ACB Teaching Staff

Denise Brady (Pre-Ballet and Ballet 1) began her ballet training in Newbury, England and continued her dance education in Portland, Oregon. After moving to the Bay Area, she danced with Grace Doty of Berkeley City Ballet and Victoria Turner of Alameda Chamber Ballet. Her passion for dance extends beyond ballet as she is the artistic director of Alameda Vintage Dancers. Denise has extensive experience teaching children's and adult ballet classes as well as 19th and 20th century social dances.

Marika Brussel (Pre-Ballet and Ballet 1) believes that dance can empower and changes lives. She began dancing at the age of three and has studied in New York at the Joffrey Ballet School and at the High School of Performing Arts. She has performed with many companies including the Joffrey Concert Group, Binghamton Ballet, Garden City Ballet, and Ballet Theatre of New Mexico. Over a period of ten years, Marika has taught at the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet School, National Dance Institute of NM and the Children’s Dance Theater. She currently teaches at the San Francisco Youth Ballet Academy where she is the new ballet mistress (i.e. runs rehearsals and assists the artistic staff) and especially loves working with young children to help them love dance as much as she does.

Robin Costa-Gustafson (Beg/Int Adult Ballet) was trained in San Mateo, CA by Betty Kirkpatrick and Marnell Himes, and also attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in Canada. Early in her professional career Robin realized her passion for teaching and became certified in the Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet technique. She successfully completed her student and teacher exams, passing commended with honors. She has attended annual conferences and seminars where she studied and danced with the Cecchetti Council of America, Imperial Society of England Faculty members, as well as world-renowned guest artists and chorographers. Robin has continued her dedication to the teaching of Classical Ballet for the past 30 years in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Robert Greer (Ballet 4 and Ballet 5 Pas de Deux) is a native of Northern California and has been dancing throughout the U.S. for the past 16 years. He has performed in a number of ballet companies such as Augusta Ballet, Charleston Ballet Theatre and Ballet Idaho. Most recently he has returned to San Francisco as a freelance dancer. Robert teaches throughout the Bay Area and is committed to all of his students. He loves working with students of all ages as teaching offers him the opportunity to pass on the knowledge that has been given him throughout his career. His favorite part of teaching is when students connect to the information he gives and make it their own.

Karin Jensen (Pre-Ballet and Ballet 1) trained in classical ballet at Oakland Civic Ballet, Oakland Ballet, and Alameda School of Dance. She has performed with Berkeley City Ballet, San Jose Dance Theater, Alameda Chamber Ballet, as well as Alameda Civic Ballet in both corps and soloist roles. Karin is also trained in both historic and modern ballroom dance. She loves social dancing and performing with her husband with groups such as Academy of Danse Libre , Knotts Dance Company. Alameda Vintage Dancers. and Period Entertainments and Events Recreation Society (PEERS). Karin currently performs modern liturgical dancing with Omega West Dance Company of Berkeley. As a mother of two young daughters, she loves sharing her passion for dance with young children. Check out this article about Karin on Alameda Patch.

Patricia Perez (Ballet 4 Pointe) began her classical ballet training at the School of Alejo Carpentier in Havana, Cuba at the age of ten, and continued at the school of Prodanza directed by Laura Alonso. At 17, she was invited to the Ballet Festival in Peru. Patricia graduated as a ballerina and teacher of classical ballet from Prodanza in Havana, after which she became a member of Compania de Ballet Classico de la Havana. In 1998, she went to International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi where she met Artistic Director Dennis Nahat, who offered her a contract with the company. Patricia later joined San Francisco Ballet for three seasons and is now dancing with Company C in Walnut Creek.

Lisa Woods (Ballet 5 variations) grew up dancing in NYC. At the age of 15, Lisa was a semi-finialist in the Youth America Grand Prix and soon after, moved to Washington D.C. to continue her ballet studies with the Washington School of Ballet. She has attended many American Ballet Theater summer intensives and has trained with Wilhelm Burmann, Maggie Black, Valia Seiskaya, Leslie Brown, Roudolf Kharatian, and Eleanor D'Antuono, among others. During high school, Lisa was a member of BalletNY. Lisa received a BFA in Acting from Emerson College, and is pursuing a dancing and acting career. Lisa is very excited to be teaching at ABA and giving back to the art form that has been such an important part of her life.