The YBM Team

YOUTH BALLET MASTERS WAS FOUNDED BY ENTON HOXHA & MARIA TIKHOMIROVA AND IS SPONSORED BY ART-E FOUNDATION.

The mission of Youth Ballet Masters is to provide a professional, supportive and exciting competitive environment that strengthens technique and helps support classical and contemporary dancers achieve their goals.

YBM caters to ages ranging from 6-21, starting in the Youth Division and extending to the Senior Division. Whether a dancer hopes to win a scholarship or wants to gain recognition within their present company, we strive to help young competitors in a myriad of ways.

FOUNDERS

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  • Maria Tikhomirova was born in Moscow and was trained at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. In 2006, Ms. Tikhomirova received a PhD degree with high honors from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy as Choreographer/Master Ballet Teacher in Classical Dance, and the Vaganova method. She was under the direction of legendary Choreographer and Professor Yuri Grigorovich.

    As a Principal and First soloist Maria toured all around the world with the Ballet Company’s (Bolshoi, Moscow Classical Ballet) and judged Ballet competitions in Russia.

  • Enton Hoxha was born in Tirane, Albania and started his dance education at the National Ballet Academy in Albania. At age 15 Enton was invited by the Russian Embassy to continue his studies at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia with legendary dancers and teachers: Mikhail Lavrovsky, Leonid Jdanov, Nikolay Dorohov, Mikhail Mineev, and Nikolay Tikhomirov.

    Mr. Hoxha graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy with a Master's degree and danced as a Principal and First soloist with the Ballet Company's (Bolshoi, Moscow Classical Ballet, Metropolitan, State Street Ballet) and toured all around the world.

    In 2013 Maria and Enton opened up the RUSSIAN CLASSICAL BALLET ACADEMY.

OUR JUDGES

YBM has been honored to host esteemed judges who are some of the most interesting and innovative educators, teachers and choreographers of our time. 

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  • Is the Rehearsal Director, and former Soloist with Los Angeles Ballet.

    Laura received her dance education at Miami City Ballet School, North Carolina School of the Arts and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet before joining The Washington Ballet in DC in 2011. She joined Los Angeles Ballet in 2014 and immediately fell in love with the company and the city. She danced as a Soloist for nine seasons and recently transitioned in the role of Rehearsal Director & Director of Education Programs. Laura also oversees the children performing in Los Angeles Ballet's "The Nutcracker." During her time as a dancer, Laura served as LAB’s Outreach Coordinator and helped to grow the company’s outreach programs. She is a passionate educator, and hopes to bring the joy of dance to dancers of all ages and skill levels. Laura is a faculty member at Westside School of Ballet, California Dance Theatre, and also a certified Pilates Trainer at Karen Lord Pilates Movement.

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  • Part of the reputable panel of judges at Youth American Grand Prix, Mr Carayol's extensive knowledge in ballet schools, techniques and styles and his attentive eye for detail makes him a desirable international master teacher, coach and judge. With his guidance, his students have placed at the top 3 positions at YAGP finals for several years.

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  • Rehearsal Director, was born in Russia and graduated with distinction from Perm State College of Choreography in Russia. In 1990, she was admitted to the Moscow State Theatre Kremlin Ballet, where she worked with the renowned Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova. She has performed roles in all of the famous classical ballets and has toured internationally with the Russian Imperial Ballet, Moscow Classical Ballet, and the Moscow Festival Ballet.

    Fliagina joined State Street Ballet as a dancer in 1998 and was promoted to Rehearsal Director in 2000. In addition to her duties as Rehearsal Director, she continues to appear in character roles such as the Stepmother in Cinderella and the Nurse Maid in Romeo and Juliet

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  • 5x International Ballet Award Winner. Including audience choice and best performer. The founding director of his company Dance For Humanity was a company member with the American Ballet Theatre II In New York, The Royal Ballet in London and The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. Aaron was an original cast member in London's West End production of An American In Paris, and he recently played the role of the Snow Cavalier in Disney’s The Nutcracker in the Four Realms feature film dancing with Misty Copeland.

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  • Jason is a deeply passionate dance educator based in Los Angeles, CA.

