Who We Are

We at Ballet Academy Ventura pride ourselves on creating a warm and loving environment created for our students. Instructors are readily available to parents and students for information about class progress. All students feel free to visit with their teachers before class begins. Students are important! We are here to educate the whole child. Their experience with us must lift their spirit, we strive to build self-confidence, love of ballet as an art form, and to prepare the students for learning throughout their lives. We want to develop the student in a healthy and loving way.

Discipline is part of ballet, but it should only be used to help a child develop his “own self-discipline.” This must come from within the student through gentle and constructive correction. When discipline is used in this way, healthy development takes place.

kathleen noblin

  • Ms. Noblin is founder of Ballet Academy Ventura (BAV) and co-founder of Ventura County Ballet (VCB), the non-profit in-residence ballet company. The school has served Ventura County for over 30 years as an outstanding center for dance education. Ms. Noblin was honored as the 2008 recipient of the Mayor’s Arts Award for her service as an Arts Educator. Ballet Academy Ventura has successfully trained students for many of the finest professional summer programs in the U.S. and Europe. VCB presents an annual production of Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet The Nutcracker each year, and other spring concerts, fulfilling its mission statement of providing production experience for youth and adults in Ventura County. Ms. Noblin received her Bachelor’s degree from UCLA Angeles in science, and nursing from the UCLA School of Nursing. She is also a Certified Public Health Nurse and holds a credential in Health and Development from UCLA post-graduate. Additionally, she has served as a school nurse in the Los Angeles City school system.

    Ms. Noblin has participated in Ventura’s cultural landscape as a member of the Cultural Plans Steering Committee. Ms. Noblin is actively involved in the infusion of the arts into the local community. She has directed over forty full-length ballets at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center for Channel Islands Ballet Company and Ventura County Ballet Company. She has also directed ballet programs for the Music Festival under the direction of Nuvi Mehta and the Ventura Historical Museum. Other programs include Arts Explosion for San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts, collaboration with the Ventura Master Chorale and Opera Association’s “Carmina Burana”, participation in the 2005 Ventura Music Festival, and bringing dance education to elementary schools in the Ventura Unified School District. In 2006, Ms. Noblin received on behalf of the Ventura County Ballet the Certificate of Recognition presented by Mayor Carl E. Morehouse and the City Council of the City of San Buenaventura for invaluable cultural programs provided to families throughout Ventura County.

  • Born in Russia, Ms. Fliagina graduated with distinction from the Perm State College of choreography in Russia. In 1990 she was accepted to Moscow State Theatre Kremlin Ballet where she worked with the renowned Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova. She was then accepted to the world-renowned Perm Ballet where she was a soloist at the Perm State Opera House/ Tchaikovsky Ballet. She has performed roles in all the famous classical ballets and has toured internationally with the Russian Imperial Ballet, Moscow Classical ballet, and the Moscow Festival Ballet. Ms. Fliagina joined State Street Ballet as a dancer in 1998 was promoted to Ballet Mistress in 2000. In addition to her Ballet Mistress duties, she continues to appear in character roles in ballets like The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella. Ms. Fliagina has been an instructor at Ballet Academy Ventura since 2000. She has been Ventura County Ballet Company’s Associate Artistic Director and Choreographer and Ballet Mistress since 2005.

    Ms. Fliagina brings her vast store of ballet knowledge to the students at BAV where she instructs classes and choreographs ballet productions.

  • Nilas Martins, born in Copenhagen, received his early dance training at the Royal Danish Ballet School. As a student he performed with the Royal Danish Ballet in such works as John Neumeier’s Romeo and Juliet, August Bournonville’s Konservatoriet, A Folk Tale, Napoli and Glen Tetleys’s Firebird. In 1984, he moved to New York and enrolled at the School of American Ballet. In September 1986 he became a member of New York City Ballet. In 1991, he was promoted to the rank of soloist and in 1993 to Principal dancer.

    In New York City Ballet, Mr. Martins danced numerous featured roles and worked closely with choreographers: John Alleyne, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Boris Eifman, William Forsythe, Peter Martins, Trey McIntyre, Kevin O’Day, Jerome Robbins, Susan Stroman, Richard Tanner among others.

