Summer Intensive Daily Schedule˚

˚ Schedule subject to change

Alameda location:

Alameda Ballet Academy
1402 Park St.
Alameda, CA 94501

Hayward location:

Ballet Petit
2501 Industrial Pkwy W
Hayward, CA 94545

Each week will feature repertoire and choreography from different ballets:

July 10 – 14 (Alameda) Sleeping Beauty
July 17 – 21 (Alameda & Hayward) Coppelia
July 24 – 28 (Hayward) Sleeping Beauty

Choreography sessions provide the opportunity to explore their own creativity as they create their own dances with guidance from the faculty.

2023 Faculty

Lawrence Chen

(7/17 – 7/29 Ballet Petit)

Lawrence Chen (he/him)  grew up in Southern California, studying ballet under the care of Victor and Tatiana Kasatsky from the age of thirteen. He went on to compete in the YAGP, placing in the Top 12 Pas De Deux in the New York Finals of 2014 as well as in the Top 3 soloist at regional venues for several years. At Pomona College, Lawrence obtained a BA in chemistry with mathematics, took on collegiate ballroom, and performed as a principal dancer for the Inland Pacific Ballet under the watchful eye of Victoria Koenig. Lawrence currently works at a biotech company, tutors high school STEM subjects, and performs with Oakland Ballet Company. At OBC, he has performed in Graham Lustig’s Luna Mexicana as the deer and The Nutcracker in the title role. Lawrence has also been featured in various works created by several choreographers, including Caili Quan, Megan and Shannon Kurashige, and Phil Chan, a co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface. This is Lawrence’s second season with the Oakland Ballet.

Karina Eimon

(7/17 – 21 Alameda)

Karina Eimon (she/her) is from the Bay Area and trained with Ayako School of Ballet. Under the tutelage of Ayako Takahashi, she placed in the top three of YAGP SF for five consecutive years. In 2014 during her senior year of high school, she was invited to compete in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, where she was offered a trainee contract with Ballet Memphis. From there, she joined Milwaukee Ballet II then danced with Colorado Ballet. She joined Oakland Ballet in 2019 and has since performed works such as Jangala, Luna Mexicana, and Nutcracker by Graham Lustig and Ballet des Porcelaines by Phil Chan. She is also a ballet teacher and certified GYROTONIC® instructor, and is very passionate about sharing her love of dance and movement.

Jazmine Quezada

(7/10 – 14 Alameda, 7/17 – 29 Ballet Petit)

Jazmine Quezada (she/her) is from Ventura County, California where she began her ballet training at age 11 with Ventura County Ballet and was the first to receive the Ron Noblin Full Scholarship Award. Jazmine attended American Ballet Theater’s New York summer intensive in 2011 and was accepted to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT that same year. She then attended the Joffrey Chicago International summer dance intensive on full scholarship and in 2016 she moved to San Francisco to continue her training on scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet School. With the San Francisco Ballet, she performed in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and danced the leading role of Grace in Helgi Tomasson’s Meisten Mozart. With the Oakland Ballet, she has performed the role of Luna in Luna Mexicana, the Monkey Queen in Jangala, the Sugar Plum Fairy in Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker, created roles in works by Caili Quan, and Megan and Shannon Kurashige, and the dance films In Plain Sight and What I See. This is Jazmine’s fourth season with the Oakland Ballet Company.

Nicole Townsend

(7/10 – 21 Alameda)

Nicole Townsend (she/her) was born in San Jose, California. She began dancing at age 2 and began formal ballet training at Ballet San Jose at age 7. Her training continued at City Ballet School in San Francisco. Awarded a scholarship to the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) 2019 summer intensive, Nicole was subsequently accepted into their Professional Division Program. While there, she had the opportunity to perform with the company in Spanish, Chinese, Grandma, Snow, and Flowers in The Nutcracker. As a member of the Kansas City Ballet Second Company (KCBII), she performed Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker, Michael Pink’s Dracula and Septime Webre’s Wizard of Oz. She was awarded a full scholarship to Paris Opera Ballet 2020 summer intensive, was a recipient of the American Friends of Paris Opera Ballet Scholarship, and studied at the Dutch National Summer Program in Amsterdam. This is Nicole’s first season with the Oakland Ballet Company.