Karissa

Education/ Qualifications:
• Russian Vaganova certified classical ballet instructor
• BASI Pilates Certification with Dance Specialization
• Ballet Arizona
• San Francisco Ballet
• TRX Certified
• Barre Certified
• CPR Certified

Karissa is a certified Russian Vaganova ballet and BASI Pilates Instructor with over 11 years of teaching experience and a former professional ballet dancer. She founded CSCB in 2022 out of a passion for teaching the art of ballet to future generations.

Karissa began dancing studying various dance styles and competing in dance competitions with Just Plain Dancin'. When she decided to pursue ballet seriously, she moved to a ballet school.

There she performed various roles including Dew Drop Fairy, Arabian dancer, and Sugarplum Fairy in David Allan’s The Nutcracker, Clinton Rothwell’s Concerto in G Minor, and Myrtha in Giselle. During her time there she started assistant teaching, sparking her love for teaching.

She continued her dance education by training with the School of American Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet before moving to train with the San Francisco Ballet School at the age of 15 under the direction of Patrick Armand. Her teachers included Patrick Armand, Yuko Katsumi, Sofianne Sylve, Tina Leblanc, and Jeffery Lyons. At the school she had many performance opportunities and danced with the San Francisco Ballet in the Nutcracker.

She later returned home and studied at Cal State University of Long Beach and got her BASI Pilates certification with a dance specialization from Karen Clippinger and began teaching Pilates and ballet classes.

Karissa then moved to Phoenix and danced with Ballet Arizona under the direction and guidance of Ib Anderson and Carlos Valcarcel. She performed in many ballets and contemporary works such as Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Coppelia, Concerto, George Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements, and Walpurgisnacht.
Her repertoire also includes performing in runway fashion shows, museums, operas, and many outreach and community performances.

She has trained and performed various dance styles including classical ballet, contemporary, modern, Horton, jazz, lyrical, musical theater, ballroom, flamenco, and character.

As an experienced ballet and Pilates instructor with over a decade of teaching, Karissa brings a wealth of knowledge and skill to her students. Her students have received top honors at regional ballet competitions and have been accepted into prestigious dance programs for both summer and year-round programs.

She enjoys teaching and inspiring the future of dance and sharing her love and knowledge of dance to all ages.