    Mr. Martins film credits include: “Live from Lincoln Center” broadcast of Ray Charles in Concert, “The Nutcracker” released in 1993 by Warner Brothers, “Dance in America” telecast of “Dinner with Balanchine” where he danced the role of Apollo with Paris Opera Etoile Isabel Guerin. “Lincoln Center Celebrates Balanchine 100” where he danced ‘The Man I Love’ from Who Cares? featuring Wynton Marsalis.

    Mr. Martins was one of ten fellows selected from both domestic and international applicants to study under Michael Kaiser as a Devos Institute for Arts Management fellow from 2010-2011.

    Mr. Martins ‘ teaching resume’ include Armitage Gone Dance, BalletMet, Baltimore School for the Arts, Goucher College, Harvard University, Indiana University, Joffrey Ballet School, Miami City Ballet School, National Ballet of China, NBA Ballet (Japan), New York City Ballet, Novosibirsk Ballet (Russia), NYSSA Summer Intensive, Princeton University, Royal Danish Ballet, School of American Ballet and Washington Ballet.

    Since 1996, Mr. Martins has been a Repetiteur for the George Balanchine Trust and stages ballets for companies and schools domestically as well as internationally.

  • Brett’s early education was completed in the Czech Republic of Ostrava and Prague where he also received his Bachelors of Arts degree while attending the National Ballet School. He went on to complete a double Master of Arts degree (one in Choreography and as Ballet Master) at the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory Choreographic Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia under full scholarship.

    Mr. Weidlich returned to work professionally as Soloist with the National Ballet Theatre in Prague (NBT). While with NBT he performed in a variety of dance roles including: Carmen, Cinderella, Creation of the World, Don Quixote, Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardee, Merry Widow, Midsummer Night Dream, Night in Venice, Nutcracker, Pygmalion, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. He danced as a Principal Dancer with the Mexico City Ballet Theatre for four years performing in both classical and contemporary choreography. He also performed as a “guest artist” with the Zurich National Ballet, Australian Ballet Theatre, Polish National Ballet Theatre, Ballet Monte Carlo, and Ventura County Ballet.

    Brett also teaches the boys class at Ballet Academy Ventura

  • Sergei Domrachev was born in Russia and graduated from the Perm Ballet Academy. He was a bronze medalist in the Vaganova Competition and the International Arabesque Competition in 1992, also earning the Audience Favorite Award.

    He has danced professionally as a Soloist with both Moscow Classical Ballet and Los Angeles Classical Ballet. Domrachev joined State Steet Ballet in 1997, and throughout his 20-year tenure has performed Principal and Character roles to critical and popular acclaim.

    Domrachev has been a guest artist with Ventura County Ballet for several seasons in staring roles.

  • Ms. Chudinova is a graduate from the Kyiv Choreographic College in Kyiv, Ukraine where she studied ballet performance and pedagogy.

    She has toured throughout Europe and the United States with Youth Kyiv Ballet, St. Petersburg Ballet, Ukrainian Ballet Theater, Russian Grand Ballet and Moscow Ballet. Ms. Chudinova has danced featured roles in La Bayadere, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, and many others. She has recently danced starring roles with Ventura County Ballet’s The Nutcracker and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

  • Leeza was born in Santa Barbara, CA and started her training at State Street Ballet Academy and Ballet Academy Ventura. Leeza continued her education at Perm State International Ballet Academy and graduated with honors.

    In 2016 Leeza became a finalist of International TV show for Youth Talent in Moscow ‘’Blue Bird". In 2019 Leeza won Second Place at the International Ballet and Contemporary Dance Competition "Domenico Modugno" in Italy, were she also received a Special Jury Prize.

    She has performed a lead roles in ballets “La Fille Mal Gardee”(Lise), “Swan Lake” (Odette) “Coppelia” (Swanhilda), “La Bayadere” (Nikia), “Sleeping Beauty” (Princess Aurora), “Fire Bird” (Beloved Beauty), “Giselle” (Giselle) and “Nutcracker” (Dream Clara and Snow Queen). She has toured Internationally with professional ballet companies in Germany, Switzerland, China, Greece and Japan.

    Leeza has perform with Ventura County Ballet throughout her career, starting out as a Little Snow Flake and eventually staring as Dream Clara. She is a recent past company member with State Street Ballet.

    She has also been a lead instructor and rehearsal director at Northwest Studio of Ballet and Valley Performing Arts Council in Fresno.

