FACULTY & STAFF
Lawrence Chen
(Ballet 5/6) Lawrence Chen grew up in Southern California and began training in ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop at age thirteen with Victor and Tatiana Kasatsky. He competed in YAGP, placing in the Top 12 Pas De Deux at the 2014 New York Finals and consistently ranking among the Top 3 soloists at regional venues.
He earned a BA in chemistry with mathematics from Pomona College, where he also danced collegiate ballroom and performed as a principal with Inland Pacific Ballet under Victoria Koenig.
Lawrence currently dances with Oakland Ballet Company and teaches at Berkeley Ballet Theater, Alameda Ballet Academy, and The Hills Swim and Tennis Club. He also tutors high school students in STEM subjects.
At OBC, he has performed the deer in Luna Mexicana, the Nutcracker, and works by Graham Lustig, Caili Quan, Megan and Shannon Kurashige, and Phil Chan. He received an Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance and is a contributing choreographer to OBC’s Angel Island Project. This is his fourth full season with the company.
French Clements
(Adult & Teen Ballet Instructor) French Clements, originally from San Jose, California, earned his BFA in Dance from The Ailey School and Fordham University in 2003. As a performer, he toured northern Spain with a contemporary dance company, danced with BalletRox in Boston, and presented his own choreography at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice during a three-month internship at the museum.
He spent three years as the press representative for Jacob’s Pillow Dance, where he also trained in the School’s summer programs and taught community ballet classes. French has taught at Boston Ballet School, Simon’s Rock College, and The Dance Complex, and has been a guest teacher for the dance departments at Harvard University and Tufts University.
As an arts journalist, he has written for Dance Magazine, Village Voice Media, SF Weekly, and other publications. He was also selected as a fellow for the NEA Institute for Dance Criticism at the American Dance Festival.
His dance education was shaped by influential teachers including Gus Solomons jr, Ricardo Bustamante (San Francisco Ballet School), Benjamin Harkarvy (The Juilliard School), and, at Ailey, Lynn Glauber and Kazuko Hirabayashi.
Diego Cruz
(Ballet 4 Instructor) Diego Cruz is an acclaimed former Soloist with the San Francisco Ballet, known for exceptional classical technique, expressive depth, and powerful storytelling on stage. With a career marked by emotionally resonant performances and artistic versatility, he brings over a two decades of experience performing principal and featured roles across a diverse repertoire. A dedicated ballet educator for more than 10 years, Diego is committed to inspiring the next generation of dancers through thoughtful instruction, technical precision, and a deep understanding of movement as a form of expression.
Karin Jensen
(Dance with Me, Pre-Ballet, Ballet 1 Instructor) Karin Jensen trained in classical ballet at Oakland Civic Ballet, Oakland Ballet, and Alameda School of Dance and is a graduate of Ballroom Dance Teacher’s College. She has performed with Berkeley City Ballet, San Jose Dance Theater, Alameda Chamber Ballet, and Alameda Civic Ballet in both corps and soloist roles. As a mother of two daughters, she has enjoyed sharing her passion for dance with children at ABA for the past seventeen years.
Julie Lowe
(Adult Ballet Director & Instructor) Julie Lowe is the Associate Artistic Director of Menlowe Ballet in Menlo Park, California. She began her dance training in New York with Mimi Kellerman and continued her studies with renowned teachers including Audree Ismailloff, Meredith Bayless, Lawrence Rhodes, Wilhelm Burmann, Sally Streets, and Ronn Guidi.
As a Principal Ballerina with Oakland Ballet under Ronn Guidi, Julie toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe for over a decade. She danced leading roles such as Giselle, Swanhilda in Coppélia, and Sugarplum Fairy, and received mentorship from dance legends including Frederic Franklin, Anna Sokolow, and Leonide Massine. She performed in numerous Diaghilev and Americana revivals and originated roles in works by Eugene Loring, John McFall, and others.
