Ayako School of Ballet

Faculty

Mariko (Suzanne) Takahashi

Maria LaMance

Ayako Takahashi

Graciela Acedo

Mariko (Suzanne) Takahashi

Maria LaMance

Michael Lowe

Graciela Acedo

Ballet Instructor
Graciela Acedo started her dance training in Caracas, Venezuela. In 1982, she won a government scholarship to study at the Boston Ballet. In 1983, she was awarded a scholarship from Harkness Ballet to work with Eleonora Dantuono.

Her first ballet company was Ballet Teresa Carreño, directed by Enrique Martinez. Where Acedo performed the classical repertoire

In 1983, Graciela joined Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, a contemporary ballet company under the direction of Zhandra Rodriguez where she soon become a soloist and worked with choreographers such as Judith Jamison, Ulises Dove, John Butler, Gustavo Mallajoli, Elisa Monte, Paulo Denubila, Dennis Nahat, Choo San Goh, and Donald Mackayle among others. She traveled to Europe, Asia, South America and the Caribbean.

Acedo performed with Oakland Ballet from 1994 to 1996 and has been a guest artist with the Margaret Wingrove Dance Company, Pacific Dance Theater of SF, Western Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theater and ODC SF, among others.

Her extensive teaching experience includes University of San Francisco, University of Nebraska, Oakland Ballet, San Francisco School of the Arts, Pacific Dance Theater of SF (Assistant director to the summer programs), Berkeley Ballet, and Diablo Ballet Summer program among others. Ms. Acedo was Associate Director of Western Ballet from 1998 to 2003 and she has guest taught at America’s Ballet in Florida and in Venezuela.

Ballet Instructor
Mariko has taught at Ayako School of Ballet since 1999. She was a principal dancer with the Oakland Ballet and has had the pleasure to work with choreographers such as Reginald Ray-Savage, Donald McKayle, Howard Sayette, Michael Lowe, and Scott Rink. She has travelled as far as Boston, New York, Las Vegas, and China to compete in national and international dance competitions. Mariko began and continues her training at Ayako School of Ballet and is a principal dancer of Peninsula Youth Ballet, where she has danced leading roles in productions such as The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty and Giselle. Mariko is a Performing Arts and English Literature double-major, a four-time National Dean's List awardee and member of San Jose State University's Sigma Alpha Lambda chapter.

Ballet and Character Dance Instructor
A Bay Area native, Maria LaMance received her classical ballet training at the San Francisco Ballet School. As a dance major at San Francisco State University, she broadened her training in Modern Dance, anatomy, and kinesiology. Maria has performed professionally in numerous ballet, modern, and dance theater companies throughout the Bay Area for over a decade and currently dances with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Dance Through Time, Huckabay McAllister Dance, and Moving Arts Dance, with whom she has recently performed principal roles on tours to Belarus, France, and Scotland. Maria has instructed children, teens, and adults in ballet, modern, drama, and character dance for seven years and has directed her staging of Act I of The Nutcracker for San Jose Dance Theatre, and now, for San Jose Youth Ballet. In her teaching, Maria respects the individual anatomical and developmental capacities of every student, and emphasizes the importance of musicality and self-expression in the goal of going beyond technique to connect with the hearts of the audience.

Michael Lowe

Guest Instructor
Michael Lowe began his dance career in 1974 and since then has received acclaim, not only for his dancing, but also for his choreography. Michael has danced with the Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, Gilbert Reed Ballet, Pacific Ballet prior to joining Oakland Ballet in 1980. During his 20 years with Oakland Ballet, Lowe served as Assistant Artistic Director under Ronn Guidi, while he trained young dancers in classical ballet technique. For 8 years he was also Director of the Company's First Steps program until his retirement from Oakland Ballet in 2000. After being nominated for a prestigious Izzie Award in 1998 for his restaging of The Emperor and the Nightingale, he received the Izzie Award in 2003 for his choreography of Bamboo.

Faculty

Our talented, diverse, and inspired faculty works to help students realize their full potential.

