Marina Fliagina, Ballet Master
Born in Russia, Marina Fliagina graduated with distinction from the 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 Ballet Master for the 2000-2001 Season. In addition to her duties as Ballet Master, she continues to appear in character roles such as the Nanny in Robert Sund's Alice in Wonderland, and the Nurse Maid in Rodney Gustafson's Romeo and Juliet.

Gary McKenzie, Ballet Master
Gary McKenzie is a California native. He received his primary training from Marguerite Phares, Vladimir Luppov, Alonzo King, and at Harkness House under David Howard in New York. While his performing career was primarily with Ballet Florida, he was also a member of the original Santa Barbara Ballet under the direction of Tamara Kinsell, Southwest Ballet, San Diego Ballet, and a founding member of State Street Ballet. In addition to teaching, McKenzie has choreographed numerous ballets for various companies as well as working as a choreographer for Opera Santa Barbara.

William Soleau, Choreographer
William Soleau has created over 80 ballets on companies around the world. Soleau first gained international recognition in 1987 for his creation of Universe for The Shanghai Ballet of China during the first International Shanghai Arts Festival. As resident choreographer and principal dancer for both Finis Jhung's Chamber Ballet U.S.A. and Dennis Wayne's DANCERS in New York City, he established himself as an emerging international choreographer. As a dancer, Soleau had the opportunity to tour over 30 countries while working with such notable choreographers as Alvin Ailey, John Butler, Toer van Schayk, Antony Tudor, Joyce Trisler, Gray Vereden, and Norman Walker. His works can be seen in the repertories of Ballet British Columbia, Richmond Ballet, Ballet de Montreal, Ballet Austin, The Icelandic Ballet, BalletMet, American Ballroom Dance Theater, Ballet Florida, Ballet Gamonet, and The Louisville Ballet among many others. Soleau was the recipient of the Choo San-Goh Award for Choreography in 2006. He presently serves as the Executive Director for the John Butler Foundation, Inc., dedicated to preserving and protecting the master works of this influential American choreographer.

Jean-François Revon, Set Designer
Jean-François Revon grew up in Paris and has lived and worked in the United States for the past 17 years. He made his State Street Ballet debut in 2004 with his scenic designs for Cinderella, and in 2009, designed the sets for the world premiere of The Jungle Book. His credits list over 300 productions for opera, ballet and musical theatre, including the world premiere of Earthquake in San Francisco for Diablo Ballet, and Once Upon a Ballroom. His designs for Opera Santa Barbara include Cavaleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, The Elixir of Love, Tosca, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly Cosí fan tutte, and Lucia di Lammermoor, among many others. He designed the world premiere of The Tale of the Nutcracker for Opera San Jose and The Magic Flute for the opening of West Bay Opera's 50th season, as well as The Barber of Seville, Carmen, Don Pasquale, The Consul and The Tales of Hoffmann. Additional credits include Berkeley Opera's The Daughter of the Cabinet and North Bay Opera's La Bohème and Don Giovanni. Revon is the Arts Management Chair at the Oakland School for the Arts.

Mark Somerfield, Production Manager / Lighting Designer
Mark Somerfield is the Production Manager for the Department of Music at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as Resident Lighting Designer for Opera Santa Barbara and State Street Ballet. Other credits include The Guthrie Theatre, New York City Opera, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Provincetown Theatre Company, Pennsylvania Stage Company, the Santa Fe Opera, Virginia Stage Company, Cincinnati Ballet, Pennsylvania Dance Theatre, American Music Theatre Festival and the Adriatic Music Festival in Termoli, Italy. He holds a BFA from Penn State and an MFA from The Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

A. Christina Giannini, Costume Designer
A. Christina Giannini has designed for Broadway, off Broadway Opera and numerous dance companies, and has created works in 11 countries. Her work can be seen in the repertories of Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre in N.Y.C; Joffrey Ballet Chicago; Nevada Dance Theater; North Carolina Dance Theater; Ballet Florida; and Buglisi Dance Theatre in N.Y.C. In December of 2008, Giannini designed scenery and costumes for The New Ballet Idaho's production of The Nutcracker, and most recently, for Janisphere Dance in N.Y.C. She has been the Resident Designer for Chautauqua Dance since 1989, and was the resident designer for Ohio Ballet for over a decade. She designed costumes for Vicente Nebrada's Ballet National in Caracas, Venezuela, where she was twice awarded the Venezuelan Oscar for Design, most recently for the 1996 Ballet National de Caracas' production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by Vincente Nebrada. Giannini designed scenery and costumes for State Street Ballet's Seasons, Texas Fourth, Taming of the Shrew, 5 Tangos, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, and The Jungle Book.

Anaya M. Cullen, Costume Design / Wardrobe
Anaya Cullen has designed and constructed costumes for dance, opera, and theatre companies including Chautauqua Dance, Aspen Opera Theater Center, North Carolina Dance Theater, Cati Dans Association (Istanbul, Turkey), SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre, State Street Ballet Young Dancers, Salsa Lolita, Clave Libre Productions, FishBoN Arts, and Santa Barbara Dance Institute. She assisted fabric replication for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Ballet Idaho's Nutcracker. She began working at State Street Ballet in 2006, and has worked on productions including La Sylphide, American Legends, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Nutcracker, Carmina Burana, Swan Lake, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. She began her career as an apprentice to internationally recognized designer A. Christiana Giannini.