Open Adult Ballet Classes

Stephanie Orza

Stephanie Orza started training at the age of 7 with the San Francisco Ballet School as a full scholarship student, studying intensively there for 10 years. She comes from a family of 6 siblings who were and still are professional ballet dancers. Her teachers at SFB included Irina Jacobson, Lola De Avila, Helgi Tomasson, Pascal Leroy, Kathleen Mitchell, Natalia Makarova, Shannon Bresnahan, Mikko Nissinen and George Esquivel. In her time there, she had the chance to perform with the San Francisco Ballet Company in productions such as La Bayadere, staged by Natalia Makarova, Giselle and The Nutcracker, among many others. With the SFB School, Stephanie was able to perform many ballets including Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations and Four Temperaments, The Sleeping Beauty and Paquita. In 2002, Stephanie moved to Boise, Idaho to dance with the Ballet Idaho/ Eugene Ballet School and Company for one season. In 2003, she moved to Basel, Switzerland, to dance with the Ballet Basel School and Company, performing Romeo and Juliet as well as Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco and Who Cares?. Stephanie moved back to the United States in July 2004 and took the opportunity to guest with the Inland Pacific Ballet in Arturo Fernandez’s production of Dracula, dancing the lead role of Mina Murray. She joined the Company as a Principal dancer in 2005 and danced with the Inland Pacific Ballet, under the direction of Victoria Koenig, for seven seasons. Stephanie became a ballet mistress for the company in 2007, and set and rehearsed each program until 2011. Stephanie’s dancing career has inspired her to choreograph as well. Since 2008, she has created many works on the Northwest Fusion Dance Company in Portland between 2011-2016, Love can Damage your Health for IPB (2011), Tolerance for IPB (2010), The other side (2010), selected pieces of The Nutcracker (2010), and Finding Peace at the Chaffey College in 2008. Stephanie began her teaching career in 2005 when she joined the Inland Pacific Ballet. She instructed in the Academy for 7 years. In 2011, Stephanie moved to Portland, Oregon, where she taught ballet and choreographed at the Center for Movement Arts, Polaris Dance Theater, Allegro Dance Studio, Westside Dance Academy, Bodyvox, and The Portland Ballet. Stephanie relocated to Boise, Idaho in July 2016.  She is currently an instructor at Ballet Idaho Academy and is the director of the advanced ensemble performance group.  She also choreographed for the Summer Dance Fest at Idaho Dance Theater in June 2017.