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Classes/Workshops
Classes for Professionals
Professional-Level Ballet
Monday through Friday, 11:00am to 12:30pm
The Alonzo King LINES Dance Center is proud to offer Professional-Level Ballet. This class is by invitation only and allows you to work on your technique with master teachers and exclusively with your professional colleagues.
Professional-Level Ballet is offered Monday through Friday, 11:00am to 12:30pm. For an invitation, please send an email to Arturo Fernandez at arturo@linesballet.org. The email should include the dancer's name, the names of companies he or she has danced with and who she is dancing with currently.
Professional-Level Ballet Faculty
Laura Bernasconi
LeeWei Chao
Sandra Chinn
Arturo Fernandez
Maurya Kerr
Shirin Keyani-Rose
Carmen Rozenstraten
Amy Seiwert
Visiting guest artists often teach Professional-Level Ballet as well. Refer to our class schedule to see who is teaching today. [Daily Schedule]
Professional-Level Modern
Monday 10:00am to 11:30am with Mary Carbonara
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 10:00am to 11:30am with Robert Moses
While open to anyone, Professional-Level Modern is challenging enough to intrigue the most advanced professional dancer.
Special Pricing for the Professional Dancer
The Alonzo King LINES Dance Center offers a discounted drop-in rate of $11 for professional dancers. To qualify you must be a member of an arts union (AFTRA, AGMA, Equity, SAG) or a member of one of the following professional Bay Area companies:
Yannis Adoniou's KUNST-STOFF
Axis Dance Company
Ballet San Jose
Capacitor
Mary Carbonara Dances
Carolina Lugo's Brisa de Expañas Flamenco
Company C
Company Chaddick
Copious Dance Theater
Dance Continuum/SF
Dandelion Dance Theater
The Devil-Ettes
The Dance Wright Project
Diablo Ballet
Dimensions Dance Theater
FACT/SF
Liss Fain Dance
Mark Foehringer Company
Janice Garrett + Dancers
Samantha Giron Dance Project
Hot Pink Feathers
Huckabay McAllister Dance
Labayen Dance/San Francisco
LEVYdance
Lily Cai Chinese Dance Center
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company
Mandance
Hope Mohr
Purple Moon Dance Project
Robert Moses' Kin
Moving Arts Dance
ODC/SF
Oakland Ballet
PUSH Dance Company
RAW Dance
San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Boylesque
San Francisco Opera Ballet
Shift Physical Theater
Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts
Stacey Printz Dance Project
Lizz Roman & Dancers
Ross Dance Company
Deborah Slater Dance Theater
Smuin Ballet
If you believe that your company qualifies as a professional company, please contact the Dance Center Director or call 415.863.3040 ext 228 to discuss being included in this program.
PROFESSIONAL-LEVEL BALLET TEACHERS
LAURA BERNASCONI was born in San Francisco and received her early dance training from Richard Gibson, Robert Joffrey, Milton Meyers, Benjamin Harkarvy and David Howard. She has performed both ballet and modern for the Ballet Mainz, Germany, Staadteater Bern, Switzerland, and classical Indian dance for the Jyoti Kala Mandir in Berkeley and India. Her teaching is greatly influenced by her years with Enrico Labayen where she danced, taught and was associate director for Labayen Dance/SF. Her rehearsal director positions extended to companies such as Kunst Stoff/SF, Ballet Nurenberg, and the Smuin Ballet. Among others, she has taught for the Netherlands Dance Theater, the Dutch National Ballet, Scapino Ballet, the Rotterdam Dance Academy, and the San Francisco School of the Arts. Her work is supported by her 17 years experience as a certified hatha yoga instructor and massage therapist, her vast knowledge of Gyrotonics and Gyrokenisis, the Alexander Technique and most recently Acro Yoga. Staying true to her belief that ballet is most productively approached in a meditative, healthful and spiritually fulfilling manner, Laura places great emphasis on individual attention to specific needs of each dancer.
