Established 1982
Master Teacher Series
Summer 2023
The Master Teacher series, a component of the esteemed Bayview School of Ballet Program, caters exclusively to professional ballet students seeking to refine their craft. The school is dedicated to providing the highest calibre of dance education, and as such, invites world-renowned artists to impart their expertise upon its students. These classes offer professional ballet students a rare and invaluable opportunity to study with some of the most highly regarded professionals in the industry, allowing them to advance their skills and techniques to the highest level.
Master Teachers:
Calley Skalnik
Friday, July 7th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Calley started dancing at the Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education when she was eight years old. In 2012, she attended the Youth America Grand Prix in New York, where she was offered a scholarship to Canada’s National Ballet School. She dances the principal role of The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker as well as featured roles such as Russian Princess in Swan Lake, Calliope in Apollo and Kitty in Anna Karenina. Calley’s repertoire includes The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Onegin, Frame by Frame, Manon,The Dream Chaconne, The Second Detail, Genus, Angels’ Atlas and Orpheus Alive, among other works.
In 2016, Calley represented the National Ballet in The International Competition for The Erik Bruhn Prize. Choreographic Associate Robert Binet created the contemporary pas de deux, Self and Soul, for the competition. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Calley began offering movement and fitness classes online. Their popularity led her to create a personal training business, Coach Calley.
Irina Lerman
Friday, July 14th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Irina Lerman graduated from Vaganova Ballet Academy in 2011 in the class of professor Ludmila Kovaleva (coach of Diana Vishneva, Olga Smirnova and Maria Khoreva) and joined after graduation the Mariinsky Ballet where she was dancing for 7 years. Irina Lerman performed classical, neoclassical, contemporary and modern repertoire of the Mariinsky Theatre including M. Petipa, G. Balanchine, A. Ratmanskiy, and Sasha Waltz. In 2015 Irina trained at the Netherland Dance Theatre, performed repertoire of Chrystal Pite, Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon. At the same period, Irina was fortunate enough to participate at workshops of renowned choreographer Wayne McGregor and work with choreographer EdwardClug.
At the age of 21 Irina made her choreographic debut at the Workshop of Young Choreographers in Mariinsky Theatre and in a few years obtained a Master’s Degree in Choreography from Vaganova Ballet Academy. Irina became a Finalist in an International Competition in Riga, Latvia and won a Silver medal as a Choreographer. Irina had the privilege to perform at the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games 2014 and participated in the Cannes Film Festival 2012 as an Actress. In 2022 Irina launched Artistry and Performance, a Summer Intensive in Ballet with Irina Lerman in Toronto, Canada.
Koto Ishihara
To Be Announced
Koto has been a Principle dancer since 2021 at The National Ballet of Canada. She was involved with competitive swimming before she started ballet lessons at the age of 11. Koto began her professional training at the HARID Conservatory in Florida. Her training and early career have involved travel from her hometown of Nagoya, Japan to Florida, San Francisco and Toronto. She was a Soloist with San Francisco Ballet before joining The National Ballet of Canada as a First Soloist in 2019. Her repertoire with the National Ballet includes the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty. She also danced in Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Chroma, Piano Concerto #1 and Petite Mort, among other works.
With San Francisco Ballet, she performed principal roles in ballets such as Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Cinderella, RAkU, The Kingdom of the Shades, Brahms Quartet, The Four Temperaments and Serenade. She created roles in Jiří Bubeníček’s Fragile Vessels, Alonzo King’s The Collective Agreement, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Guernica and Benjamin Millepied’s The Chairman Dances – Quartet for Two.
Brennan Clost is a Canadian actor and dancer with undeniable talent and poise. Clost first gained recognition for his leading role in the popular scripted drama series, THE NEXT STEP. Recently, he stars in the seductive ballet drama from Netflix, TINY PRETTY THINGS. In addition to his acting career, Clost has been dancing since the age of seven. He graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2016. His choreography was showcased annually at Juilliard’s Choreographic Honours Program during his time there. Clost has received international acclaim and garnered an impressive list of accolades, including a World Silver Medal in the International Dance Organization in Germany (2008) and named one of the Top Senior Male Dancers at The Dance Awards in New York City (2011).
Brennan Clost
Friday, August 11th and 18th 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Brennan is inspired to continue to share his knowledge and passion for story-telling through his choreography, dancing, and acting.
Oksana Bondareva
To Be Announced
Born in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, she graduated from the Ballet School of the Dnepropetrovsk Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2002 and the same year joined the ballet company of the theatre. In 2008–2009 Oksana trained at the Moscow State Ballet Academy. In 2009–2014, she was a dancer with the Mikhailovsky Theatre, where her repertoire included roles of Kitri (Don Quixote), Sylphide (La Sylphide), Odette — Odile (Swan Lake), Medora, Gulnara (Le Corsaire), Jacinta (Laurencia), Jeanne (The Flames of Paris), Nikiya, Gamzatti (La Bayadere), Princess Aurora, Gold Fairy, Force Fairy (The Sleeping Beauty), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), as well as roles in the ballets In a Minor Key (chor. by Slava Samodurov), Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness, Prelude, Without Words, Invisible (chor. by Nacho Duato).
From 2014–2017, she was a dancer with the Mariinsky Theatre. Since 2018, she has been a guest ballerina with the Mikhailovsky Theatre.