    His eye for detail, masterful understanding of technique, innovative

    choreography and ability to extract organic, thoughtful performance

    continues to attract dancers form around the country to work with him. He

    holds a Master’s in Fine Arts Degree in Dance from Southern Methodist

    University which he attended on full artistic scholarship as well as a

    Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Musical Theatre from Elon University’s

    Professional Training Program. His choreographic accolades are

    numerous. They include recognition from Regional Dance America, Youth

    America Grand Prix, Dance Masters of America, as well as many other

    dance competitions, conventions and organizations. His work has also

    been featured at the Anaheim International Dance Festival and

    International Ballet Festival Miami.

    Nationally and internationally, Jason continues to teach master classes,

    choreograph at conventions, studios, universities and dance festivals. His

    students are consistently accepted into the most prestigious summer,

    university and year round dance programs on scholarship. As a performer

    Jason has been seen in over twenty regional theatrical productions

    including the Broadway National Tour of Kiss Me Kate. As a singer he has

    shared the stage with Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Jo-Dee Messina, Norm Lewis

    and David Foster. Jason is entering his 10th season as the Director of

    Burbank Dance Academy in Los Angeles which under his leadership has

    been ranked in a list of the most prestigious 5% of ballet academies in the

    United States by affiliated researches at Northeastern, Northwestern,

    Harvard Medical and University of Virginia. He is a member of the Screen

    Actors Guid, Actors Equity Association, Dance Masters of America and

    Dance Educators of America. You can follow him on instagram

    @jasoncoosner

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  • Founder and Artistic Director of Dance Channel TV Ballet Academy. Arsen Serobian, a graduate of Moscow Choreographic Academy, created his selective unparalleled academy program to train and to guide the promising ballet student towards a professional career.

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  • Dani Vitale was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio; and started dancing at a young age. Dance was her life all throughout her childhood, dancing competitively and performing/studying with world-renowned ballet companies such as The Kirov and Pennsylvania Ballet. In high school, Dani founded her school's Dance Team that is still alive today. While training the Cleveland Cavalier dancers, Dani began to study in Los Angeles. She moved to LA at 18 years old to pursue a professional dance career. She was awarded a scholarship to study at the EDGE Performing Arts Center in Hollywood. Upon graduating, Dani started touring the world back up dancing for several top artists. She has performed on countless award shows and television series. After a decade of being a top working dancer, Dani began to be sought out as a Choreographer and Creative Director. With her extreme knowledge in the performance space, she started Choreographing and Creative Directing world tours, numerous award show performances, TV appearances and music videos for a variety of artists. She has now accumulated many years of knowledge in front of and behind the camera that she takes into work every day still choreographing, creative directing and producing.

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  • Jade Hale - Christofi is British, American, and Cypriot Greek who began dancing at age five and grew up in North London. He trained at the Urdang Academy in London before becoming a Junior Associate of The Royal Ballet School. He joined the Royal ballet School White Lodge and graduated Upper School in 2006. As soon as he became a professional ballet dancer he moved to France and joined the National Ballet Du Rhin in 2006, Ballet Black in London 2008, NBA Ballet Japan 2011, The National Ballet Of Ireland 2013 and the English National Ballet 2014. During his ballet career Jade performed for the Royal Family at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. In 2012 he was asked to dance in a privet performance for Her Majesty The Queen and in 2011he danced for Michelle Obama at the Royal Opera House in London.

    Jade goes between London and Los Angeles to train at the Actors Studio west in Hollywood 2015. Since being in LA Jade has been working with David LaChapelle on Queen and Michael Jackson's music video "There Must Be More To Life Then This" that he was in and Co Choreographed with Sergei Polunin. He then Choreographed his own piece "Take Me To Church" by Hozier for David LaChapelle and Sergei Polunin.

    In 2016 Jade Choreographed The Dream directed by Javiera Estrada as well as danced in the piece. In 2017 Jade Directed and Choreographed his second Dance video, Surprise Your Self starring Kyle Allen, set to be released late 2018. In 2018 he created his own production company that has started working on its first major production The Human Monastery, set to be released 2018-2019. At the same time Jade has been judging the YAGP and the World Choreography Award to help guide the world of dance into the future.

