OUR FACULTY
HEIDI ZOLTY
Fellow with Distinction, Cecchetti Dip.
FCUSA, Fellow CC-CICB
Founder and Owner, Ballet Classique
In August 1990, Heidi Zolty founded hz Ballet Classique – an establishment that would offer a sound foundation in ballet training to those seeking a professional career in dance.
Heidi trained in South Africa at the Johannesburg School of Art, Ballet and Music. She received her Cecchetti training with Dawn Bloom, Vivienne Keegan and Evelyn Wayner. In 1982 she graduated with distinction in ballet and was awarded her Associate teaching status with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing in London, England. That year she also achieved her Advanced Cecchetti.
Heidi was the first dancer ever to be accepted directly into the P.A.C.T. Ballet in Johannesburg without an apprentice year. She danced there for 3 years after which she received the position of principal dancer at The Oldenburg State Theatre in Germany where she stayed for another 3 years.
Heidi then returned to South Africa and was awarded her Final Diploma which is the highest honor that can be awarded to a dancer within the Cecchetti society.
In 1993 Heidi received her licentiate teaching status and in 1995 received her “Fellowship with Distinction” from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing in London, England. This is the highest level that can be bestowed upon a teacher. Heidi now holds all of both the dancers’ and teachers’ diplomas, and is one of Canada’s most distinguished Cecchetti Ballet Teachers.
ANIA STOROSZCZUK-SMEETS
M.F.A. State Institute of Theatrical Arts, Moscow
Artistic Director, Ballet Classique Dance Company
Co-teacher, Professional Program (Russian-Vaganova Method)
Ania received her Master of Fine Arts (with highest honours) in Ballet Pedagogy and Choreography from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS), Moscow, and was conferred the title of Ballet Master: Pedagogue.
Ania began her dance career as a young child at Poland’s State Ballet School in Warsaw, where she graduated with great distinction and was awarded a full government scholarship to attend the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS). She then interned with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, where she worked with M. Siemionova, G. Ulanova, M. Plisetskaja, M. Liepa, and A. Messerer. Following this, Ania danced professionally, held the positions of Ballet Master and Rehearsal Manager at a theatre, and taught at university and ballet schools.
Ania has over thirty-five years experience teaching – in Europe and Canada – classical (Vaganova method) and contemporary ballet, character (international) dance, and historical dance. In addition, Ania has been actively involved in training and incorporating ballet technique into the routines of gymnasts, including members of the Canadian National Team, and figure skaters, for clubs such as the Royal Glenora (Edmonton) and the Canadian Figure Skating Association – B.C. Section. Many students under her direction have gone on to win local and international competitions and festivals, including in: Moscow (Russia), Varna (Bulgaria), Lausanne (Switzerland), Jacksonville (Florida, USA), and at YAGP (various locations). Several of her students have also gone on to attend professional programs or join dance companies in North America, Europe, Cuba, and Asia. Ania has also received numerous awards for outstanding choreography in classical ballet, contemporary ballet, and character (international) dance.
AIDA GABITOVA
Ballet Classique Pianist
Aida was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In 1992 she graduated from the Republican Secondary Specialized Music Boarding School for Gifted Children with a Gold Medal. In 1997, she completed Master`s degree in Musicology at the Tashkent State Conservatory, with Achievement with Great Distinction. She took the piano lessons from famous piano teachers such as Yevgeniy Nebolsin and professor Lea Shvarts in Tashkent, as well as lessons from the professors of the Gnessin Institute in Moscow. In 2000, she took the Post-Graduate Musicology course at the Tashkent State Conservatory. In 2004, Aida completed her thesis on the topic “Minimalism and Music (Genesis, Evolution, Expressiveness)” under the supervision of Natalya Yanov-Yanovskaya. In 2005, she defended it at the Scientific Research Institute of Art at the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan and got her PhD in Art Criticism.
From 1995 to 2000, Aida worked as a piano teacher at the Children’s Music School No. 22 (Tashkent, Uzbekistan). From 1999 to 2002, she worked as a lecturer at the Tashkent State Conservatory, teaching the History of Music and Criticism. In 2001 to 2005, she continued her career as a teacher at the Republican Boarding Lyceum of Fine and Applied Arts (Tashkent, Uzbekistan). From 2005 – 2009 she taught Music Theory, Harmony and Analysis at the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan. Her PhD thesis has been published as a monograph, along with her thirteen scientific research papers.
In the autumn of 2009, Aida and her family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada. She has taught piano at the Salina Cheng Music Academy. She has also worked as a piano accompanist at the Goh Ballet Academy and Richmond Academy of Dance. She continues to work part time at Ballet Classique and Harbour Dance Centre, where she enjoys improvising music, as well as playing her own compositions. She has also been taking French courses at Alliance Française de Vancouver for three and a half years and has passed her DELF A1, A2 and B1. She has been teaching at the BC Conservatory of Music since 2010 and is very happy to share her experience and love