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Photos By:
Teru Takahashi

Ayako Takahashi

Director - Ayako School of Ballet / Artistic Director - Peninsula Youth Ballet
Originally from Japan, Ayako was a principal dancer with the Tokyo City Ballet Company and the Matsuyama Ballet Company. She has studied with Sulamith Messerer, Aleksei Varlamov and Mikiko Matsuyama. Ayako has performed leading roles in Swan Lake, Cinderella, Nutcracker, Balanchine’s Serenade and many other works. Ayako has been teaching in the United States since 1976, and was ballet mistress and choreographed with Peninsula Youth Ballet before becoming Artistic Director in the fall of 1986. Ayako has choreographed full length Ballet Productions such as Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, The Little Mermaid, The Little Humpback Horse, Paquita Coppelia and The Nutcracker.

Illustration above: Ayako performing Giselle when she was with the Tokyo City Ballet

Graciela Acedo

Ballet Instructor
Graciela Acedo started her dance training in Caracas, Venezuela. In 1982, she won a government scholarship to study at the Boston Ballet. In 1983, she was awarded a scholarship from Harkness Ballet to work with Eleonora Dantuono.

Her first ballet company was Ballet Teresa Carreño, directed by Enrique Martinez. Where Acedo performed the classical repertoire

In 1983, Graciela joined Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, a contemporary ballet company under the direction of Zhandra Rodriguez where she soon become a soloist and worked with choreographers such as Judith Jamison, Ulises Dove, John Butler, Gustavo Mallajoli, Elisa Monte, Paulo Denubila, Dennis Nahat, Choo San Goh, and Donald Mackayle among others. She traveled to Europe, Asia, South America and the Caribbean.

Acedo performed with Oakland Ballet from 1994 to 1996 and has been a guest artist with the Margaret Wingrove Dance Company, Pacific Dance Theater of SF, Western Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theater and ODC SF, among others.

Her extensive teaching experience includes University of San Francisco, University of Nebraska, Oakland Ballet, San Francisco School of the Arts, Pacific Dance Theater of SF (Assistant director to the summer programs), Berkeley Ballet, and Diablo Ballet Summer program among others. Ms. Acedo was Associate Director of Western Ballet from 1998 to 2003 and she has guest taught at America’s Ballet in Florida and in Venezuela.

Mariko (Suzanne) Takahashi

Ballet Instructor
Mariko has taught at Ayako School of Ballet since 1999. She was a principal dancer with the Oakland Ballet and has had the pleasure to work with choreographers such as Reginald Ray-Savage, Donald McKayle, Howard Sayette, Michael Lowe, and Scott Rink. She has travelled as far as Boston, New York, Las Vegas, and China to compete in national and international dance competitions. Mariko began and continues her training at Ayako School of Ballet and is a principal dancer of Peninsula Youth Ballet, where she has danced leading roles in productions such as The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty and Giselle. Mariko is a Performing Arts and English Literature double-major, a four-time National Dean's List awardee and member of San Jose State University's Sigma Alpha Lambda chapter.

Maria LaMance

Ballet and Character Dance Instructor
A Bay Area native, Maria LaMance received her classical ballet training at the San Francisco Ballet School. As a dance major at San Francisco State University, she broadened her training in Modern Dance, anatomy, and kinesiology. Maria has performed professionally in numerous ballet, modern, and dance theater companies throughout the Bay Area for over a decade and currently dances with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Dance Through Time, Huckabay McAllister Dance, and Moving Arts Dance, with whom she has recently performed principal roles on tours to Belarus, France, and Scotland. Maria has instructed children, teens, and adults in ballet, modern, drama, and character dance for seven years and has directed her staging of Act I of The Nutcracker for San Jose Dance Theatre, and now, for San Jose Youth Ballet. In her teaching, Maria respects the individual anatomical and developmental capacities of every student, and emphasizes the importance of musicality and self-expression in the goal of going beyond technique to connect with the hearts of the audience.

Michael Lowe

Guest Instructor
Michael Lowe began his dance career in 1974 and since then has received acclaim, not only for his dancing, but also for his choreography. Michael has danced with the Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, Gilbert Reed Ballet, Pacific Ballet prior to joining Oakland Ballet in 1980. During his 20 years with Oakland Ballet, Lowe served as Assistant Artistic Director under Ronn Guidi, while he trained young dancers in classical ballet technique. For 8 years he was also Director of the Company's First Steps program until his retirement from Oakland Ballet in 2000. After being nominated for a prestigious Izzie Award in 1998 for his restaging of The Emperor and the Nightingale, he received the Izzie Award in 2003 for his choreography of Bamboo.