National Ballet Competition Jury

2026 Jury Members (More to be posted soon)

  • Luba Gulyaeva graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). Her instructors include
the famous N.V. Baltacheyeva, assistant to A.Y. Vaganova. Ms. Gulyaeva joined the Kirov (Maryinsky) Ballet Company from 1968 to1979 in Leningrad where she performed in ballets such as La Bayadere, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, La Sylphide, Le Corsair, Nutcracker, Legend of Love, Cinderella and others. In 1980,

    
Ms. Gulyaeva was invited by Jurgen Schneider to be a faculty member
of the Botsford School of Dance in Rochester, New York where she
taught intermediate and advanced classical ballet, pointe technique,
 and variation repertory. She also coached students for competitions
and professional company auditions. From 1988 to 1989, Ms. Gulyaeva was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to be a member of the faculty of
the American Ballet Theatre School of Classical Ballet where she gave classes to the American Ballet Theatre dancers.

    From 1989 to 1993, Ms. Gulyaeva was ballet coach at the Steps Ballet Studio in New York City. She also taught master classes at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne and classes at the School of American Ballet in New York City. Ms. Gulayaeva has privately coached participants of the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS and the Prix de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland. She is well known as one of the finest teachers of the Vaganova ballet system and classical repertory.

  • Mr. Pakri is originally from Estonia and is a graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Following his graduation, Mr. Pakri danced with Estonian National Ballet as a principal dancer and taught partnering and technique classes at the Tallinn State Ballet School. During that time, he also performed as a principal guest artist at the International Ballet Festival in Havana, Cuba; and for the National Theater of Macedonia in Skopje, Yugoslavia. In 1991, at the invitation of then-artistic-director Martin Fredmann, Mr. Pakri joined Colorado Ballet as principal dancer. Over the next ten years, he performed numerous classical and contemporary roles, including Albrecht in Giselle, the title role in George Balanchine’s Apollo, Basilio in Don Quixote, the principal male in Balanchine’s Rubies, and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. Mr. Pakri was also a frequent guest performer in Estonia and Japan. In 1998, he performed as a guest artist with the Martha Graham Dance Company in the role of the Husbandman in Appalachian Spring at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

    Mr. Pakri retired from dancing in 2001 and, for the next five years, served as ballet master of Colorado Ballet. In 2005, he received critical acclaim for staging The Sleeping Beauty for the Company. In 2006, Mr. Pakri joined the faculty of The Royal Ballet Upper School in London, England, where he remained until August 2013. During his tenure, Mr. Pakri’s students won prizes at the Youth America Grand Prix and Young British Dancer of the Year competitions. He also served as a guest teacher at Estonian National Ballet and at a number of schools. Prior to joining HARID’s faculty, Mr. Pakri was ballet master at Houston Ballet. He has served as a guest teacher not only at Estonian National Ballet, but also at The Royal Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. He remains active as a guest teacher and a ballet-competition judge.

  • Svetlana Svinko is originally from Krasnoyarsk, Russia. In 2009 she graduated from the Krasnoyarsk State Choreographic College, class of the teacher Mikhieva Svetlana. During her studies she took part in international and all-Russian contests, in 2009 she was awarded a scholarship of People's Artist of Russia N.L. Semizorova.

    In 2009 she joined the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater under the direction of Igor Zelensky, People's Artist of the Russian Federation. Passed the creative way from the corps de ballet to the principal ballerina. Has taken part in all the theater's productions and premieres. Has worked with teachers Ya. Serebryakova, V. Ryazhenova and Olga Kostritskaya.

    From 2016 - 2023 she worked as a principal ballerina at the Leonid Yakobson St. Petersburg Ballet Theater. She danced principal roles in the ballets “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Don Quixote” on the best stages of Russia at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

    Since 2018 she started her teaching career, working as a teacher at the Leonid Yakobson Ballet Theater.

    In 2021 she graduated from the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A. Vaganova - Bachelor of Education in Ballet Pedagogy.

    Since 2023 she has been working at Clevelandballet. She has performed principal roles in the ballets The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty.

    Awards:

    Winner of the Galina Ulanova All-Russian Competition in 2008 (silver medal)

    Winner of the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 2009 (bronze medal).

    Winner of the 12th Russian Youth Delphic Games in 2013 (silver medal)

    Laureate of the 13th Youth Delphic Games of Russia in 2014 (bronze medal)

    Diploma winner of the International Ballet Competition in Varna in 2014.

