Faculty
Kathleen Noblin, Executive Director, Instructor
kathie@balletacademyventura.com
Ms. Noblin, is founder of Ballet Academy Ventura (BAV), a prestigious youth-based ballet teaching facility, and co-founder of the Ventura County Ballet Company (VCBC), a non-profit in-residence performing ballet company. Ms. Noblin was recently 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. Ms. Noblin co-founded the Ventura County Ballet Company in 1998. She has served as Executive Director since its inception. VCBC presents an annual production of Tchaikovsky's beloved The Nutcracker and a spring concert each year, fulfilling its mission statement of providing production experience for the youth and adults in Ventura County. Ms. Noblin also directs the Ventura County Ballet Company's Therapeutic Dance for Children program, which provides ballet instruction for children in foster care. 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 directed thirty full-length ballets at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center for Channel Islands Ballet Company and Ventura County Ballet Company from 1992-1998. She currently serves as Executive Director for the 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, elementary education in school programs, Arts Explosion: San Buenaventura Foundation for the arts grant from the city, direction the collaboration between CBC and the Ventura Master Chorale and Opera Association's "Carmina Burana in Perpetual Motion," directing VCBC's participation in the 2005 Ventura Music Festival, and bringing dance education to elementary schools in the Ventura Unified School District. On November 6, 2006, Ms. Noblin received on behalf of the Ventura County Ballet Company a Certificate of Recognition presented by Mayor Carl E. Morehouse and the City Council of the City of San Buenaventura. This was to mark the occasion of their 9th anniversary production of The Nutcracker and the variety of invaluable cultural programs they have provided to the families throughout Ventura County.
Colleen O'Callaghan, Artistic Director and Instructor
Mrs. O'Callaghan danced with the American Ballet Theater under the direction of Lucia Chase and Mikhail Baryshnikov. She trained on scholarship with the schools of the Louisville Ballet, the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and the American Ballet Theater. Before joining American Ballet Theater's main company, she danced with ABT's Ballet Repertory Company under the direction of Richard Englund and Gage Bush. Mrs. O'Callaghan received a Bachelor of University Studies degree from the University of Utah. She has been teaching ballet for over 25 years and has been a faculty member of the University of Utah, Ballet West, California State Long Beach, California Institute of the Arts, the Stanley Holden Dance Center, Westside School of Ballet, Louisville Ballet and many other nationally recognized schools. For over five years she was the classical dance director for the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA), and last year was asked to be the interim director for the 2006-2007 school year. She continues her ties with American Ballet Theater as a teacher and choreographer for their summer programs throughout the United States. In addition she has taught classes for thes ABT studio company and for the American Ballet Theater Jacqueline Onassis School in New York City. Mrs. O'Callaghan recently became a certified teacher for American Ballet Theater's newly developed and nationally recognized training curriculum. She looks forward to implementing this curriculum with the dancers of Ballet Ventura. Mrs. O'Callaghan is also co-founder and co-director of American Ballet Intensives, a company dedicated to providing pre-professional intensive programs for dance students in a positive and nurturing environment. Mrs. O'Callaghan lives with her husband and three children, ages 9, 10, and 12 in Ventura, California.
Marina Fliagina, Choreography, Ballet Mistress, and Instructor
Born in Russia, Ms. Fliagina graduated with distraction from the Perm State College of Choreography in Russia. Born in 1990, she was admitted to the Moscow State Theatre Kremlin Ballet where she worked with the renowned Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova. She has performed roles in all of 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. She has been Ballet Mistress for State Street Ballet since the year 2000. IN addition to her duties as Ballet Mistress for the company, she continues to appear in character roles in ballets like The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella. Ms. Fliagina is an instructor at Ballet Academy Ventura. She has been the company's Associate Artistic Director and Choreographer and Ballet Mistress since 2005.
Lisa Laubacher, Instructor
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 Plexus Dance Theatre. Ms. Laubacher has been teaching and choreographing students in Ventura County for the last 23 years. She enjoys Salsa and Latin dancing. She lives in Ventura, and is married and has two children.
