Franklin Gamero & Iliana Lopez

Gulfshore Ballet Artistic Directors

Franklin Gamero and Iliana Lopez began their career at home in Venezuela and continued through the San Francisco Ballet, the Cleveland Ballet and as soloists with the Deutsche Opera Berlin and the Deutsche Opera am Rhein in Dusseldorf, then in 1987 they became Principal Dancers with the Miami City Ballet where they remained for eighteen successful years.

As guest principal dancers they have performed for different Ballet companies internationally as well as the most important Dance Festivals and Galas of Stars in the World.

They performed all of the leading roles in the classical repertoire as well as in the works by Balanchine, Bejart, van Manen, MacMillan, Petit, Nebrada and Kylian, among others.

During their years with the Miami City Ballet they originated many of the principal roles of the company repertoire such as Carmen, Prokofiev Piano Concerto, La Casa de Bernarda Alba, D Symphony, Aria, Purple Bend, Concerto for la Donna and Tobiniana.

They were recognized among the world’s leading dancers and Mrs. Lopez was featured on the cover of many important Dance magazines including, Dance Magazine (1997), Pointe Magazine (2000) and Dancer Magazine (2004).

Their dedication and passion for their career earned them special awards such as the Orden Arturo Michelena in Venezuela, the Key of the City of Baton Rouge in Louisiana where they were declared “Honorable Mayors”, the Proclamation of Miami-Dade County by

Mayor Alex Penelas, the Proclamation of Hialeah by Mayor Raul Martinez, who declared “March 12th” the Iliana Lopez and Franklin Gamero’s Day, a special award by the “Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts” for their contribution to the Arts and a special award from the “Jackie Gleason Theatre” for their outstanding contribution to the Arts in the city of Miami Beach.

Recently Mrs. Lopez was selected by the National Museum of Dance in the United States to put her Pointe Shoes in their permanent exhibition.

They performed for President Gerald Ford, President Bill Clinton and Ex-First Lady Hillary Clinton being invited afterwards to the White House, the Ex-Prime Minister of Israel Isaac Shamir and Princess Caroline of Monaco.

Since their retirement in 2004, Mrs. Lopez has worked as Ballet Mistress and répétiteur for the Miami City Ballet, Ballet Gamonet, Ballet de Monterrey in Mexico, Ballet de Santiago in Chile, Ballet de la Opera de Bordeaux in France and as guest touring Ballet Mistress with Les Ballet Trockadero.

Mr. Gamero has served as Artistic Advisor with the Teresa Carreño in Venezuela, Ballet Master with the Ballet Nacional Dominicano and Western Ballet Theatre in Puerto Rico, he has choreographed for the National Ballet School in Santo Domingo, the Alina Abreu Ballet school as well as for the America’s Ballet School in Tampa, Florida.

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Gulfshore Ballet’s Instructors and Staff

Jose Gamero

Instructor

Mr. Gamero joined Silicon Valley Ballet (then known as Ballet San Jose) in 2014. He was born in Valencia, Venezuela and started his dance studies on a full scholarship at the Miami City Ballet School. He has received training from Franklin Gamero, Iliana Lopez, Luis Serrano, Paula Nunes, Osmany Montano, Julio Montano, and Vladimir Isaeev. Mr. Gamero has performed with Ballet de Monterrey in Mexico, Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami, Ballet Gamonet, and Ballet Des Moines. His repertoire includes Don Quixote, Diana and Action, Grand Pas Classique, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Snow White, Square Dance, La Bayadère, and Le Corsaire. Mr. Gamero was a guest dancer with Brandon Ballet's "Dancing Through Generations Gala" in Brandon, Florida. Mr. Gamero has taught at School of Classical Ballet and Dance in Iowa, Americas Ballet School in Tampa and Western Ballet
in San Jose.