LEEWEI CHAO, a native of Taipei, Taiwan, LeeWei Chao is a creative artist who has a passion for many visual art forms such as architecture, interior design, fashion design, painting, and stage design. He originally considered a career as a painter, but, at age 16, decided to turn to dance and entered the High School for the Performing Arts in Taipei.
Mr. Chao was a member of the Milwaukee Ballet Company from 1998 to 2005 after dancing with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, the Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, Singappor Dance Theatre, Taipei City Ballet, and Henry Yu Dance Company. He has performed in works by Balanchine, Choo San Goh, Robert North, Kathryn Posin, David Parsons, Jean-Paul Commelin, and Simon Dow.
He received early ballet training from Xiao Lee who brought from Russia the Vaganova Ballet Method to Taiwan. He completed he education at the National Institute for the Arts in Taipei, which hosts guest teachers from all over the world. His training there included Chinese folk dance, ballet, modern dance, Spanish, Indian, and Bali dance. After his two years of mandatory army training, he was hired by Singapore Dance Theatre. In 1996, he came to New York City to join the Joffrey Ballet Concert Dancers. He was awarded the Outstanding Dancer Award by the Taiwanese Department of the Arts. He also was voted Best Male Dancer in Taiwan by Taiwan Dance Magazine.
Since 2001, Mr. Chao has been a regular guest choreographer and teacher for the Milwaukee Ballet School Summer program and for the Milwaukee Ballet II. He also choreographed for the Space Between program at the Milwaukee Art Museum. In 2002 and 2003, Mr. Chao was commisioned for new works by the Milwaukee Ballet Company, "Beyond Invisible" and "Edge of Silence", which premiered in 2003 and 2004 respectively. He also designed the stage sets and costumes, which gave him the opportunity to incorporate other aspects of his creative ability. Mr. Chao was invited to return to the National University of Taipei, Taiwan as guest teacher and choreographer in 2005. Currently based in San Francisco, Mr. Chao is on the faculty of the School of the Arts and Alonzo King LINES Dance Center.
SANDRA CHINN, was born in Berkeley, California and began ballet training with Jane Stamps in Albany, California. She is a graduate of the National Academy of Arts (Champaign Ill.), and continued studies at the Joffrey Ballet School American Ballet Center, and intensively with independent teacher, Maggie Black. In New York City, she was a company member of Dennis Wayne's Dancers, Finis Jhung's Chamber Ballet USA, and Bob Bowyer's American Ballet Comedy. She was featured in the off-Broadway dance show "Funny Feet", for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination for "Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical". Teacher training includes seminars in Vaganova technique with Karen Morell. San Francisco Bay Area teaching credits include ODC Dance Commons, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, Berkeley Ballet Theater, Berkeley City Ballet, and IDEA project. Most recently, she has taught for dance companies such as ODC/Dance, Paul Taylor Dance Company and Matthew Bourne's New Adventures (Nutcracker!, Swan Lake, and Edward Scissorhands).
ARTURO FERNANDEZ has been the Ballet Master of Alonzo King LINES Ballet since 1992. His career in dance includes work as a professional dancer, choreographer and master teacher. He received his training at the United States International University under the direction of John Hart, CBE and most notably Elaine Thomas.
Arturo has danced in both ballet and modern companies including San Diego Ballet, Arizona Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Les Ballet Trocadero de Monte Carlo, Oakland Ballet and ODC/San Francisco. In addition to his dancing, he was the assistant to the directors of both ODC and Arizona Ballet.
In 1991 he collaborated with Brenda Way and KT Nelson of ODC to create Krazy Kat for the San Francisco Ballet. In 1993 he began creating his own work and received critical notice for his craftsmanship and sense of humor. Arturo has since choreographed for Alonzo King's LINES Ballet, Inland Pacific Ballet, FCCJ, Los Angeles Dance Theater, LINES Ballet School, San Francisco’s School of the Arts, and Alabama School of Fine Arts. Most recently he choreographed Dracula in two acts for Inland Pacific Ballet to critical acclaim.
