Our Faculty

Lauren Jonas

Co-Founder & Director, Diablo Ballet School

Lauren Jonas trained at the Marin Ballet under Maria Vegh and Margaret Swarthout, and then with Sally Streets. She performed with the Milwaukee Ballet, the Oakland Ballet, the Southwest Ballet, and toured the United States with the Moscow Ballet, directed by the Bolshoi Ballet's Vaslav Gordeyev. Since Diablo Ballet's premiere in 1994, Ms. Jonas has recruited dancers from around the world to present the finest in contemporary and classical ballets. A firm believer in the need to stimulate the cultural development of future generations, she co-created the Ballet’s PEEK Outreach Program in Title-1 schools in 1995 and in 2015 she partnered with Mt. McKinley Court School and the Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey, to bring arts curriculum to teenagers incarcerated within the juvenile justice system. Ms. Jonas’ awards include the 2005 National Philanthropy Day honor, the 2000 Arts and Culture Commission Award of Contra Costa County, and the1998 Contra Costa County Woman of Achievement Award for the Arts. She has served as an advisor on several non-profit boards and served on scholarship and dance festival committees. Ms. Jonas has guest taught for various schools and colleges throughout California and nationally. She is the 2014 recipient of the Contra Costa Commission for Women Contributing to the Arts, Hall of Fame award and was an honoree at the State Assembly’s Women’s History Month. In 2016, Ms. Jonas was honored at the Djerassi’s Women’s Residency Program for empowering women as leaders in the field of ballet and in 2022 she was a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley speaking on Women Leaders in the Arts. She has coached all of Diablo Ballet's repertoire and staged the full-length production of Coppélia in 2022. Ms. Jonas is the Co-Founder and Director of Diablo Ballet School, which launched in 2019 and is the first school in the history of Contra Costa County operated by a professional ballet company and includes a Dance for Parkinson’s Program.

Krissy Gray

Co-Founder and Director of Operations, Diablo Ballet School

Krissy Gray was born and raised in the Bay Area and began her ballet training under Ronn Guidi at California Academy of Performing Arts in Moraga, where she trained and taught for many years. She attended Loyola Marymount University where she holds a BA in Dance and Communication Studies. While in Los Angeles, she trained in ballet, contemporary, tap, hip hop, modern and jazz. She has danced in many Bay Area productions, as well as representing the United States in China and at the World Expo in Australia. Ms. Gray has been on staff at Diablo Ballet since 2015. 

Andrea Gaudet

Principal, Diablo Ballet School

Andrea Gaudet was born in Berkeley California and has been teaching all levels of classical ballet for over thirty years. Her training began with Jane Stamps and continued with Grace Doty's Berkeley City Ballet. Ms. Gaudet’s danced as a soloist with Ballet Idaho and Sacramento Ballet, where she performed roles in Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote, The Firebird, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cinderella. She had the pleasure of dancing roles in George Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante, Rubies, Four Temperaments, Prodigal Son, Theme and Variations, Donizetti Variations and Concerto Barocco. Ms. Gaudet taught the pre-professional students at the Sacramento Ballet and served as Ballet Mistress for the Company. She was the Artistic Director of Berkeley City Ballet, and has taught at the Marin Ballet, Berkeley Ballet Theater, San Francisco School of the Arts, Lines, Ah-Lan Dance Studio and Shawl Anderson Dance Center. Ms. Gaudet has been on Diablo Ballet School faculty since 2021 and in the Summer of 2022, she was named Diablo Ballet School Principal. She teaches all levels including Dance for Parkinson's Power of Dance. She's also a Teaching Artist with Diablo Ballet's PEEK Outreach Program.

