Elias Herrera Garcia
Elias Garcia was born in Spain and studied at Rosella Hightower in Cannes and with Maria de Avila in Spain. He joined the National Ballet of the Saragoza, Balletto di Montecarlo, and the Ballet du Nord. In these prestigious companies he danced solo roles with choreography by George Balanchine, Roland Petit, Anthony Tudor, John Cranko, Willliam Forsythe, Uwe Scholz, M. Marin, Leonide Massine, Mikael Fokine, Petipa…
He later became Ballet Master of Ballet National de Lyon and Ballet du Nord. Elias gained the Paris Opera Ballet School Teaching Diploma and has guest taught around the world.
Elias founded one of the most highly regarded and innovative international summer schools, IBStage, attracting teachers and dancers from around the world.
In 2016 Elias founded the Ballet de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Victor Zarallo
Originally from Barcelona, Victor began competing in Ballroom Dancing from the age of nine, and was awarded Spanish National Champion at age fourteen. At the age of fifteen years Victor began studying Ballet at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, Germany, before joining the Royal Ballet School in London, England, where he graduated in 2008.
Victor joined the Scottish Ballet in 2008 and was promoted to soloist in 2014. During this time Victor danced in Cinderella (The Prince) choreographer Christopher Hampson, Swan Lake (The Prince) choreographer David Dawson, Peirrot Lunaire choreographer Glen Tetley, Jiri Kylian 1420, and The Five Tangos choreographer Hans van Manen, amongst others.
Victor moved to Australia and joined Sydney Dance Company in 2018. His first performance with the Company was Frame of Mind, Lux Tenebris and Wildebeest as part of the 2018 Europe Tour.
Simonne Smiles
Simonne began her training in classical ballet in Queensland with Inara Svalbe and Mary Heath, before moving to Melbourne to train at The Australian Ballet School.
Simonne has worked professionally in Australia and overseas with companies such as Queensland Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, Bondi Ballet, Ballett des Nordhazer Stadtstheater and Melbourne Ballet Company also spending a year freelancing across China.
After retiring from the stage Simonne has become a specialist Pilates Instructor for dancers under the guidance of The Australian Ballet Body Conditioning Specialist, Paula Baird Colt. She uses Pilates as a Conditioning and Rehabilitation tool for the body and mind, and seeks to help dancers better understand their body and how to improve their technique - leading to a longer dancing career.
Wanda Wojtulewicz-Levine
B Sc Arch (Hons), B Arch (Hons)
Wanda has a uniquely broad range of knowledge in National and Character Dance, with more than 25 years teaching experience, and has directed major dance events for over 10 years at the Sydney Opera House as Assistant Director of the National Folkloric Festival and Artistic Director of the Festival of Cultures.
Her education was grounded in the Russian Moiseyev style, and most of her teachers came through its rigorous training and tradition. She has studied dance at prestigious institutes in Moscow, and the repertoire she teaches includes character and national dance from many cultures.
She has taught extensively in ballet schools, tertiary institutions and for performance groups, and has had guest engagements for WAAPA, the Royal Academy of Dance, the Cecchetti Society, Ausdance, NIDA, and the University of Natalia Nesterova (Moscow). She has choreographed for productions by Kim Carpenter’s Theatre of Image and Sport for Jove. Wanda was a regular adjudicator of the World Dance sections for Sydney Eisteddfod and is a Trustee of the Guillermo Keys-Arenas Dance Trust.