The faculty at San Diego Ballet School are all highly educated, trained and experienced instructors and former dancers.
KAREN FOSTER
School Director
Miss Karen owned and taught at her studio in Melbourne Australia for over 27 years and is a member of The Australia Cecchetti Dance Society. Later she moved to San Diego while her daughter, Chelsy Meiss danced with the San Diego Ballet. With her vast knowledge and experience of running a studio, she was hired to become General Manager of both San Diego Ballet and San Diego School of Ballet while continuing her passion of teaching tap, jazz and ballet. Miss Karen is now the Director of San Diego Ballet School.
CLAIRE TABER TORRES
Ballet & Pilates
Claire began her dance training with the School for Creative & Performing Arts in San Diego. She began her formal training at American Ballet School under Robin Morgan & Lynda Yourth and continued her studies on scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet School. Claire later joined Richmond Ballet and soon rose to principal dancer working with international choreographers. She returned to San Diego to raise her family. Claire teaches all levels including Pilates and has choreographed both for San Diego Ballet and SDSB’s Jr Company and yearly with Madcaps.
IGOR YURLOV
Ballet
Igor trained at the Moscow Academic Choreography School at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia under personal guidance of Prof. Pestov & Peter Antonovich from 1971-1979: In 1981 he joined the Bolshoi Theatre and worked with the great masters of ballet: Galina Ulanova, Asaf Meserer, Maya Plisetskaya, Mikhail Lavrovsky, Yuri Vladimirov, Shamil Yagudin and Natalia Bessmertnova. He danced for 18 years in leading roles with the Bolshoi and touring company in more than 50 countries. He currently lives in San Diego teaching, coaching and offering masterclasses.
STEPHANIE MAIORANO
Ballet
Stephanie Maiorano began her classical ballet training in San Diego at Southern California Ballet, under the tutelage of Ahita Ardalan (Paris Opera Ballet) and Sylvia Palmer Zetler (National Ballet of Canada). While a student there Stephanie performed principal roles in ballets including Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Paquita, Coppelia, as well as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Also, during her early training, she received her Chechetti diploma with honors. Stephanie’s training continued as a member of the Houston Ballet Studio Company. From there she came home to California and joined the San Diego Ballet under the direction of Javier Velasco and Robin Morgan in 2007 and has performed principal roles in various ballets including: Romeo et Juliet, Firebird, The Many Loves of Don Juan, The Nutcracker, Giselle, Jungle Book, and The Seven Beauties. Stephanie was featured in the San Diego Union Tribune under Notable San Diegans, and frequently makes guest appearances in schools and companies in California and Mexico. She has been teaching for the past 11 years and is the Artistic Director of the San Diego Ballet Pre-Professional Summer Intensive.
EMILY BANUET FIOL
PBT-Progressing Ballet Technique
Emily began her ballet training at a young age and in 2014 she joined The San Diego School of Ballet under the direction of Robin Sherertz Morgan. After completing her training with the school Emily joined The San Diego Ballet Company. In 2023 she became a Certified Teacher of PBT-Progressing Ballet Technique.
KATHLEEN LOVE GOMEZ
Ballet
Kathleen joined The San Diego School of Ballet under the direction of Robin Sherertz Morgan at a young age and trained until she graduated High School. Kathleen is a Special Education Teacher and currently teaches Ballet A.
ROBIN SHERERTZ MORGAN
Founder & Director Emeritus
Ms.Morgan began her training with the original San Diego Ballet and later was awarded a full Ford Foundation scholarship to the School of American Ballet. She performed with the New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine, toured with the NYCB Lecture Ensemble under the direction of Suki Schorer and performed in the Virgin Islands with Helgi Tomasson and Kay Mazzo’s NYCB Troupe..
Returning to San Diego she developed her reputation first as a notable dancer and later as a teacher for many local studios. She served on faculty for the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) in Chula Vista and Rehearsal Assistant for San Francisco Ballet’s many SD productions of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Ms.Morgan has choreographed and taught masterclasses at other studios, summer programs, universities as well as for an NBC TV movie. She was also honored by the SD AreaDance Alliance for her leadership in the dance community.
In 1989 she opened the San Diego School of Ballet and in 1991 Ms. Morgan founded the current San Diego Ballet company. Students of SDSB have been the top winners at many YAGP, CA Classics and other competitions as well as joining professional ballet companies around the world. Many students have used their training for college scholarships and others have danced for the grace, discipline, and health benefits the art form provides.
BALLET A: Kathleen Love-Gomez
BALLET B & PBT : Emily Banuet Fiol
PBT: Gabby Banuet
OFFICE SUPPORT: Elizabeth Love & Gabby Banuet