Esther Cardona

Esther Cardona received her training from the School of Ballet Tucson and the University of Arizona School of Dance, as well as from Ballet San Jose, Alonzo King's LINES Ballet, and Bartholin International Ballet Seminar. She has performed with Ballet Tucson, Paradise Ballet Theater, Oakland Opera, Temescal Labs, the DanceWright Project, and Burklyn Ballet Theater; and has had the pleasure of being a guest artist for several youth ballet ensembles. Favorite roles include Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Medora (Le Corsaire), Swanilda (Coppélia), Snow Queen (Nutcracker), Moth (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and roles in Dark Elegies, Graduation Ball, and Les Sylphides. Esther began teaching at the School of Ballet Tucson and has more recently been a faculty member at San Francisco Youth Ballet, Spotlight Arts Academy, Berkeley Ballet Theater, Contra Costa Ballet, and Ballet Akademiet Aarhus, a satellite "talent center" for the Royal Danish Ballet School. She prioritizes developing artistry and enthusiasm alongside clean technique and healthy movement habits for dancers of all ages.

Nicole Ciapponi

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Nicole Ciapponi trained with Goh Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and The San Francisco Ballet School. She was a top finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2009 and received the silver medal and the Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan award for theatricality at the Genée International Ballet Competition in 2008. Ms. Ciapponi joined the San Francisco Ballet in 2010 and the Joffrey Ballet in 2015. She has danced principal roles in Helgi Tomasson’s Giselle, The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, Swan Lake and 7 for Eight, George Balanchine’s Coppélia, Scotch Symphony, Symphony in C, Theme and Variations, Divertimento No. 15, The Four Temperaments, Serenade, Tarantella and Stravinsky Violin Concerto; Rudolf Nureyev’s Raymonda—Act III, Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, Number Nine and Ghosts and in ballets by Gerald Arpino, Nicholas Blanc, John Cranko, William Forsythe, Robert Joffrey, Jiri Kylian, Edwaard Liang, Wayne McGregor, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Justin Peck, Yuri Possokhov, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, and Myles Thatcher. She performed the Flames of Paris Pas de Deux at The Arts of Classical Ballet School in 2012 and the Pas de Deux from Le Corsaire with Tiit Helimets and Company on tour in Estonia. Ms. Ciapponi joined Diablo Ballet in 2022 performing roles in Confetti and Light Rain Pas de Deux by Gerald Arpino, Sur le Fil and Dr. Magic by Penny Saunders, The Nutcracker Suite and A Midsummer Night's Dream by Julia Adam, Stars and Stripes Pas de Deux by George Balanchine, 4 in the Morning by Val Caniparoli, Sleeping Beauty's Wedding staged by Sean Kelly, Gamzatti in the Pas D'Action from La Bayadère staged by Christopher Lam and The Firebird by Brian Enos. She is a faculty member of Diablo Ballet School.

Lizzie Devanney

Lizzie Devanney was born in Bel Air, Maryland and began her training with Dance Conservatory of Maryland and continued with University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA.) After graduating from high school in 2019, she was invited to join the professional division at Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB). She has attended summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carolina Ballet, Boston Ballet, School of American Ballet, and Next Generation Ballet. In 2020, Ms. Devanney was selected for the Royal Danish Ballet – PNB Exchange Program and was one of 25 young dancers awarded a scholarship from the American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet to support her continued training. Her repertoire includes Kent Stowell’s Cinderella, Ethan Steifel’s The Nutcracker, Helen Pickett’s Petal, Kingdom of the Shade’s from Natalia Makarova’s La Bayadére and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Concerto Barocco and Serenade. She joined Diablo Ballet in 2023 performing roles in Light Rain Pas de Deux and Reflections by Gerald Arpino, Dr. Magic by Penny Saunders, The Nutcracker Suite by Julia Adam, Sinuosity by Sean Kelly, 4 in the Morning by Val Caniparoli, Sleeping Beauty's Wedding and Swan Lake Suite staged by Sean Kelly, the Pas D'Action from La Bayadère staged by Christopher Lam and The Firebird and Alice in Wonderland by Brian Enos. Ms. Devanney is a member of Diablo Ballet School's faculty. 