As a master teacher Arturo has traveled extensively teaching master classes, workshops and intensives around the country. He has been a guest teacher for Hubbard Street Dance Company, Inland Pacific Ballet, Robert Moses’ Kin, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Western Ballet as well as many other companies. He is a former member of the faculty of Cal State Long Beach, San Francisco State University, San Francisco’s School of the Arts, Orange County Performing Arts High School, and Marin Dance Theater.
For more than a decade he has been an integral part of the faculty of the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center and has coordinated and taught in the Alonzo King Workshop for Professional Dancers since its inception. He has set ballets by Alonzo King on companies throughout the United States and works side by side with him in the creation of new work. He has been an important and well-respected part of the Bay Area dance community for over 25 years.
MAURYA KERR began her training at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She has danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Fort Worth Ballet, and the San Francisco Opera Ballet. She has been a featured guest artist with Alex Ketley and Christian Burns' The Foundry, Amy Seiwert's im'ij-re, Robert Henry Johnson Dance Company, and Ballet Zinoun in Morocco. She was a principal dancer in "The Matrix II: Reloaded." A member of LINES since 1994, she also teaches for the Alonzo King LINES Ballet School and Summer Pre-professional Program.
SHIRIN KEYANI-ROSE (Bio to Come)
CARMEN ROZESTATEN was born in Amsterdam and began her training with the Theater Academy in Amsterdam. After completing her training, outstanding choreographers Rudi von Dantzig and Choo San Goh selected her to dance in new work they were creating.
In 1976 she left to continue her dance studies in New York. She took classes at the Joffrey Ballet School and with outstanding independent teachers Marjorie Mussman, Maggie Black and Louis Falco. She danced with choreographers Nora Gutherie, Ted Rotante and Vivian Freedman. In 1978 Carmen moved on to San Francisco where she studied with Sue Lloyd, Henry Berg, Carlos Carvajal and Alonzo King. She performed with Peninsula Ballet, Golden Gate Ballet and Dance Spectrum.
Carmen is a founding member of LINES Ballet and danced with the company from 1982 - 1988. Alonzo King created roles for her in many ballets, including Awake in the Dream (Donald Fontowitz), Ictus (Harry Partch and Gamelan),Allegro Barbaro (Bartok) and Mysterious Mountain (Alan Hohvaness).
She returned to Europe in 1989 to teach and perform, working in the Netherlands with Artemis, Melkweg and Barry Stevens as a teacher, and with Niewe Dansgroep as a ballet mistress. After that she traveled the world teaching in France at the Ecole de Danse, in Belgium with the Jan Faber Company, in Stuttgart, Germany at the NY City Dance School, in Aruba at Sima Danza, in Curacaõ at the School of Ballet, and in Caracas, Venezuela at the International Dance Festival. During this period she also performed with Dance Advance in London, Josette Baïz in France and eventually joined the Dresden Ballet in 1992.
In 1993 she returned to San Francisco for a guest appearance with LINES Ballet and she was invited by Artistic Director Alonzo King to rejoin the company. Since returning, Mr. King has created roles for her in Compelling Geological Evidence (Donald Fontowitz), Garland (Peter Garland), Pavane (Shostokovitch), Ocean (Pharoah Sanders), Bach Cello Suites (Bach), Rock (Bernice Johnson Reagon) and Signs and Wonders (Traditional African Music).
AMY SEIWERT, native of Cincinnati, moved to SF in 1999, the same year she won the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur Choreography Competition in Quebec. She is currently Choreographer in Residence for Smuin ballet, where she was a dancer for nine years. Her choreography is in the repertory of Smuin, Sacramento, Carolina and American Repertory Ballets as well as Ballet Austin and Robert Moses KIN. Named one of "25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine in 2005, she was also awarded the Gerbode Emerging Choreographers Grant in 2006. Recently invited to participate in the NY Choreography Institute by Peter Martins, she had the opportunity to create on dancers from NYCB. She also directs im'ij-re, a contemporary ballet company that collaborates with artists of other disciplines and is committed to experimental work from a classical base.