Jessica Colina

Instructor

Born in France, Jessica trained at the Conservatoire de Nimes and The Studio Ballet Colette Armand, France. Her professional dancing career started with Ballet National de Marseille, Roland Petit and Ballet National de Nancy, France, with classical repertoire fsuch as Swan Lake, Giselle, La Sylphide, Pierre Lacotte’s version, Les Sylphides, Theme and Variations, Episodes, Four Temperaments and Marco Spada. modernism of Roland Petit’s.
Jessica’s career continued in the US with Ballet Florida, Ballet Gamonet and Miami City Ballet, extending her repertoire from Balanchine, Peter Martins to Jimmy Gamonet among others.
Jessica’s has taught summer programs at Olga Danse in France for many years and has taught at Miami City Ballet and other dance studios throughout South Florida, joining Gulfshore Ballet in 2019 as Ballet Instructor

Franciel Diaz

Instructor

Franciel Diaz is a Dancer and Choreographer with more than 15 years of experience in various dance styles including Jazz, Ballet, Latin, Salsa, Flamenco, Tango, Hip Hop and Urban Rhythms,
She started her training in Venezuela and went on to dance, teach and choreograph for many well known dance studios and schools before joining Gulfshore Ballet as the Lyrical Dance Teacher.
Franciel’s teaching style is very dynamic, incorporating and fusing different dance genres in her classes, giving students the experience of learning new dance styles/movement, increasing their versatility and allowing them to grow as dancers and individuals.

Sharan Falasca

School & Office Manager/Instructor

Sharan is originally from Philadelphia, where she has taught ballet, pointe, modern (Horton/Graham) jazz & lyrical and choreographed at various schools and studios.
She also was the Lead Dance Instructor and Choreographer for the Annenberg Theatre Young Performers Summer Series and implemented the Ballet Program & Curriculum for First Position Movement Arts Center at the request of the Studio Owner.
A Highschool For the Creative & Performing Art Dance Major graduate, she trained with Judith Jamison, Milton Myers, Roni Koresh, James Truiitte, Fay Snow, Maurice Hines, Denise Jefferson, Joan Myers Brown and Kip Martin, among others.
Sharan has danced with Philadanco II, Indigegenous Pitch, Underground Dance Works and performed in various shows including The Philly Fringe Festival.
She holds a BA in Theatre (with a concentration in Dance) from Temple University.and is a long time Realtor and Notary.

Lisa Heggendorn

Pilates Instructor

Lisa is a native of Switzerland who began her studies at a young age at the Maria Gorkin Academy of Classical Ballet, (Vaganova technique) as well as the Ballet Opera House Basel and Fred Aenis Ballet Academy. She received a scholarship to attend Steps on Broadway in New York City. She performed throughout the U.S., Switzerland, Italy, and France. For five years she was a member, performer, and choreographer at the International Dance Festival in New York City. Her versatility as an artist can be attributed to her extensive multidiscipline dance education, as well as her performance experience in numerous dance productions. Lisa has choreographed and produced shows and plays in Switzerland and New York. Her company performed at various festivals and shows throughout Switzerland. She choreographed regional and national winning solos in New Jersey. She was also a member of the International Theater Festival winner (Peg O’ My Heart) musical in New York City. Her work ranges from classical ballet, jazz, lyrical, musical theater, floor barre, acrobatics, tap, workout and Pilates reforming. After receiving her Pilates certification in Sion, Switzerland, she worked with Ann Toran in New York City (Pilates Reforming NY). Lisa obtained her green card as an exceptional artist and is a member of the International Dance Council CID at UNESCO.

Tamara Savage

Instructor

Tamara began studying dance at the age of nine at Pine Island Dance where she studied Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, and Lyrical. She later studied with Gulfshore Ballet, Cypress Lake Center for the Arts, Florida State University, the University of Florida, and Pofahl’s Dance Studio. She was trained in various ballet techniques including Cecchetti, Vaganova and Balanchine and has performed leading roles in Alice in Wonderland, The Nutcracker and The Secret Garden.

Tamara’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Florida and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Florida Gulf Coast University.
She is excited to teach introductory courses in Ballet and is honored to have this opportunity. She wants to help bring her passion and understanding of ballet to the next generation of dancers.