Evelyn Febuary

Evelyn Febuary was born in Louisiana, known for Mardi Gras, beignets, zydeco, and crawfish. She received her training from Red River Dance Theatre Company and Lafayette Ballet Theatre. At sixteen years old she trained in New York at the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, and then in Nashville, Tennessee in Nashville Ballet’s Professional Training Division, where she was a recipient of the Jane Fabian Scholarship. During summer and winter breaks, Ms. Febuary continued her training with Charlotte Ballet, Ballet Austin, BalletMet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, The Washington Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Gallim, SALT, Gibney Dance Company, New Dialect, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. She was a trainee with Ballet Idaho for two seasons and performed in ballets including George Balanchine’s Serenade and Divertimento No. 15, Nicole Haskins’ Apogée, FLOCK’s A Single Shore, and Penny Saunders’ Myrtle. She also appeared in Sister, a short film by Quinn Wharton. Ms. February joined Diablo Ballet as a trainee in 2023 performing in The Nutcracker Suite by Julia Adam, Dr. Magic by Penny Saunders, Elevator Operator by Amanda Farris, Sleeping Beauty’s Wedding and The Firebird by Brian Enos. In 2024, she was promoted to Apprentice. She is proud of two works she choreographed while at Ballet Idaho: Mozart Turkish March as a trainee project and Hush Little Baby for the Ballet Idaho Youth Company. Ms. February is trained as an Adaptive Dance teacher and worked both as a class assistant and instructor in Nashville Ballet’s Adaptive Dance program. She received certifications in Discover Dance Early Childhood Education, Integrative Dance and Rhythm Works. She’s a Teaching Artist with Diablo Ballet’s PEEK Outreach Program and is a member of Diablo Ballet School’s faculty.

Alina Gonzalez 

Alina Gonzalez, received her training from Contra Costa Ballet, Berkeley Ballet Theater, Diablo Ballet School and summer intensives at the San Francisco Ballet School and Post: Ballet Workshop. She performed prominent roles in Alice in Wonderland by Robin Dekkers, Sugar Plum Fairy and Dewdrop Fairy in The Nutcracker and Russian Girl in Serenade by George Balanchine. She has also performed in La Bayadere, Paquita, Le Corsaire, The Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. In 2019, Ms. Gonzalez became one of Diablo Ballet’s first Professional Trainee’s, where she has performed roles in The Nutcracker Suite and Cinderella’s Wedding by Julia Adam, Wayfaring Pilgrim by Michael Wells and Coppelia. She was promoted to Apprentice in the Fall of 2022 performing roles in The Nutcracker Suite by Julia Adam, Paquita, Swan Lake Suite, La Bayadère, A Midsummer Night's Dream by Julia Adam, Dr. Magic by Penny Saunders, Sleeping Beauty's Wedding, and The Firebird by Brian Enos. She was promoted to Company member in the Fall of 2024. Ms. Gonzalez is a member of Diablo Ballet School's faculty and a PEEK Teaching Artist.