  • Meredith Ventura graduated with honors from UC Santa Barbara, with a BFA in Dance. She studied with Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv, Israel, and received her MFA in dance at Hollins University in collaboration with the Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main, and The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company (formerly the Forsythe Company).

    She is now pursuing a PhD in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies at UCSB. Ventura has produced full evening-length performances and presented works throughout the US and abroad, most recently in France, Estonia, Norway, Finland, and Italy.

    She is currently on faculty at dance studios throughout Southern California, and travels nationally and internationally as a dance educator and advocate for the arts. She joined the faculty of State Street Ballet in 2021 and became the State Street Ballet Company Pro Track Director in 2023.

Lisa Laubacher

  • Ms. Laubacher began her ballet training in Medellin, Colombia. She also trained with the Toledo Ballet School and National Ballet School of Mexico City. Ms. Laubacher performed with the Ballet de Medellin and the Palos Verdes Ballet. She joined the San Francisco Ballet for a summer intensive, and then went on the join the prestigious Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, Washington. Ms. Laubacher has also danced with the Santa Barbara Ballet and was a founding member of the State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara. Ms Laubacher performed in Ventura County with the Plexus Dance Theatre. Ms. Laubacher has been teaching and choreographing students in Ventura County for over 35 years. She enjoys Salsa and Latin dancing. She lives in Ventura, and is married and has two children and her 1st granddaughter, who dances at Ballet Academy Ventura.

  • Emi Pool was born in Oxnard California, and is an alumna of Ballet Academy Ventura. Ms. Pool began dancing at the age of eight at Ballet Academy Ventura and performed in numerous productions with the Ventura County Ballet Company.

    Under the direction of Bretislav Weidlich and Marina Fliagina respectively, she performed a variety of roles in classic ballets such as The Nutcracker, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.

    Ms. Pool continued her studies at the University of California, Irvine, at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. She performed in pieces by members of the staff and students and other known choreographers such as William Forsythe and George Balanchine. She was able to study a wide variety of dance types and train with many noted dance teachers such as Jodie Gates, Molly Lynch, Donald McKayle and Loretta Livingston. At UCI, Ms. Pool earned her Bachelors of Arts with a degree in Dance.

    Ms. Pool has been on staff with Ballet Academy Ventura since 2012.

  • Hailley Goleta, PT, DPT, PAM-Mc received her pre-professional ballet training at Ballet Academy Ventura, performing many featured roles with Ventura County Ballet. In 2013, Hailley graduated cum laude from Butler University in Indianapolis with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Pedagogy with high honors. She danced with The Butler Ballet, leading roles in productions of Flower Festival, The Nutcracker and neoclassical works of Cynthia Pratt. During a tour of Eastern Europe led by Marek Cholewa, Hailley was selected to perform in the final round of a choreographic competition in St. Petersburg, Russia with choreography by Rachel Pike.

    Hailley recently received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Shenandoah University where she was awarded the John R. and Mary B. Wilkins Physical Therapy Award for her academic and professional accomplishments. Additionally, Miss Hailley was able to combine her passion for both physical rehabilitation and the performing arts by completing the Performing Arts Medicine Master’s Certificate at Shenandoah University to further focus on the treatment and screening for injury prevention in dancers, musicians and other performing artists. She currently also works as an orthopedic and pediatric physical therapist in Santa Paula.

  • Stephanie began ballet at 8 years of age under Mara Lysova, former dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Stephanie was a full scholarship student throughout her studies. She began assisting in classes at 12 years where she began to hone her teaching skills. Stephanie returned to ballet when her two daughters began studies at Ballet Academy Ventura. She started teaching in 2000 and has continued to the present day. Stephanie served as Ventura County Ballet’s Rehearsal Assistant until 2006. Stephanie’s love for teaching continues to grow through reading, education classes and sharing information with her colleagues. In October 2018, Stephanie became certified in “Progressive Ballet Training” (PBT) and shares this knowledge with Ballet Academy Ventura faculty and students. Stephanie has fond memories of performing with VCB in featured Nutcracker roles like Mouse King, Caribous in Sleeping Beauty, and Grumpy Dwarf in Snow White. Stephanie is married and has three children; both daughters studied ballet at Ballet Academy Ventura.