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  • After being promoted to Prima ballerina at La Scala in Milan at the age of 23, Petra Conti joined the Boston Ballet as a Principal Dancer in 2013. Now, after surviving a life-threatening disease, she has moved to California, dances with the Los Angeles Ballet, and travels around the world as a free-lance Principal Dancer.
She has quickly become a very influential artist on social media, inspiring thousands of followers and creating a refreshing "ballet momentum". Vogue.com has featured Petra amongst the Best Beauty Instagram’s of the week (December 16, 2018).
Her personal story inspires hundreds of people every day. Petra Conti's name has become a symbol of strength, grace, perseverance, courage, passion, and love.
Follow her world-wide travels, and her daily ballerina life on her Instagram account @petraconti

    Petra Conti is an internationally renowned Principal Dancer and is a Principal Dancer with the Los Angeles Ballet. She was a Principal Dancer with the Boston Ballet from 2013 to 2017.
Before moving to the U.S., Conti held the permanent position of Prima Ballerina at La Scala in Milan (Italy).

    Petra Conti was born in Italy in 1988 from an Italian father and a Polish mother.
She graduated with honors from the National Academy of Dance in Rome in 2006.
At the age of 17 Conti had been invited by the Arena di Verona Ballet as an étoile guest to perform her first full length ballet, Cinderella.

    Conti is married to International Principal Dancer Eris Nezha and is currently earning her bachelor’s degree in Science of Leadership at Northeastern University.

Because of her international fame, she has been asked to become the Artistic Consultant for the Liceo Coreutico-- Educandato "agli Angeli" in Verona, Italy.

    
Conti has been acclaimed for her artistry and stage presence, and according to the most important Cuban ballet critics and aficionados, Conti has brought back to Cuba the greatest Italian Ballet. Which has been missing since the days Carla Fracci last performed in Havana.

In the Spring of 2019 Miss Conti was invited by the Great Russian Ballet to perform the title role of Giselle for 13 shows all around Canada. Conti has been acclaimed and greatly appreciated for her artistry and technical excellence by the Canadian audience.

Alongside Conductor Daniel Suk and his Dream Orchestra, Petra Conti starred in I'M GONNA LIVE FOREVER, an original show that unites the beauty of performing arts (dance, live music and vocals) to create an evening of pure artistry and unforgettable emotions.

    On May 18th, 2019, the first ever PETRA CONTI SHOW premiered in Downtown Los Angeles. The performance generated so much momentum and success on its debut night, that the next Petra Conti Show has already entered the list of one of the most awaited shows of 2020 in LA!

    
In February 2020 the popular media-channel Freeda, in collaboration with the brand Furla, produced a video about Miss Conti called My Life as Petra Conti.

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  • Eris Nezha is a former Principal Dancer with the Boston Ballet and with the La Scala Theatre in Milan, Italy.  Eris was born in Tirana, Albania and is currently a Principal Dancer with Los Angeles Ballet. 

    He graduated from Teatro alla Scala Ballet School (Milan, Italy) in 2002, and immediately joined La Scala Ballet Company, where he later was promoted to Principal Dancer.  In 2013 he accepted the offer to become a Principal Dancer with the Boston Ballet and moved to the U.S. 

    Mr. Nezha’s biggest passion is coaching. He is the personal coach of international principal dancer Petra Conti and is a ballet coach and mentor to some of the most promising male dancers of this generation. 

     He has been invited as the official Ballet Master for the Roberto Bolle & friends Summer Tour 2014 and is a part of the faculty at the Los Angeles Ballet School. 

    Nezha is regularly invited to perform around the world as a guest principal dancer and has danced with famous ballerinas including Svetlana Zakharova, Natalia Osipova, Polina  Semionova, Evgenia Obraztsova, Alina Somova, Ana Sophia Scheller, and Eleonora  Abbagnato.

    As a star guest, Mr. Nezha has performed in some of the most renowned theaters in the world, like the Staatsballett in Berlin, the Kremlin, the Dolby Theatre, the Arena of Verona, the Bolshoi  Theatre, the Operas of Muscat, Kiev, San Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Ekaterinburg, Zagreb, Tirana,  Rome, Naples, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Toronto, Montreal, Fukuoka, etc.