Julie has also performed with ODC in The Velveteen Rabbit, and from 2008–2015 was a Master Teacher for the Ballroom Dance Teachers College. She has taught social and ballroom dance in the Bay Area and continues to offer private instruction, especially for wedding couples.
Since 2012, Julie has led a thriving evening adult ballet program at Alameda Ballet Academy. Known for her nurturing yet rigorous teaching style, she helps adult dancers grow both technically and artistically.
Katherine Orloff
(Ballet 1, Ballet 2, Intermediate Teen) Katherine Orloff received her foundational training at Contra Costa Ballet Centre, with additional studies at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, North Carolina School for the Arts, and UC Irvine.
She has performed works by George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Donald McKayle, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, and Antony Tudor, and danced with Company C Contemporary Ballet and Amaranth Contemporary Dance Company. Katherine has also appeared as a guest artist with Sacramento Ballet, Peninsula Ballet, and Berkeley City Ballet.
She currently teaches at ODC/Dance and Shawl-Anderson Dance Center and has served on the faculty of several Bay Area schools.
Katherine holds a BA in English and an MA in Liberal Arts from Stanford University, and recently completed her MFA in Dance at the University of therts. She is pursuing certification as a somatic educator through the School for Body-Mind CenteringⓇ and studying Authentic Movement with Mary Lou Seereiter.
Calvin Thomas
(Ballet 2, Ballet 5/6 Instructor) Calvin Thomas hails from Maysville, Kentucky, and received his foundational training at the Otto M. Budig Academy of Cincinnati Ballet. He has supplemented his studies at Boston Ballet School, The School of American Ballet, Ballet Austin Academy, and The School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Performing with the Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Austin, Company C Contemporary Ballet and NY Theatre Ballet are among some of the highlights of his career. His repertoire includes works by Thang Dao, Gregory Dawson, Yuri Zhukov, and Maurice Causey among others. When not dancing he still enjoys time in the studio sharing knowledge and teaching the next generation of dancers. He has been on faculty with the Contra Costa Ballet Centre for over three years. Calvin is excited to be part of ABA’s teaching staff.
Claire Toner
(Ballet 5/6 Instructor) Claire (Stallman) Toner started dancing at age four in Saratoga, California. She studied ballet with Karen Millar before joining the San Francisco Ballet School on full scholarship, where she received training from Gloria Govrin, Pascale Leroy, Shannon Bresnahan, and Jocelyn Vollmar. She also attended summer intensives with the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Claire danced professionally for 10 years, performing with Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and Diablo Ballet. She has been featured in Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun, Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush, Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Romeo et Juliette, and works by George Balanchine, James Kudelka, Helen Pickett, and Benjamin Millepied. Studying part-time while dancing, she received her bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Georgia Tech. Claire has also taught at Berkeley Ballet Theater, and has been the stage manager for ABA’s spring recitals. Claire has five children, three of whom are enrolled in ballet this year with Alameda Ballet!
Emilie Skinner
(Director of Operations) Originally from Houston, TX, Emilie Skinner began her classical ballet training at age six under Gilbert Rome and Victoria Vittum, performing with Houston Repertoire Ballet through high school. She has attended summer intensives with the Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and SIBA in Salzburg, Austria. Her dance background also includes modern, jazz, and contemporary, along with experience in nonprofit arts management.
After earning a B.A. in French Studies with a minor in Art History from the University of North Texas, Emilie performed with Lake Cities Ballet Theatre, Ballet Dallas, and DGDG (Danielle Georgiou Dance Group), while also working full-time in school administration.
In 2011, she founded Dallas Neo-Classical Ballet (DNCB), a nonprofit company known for its collaborations with visual artists and musicians. Under her direction, DNCB gained acclaim for original productions presented at major Dallas arts events and institutions.
Emilie moved to California in 2019 and became a core part of Alameda Ballet Academy, where she has served as Director of Operations and taught ballet for the past several years. In 2023, she relocated to the Big Island of Hawai‘i, where she now lives with her partner Danny and their four beloved dogs. She is grateful to continue working with her ABA family in a hybrid capacity.