    Laureate of the prize to support talented youth, established by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, in 2013 and in 2014.

    Repertoire:

    Swan Lake: Odette - Odile, Pas de trois.

    The Corsair (Chor. Petipa, Gusev, Khomyakov): Medora, trio of odalisques.

    La Bayadera: Nikiya, Gamzatti, shadow trio.

    Paquita: solo and variations.

    Chopiniana: solo.

    Giselle: Giselle, Myrtle.

    Coppelia: friends of Swanilde, variations.

    Don Quixote: Kitri, Street Dancer, friend of Kitri, The Queen of the Dryads.

    Sleeping Beauty: Aurora, Lilac Fairy, Diamond.

    The Nutcracker: Masha, Sugar Plum.

    Cinderella (Chor. K. Simonov): Stepmother.

    Pulcinella (Chor. K. Simonov): the two girls.

    Cippolino (Chor. Mayorova): Countess Cherry.

    Whisper in the Dark (Chor. E. Liang).

    Apollo Musaget (Chor. Balanchine): Polyhymnia.

    Who cares? (Chor. Balanchine): five soloists.

    Sacred Spring (Chor. Patrick De Ban): Tribe of the Sun.

    "Pas de quatre" Chor. L. Jacobson

    "Firebird" Douglas Lee: Princess

    "Queen of Spades" Iñaki Urlezaga: Countess

    "Don Quixote" Johan Kobborg: Mercedes

    "Swan" Chor. L. Jacobson

  • Ellen Rosa-Taylor, originally from Wilmington, DE, is currently the Chair of the Dance Department at Idyllwild Arts Academy. She received her Bachelor of Science in Ballet from Indiana University, Bloomington. Ms. Rosa-Taylor received her MFA in Dance from Florida State University where she was the recipient of a Deans Teaching Fellowship for the School of Visual Arts and Dance as well as a University Fellowship. Ellen has performed as a dancer with the Los Angeles Opera, New York City Opera, San Diego Opera, City Ballet of Los Angeles, Media City Ballet, Louise Reichlin and Dancers and Chattanooga Ballet. Ms. Rosa-Taylor was also featured as the Bluebird in Disney’s Snow White, an Enchanting Musical at Disneyland. As a choreographer Mrs. Rosa-Taylor has been a guest choreographer throughout the US. As a dance educator, Ms. Rosa-Taylor is currently an ABT Certified Teacher for levels Primary- 7 and has received the distinction of ABT NTC Fellow.

  • Mariaelena Ruiz — recipient of the 2019 Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) NYC Finals Outstanding Teacher Award— was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where she trained under Nina Novak, Prima Ballerina of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

    At just 14, she became the youngest member of Ballet Nacional de Caracas under Vicente Nebrada. She soon earned 3rd place in the Junior Division at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson and a full scholarship to the School of American Ballet in New York. Additional accolades followed, including the Best Couple Award and 3rd place in the Senior Division at the Varna International Ballet Competition, and a prize at the Prix Volinine in Paris.

    Over the next seven years, Mariaelena performed principal roles with Bay Ballet Theater, Cleveland San Jose Ballet, and Ballet Hispánico, and appeared as a guest artist across the U.S. and Europe. From 2000–2006, she danced an extensive Balanchine repertoire with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, performing at the Kennedy Center and on tour internationally.

    Mariaelena began teaching at The Rock School for Dance Education in 2000, becoming full-time Ballet Master in 2006 and training many of today’s top ballet talents. In 2015, she and her husband became part-owners of Cary Ballet Conservatory, where she launched the Professional Training Program and was named Artistic Director of Cary Ballet Company. Under her direction, the Conservatory has earned national acclaim, including Outstanding School awards from YAGP in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and ADC|IBC in 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024 and 2025, features in Dance Magazine and Pointe Magazine, and Mariaelena’s own cover story in Dance Teacher Magazine.

    A sought-after guest teacher and judge, she has served on panels for YAGP and the New York International Ballet Competition, appeared in the award-winning documentary First Position, and was featured in WHYY Philadelphia’s 2009 documentary on the Curtis Institute of Music and Rock School collaboration. In 2016, she received the Outstanding Teacher Award at ADC|IBC.

    Her coaching has produced medalists at major international competitions, including Moscow IBC, USA IBC in Jackson, Boston IBC, Prix de Lausanne, YAGP, and ADC|IBC. Her students dance with leading companies worldwide, such as the National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre, Het Nationale Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, New York City Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ballet West, Washington Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet, and on Broadway.