Luis Gonzalez

Luis Eduardo Gonzalez was born in Bogota, Colombia and received his training from Ms. Maniya Barredo, former prima ballerina of Atlanta Ballet and current director of Metropolitan Ballet Theatre. He received the Star Student award at Regional Dance America’s SERBA, took third place at the Regional Youth American Grand Prix competition in 2008, first place pas de deux at the American Ballet Competition in 2013, and was selected to compete as the only representative of Colombia in the 2014 Jackson International Ballet Competition. Mr. Gonzalez began his professional career with The Houston Ballet II, where he had the opportunity to dance works by Stanton Welch, George Balanchine, Claudio Munos, Ben Stevenson among other renowned choreographers, and toured both nationally and internationally. He then joined Orlando Ballet, where he danced for three seasons, performing and originating works by director Robert Hill. His roles included Peter and the Wolf, Ravel’s Bolero, Carmina Burana, and Swan Lake. In 2015 he joined the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago where he performed all over the world. Some of the ballets in his repertoire include Orphe and Euridice, Sylvia by John Neumeier, Mammatus by Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake by Christopher Wheeldon, Raku, Miraculous Mandarin, Anna Karenina by Yuri Possokhov, Glass Pieces by Jerome Robins, and Body of your Dreams. In 2019 he returned to Orlando Ballet and performed principal and soloist roles in works by Val Caniparoli, Victoria Morgan, Robert Hill, and Jessica Lang. In 2021 Gonzalez joined the Sarasota Ballet and danced works by Gemma Bond, Sr. Peter Wright, Sr. David Bintley, George Balanchine and Sr. Frederick Ashton. Simultaneously throughout his dance career, Mr. Gonzalez has been on faculty at the Joffrey Ballet School, Sarasota Ballet School, Orlando Ballet School, Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, and Mount Dora School of Ballet. He has a business degree with a focus in marketing and a minor in psychology. Mr. Gonzalez joined Diablo Ballet in 2023 performing Prince Desire in Sleeping Beauty's Wedding, Kastchei in The Firebird by Brian Enos, Light Rain Pas de Deux by Gerald Arpino, Pas D'Action from La Bayadère staged by Christopher Lam, Forward Thinking by Michael Wells, The Nutcracker Suite by Julia Adam, Dr. Magic by Penny Saunders, Sinuosity by Sean Kelly, and 4 in the Morning by Val Caniparoli. He is a PEEK Teaching Artist and is a member of Diablo Ballet School's faculty.

Mia Hanflig

Mia Hanflig was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts and began dancing at Turning Pointe Dance Studio at age four. She continued her training there with her beloved coaches, eventually joining their daytime pre-professional program and competing in ballet competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix and Connecticut Classic with prize-winning distinction. At sixteen, she moved away from her home on Cape Cod to dance on an artistic scholarship at Colorado Ballet Academy. During her time at Colorado Ballet, Ms. Hanflig was cast in company roles for The Nutcracker and Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz. She was also featured in academy performances with roles such as Princess Florine and Canary Fairy in Colorado Ballet Academy’s The Sleeping Beauty and Swanhilda’s Friend and Harvest Fairy in Coppélia. Following her two years in Denver, Ms. Hanflig joined the Grand Rapids Ballet as a trainee, performing works such as Who Cares? and Serenade by George Balanchine and Devon Carney’s The Sleeping Beauty. In addition to her performances, she has danced at prestigious ballet summer intensives such as Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, The Rock School, and Chautauqua Dance Institute. Ms. Hanflig was a trainee with Diablo Ballet in 2024 and promoted to apprentice in 2025 performing roles in Dr. Magic and Romeo & Juliet by Penny Saunders, The Nutcracker Suite, Cinderella’s Wedding and Little Mermaid by Julia Adam, Alice in Wonderland by Brian Enos and Swan Lake by Christopher Lam. She is certified in American Preparatory Ballet Training and Adaptive Dance through Boston Ballet and holds a certificate in Dance Studio Management awarded through Western Michigan University. Ms. Hanflig is a faculty member at Diablo Ballet School and a Teaching Artist with the PEEK Outreach Program.

