Faculty

Yuri Grigoriev, Artistic Director / Master Teacher

Aelita Volynski
Aelita Volynski began her training at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy
in Moscow, Russia. During her school years, she danced on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in such ballets as Coppelia, Don Quixote (as Cupid), and Sleeping Beauty. Her teacher in her
last year of school was the renowned Ida Vasilieva of the Bolshoi Theatre. Upon graduating in 1984, she was invited to join the prestigious Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet, where she became a soloist. She danced solo roles in Swan Lake, Esmeralda, Giselle, Le Corsaire, The Nutcracker, Chopiniana, The Snow Maiden, Paquita and Romeo and Juliet. In 1995, Ms. Volynski received her diploma as Pedagogue/Choreographer from the Ballet Academy Institute where she subsequently taught beginning ballet and staged works for which she won several awards. In 2003, she
was invited to teach and choreograph at the Russian Center “Dolina” in Los Angeles.

Vladimir Kolesnikov

Vladimir Kolesnikov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and trained at the Vaganova Ballet Academy. After joining the Kirov ballet, Vladimir was promoted to Principal Dancer and toured with the company throughout the world. In 1986, Vladimir received a Master’s degree in ballet pedagogy from the Vaganova Academy and embarked on a teaching career while continuing to perform with the Kirov Ballet. In 1992, Vladimir was invited to join the faculty of the Universal Ballet Academy in Washington, DC and then to Boston Ballet, where he taught graduate level classical and character dance. Vladimir was on the faculty of Debbie Allen Dance Academy from 2001-2008, and is currently the Artistic Director of the Pacific Coast Academy of Dance in San Clemente.  In addition to teaching, Vladimir was involved in staging many projects around the U.S., including working as an assistant choreographer to Kevin McKenzie at ABT.

Nina Kolesnikov

Nina Kolesnikov was born into a family of ballet dancers and ballet masters working for the Imperial Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg. She trained at the Vaganova Ballet Academy and began her professional career at the Kirov Ballet. Nina became the Laureate of the International Youth Festival in Berlin and performed in numerous ballet movies.  Like her husband Vladimir, Nina received a degree in ballet pedagogy from the Vaganova Academy and taught there for 5 years before joining the Kintz-Mejla Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC and later the Boston Ballet Academy. Nina has also taught seminars on Russian Ballet Technique for ballet instructors in Washington and Chicago, and was an assistant choreographer to Debbie Allen for the Dancing in the Wings production performed at the Kennedy Center. She served on the faculty of Debbie Allen Dance Academy from 2001-2008, and is currently the Artistic Director of the Pacific Coast Academy of Dance.

Amanda Rabin Kofsky
Amanda Rabin Kofsky was born and raised in South Africa. She joined the PACT Ballet Company of Johannesburg at 17, where she performed in numerous productions, including as a soloist in Faust. She also appeared regularly in TV shows and films,
and on stage. After moving to France, she became a soloist at the Paradis Latin and Alcazar before joining choreographer Redhas’ company Friends, with whom she danced until 1998. She has danced with Roland Petit, Patrick Dupont, Gloria Gaynor, Sylvie Vartan, and YES. She was awarded a Volonine International Choreographic Prize and received numerous grants and commissions. Ms. Kofsky has choreographed and taught throughout Europe (serving as faculty member and examiner at
the Academie Internationale de la Danse de Paris for five years),
Asia, the U.S. and South Africa. Her works include Scrambled Heads for PACT Ballet and numerous pieces created for other companies, stage productions, films and television.

Seda Aybay
Seda Aybay, born in Istanbul, Turkey, is the founder, artistic director and choreographer of Kybele Dance Theater. Her productions and original works have been performed in Los Angeles, New York and Seattle. Ms. Aybay began her dance training in French, German & Russian ballet techniques in her native country. Subsequently, she trained, performed and choreographed internationally in modern, jazz and tap dance forms, becoming a three-time first place winner in modern form at the Turkish National Dance competition. After coming to the United States, Ms. Aybay graduated with honors from the UCLA Worlds Arts and Cultures department in choreography. She performed with numerous dance companies including "Synapse Dance Theater", "Praxis Project", Lion's Pounds Theater (as a soloist), Lula Washington Dance Theater, and Kin Dance (as a guest performer). She has also taken an active part in community projects by giving dance classes and organizing and choreographing performances at the Arts Bridge Program of UCLA, the " D.A.R.E" program and at many schools in the Los Angeles area.
 
Kenji Yamaguchi
Kenji Yamaguchi was born in Japan and received his initial
training in Tokyo at the Studio Ichibangai, the Performing Dance Center and the Japan Dance Center. He danced professionally throughout Asia for several years. Mr. Yamaguchi has continued his dance studies in Los Angeles and earned his B.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts. As a featured dancer in the KIN Dance Company, he has performed throughout the United States, and locally at the Ford Amphitheatre, Highways, the Kodak Theatre, California Plaza, El Portal and the Ivar Theatre. Mr.Yamaguchi placed first at the Japan National Society competition as well as first and second at the Desert Dance
under the Stars competition.

Guest Faculty

Arkady Nikolaev, Nancy Raffa, Colleen Neary, Thordal Christensen, Zippora Karz, Irina Kolpakova, Gennady Selutsky