Staff

Shery Gilbert, Artistic Director

Ms. Gilbert, began her training in Los Angeles at the Lichine Studio under the tutelage of Irena Kosmouska, later moving to Long Beach Ballet and eventually to the Orange County Ballet under the direction of Michael Panieff. While recovering from knee surgery, she obtained a BFA at the University of California, Irvine. It was there that she met Antony Tudor, the associate director of the American Ballet Theatre. Mr. Tudor became her mentor and changed the way she approached Classical Ballet. Ms. Gilbert became a member of Ballet Nacional de Panama. She continued to study with Jillana, former NYCB Principal and Wilhelm Burmann in New York City. In addition to founding Laguna Dance Theatre and Laguna Ballet, she continues to actively coach dancers of the New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet and Nevada Ballet Theatre. Ms. Gilbert is also a member of the caDance Advisory Board and sponsor of the caDance Festival 2005 & 2006.

Katherine Rochon-Thomas, Ballet

Katherine is an alumna of Laguna Ballet, where she trained under Shery Gilbert.  She continued her training at SAB, PNB, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Dallas Fort Worth as a scholarship student and trainee. Katherine developed an interest in The Pilates Method and studied and taught under Master teachers Diane Diefenderfer and Ron Fletcher. In addition to running FyneLine Body Conditioning, Katherine continued to teach and perform throughout Orange County and Colorado for Defores, Ballet Pacifica, The Crystal Cathedral and Belliston Ballet Academy. In 2015, Katherine returned to Laguna Dance Theatre as a teacher and choreographer; and currently directs The Sugar Plum Tea for Laguna Ballet.

Nicole Douglas- Ballet

Nicole grew up in Massachusetts and trained with Walnut Hill School for the Arts. She danced with Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company for two years performing in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, and Contemporary Repertoire. After recovering from a hip injury, she joined Ballet Magnificat’s trainee program in Jackson, Mississippi. In 2010 she began teaching in Massachusetts & Mississippi.  Nicole Joined LDT in 2017.

Sven Toorvald is an alumnus of Westside Ballet who has danced with Houston Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Company. Sven is also an alumnus of AFT, the American Film Institute. His highly-regarded documentary, The Ballerina Interviews, premiered on PBS in November 2003.

Ellen Cretti, Pre-Ballet/Tap/Jazz

Mrs. Cretti is a former Manhattan Rockette who toured cross-country with Bob Newhart, Ricky Nelson, The Four Seasons, and the New Christy Minstrells. Ellen has choreographed and performed in numerous musical and dance productions including Rosie in Bye Bye Byrdie, The Boyfriend, Mame. South Pacific, Oklahoma. She played the lead roles in original musical productions of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella at the PAF Playhouse in New York. She performed in Guys and Dolls under the direction of Brian Dennehy. She trained in musical theatre and assisted in classes at Hurbert Berghof Studio in New York City. She was the Founder/Director of the Hillside Studio, for Dance and Drama in Huntington, New York for ten years. She taught at the Royal Dance Center in Florida from 1985-1999. Ellen relocated to California and has been with Laguna Dance Theatre for fourteen years. She has a gift to teach preschoolers and has successfully developed a dynamic children’s dance program here at LDT.

Stephanie Dai

Stephanie Dai is a dancer, freelance artist, and recent graduate of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance’s inaugural BFA class. Trained in the improvisational technologies of William Forsythe, Stephanie currently plays with marrying the aesthetics of contemporary and hip hop into a rich, personal style. Her versatility and distinct improvisation work has allowed her to headline events with the hip-hop crew, Miniotics, be featured in a UNIQLO commercial directed by Solange Knowles, and perform as a soloist in the original works of Bill T. Jones and Sonya Tayeh. Stephanie hopes to continue freelancing while combining her love for movement with other passions such as visual media and pedagogical research to create interdisciplinary works of art.

Emily Ortega- Lyrical, Jazz