    In 2019 he was the Principal Dancer of the Great Russian Ballet, performing Giselle all across Canada. 

    He has been the main choreographer, artistic director and producer of “I’m gonna live forever,” a collaboration between Dream Orchestra and Petra Conti that will be presented this year at the famous Disney Concert Hall.

    He is the winner of famous prizes such as the Premio Positano 2018, Premio Capri 2017 and the Best Dancer of the Year 2011.  

    He also danced in numerous international galas and festivals including: 

    • Global Ballet Holiday( Moscow 2019)

    • Kremlin Gala - Stars of the XXI Century (Moscow-Kremlin, 2015) 

    • Les fleurs de ballet - (Toronto, Canada 2018)

    • Roberto Bolle and Friends Summer Tour (Italy, 2014) 

    • Spring & Winter Gala (Russia, 2012, 2013)

    • Gala des Etoiles (Brazil, 2012)

    • Les Hivernales de la Danse (Belgium, 2013)

    • Gala des Etoiles (La Scala, 2011)

    • The 150th anniversary of Unità d'Italia (Roma, 2011) 

    He is also the husband and stage partner of Prima Ballerina Petra Conti. 

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  • Seda Aybay is an artistic director and choreographer of Kybele Dance Theatre and has completed a residency at USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Cal State Fresno and is a recipient of the Marcus Residency at Washington University in St. Louis. Seda has choreographed and/or taught for NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Santa Monica College, Notre Dame Academy, Cerritos College, Pierce College, and LACSA, to name a few. She has choreographed/performed at the Staples Center four times and for commercial and music videos in both the US and Turkey. Seda was featured on KCAL channel 9, Univision Kmex34, and twice on Fox 11 News with her unique global perspective and eclectic dance background. Before starting her own company, Seda performed with Ney Nava Dance, Praxis Project, Lion's Pounce Theater, Lula Washington Dance Theater, Megan and Jeffrey Hornaday, Kin Dance, Bethune Theatre Danse, Paradigm Dance Theater and many others.

    Seda is currently producing new works for Kybele Dance Theater alongside teaching modern dance classes at Santa Monica College as an Adjunct Professor. She also teaches intensives and choreography for Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Seda opened classes at Danceline LA and various master classes. Additionally, she prepares young students for Spotlight, Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), Elite dance competitions as well as college dance auditions with both training as well as original choreography. Her students have been invited to perform her work numerous times at YAGP finals in New York and won first place in Elite Dance resulting in her student’s receiving scholarships for various distinguished schools and intensive programs such as Alvin Ailey, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Netherlands Dans and more.

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  • Leila Drake is from Santa Cruz, CA, and graduated from UC-Santa Barbara with a double major in Art History and Film Studies. She joined State Street Ballet in 2005 and performed in nearly every production in the company’s repertoire, including the principal roles in Carmen, An American Tango, Carmina Burana, Appalachian Spring, and Scheherazade. Leila was a featured soloist in works by Robert Battle, Nancy Colahan, Autumn Eckman, William Soleau, Josie Walsh, and Edgar Zendejas. She appeared as a principal Guest Artist with The Ithaca Ballet in their full-length Swan Lake and has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. She was the recipient of the 2016 Apogee Award for Excellence in Dance Performance and also received the Indy Dance Award for “Best Duet” for Arabian in The Nutcracker. Leila retired from the stage in 2018, transitioning into new roles within the company’s leadership.

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  • Former company member of Dresden SemperOper Ballet. Brittany is currently on tour as a Guest Artist with Andrea Bocelli and Grammy award winning Flamenco Guitarist, Benise. She also works with YAGP as a Master Teacher and Judge and can be seen performing internationally at Gala's and private events. Brittany can also be seen in the upcoming feature film 'Be The Light' acting in her first principle role.

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  • of Long Beach, CA, trained at the Orange County High School of the Arts and studied at the Alvin Ailey School in the Certificate program. In 2011 he graduated from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University of California. Montgomery was awarded the American College Dance Festival Association’s Best Student Performer award for the Southwest Region in 2008. In 2010, he joined LINES Ballet and was named a Shenson Performing Arts Fellow that same year. Montgomery was named to the list of “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2013.