    As Artistic Director of Cary Ballet Company, Mariaelena has staged a sold-out full-length Nutcracker annually since 2016, introduced one-hour narrated Nutcracker mini-shows, brought acclaimed choreographers to Spring Works productions, and choreographed or adapted classical favorites including Le Corsaire, La Bayadère, and Don Quixote. Under her leadership, Cary Ballet Conservatory dancers have been invited to the Prix de Lausanne in 2021, 2023, and 2024 — with a silver medal win in 2025.

  • Kaylin Carrera holds a degree in Dance Education from SUNY Brockport, where she studied modern and contemporary technique under renowned modern dance pioneer Bill Evans. During her studies, she explored kinesiology and anatomy in depth, examining their relationship to movement efficiency, injury prevention, and expressive range. She brings this wealth of knowledge into her teaching, creating a holistic approach that blends artistry with an informed understanding of the body.

    She currently serves as contemporary faculty for The Sarasota Ballet’s Margaret Barbieri Conservatory and Trainee Program, under the direction of Christopher Hird and Dierdre Miles Burger. In this role, training students from across the country, she brings a contemporary voice into a ballet-based environment, expanding dancers’ range of movement and artistic expression.

    Passionate about both teaching and choreography, Kaylin creates works that blend emotional honesty with refined physicality, offering dancers a platform to explore vulnerability, precision, and transformation. Her choreography and coaching have received national and international acclaim, garnering first-place honors and the prestigious Grand Prix Award at Youth America Grand Prix.

    In addition to her conservatory work, Kaylin is committed to arts accessibility through Sarasota Ballet’s Dance – Next Generation, a tuition-free program for dancers from underserved communities. She uses this platform to mentor young students and foster creative empowerment through movement.

  • Rex Tilton is the Artistic Director of artÉmotion. He is a former Principal dancer with Ballet West and danced with the company from 2008-2022. He was a featured cast member on seasons 1 & 2 of the CW Docu-series Breaking Pointe. He has been featured in issues of Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit Magazine, and Pointe Magazine.. He shared the cover of Dance Teacher Magazine, February 2018, with Allison DeBona. He was also the model for the August 2015 Grishko Pointe shoe ad featured in Pointe Magazine. Additional accolades include producing the ‘I Am Your Friend’ Benefit Dance Performance alongside Allison DeBona, June 2015, to benefit the non-profit organization Fahodie for Friends.  He attended the Pacific Northwest Ballet Professional Division program on scholarship, one year, before getting his job at Ballet West. Additional training includes School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He grew up under the artistic direction of former Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal, Ben Houk, and Pacific Northwest Ballet Soloist, Lauri-Michelle Houk, at San Elijo Dance and Music Academy. In 2020, he was named a Nikolay Brand Ambassador.

    Rex Tilton is currently an Adjunct Instructor for the University of Utah's School of Dance.

  • Christopher Anderson trained as a student under the tutelage of Marika Besabrasova at the Academie de Danse de Princess Grace. He also trained at North Carolina School of the Arts and finished his training at San Francisco Ballet School, under the guidance of Richard Cammack and Anatole Vilzak. He joined San Francisco Ballet where he had an illustrious 16-year career as a Soloist, working with and performing works by William Forsythe, David Bintley, Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine, and Mark Morris to name a few. Christopher went on to dance as an International Guest Artist before finishing his dance career as a Principal Dancer with Alberta Ballet. After retiring, he continued his lifelong journey with ballet as a full-time faculty member of Boston Ballet School for 16 years, honing and developing his pedagogical skills before joining the Ballet RI team. At Ballet RI Christopher continues to share his passion for Ballet as an Artistic Coach, Director of SDI and as Principal of the Core Division of the School of Ballet RI.

  • Raymond Rodriguez is the Dean of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. He began his dance journey at the age of six, attended the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan and trained in classical ballet at the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) School on a full scholarship. Rodriguez later joined ABT as an apprentice before joining the Cleveland Ballet (Ballet San Jose), where he became a principal dancer and later took on the roles of rehearsal assistant, répétiteur, regisseur, principal ballet master, associate artistic director and managing director.

