Galina Alvarez begun her Ballet training at The Provincial School Alejo Carpentier in Havana Cuba. She continued her studies at The School of Arts where she was awarded The Golden Diploma for being the most distinguished student of her generation, then joined The Ballet Nacional De Cuba where she became Principal Dancer. Her professional training has had the influence of celebrities such as Alicia. Alonso, Aurora Bosch, Josefina Mendez, Loipa Araujo, Joaquin Banegas, Orlando Salgado and Magaly Suarez.

With the Ballet Nacional de Cuba she toured Europe, Asia, The USA, Australia, Central and South America. Throughout her vast Ballet career she has interpreted the main characters of great classics such as Giselle, Swan lake, Don Quixote, The nutcracker, Cinderella, Coppelia among others. She has worked with choreographers from USA, Cuba, Argentina and Spain who have created pieces for her. She participated at the Stars gala in Budapest, Hungary, at international Festivals and Galas in Cuba, Spain, Edinburgh, France and Italy. She was awarded the medal for national culture of Cuba. Renowned dancers have been her partners.

She has been repetitrice for soloist couples of The Ballet national de Cuba and also acted as ballet Master for ballet de Monterrey, Mexico where she participated on choreographies based on original version of full master pieces like Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Bayadere, Paquita grand pas among others. She has been the assistant of renowned foreign choreographers. In Monterrey she worked under the direction of Robert Hil. The college of music and dance of Monterrey has invited her as jury for several competitions. She is an adjunct professor of Palm beach Atlantic University, teaches Ballet and Pointe and Partnering, she has choreographed some pieces for Dance ensemble group and for Prep program.

Krista King-Doherty is an internationally recognized and award-winning teacher and choreographer. Prior to returning to her dance roots, Krista enjoyed a successful career as a fashion model in Europe, USA, Asia, and Australia. She worked for top designers and was featured in print campaigns, magazines, on television, and on runways for a decade.

Since 2005, Krista's students have repeatedly won the Youth Grand Prix Award, Grand Prix Award, and the Hope Award, in addition to overall awards in all divisions at Youth America Grand Prix. Krista’s daughter and lifelong student, Juliet Doherty, won the Gold Medal in both Junior Women’s and Senior Women’s Division at the YAGP Finals in 2012 and 2014.

Krista’s work is frequently featured in galas and has been recognized in the “Stars of Tomorrow” at Lincoln Center, World Ballet Competition, ADC/IBC, Vail International Dance Festival, the Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition, Varna International Ballet Competition, USA/IBC, Australian Dance Festival, YGP Mexico, “Gala de Danza” in Cabo San Lucas, Nervi Festival, and Cancun International Ballet Festival.

Krista is honored to have received the “Outstanding Choreographer” award from YAGP four times, most recently in 2024 at the YAGP Finals in New York City, and the “Avant Garde” award for choreography from ADC/IBC. Krista’s choreography was featured on NBC’s World of Dance Season 4. She teaches and adjudicates for national conventions and competitions. Krista is a sought-after choreographer and guest master teacher at conservatories and intensives in the USA and internationally.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Lourdes Gómez graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Artes as a Ballerina/Professor. She immediately joined the Cuban National Ballet, under the direction of Alicia Alonso, where she performed the company’s extensive classical and modern repertoire and participated in numerous national and international ballet festivals. In the Cuban National Ballet, she reached the rank of First Soloist, performing principal roles such as Coppélia, La Fille Mal Gardée, Paquita Grand Pas, Majísimo, Grand Pas de Quatre, Don Quijote, Swan Lake, Raymonda Grand Pas, Muñecos, Rara-Avis, Paganini, Tarde en la siesta, Diana & Acteón, among others. In 1988, she received the Gold Medal at the International Ballet Competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and First Place in the Pas de Deux category. A year later, she was invited to perform Swan Lake as Odette and Odile with Compañía Nacional de Danza in México.

In 1995, Lourdes was hired by the Escuela de Música y Danza de Monterrey in México, where she coached the graduating-level VIII ballet students and prepared many of the dancers for ballet competitions abroad. She also taught courses in History of Dance and Classical Technique for the professional division.

From 2002 to 2010, Lourdes worked as Professor and Ballet Mistress at Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, where she was appointed the position of Principal Ballet Mistress in 2005. For this company, she restaged Giselle and staged several other ballets, such as La Vivandière and Raymonda Grand Pas. Ms. Gómez has also been a Guest Teacher in the Centro Andaluz de Danza in Seville and the conservatories of Córdoba and Cádiz in Spain, as well as in the Ballet Conservatory of Brest, France.

From 2011 to 2016, Lourdes worked as Professor and Principal Ballet Mistress of CoDa21, directed by Denisse Eliza, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She also taught the advanced-level students of the school. For the following two years, Ms. Gómez was Professor and Assistant to Artistic Direction of Ballet de Monterrey, under the direction of José Manuel Carreño.

Currently, Lourdes is a freelance maître and works as a teacher in various schools in Miami, Florida.

(Photo credit: Jennifer Koskinen / Merritt Portrait Studio)

Valerie Madonia is an experienced dancer, director, and teacher, with an extensive career spanning several prestigious institutions. She has danced significant roles with the Joffrey Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, and American Ballet Theatre, while also being a frequent guest artist with Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, Complexions, and Le Gala des Etoile.

With over 30 years of teaching experience, Valerie has been a faculty member at various distinguished institutions, including the New School University, the Joffrey Ballet School, and Colorado Ballet Academy. She has also directed several programs, including the Joffrey South Workshop, Telluride Ballet Academy, and Colorado Ballet’s Pre-Professional, Summer Intensives, and year-round Academy Divisions.

