Meet our Faculty
Matthew Torres - Teacher
Mr. Matt teaches our Juniors, Teens and Seniors ballet. He is very kind and attentive to all the students. Matt began his training at Elite Dance Studio in 2002 and joined New Mexico Ballet Company in 2014. Matt has performed in New Mexico Ballet Company productions such as The Nutcracker, Spartacus, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Resilience, and Choreographers' Collective.
Jessica Ashley - Teacher
Ms. Jessica teaches our Juniors, Teens and Seniors stretch and strength. Her workout routines are designed specifically to enhance dancers abilities. She is passionate and has a strong determination to help educate our dancers on physical fitness.
Nikole Lobato - Teacher
Ms. Nikole is our primary Petite and Mini age division teacher for ballet and technique. She is firm, intentional and encouraging with our kids. Her attention to detail ensures correct technique with every skill she teaches.
"I want to teach other dancers that there is so much more to dance than a song, there is so much emotion and energy that goes into it. You not only have relationships that form with your teammates but with your teachers that push you to be the best versions of yourself as well. Dance is such a powerful thing, it truly is a movement."
- Nikole Lobato
Phoenix Ryan Santella - Student Teacher
Ms. Phoenix is very passionate about teaching the next generation about hard work, commitment, encouragement and having a humble heart. She mainly focuses on our juniors and teens. She teaches stretch, technique, improv, and open choreography classes. Open choreography classes include the following genres: lyrical, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop and musical theater.
"I want students to understand that dancing is more than a sequence of movements, it is showing the audience what the music is expressing. We should not only love what we do but love who we do it with, the environment we do it in and love it enough to want to get better at it."
- Phoenix Ryan Santella