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Our Faculty, Musicians & StaffOur Team
Meet our Faculty
Charlie Martin
Charlie Martin (they/them) trained at the Western Oklahoma Ballet Academy and studied on scholarship at ABT and Joffrey Ballet School’s Summer Intensives. Charlie then danced professionally with Kansas City Ballet for 11 seasons, performing leading roles in works by Twyla Tharp, José Limón, Val Caniparoli, and George Balanchine, among others. They also danced with Robin Dekkers’ Post: Ballet in San Francisco, Owen/Cox Dance Group in Kansas City, Remix touring Austria, and Oklahoma City Ballet. Martin’s choreography has been performed by Kansas City Ballet, Central Oklahoma Ballet Theatre, and Quixotic Fusion, to name a few. Charlie is also a repetiteur, staging works for professional companies, including work by Val Caniparoli and Penny Saunders. Previously, Mx. Martin was on faculty for the Oklahoma City Ballet Yvonne Chouteau School and Askew Ballet Academy, in addition to guest teaching for many schools and pre-professional companies. Charlie Martin is an ABT® Certified Teacher in Pre-Primary through Level 5, and is thrilled to join the Faculty at Marin Ballet.
Charlie Martin
Assistant School Manager
Catherine Hader
A graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School, Catherine began her professional career with The National Ballet of Canada under Artistic Director Erik Bruhn. She went on to a successful dance and film career in Los Angeles that included five film industry awards as Co-Producer of the dance documentary An Improbable Dream. In 2013-2019, she was on the faculty for the Pre-Professional program at the School of Ballet Arizona and also coordinator for the National Honors Society for Dance Arts Chapter at Arizona School for the Arts. In addition to her dance and film career, Catherine is a certified yoga instructor, bringing an emphasis on health and wellness to her teaching. Catherine is in her 7th year at Marin Ballet.
Catherine Hader
Director of Marin Ballet
Corinne Jonas
Corinne Jonas received her training at Marin Ballet and danced professionally with the Houston Ballet and Diablo Ballet, performing principal and soloist roles in ballets by George Balanchine, classical and contemporary works, and roles created for her. Ms. Jonas worked with esteemed artists such as Dame Margot Fonteyn, Sir Kenneth Macmillian, Ben Stevenson and Paul Taylor and was featured in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. Ms. Jonas directed Berkeley Ballet Theater until joining Marin Ballet’s faculty in 2006.
Corinne Jonas
Artistic Administrator & Community Engagement
Julia Adam
Julia trained with the National Ballet School in Toronto, and upon graduation in 1983, spent five years with the National Ballet of Canada, and then joined the San Francisco Ballet in 1988, becoming a principal dancer in 1996. Upon retiring from the stage in 2002, Ms. Adam quickly gained recognition as one of the dance world’s rising talents in choreography. Ms. Adam has been featured in Dance Magazine, received the Isadora Duncan Award for Choreography, and currently directs her own dance company.
Julia Adam
Resident Choreographer
Erica Felsch
Erica received her professional training from North Carolina School of the Arts and the San Francisco Ballet’s Pre Professional Program. She performed in many company productions with SFB, and toured with the company in their production of “Don Quixote”. Erica went on to dance with Colorado Ballet in 2005. She also guested with various companies including Madison Ballet. She joined Ballet Arizona in 2008, and after four seasons with the company she joined Smuin Ballet. After 7 seasons with Smuin, Erica continues to dance as a freelance artist, and will teach and choreograph.
Erica Felsch
Advanced Faculty
XIAO LIU
Xiao was born in China and began her professional training at 11. She received her B.A. in Ballet Pedagogy from the Beijing Dance Academy and has won prizes in national and provincial dance competitions. She has taught ballet at Berkeley Ballet Theater, Marin Ballet, and Smuin Ballet.
Xiao Liu
Advanced Faculty
Dave Kato
David Kato trained at Marin Ballet and holds a B.A. in Dance from Dominican University. He danced professionally with Empire State Ballet in New York and has danced as a Guest Artist with many Bay Area companies including Oakland Ballet, Western Ballet, Berkeley Ballet Theater, and Margaret Wingrove Dance Company. He has taught technique, pas de deux, and boys’ training in schools throughout the Bay Area, and joined the MB faculty in 2003.
Dave Kato
Boys Training Faculty
Ana Jencek Dekleva
Ana Jencek Dekleva is a dedicated ballet teacher and choreographer with over a decade of experience inspiring young dancers. A graduate of the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, Ana began her professional career with Kjaras Dance Project, a contemporary ballet company. She further honed her skills at New York’s Peridance Center, earning a dance certification, and is a registered teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance. Ana also holds a BSc in Psychology with a focus on Sports Psychology and is currently pursuing a master's in dance education through the joint program between the Royal Academy of Dance and the University of Bath. Her teaching combines a deep love for dance with a commitment to fostering both technical precision and artistic expression. Ana is passionate about creating a supportive and inspiring environment where students can thrive artistically and personally.
Ana Jencek Dekleva
Freesia Bornstein
Freesia Bornstein started dancing at the age of 3 in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. When she was 14, she began training with artistic director Eddy Bray of Mainstage Academy of Dance and Bray Ballet in their pre professional program. A few years later, Freesia began teaching the intermediate ballet level at Mainstage. Upon graduating, Freesia then continued her training at the University of the Arts where she worked with choreographers such as Sidra Bell, Shayla Vie Jenkins, Jesse Zaritt, Micheal Sheridan and others. After two years at UArts, Freesia is now completing her degree at Dominican University through the LINES ballet BFA program.
