YEAR-ROUND FACULTY

The Long Beach Ballet Academy is dedicated to a professional classroom atmosphere that provides each student with the optimum opportunity to progress to his or her full potential. The faculty is comprised of skilled and highly motivated instructors, each of whom instills the highest standards of classical ballet and goals of the school.  

David Wilcox, Artistic Director

Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, David Wilcox began studying the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus at the age of eleven. Having successfully completed all exams through the Advanced level, he continued his studies in London and at the age of nineteen began his professional career in Germany.  He spent seven years dancing with the Berlin Ballet, the Nuremberg Ballet and the Heidelberg Ballet.  Returning home in 1978, he co-founded Long Beach Ballet and formed a professional company which became Southern California's most successful ballet company for 15 years.  Mr. Wilcox has coached several of his students for international ballet competitions and many have gone on to join such companies as San Francisco Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Milwaukee Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and others. Over the past several years he has produced and directed eight ballet tours to Asia and has staged three full-length ballets for the Classical Ballet of Guangzhou, China:  The Nutcracker, La Bayadere and Cinderella.  He is a prolific choreographer and has created numerous full-length ballets for the school and the company.  He lives with his wife and daughters in Long Beach.

Bethany Butts

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Bethany received her early training at the Academy of Ballet Arts studying ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and character dance.  She graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Dance Performance and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.  Upon graduation, Bethany joined the Georgia Ballet and for six years performed such leading roles as Myrtha in Giselle  and the Dewdrop Fairy in The Nutcracker.   For the past three years she was Ballet Mistress at the British Academy of Performing Arts.  She has ten years of teaching experience in ballet, pointe, variations, pas de deux, modern, jazz, tap, and creative movement.

Hilde Byrne

Ms. Byrne ("Miss Hilde") received her original training from the Norwegian Ballet Academy.  She continued her training in Rome and Paris, going on to perform featured roles in West Side Story, Cats and Chorus Line.   After arriving in the United States, she taught for several ballet schools and then opened her own school for five years.  In 1995 she joined the Long Beach Ballet faculty and currently instructs the Pre-Ballet, and all Children's levels.  Her skills also include costuming and theatrical hair and make-up.

Shani Englert

Ms. Englert began her training with Audrey Share at the age of five and continued her training with David Wilcox at Long Beach Ballet Arts Center. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Business and marketing at Cal State Long Beach while continuing her ballet training with Rebecca Wright and Colleen O'Callahan, both former dancers with American Ballet Theatre. She is a principal member of the LBBAC faculty and co-founder of Long Beach Ballet Theatre, the school's resident junior performing company, for which she was acting artistic director for eight years.

 

Christine Nunez

Christine began her formal classical ballet training in Northern California under the direction of Sheila Humphreys (Ballet Mistress for the Royal Ballet & Joffrey Ballet). She graduated with honors with an Associates degree in Dance from Orange Coast College, where she also studied modern, jazz and world dance. After graduation Christine began teaching in Southern California. In 2009 she joined the Long Beach Ballet faculty and currently instructs multiple levels at the school.

Kristin Storey

A Southern California native, Ms. Storey began dancing at the age of 6.  When she was ten she attended a production of "The Nutcracker " by the Long Beach Ballet and was inspired to begin training under Mr. Wilcox.  She was eventually featured as Clara in "The Nutcracker, the main role of Swanilda in the ballet "Coppelia," and as the Dewdrop Fairy in "The Nutcracker."  After graduating from high school she joined the Milwaukee Ballet, and then the Boston Ballet, and the Suzanne Farrell Ballet with whom she danced at the Edinburgh International Festival.  She is delighted now to return to the Long Beach Ballet and looks forward to sharing her experience and her passion with her students.

Mr. Zhong graduated from the Shen Yang Arts Institute in China and performed for seven years as a soloist with the Classical Ballet of Guangzhou.  He was featured as the Golden Idol in La Bayadere Cupid in Don Quixote, the Court Jester in Swan Lake, and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, as well as many other leading roles.  His father is a well-known Chinese choreographer and Mr. Zhong has continued in his father's footsteps by choreographing for and competing in several international ballet competitions, finishing in 8th place at the Shanghai International Ballet Competition in 2005.  He recently immigrated to the U.S. as a free-lance ballet dancer and joined the faculty of the Long Beach Ballet.