages and abilities. She has been part of the team that created nationally recognized inclusion standards and benchmarks. Diana has worked and taught within the San Diego Public Schools VAPA (Visual and Performing Arts) framework for grades K thru 12.
Ms Trisha Carter
BALLET, PAS DE DEUX, CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE
Trisha Carter began her training in Maine with Bossov Ballet Theater and continued training abroad under the instruction of Alla Sizova, Dimitri Simkin, Irina Trofimova Golovkina, Natalia Papinashvilli, and Vadim Pisarev, ultimately leading to her acceptance into the Vaganova School in St. Petersburg, Russia. She completed her schooling at the Harid Conservatory and Kirov Academy in the United States before joining Houston Ballet II and later Ballet Florida. SheTrisha has performed with multiple companies and choreographers touring both locally and internationally: Houston Ballet, Ballet Florida, Cuban Classical Ballet, Miami Contemporary Dance Company, Dance Now Miami, and was a founding member with Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami. Her classical repertoire includes soloist roles in Anna Karenina, Cinderella, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Giselle, La Bayadere, La Vivandiere, La Sylphide, Les Sylphides, Nutcracker, Paquita, Peer Gynt, Raymonda, Romeo & Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Talisman, as well as contemporary works by the likes of Gerald Arpino, Kevin Jenkins, Leonardo Reale, Paolo Mohovic, Tara Lee, Vicente Nebrada, and Yanis Pikeris, among others.
Trisha holds a B.B.A. in International Business & Trade and a B.S. in International Economics, which she uses to develop the performing arts. Her greatest off-stage achievement is founding Miami Dance Hub, the dance alliance organization for South Florida, where she served as Executive Director for three years. When not dancing on stage, Trisha works with her husband, Kevin Jenkins, as his repetiteur and also performs with his company, Ballet Counterpoint.
Mr. Laurence Gonzalez
BALLET, PAS DE DEUX, MENS TECHNIQUE
Laurence Gonzalez began his classical ballet training at the age of 9 in the Elementary Ballet School in La Habana, Cuba. At the age of 18 he graduated as a professional ballet dancer from the School National Ballet of Cuba. He began his professional career at Laura Alonso Ballet in Havana, Cuba where he had the opportunity to dance in large production ballets such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Dracula, Swan Lake, and Le Corsaire, where he danced both Principal and Corps de Ballet roles. He also danced various Pas de Deux including Spartacus, Don Quixote, Diana and Acteon, and White Swan, just to mention a few. He currently resides in San Diego, California, where he dances for California Ballet company, and guests with various local studios and companies in Southern California. Mr. Gonzalez has also performed with the San Diego Opera multiple times, and as a lead dancer in the productions of Maria de Buenos Aires, Carmen, Great Scott. He has traveled worldwide during his professional career, and looks forward to bringing his expansive knowledge of ballet and the performing arts to the students of The Ballet Company.