Teresa McCallum, Instructor
Teresa was trained in Santa Monica at the Westside Ballet under Yvonne Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire. She and her identical twin sister were full scholarship recipients to the American Ballet Theatre in New York. She studied in France under Patrick Frantz at the Acadieme Internationale de la Dance. Her movie credits include work with Twyla Thorpe. She danced for ten years with the Crystal Cathedral in the "Glory of Christmas" and the "Glory of Easter" productions. She has been teaching for ten years. Ms. McCallum lives in Ventura with her husband and two beloved pets, Broken Tail and Bruno.
Amy Wrobleski, Instructor
Amy Wrobleski received her initial ballet training at Ballet Academy in Oxnard and Ballet Ventura School, now renamed Ballet Academy Ventura. Mrs. Wrobleski was a soloist with the Channel Islands Ballet Company and the Ventura County Ballet Company. She received acceptances at prestigious summer programs at Atlanta Ballet, Cleveland Ballet, Ballet Metropolitan, Joffrey Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet.
Amy holds a B.F.A. in dance performance from Butler University and a M.F.A. in dance performance/teaching from the State University of New York at Purchase College. Ms. Wrobleski danced professionally with the Corpus Christi Ballet in Texas for two seasons. For the past nine years, Amy has taught ballet and creative movement, choreographed musicals for the Montecito Union School and the Creative Arts Workshop in Camarillo. Amy obtained her elementary education teaching credential this past year.
Ballet Academy Ventura is delighted to have Amy return to Ballet Academy Ventura, where she trained as a child.
Stephanie Portugal, Instructor and Assistant Ballet Mistress
Coming Soon!
Consuelo Moran, Instructor
Consuelo was trained with Carmelita Maracci, and received dance scholarships with Ballet La Jeunesse, Carmelita Maracci and Harkness Ballet in New York. She danced professionally with Marika Besobrasova in Monte Carlo and the San Francisco Ballet. She has been teaching and living in Ventura County for many years.
Niki Ramirez, Instructor
Niki holds a B.F.A. in dance from Oklahoma City University. She danced professionally with San Antonio Jazz Ensemble in San Antonio, Texas. Ms. Ramirez been teaching Creative Movement for several years throughout Southern California.
Karen Narula
Coming Soon!
Pamela Lourant, Flamenco Instructor
An exquisitely accomplished dancer and chorographer Pamela "La Morena"
is in demand. She began her professional career in 2003 by competing and winning
in Santa Barbara's prestigious and coveted Flamenco Soloist of The Year.
This September, Pamela will begin teaching and choreographing for groups and
soloists, which will be part of her first school of dance & dress design
company, "FLAMENCO BY DESIGN".
"La Morena" has worked with some of California's best musicians, dancers, and
Choreographers which include Timo Nunez, Jesus Montoya, Jose Tanaka, Roberto
Armaral and many others. Having traveled to Madrid, Sevilla, and
Jerez Pamela studied with the leading flamenco artists of today. Dedicating years
of passion, love and commitment to teaching her students and being fortunate enough
to learn and perform with the best-Pamela Lourant has created a style all her own.
Some of her credits include:
FOX's hit T.V. series "ALIAS"
PLACIDO DOMINGO'S LUISA FERNANDA at the Los Angeles Music Center
Opera Santa Barbara's production of Carmen
Irvine Flamenco Festival in Irvine, California
The PBS Special "BENISE: NIGHTS OF FIRE" as a soloist
A featured performer in Jose Tanaka's Soniquete Flamenco
Roberto Armarals "ESPANA CLASSICA"
The Profant Foundation's Fiesta Finale
and FOREVER FLAMENCO at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Julieta Sosa, Zumba Instructor
Coming Soon!
Enton Hoxha, Pas de Deux Instructor
Enton was born in Albania. He trained at the National Ballet Academy in Albania and completed his dance education in Moscow, Russia. Mr. Hoxha danced with the Moscow Classical Ballet and Ballet Stars of St. Petersburg, touring Europe and the United States of America as a soloist in several repertory ballets, before joining the Ajkun Ballet Theatre . Mr. Hoxha was a guest artist with the Metropolitan Opera House of New York. He joined State Street Ballet in 2006 and has guested with the Ventura County Ballet Company for the last three seasons.