Freesia Bornstein
Intermediate Ballet
Laurie Klein
Laurie celebrates her 50th year of teaching with Marin Ballet this year! Her association with the school started in the 1950’s when she trained with Marin Ballet’s founder, Leona Norman, and was a member of the original Marin Civic Ballet. After graduation, she joined Norbert Vesak’s Western Dance Theatre, performing in Canada and the northwest. Returning home, Laurie began teaching when Marin Ballet opened its new facility at 100 Elm. She currently teaches Level 2 and 3 students, as well as Beginning Ballet for Teens and Adults.
Laurie Klein
Pre-Ballet and Primary Division
Laura Skapik
Laura trained with Contra Costa Ballet, California Ballet and Oakland Ballet Academy. At age seventeen she joined the Oakland Ballet Company. After dancing with OBC she earned both a BA in Dance and an ABA-approved post-baccalaureate paralegal certificate from Saint Mary’s College of California. Laura has taught at Ballet Arts in Oakland and Oakland Ballet Academy. She is honored to be a part of Marin Ballet’s faculty since 2018.
Laura Skapik
Pre-Ballet and Primary Division
Esther Rose Daniels
Esther Rose danced at Marin Ballet from the very beginning Movement Exploration class through level 9. After graduating in 2021, she attended Gonzaga University as a dance major, among other academic endeavors. Throughout her undergraduate career, she leaned into all that Gonzaga Dance had to offer. This included countless performance opportunities (including performing alongside professional companies) to teaching Dance for Parkinson's and after school dance classes, to choreographing several works. This past May, Esther Rose graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. honors in Dance Performance and Pedagogy and a minor in Spanish.
Esther Rose Daniels
Damon Mahoney
Damon Mahoney began his performing career in the Bay Area in 2005 where he danced with a variety of companies including Savage Jazz Dance, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Moving Arts Dance, Los Angeles’ Luminario Ballet, San Diego Opera, and principal roles with Oakland Ballet, San Francisco Opera and Menlowe Ballet. Damon has taught ballet and Pilates for over ten years and loves to weave elements of the two together, with an emphasis on healthy technique, form and foundation.
Damon Mahoney
Int/Adv Open Faculty
David Justin
David Justin, most recently serving as Artistic Director of Ballet Wichita, David joins the Marin Ballet Advanced faculty after serving in academia for over 17 years. David has also been an interim ballet master and men’s program coordinator for Kansas City Ballet and was the founding Artistic Director of American Repertory Ensemble. Formerly a principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet, a soloist with San Francisco Ballet and beginning his career with Boston Ballet, David has toured the globe extensively. David’s dancing was described as “alluring and mercurial,” “polished,” “brilliant,” and “fearless.” David’s own critically acclaimed choreography has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Choreographic Institute (NYCB), Dance Gallery NYC, and American College Dance Association, to name a few. Reviews of his choreography describe it as “surprising,” “poetic,” “athletic,” “inventive,” and “intelligent.” David holds a master’s degree in dance in Education and the Community from the University of Birmingham, England.
David Justin
Marusya Madubuko
Originally from New York, NY, Marusya Madubuko began her pre-professional training at age 15 with Premiere Division Ballet under the tutelage of Nadege Hottier. In 2019, Miss Madubuko competed at the Royal Grand Prix in Italy, winning second place for her contemporary and classical solos. She has trained with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, the Royal Ballet School, and San Francisco Ballet School where she had the opportunity to dance repertoire including Helgi Tomasson’s Nutcracker and Cinderella, as well as George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2021, she participated in BalletUnleashed’s first creative project “Switchback”, working with renowned choreographer Cathy Marston to create a solo. Ms. Hader, Marin Ballet School Director, served as her personal rehearsal coach on the project. Miss Madubuko joined LINES Ballet in 2021 and has been dancing with the company since.
Marusya Madubuko
Meet our Administrative Staff
Alongside the artistic staff, the administrative management, led by Stephanie Taubert, Operations Manager and Registrar, and Kaneez Munjee, Marketing and Development Manager, oversee not only the day-to-day operations of the school and facility, but the marketing and fundraising efforts to support the continued success of Marin Ballet.
Stephanie Taubert
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Stephanie Taubert
Operations Manager and Registrar
Lauryn Smeester
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Lauryn Smeester
Kaneez Munjee
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Kaneez Munjee
Sara AbuShaban
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Sara AbuShaban
Meet the Board of Directors
The Marin Ballet board of trustees has been in continuous operation since 1963. Charged with ensuring the school’s fiscal security and governance, the board meets regularly, providing quarterly updates in Marin Ballet’s eNewsletter. The Board has recently completed a 3-year strategic plan.
We invite you to look this over and send any comments to our board president, Mona Steinberg.
Looking for a Faculty Member?
Musicians
Michiyo Grosz
Timothy K. Murphy
Staff
Catherine Hader, Director of Marin Ballet
Kaneez Munjee, Marketing and Development Manager
Julia Adam, Resident Choreographer
Stephanie Taubert, Operations Manager & Registrar
Corinne Jonas, Artistic Administrator & Community Engagement
Charlie Martin, Assistant School Manager
Sara AbuShaban, Marketing and Development Associate
Lauryn Smeester, Office Administrator and Volunteer Coordinator
Board Of Trustees
Mona Steinberg, President
Ann Elias, Vice President
Bahar Ozgur, Treasurer
Marielle Murphy Bos, Secretary
Joe Allanson
Alexandra Buldrini
Jennifer Henerlau
Stephanie Henerlau
Lauren Huff
April Oliver
Nancy Rekhopf
Ashish Sharma