As an ABT NTC certified teacher, she regularly teaches at international intensives, such as the Yokohama Ballet Intensive, coaches international students online, and is a guest teacher for major ballet companies. She is a master teacher and adjudicator for The Universal Ballet Competition.

Ms. Madonia appeared in six PBS Dance in America specials and is featured in four dance books, including Classical Ballet Technique by G.W. Warren.

As a répétiteur for the Arpino Foundation, she has staged notable ballets such as Round of Angels for Russian Ballet Theatre; Italian Suite for the New School University and AVIDance; Light Rain Pas de Deux for Colorado Ballet, Ballet Arizona, Boulder Ballet, and the University of Arizona; and Sea Shadow for ABT dancers and the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Ramon Moreno danced with Ballet San Jose as a Principal Dancer from 1999 until his retirement in 2014. He received his ballet training at the famed Escuela Nacional de Artes, in Havana, Cuba and was awarded the title of Professional Dancer and Professor. Ramon is also a graduate of the American Ballet Theater National Training Curriculum from Primary to Level 5.

Following his training in Cuba, he participated extensively in competitions worldwide, winning seven medals, four of which were gold. He was a member of the National Ballet of Cuba under the direction of Alicia Alonso. Ramon later joined the Classical Ballet of Havana under Laura Alonso, Alicia Alonso's daughter and toured internationally. Through his participation in the 1998 IBC in Jackson, Mississippi he was awarded a contract with Cleveland-San Jose Ballet under the direction of Dennis Nahat. In 2000, he followed the company to San Jose until his retirement in 2014. His repertoire includes Apollo, Carmen, Who Cares? The Four Temperaments, Flower Festival at Genzano, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Coppélia, Don Quixote, Swan Lake and Involucion. He won an Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Performances for the Ballet San Jose 2008-2009 season. Mr. Moreno was on the faculty of Ballet San Jose School's Summer Intensive Program, as well as a number of Bay Area ballet schools including Santa Clara Ballet and Bayer Ballet Academy.

Mr. Moreno, Artistic Director and Founder of the Ramon Moreno School of Ballet, is currently teaching the Youth Program as well as Open classes. He is a gifted, inspiring instructor who is is highly sought after for coaching and training for competitions and performances by aspiring professional dancers as well as serious ballet students of all ages.

Born in Grand Junction, Colorado, at the age of 7 Alex Kramer began his training at The Institute of Dancing Arts. He has also trained with Jean-Philippe Malaty, Executive Director of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. He participated in the Denver Ballet Guild Young Dancer's Competition from 2004 through 2009, and in 2009 was awarded the Florence Ruston Award for Overall Excellence. In 2009, he began training at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre in New York City, and in 2010, he became the first recipient on the David Hallberg Scholarship there.

Alex was a member of American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company for the 2011/2012 season and performed with ABT II on its 2011 European tour, where he danced Jerome Robbins's “Interplay,” George Balanchine's “Allegro Brillante,” and Antony Tudor's “Continuo.” Mr. Kramer joined the former Ballet San Jose in 2012 and was promoted to soloist in 2015. He danced many leading roles, notably Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Les Renezdevous,” George Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations,” and Jorma Elo’s “Glow-Stop.” Alex joined the Washington Ballet in Washington DC in 2017. There he danced the role of Paris in John Cranko’s “Romeo and Juliet,” the Hoofer in George Balanchine’s “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue,” the lead in George Balanchine’s “Allegro Brillante,” and George Balanchine’s “Tarantella” Pas de Duex, among others.

Alex has practiced Pilates throughout his ballet career. He initially started Pilates as way to cross train and improve his performance as a dancer. Pilates improved his practice as a dancer but as he dove deeper into the work he learned the benefits of Pilates for everyday function and wellbeing. He is currently completing his certification with the Pure Body Teacher Training program.

Stephanie Sherman, MFA, PhD, is an internationally recognized choreographer, educator, and mentor with over 25 years of experience shaping the next generation of professional dancers. Her acclaimed choreography—known for its emotional depth, rich movement vocabulary, and deeply authentic theatrical expression—has been presented across the United States, Mexico, and Ecuador, with recent honors including a 2025–26 Individual Artist Commission from the San Francisco Arts Commission.

A two-time Fulbright Award Fellow for her choreography (Mexico, 2018; Ecuador, 2006), Dr. Sherman has served as resident choreographer for professional companies and universities throughout Latin America, including CEPRODAC and Teatro Ciego (Mexico), Ballet Contemporáneo de Humanizarte. And Colectivo Zeta (Ecuador) and Concordia University in Montréal. Her critically acclaimed dance films, including Monumental and Entre Ojos, have been selected for over 30 international festivals such as the San Francisco Dance Film Festival.

In the U.S., she was a member of Boston’s Prometheus Dance Company and is currently on faculty at City Ballet San Francisco and San José State University, and teaches at ODC, and the Academy of Palo Alto Performing Arts. She has also taught extensively at top institutions, including Osipova Ballet Academy, Mexico’s prestigious Academia de la Danza Mexicana and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes and the Dance Department at la Universidad de las Américas Puebla.

Dr. Sherman holds an MFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a PhD in Performance Studies from UC Berkeley. Her teaching and choreographic work reflects a deep commitment to artistic excellence and innovation, blending rigorous technical training with creative exploration. A beloved and insightful teacher, Dr. Sherman is known for nurturing each dancer’s individual voice while developing strong contemporary technique. Many of her students have gone on to professional careers as principal dancers in major contemporary companies—and she continues to mentor young artists seeking to develop work that showcases their full potential on stage through solo and group work.