    In 2016, Rodriguez relocated to Chicago to join the Joffrey Ballet as Head of the Studio Company and Ballet Trainee Program.  In 2019 he was promoted to Academy Director.  Under his leadership, the Joffrey Academy of Dance enjoyed many accomplishments, including the expansion of new studio space and presence in the South Loop neighborhood, a newly created Contemporary Ballet Trainee Program, the launch of Rita Finds Home -a new family-friendly ballet and the creation of the BIPOC Academy Committee (BAC) to help parents and school leaders better support students of color. His tenure saw many Academy students promoted into the Joffrey Ballet Company and others who accepted contracts with ballet companies worldwide.

    Throughout his career as a principal dancer, he performed many diverse and challenging roles and successfully staged numerous ballet productions worldwide. He has appeared in various films and television shows and he is a current judge and Master Teacher for the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP). Rodriguez also serves on the advisory board of the national dance publication Pointe Magazine and served as co-chair of Dance/USA’s school director’s affinity group.

    Rodriguez is an ABT-certified teacher and an international guest instructor. In 2018, Rodriguez earned an MFA in Dance from Hollins University. He is the founding co-artistic director of Pointe of Departure, Cleveland’s classical ballet company. Some of the awards he has won include an Isadora Duncan Award (Izzie), Crain’s Chicago Business Notable LGBTQ Executive and the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture’s Outstanding Achievement in the Arts award.

  • Bernadette Mirentxu Torres grew up in San Diego, California, and began her ballet
    studies at the age of six. She attended intensives at American Ballet Theatre- New York,
    Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet where she was offered a year-round scholarship,
    and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Additionally, she was offered a trainee position with
    the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. As a pre-professional, Ms. Torres competed in the Youth
    America Grand Prix, attending the New York Finals and the World Ballet Competition
    attending the Orlando Finals.

    At the age of 17, she received her first company contract with the San Diego Ballet and
    rose through the ranks to Principal by the age of 22 with the California Ballet. In her first
    year as a professional, Ms. Torres was approached by the Artistic Director to begin
    teaching in the school due to her keen eye for detail and technical understanding. This is
    where she discovered her passion and curiosity for teaching.

    Wanting to explore more, as a dancer, she transitioned to being a freelance artist where
    she traveled and worked with many international directors, choreographers, and artists.
    She performed in several international galas within the United States and Europe,
    receiving the “Riconoscimento al Talento” and the “Riconoscimento alla Carriera” awards
    in Italy. She was a dancer, dance captain, and assistant choreographer with the San
    Diego Opera, working with the company for over 10 years in the operas Tannhauser,
    Aida, Romeo and Juliet, Rigoletto, Turandot, Samson and Deliah, Ballo, Don Quixote, La
    Traviata, and La Cenerentola.

    While building her reputation as an artist, she was also building her reputation as an
    instructor known for her care of each individual dancer, attention to detail, technical
    expertise, communication skills, adaptability, patience, and command of the studio. In
    addition, Ms. Torres has choreographed several original works, both classical and
    contemporary, for various dance companies and schools. She has been a guest judge in
    Italy and the USA for competitions and performance casting. Ms. Torres has also enjoyed
    being a guest master teacher for schools, summer intensives, and companies.
    Ms. Torres opened her first business, Happy Hour Pilates and Wellness in January 2020.
    Her passion for Pilates, anatomy, and helping people from all walks of life feel better was
    her driver for opening her doors. In September 2020, after years of teaching ballet, she
    opened her second business, the Torres Di Dio Ballet Program (TDBP). As the Artistic
    Director of TDBP she created a program intent to meet the needs of students and parents
    seeking quality education, in a more personalized environment. Emphasizing technique,
    artistry, anatomy, dance history, and the business of dance, Ms. Torres’ students and
    program earned recognition in the city of San Diego as being a school with excellent
    technique, a true focus on the student as an individual, and equipped with an innovative
    business strategy. Her students have placed at major competitions, earned year-round
    and summer intensive scholarships at prestigious schools, and have obtained spots in
    BFA programs nationally.

    An avid supporter of continuing education, Ms. Torres holds an AA in Accounting with
    Honors from Southwestern College and a BS in Business Administration-Management
    from San Diego State University. Additionally, she hold certifications in the Progressing
    Ballet Technique, the Royal Ballet School Teacher Training- Continuing Education
    Webinars, BASI Pilates, BASI Pilates Masters, Pilates for Dancers, Pilates for Pregnancy
    and Beyond, Pilates for Injuries and Pathologies, and NASM-CPT. Annually, Ms. Torres
    attends conferences in Pilates, Dance, and Business as she believes education and
    continuous growth are lifelong practices.

    Bernadette Torres is elated to join the Colorado Ballet Academy Team and to help shape
    the next generation of artists.