CATHERINE ROUND – ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Catherine Round is a ballet instructor and choreographer with 25 years of experience. A graduate of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Teaching Certification Program, she holds certifications for all levels from beginning to advanced.
Catherine teaches intensives and master classes nationwide, conducts private professional coaching, and has been running her own successful teaching practice in Los Angeles for 15 years. In addition to teaching, she is also a choreographer and celebrity coach for film and television and has served as Ballet Mistress for City Ballet of Los Angeles and LA Unbound.
Catherine Round’s professional career began on scholarship with Barry and Anna VanCura at Ballet Tennessee and Robert Barnett at the Atlanta Ballet. Catherine furthered her training under such greats as Marat Daukayev, Yuri Grigoriev, Birute Barodicaite, Ricardo Bustamante, and Valerie Roche.
Catherine went on to perform with Ballet Omaha and after relocating to Los Angeles, started working with Aeolian Ballet Theatre. Soloist roles include: Alice in Wonderland, The Tempest, Cinderella, La Bayadere, Romeo & Juliet, The House of Bernarda Alba, and the Nutcracker. Other ballets include Con Amore’, Il Distrato, Concerto Barocco, Allegro Brillante, Les Sylphides, Beauty and the Beast, and Dracula.
Catherine creates an open, lively, and safe learning environment for all her students. She believes in positive reenforcement and helps all students to see and achieve beauty in ballet.
SARAH GROSS – BALLET and STRENGTH & STRETCH INSTRUCTOR
Sarah began her ballet training at Riverside Ballet Arts and Inland Pacific Ballet Academy in Montclair, CA under the direction of Victoria Koenig. Sarah has trained with Patricia Neary, Maria Vegh, Arturo Fernandez, and Stanley Holden, among others.
Sarah expanded her repertory and refined her technique under the instruction of Catherine Round in 2013. She performed 2013 – 2016 in C. Round Ballet Works’ “Pay It Forward: An Evening of Dance to Benefit California Hospital Medical Center. Sarah’s repertory includes: Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and Raymonda. Her focus is on teaching full-body strength training as a crucial component of cross-training for dancers. She has been on faculty at C. Round Ballet Works since 2014.