View our Open/Drop-In Class Schedule
Our open/drop-in class schedule features all of our fantastic faculty below!
Pili Doheny was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and began her training at age 3 under Maria De Varona, a former ballerina with the National Ballet of Cuba. Ms. Doheny became a member of Ms. De Varona's ballet company at the age of nine and was promoted to Soloist the following year. She also completed several levels of Ballet Examinations receiving top honors.
Her performance credits include The Nutcracker, the Petite Swan in Swan Lake, the Toymaker's Granddaughter in La Boutique Fantastique, plus several different roles in Sleeping Beauty. Her favorites included the Fairy of the Crystal Fountain and Act III Pas de Trois as Florestan's Sister. As a member of the Youth Company, Ms. Doheny had the privilege of dancing with members of Ballet de San Juan and had several television appearances for the Walter Mercado Show.
In 1985, Ms. Doheny graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Psychology with an emphasis in Child Development. In the 1990s Ms. Doheny trained and performed at The Ballet Academy of Northern Virginia under the direction of Madame Solange Binda. Here she helped the director in several areas with particular emphasis on administrative tasks and working with parents in preparation for their annual recital.
In 2001, after years of involvement as a dance parent, Ms. Doheny began teaching at the Irvine School of Dance/Pacific Dance. Over the past six years, Ms. Doheny has been able to combine her passion for ballet, children and learning to develop a program for her students that is age appropriate and technically sound. She likes to challenge each student to develop their fullest physical and creative potential. Ms. Doheny strives to inspire and enrich her students by exposing them to the benefits of dance. She considers her teaching a privilege and looks forward to the opportunity to inspire a new generation of young dancers.
Michel Gervais is a native of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, started dancing at the age of 11. He studied with the Ida Sauvé Dance Studios, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and the National Ballet School of Canada. Mr. Gervais has worked extensively as a performer, assistant and ballet master for choreographers David Allan and Juan Antonio. Mr. Gervais has danced for such companies as: Feld Ballet/NY, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Theatre Ballet of Canada, National Dance Theatre of Bermuda, Ontario Ballet Theatre, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Pacifica and California Riverside Ballet. His teaching credentials include: American Ballet Theatre, London Rambert Dance Co., Hong Kong Ballet, Canadian Dance Teachers Association, Ballet Pacifica, University of California, Irvine and Riverside campuses, York University, and The National Dance Theatre of Bermuda. His choreography has been performed by: University of California, Irvine, ABT (summer intensive), Festival Ballet Theatre, California Riverside Ballet and Excalibur.
Steven Inskeep has an extensive background in dance, including performing, choreography, and teaching. He has trained and been accepted to prestigious companies such as Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco School of Ballet, Ballet West School in Aspen, Washington Ballet School, Ballet Pacifica, Ballet Austin, and Indianapolis Ballet Theatre.
Mr. Inskeep was a founding faculty member of the former Ballet Pacifica Conservatory. He has choreographed many ballets, including Jack and the Beanstalk, In the Garden, and Ferdinand the Bull, all showcased in the former Ballet For Children series at Ballet Pacifica.
Mr. Inskeep has performed leading roles such as Valse Fantasy, Allegro Brilliante, and Concierto Baroquo by Balanchine, Snow King and Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet Pas de Deux and Copellia, Don Quixote by Petipa, and the Prince in Firebird.
Charles' Web Blog… Read Charles' new series of web blogs, including his writeup on attending the American Ballet Theatre Reunion in New York and his experiences directing the ABT Alabama summer program!
Charles Maple began his training with Evelyn LeMone, the founder of Pasadena Dance Theatre. He continued his studies with Andrei Tremaine and Stanley Holden until 1972 when he received a Ford Foundation scholarship to the School of American Ballet. At the age of nineteen he joined American Ballet Theatre and rapidly rose through the ranks to become a featured soloist. In 1979 he made numerous guest appearances with the National Ballet of Mexico and danced the leading roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, and La Fille Mal Gardee. In 1983 Mr. Maple became a principal dancer with the Basel Ballet of Switzerland. His association with this company gave him the opportunity to dance in the works of Europe and America's most influential choreographers. He has appeared as a guest artist throughout the United States, in Europe, Mexico, and South Africa.