Amanda Farris

Amanda Farris was born and raised in Central California, training in ballet with Central West Ballet, Valley Oak School of Dance, and during summers with Boston Ballet. Ms. Farris was a medalist in the Russian Pointe USA national ballet competition in 2004. She attended Long Beach State on a full academic scholarship where she studied both cultural anthropology and dance. There Ms. Farris trained in modern dance and ballet under world renowned faculty. After graduating summa cum laude, she joined The Georgia Ballet where she quickly rose to dancing principal roles, many of which were created on her. Some featured roles include those in Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Pas de Quatre, Janusz Mazon’s Pinnochio and The Firebird, and Alexandre Proia’s The Four Seasons. Since joining Diablo Ballet in 2014, Ms. Farris has danced in works by Julia Adam, Val Caniparoli, Lew Christensen, Robin Dekkers, Sonya Delwaide, Sean Kelly, Trey McIntyre, Bruno Roque, Danielle Rowe, Penny Saunders, Christopher Stowell, Sally Streets, Norbert Vesak, Stanton Welch, Michael Wells, the Pas de Deux in La Fille Mal Gardee, Black and White Swan Pas de Deux, Flames of Paris, Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty's Wedding, Coppélia and George Balanchine's Apollo and Who Cares?. Ms. Farris has designed and created Diablo Ballet's costumes including Julia Adams' Cinderella's Wedding, Swan Lake Suite, Sleeping Beauty's Wedding, Pas D'Action from La Bayadère, and Coppélia. Her choreography, Elevator Operator, was chosen as Diablo Ballet's first Dance Laboratory winner. She has enjoyed being a Teaching Artist with Diablo Ballet's PEEK Outreach Program and she is a faculty member of Diablo Ballet School.

Olivia Powell

Olivia Powell is a native of the Boston area and received her ballet training from the Boston Ballet School. She attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts’ dance department and received her BFA with first class honors at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, in Hong Kong. Ms. Powell then joined The Alabama Ballet where she performed in works such as George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, as the dew drop fairy, and Tarantella. She also performed in Jiri Jylian’s Sechs Tanze, Agnes De Mille’s Rodeo, and Roger Van Fleteren’s Romeo and Juliet and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 2014, she joined Ballet Memphis where she worked with many choreographers including Mark Godden, Steven McMahon, Uri Sands, Joshua L. Peugh, Gabrielle Lamb, Julia Adam and Julie Marie Niekrasz. Ms. Powell has also choreographed several works for Ballet Memphis’ “Pairings” and The Alabama Ballet’s “Choreographic Showcase”. Ms. Powell has performed the role of Alice in Alice in Wonderland and The Firebird by Brian Enos, Swanhilda in Coppélia and in George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Who Cares?, and Donizetti Variations, Orange by Stanton Welch, Sur le Fil and Dr. Magic by Penny Saunders, 4 in the Morning by Val Caniparoli, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cinderella's Wedding and The Nutcracker Suite by Julia Adam, Black Swan, and Paquita staged by Christopher Lam, and The Bluebird Pas de Deux in Sleeping Beauty's Wedding. Ms. Powell has been a Teaching Artist in Diablo Ballet's PEEK Outreach Program and is a member of Diablo Ballet School's faculty.

Alison Ramoran

Alison Ramoran trained at South Bay Ballet (now known as Ballet California) in Torrance, California, under the instruction of Diane Lauridsen. In 2017 she received the Daily Breeze “Making a Difference Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts” by the California Legislature Assembly at the Torrance Performing Arts Consortium. Upon graduating in 2018, she was given a contract with Oklahoma City Ballet’s second company. She was then promoted to apprentice in 2020, and corps de ballet in 2021. While there, she performed works by August Bournonville & Michael Pink, and was featured in ballets by Septime Webre, Robert Mills, Ryan Nye, Nicolo Fonte, Jerome Robbins, and Jessica Lang. Ms. Ramoran joined Smuin Ballet in 2022, where she performed works by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Osnel Delgado, Rex Wheeler, Nicole Haskins, Val Caniparoli, Kate Skarpetowska, and Amy Seiwert. Since joining Diablo Ballet in 2023, she has performed in Confetti by Gerald Arpino, Dr. Magic by Penny Saunders, The Nutcracker Suite by Julia Adam, The Firebird by Brian Enos, 4 in the Morning by Val Caniparoli, Forward Thinking by Michael Wells, Elevator Operator by Amanda Farris, Sleeping Beauty's Wedding staged by Sean Kelly and the Pas D'Action from La Bayadère staged by Christopher Lam. Ms. Ramoran is a member of Diablo Ballet School's faculty.