Artistic Director

Galina Alexandrova is a world renowned ballet master. Having both danced in the top companies around the globe and trained countless professional dancers, Galina is a force to be reckoned with in the dance community. She has been featured in Dance Teacher Magazine, Pointe Magazine, and Dance Magazine, has judged for international competitions, and has also been named outstanding teacher 8 times by the Youth America Grand Prix.

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Galina was born in Moscow, Russia to parents who were principal dancers with the Moiseyev Dance Company (Mikhail Alexandrov, her father) and the Stanislavsky Ballet (Svetlana Afanasieva, her mother) in Moscow for over 20 years. Following her parents’ footsteps, she was accepted to the legendary Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow at the age of ten.

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Upon graduating from the class of N.V. Zolotova, Galina was personally selected by Artistic Director, Yuri Grigorovich, to become a member of the Bolshoi Ballet company. Galina danced there for seven years, performing many soloist roles in all of the Bolshoi's repertoire. She worked directly with ballet legends such as Vladimir Vasiliev, Ekaterina Maximova, Marina Kondratieva, Leonid Nikonov, Nikolai Simachev, Galina Petrova, Raisa Struchkova, Vasily Vorokhobko, with daily inspiration and mentorship from these ballet stars.

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After meeting her American husband Ken, Galina immigrated to the U.S., where she joined the San Francisco Ballet. With the company, she performed many soloist roles in works by George Balanchine, Lew Christensen, Helgi Tomasson, and many more. She also worked directly with world-class choreographers such as James Kudelka, David Bintley, and Glen Tetley. After leaving San Francisco Ballet, she continued on to dance with San Francisco Opera Ballet, Lawrence Pech Dance Company, finishing her dancing career with Smuin Ballet.

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In 2003, the opportunity to become Artistic Director of City Ballet San Francisco (CBSF) presented itself. Already equipped with vast knowledge from her own training and career, Galina was further mentored in the art of teaching the Vaganova syllabus by her mother Svetlana Afanasieva, a master teacher at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Over her tenure as Artistic Director, she has built an international reputation for the school as being one of the finest Vaganova training facilities in North America. Many of Galina's students have gone on to dance professionally in companies such as American Ballet Theatre, Dutch National Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Semperoper Ballett (Germany), San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Austin Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Colorado Ballet, as well as many more around the world.
 

Nikolai Kabaniaev has been in the field of classical ballet for over 45 years, sharing his passion for it and making a name for himself throughout his career. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, he is a graduate of the prestigious Vaganova Ballet Academy. Nikolai went on to dance with the world renowned Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet where he danced for seven years, performing various soloist and principal roles in ballets such as Giselle, Les Sylphides, Cinderella, Paquita, Nutcracker, Napoli and Fountain of Bakhchisarai.

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Upon immigrating to America in 1989, Nikolai served as Associate Artistic Director, choreographer, and men's technique and partnering instructor for three years at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington DC. He represented the academy as a judge at the 2011 Youth America Grand Prix New York Finals and 2012 Japan Grand Prix in Tokyo. 

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Throughout his career, Nikolai has choreographed over 30 original ballets for numerous companies around the United States and abroad including Miami City Ballet, Maximum Dance Company, Kirov Academy of Ballet, New Orleans Ballet Theater, Faruk Rusimatov Touring Company in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nevada Festival Ballet, Maui Ballet, Ballet Fantastique, and many more. Nikolai has also staged classical repertoire such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, La Bayadere, Paquita, Nutcracker, Chopeniana, La Sylphide, Le Spectre de la Rose and La Vivandière, to name a few. 

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Nikolai has passed on his love and knowledge of ballet, teaching ballet classes for San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Maui Ballet, Mazatlan Ballet (Mexico), Reiko Ivache Ballet (Japan), Diablo Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, Contra Costa Ballet and Company C Contemporary Ballet in Walnut Creek, California.

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Since joining City Ballet San Francisco as the Boys’/Men’s Director, Nikolai has trained many young students into professional dancers, serving not only as their teacher, but also a mentor. His alumni have gone onto dance professionally in top companies around the globe, such as Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, and Joffrey Ballet.
 

Svetlana Scherba trained in Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics at Zaporozhye Gymnastics School in Ukraine, where her ballet training was an organic part of the program. Later, Scherba continued her rhythmic gymnastics training in Minsk, Belarus, under the tutoring of the Belarus National Team coaches. She received a Master of Sports of the U.S.S.R. in Rhythmic Gymnastics Achievement Award, and has won numerous national and international competitions. Scherba also graduated from the Belarus Institute of Physical Education and Sports with a Bachelor of Science in Gymnastics Training and Exercise Therapy, given with distinction.