In 1992 Mr. Maple began creating his own works. He has since received a steady stream of commissions, awards and a growing reputation as a freelance choreographer. Companies in Regional Dance America have presented several of his works. Two of his works for Rosella Hightower's Ballet La Jeunesse were presented with top awards at the 1992 La Baule Festval in France. In 1993 he attended the Tokyo International Choreographers Competition where his works received international recognition and critical acclaim. In 1993 Mr. Maple's The Angel of the Abyss was created to open the televised Posada Aids Procession in Los Angeles.
In 1995, his new version of La Fille Mal Gardee for Pasadena Dance Theatre opened to rave reviews. In 1997 he created a new version of The Nutcracker for Black Hills Dance Theatre and Symphony. His work Latcho Drom was selected by Regional Dance America to be shown at the 1998 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Maple has set numerous works for American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive programs. Mr. Maple's choreography represents a diversity of dance styles that are firmly rooted in the traditions of classical ballet. He is also the former resident choreographer for South Bay Ballet.
In 1994 and 1995 Mr. Maple directed Pasadena Dance Theatre. He then founded Charles Maple and Dancers to concentrate on developing his own creations. Mr. Maple has been an active advocate for Regional Dance America. He has served as an adjudicator as well as a faculty member at numerous RDA Festivals. Mr. Maple has also acted as the artistic coordinator for the American Ballet Theatre summer intensive programs in Alabama and California. He is co-founder of American Ballet Intensives, a rigorous ballet workshop that provides serious students the opportunity to study with professionals in the field. Mr. Maple is also a certified American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum teacher.
Kim Olmos began her ballet training in Torrance, Calif. with Diane Lauridsen where she danced leading roles in original works by Charles Maple, Jon Crisafori and Terri Lewis. Later, while earning her B.A. in Dance from California State University, Long Beach, Ms. Olmos continued her dance training by studying with Gloria Newman, Gus Solomon and Rebecca Wright.
Ms. Olmos spent five seasons as a company member with the former Ballet Pacifica, where she performed in ballets by Peter Pucci, Ann Marie De Angelo, Choo-San Goh, Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Molly Lynch. She was also a faculty member and the school's Registrar at the former Ballet Pacifica Conservatory where she taught ballet and modern and choreographed for the conservatory. Ms. Olmos's choreographic credits include On The Third Day…, Brother’s Keeper, This Mystery I Pose, Summer Sunday and Le Do Gra — all of which were chosen to be performed at Regional Dance America, Pacific Region's annual dance festival.
Ms. Olmos was formerly the associate director of a pre-professional dance studio in Mission Viejo and Co-Artistic Director of B-2, a pre-professional dance company. Ms. Olmos is currently the Rehearsal Assistant and Ballet Mistress for Backhausdance, Orange County’s award-winning contemporary dance company, which is in residence at the Maple Conservatory of Dance.
Stela Viorica is a former principal dancer with National Ballet of Romania. She is a graduate of the National Academy of Ballet in Bucharest and has had the privilege to be coached by Maestro Umrihin, a teacher from the Vaganova Institute. During her career as a professional dancer, Ms. Viorica toured extensively throughout Europe with the National Ballet of Romania and has been featured in principal roles in various ballets such as Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Coppelia, La Fille Mal Gardee and Swan Lake, among others.
After traveling throughout Europe, Ms. Viorica relocated to California in 1985 where she began to extend her work into choreography, staging, teaching and coaching. As the residential choreographer & founding artistic director of the Stella Dance Company, Ms. Viorica created seven full-length productions including Alice and Wonderland, Mary Poppins, A Christmas Carol and Open Audition. Ms. Viorica has also created numerous other works including Black and White in 1994 to celebrate the opening of Hoag Hospital's Cancer Research Center. She received a special award, Outstanding Choreographer, at the prestigious Grand Prix Ballet Competition in 2000 in Long Beach and at the Festival of Dance in Laguna Beach in 2003.
Ms. Viorica believes that art nourishes the soul. Her goal is to promote, preserve and de-mystify the art of dance in the community, to teach aspiring dancers, and to be a resource for performing arts education and entertainment in Orange County.
