AboutUs

About Us

Yen-Li Chen Ballet School Staff

Yen-Li Chen's dancing has been praised by critics and audiences from Asia to South
America and through out the United States. She has been an invited guest artist at the
Festival International de Caracas - Venezuela, The Santiago international Festival - Chile, in
Taipei, Taiwan and at several dance companies across North America. A remarkable
mastery of technique and artistry in both classical and contemporary repertory has earned
Ms. Chen accolades of audiences through out the world. Her repertory includes title roles
in Giselle, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, the Nutcracker and numerous others.
Yen-Li has thrilled Arizona audiences since 1992. Ms. Chen brings the same passion and
artistry of her dancing into the classroom as a master teacher. She has guest taught at
numerous ballet schools in Taiwan, Texas, Oregon, Arizona and California. In Taiwan, her
early training in Vaganova and other ballet techniques has served her very well as a dancer
and a teacher. Yen-Li currently resides in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and former
Ballet Arizona principal dancer, Qisheng Zhang, and their two children.

Miguel Garcia began his training at the Ballet Academy of Rego Park, New York.
A scholarship to study at the School of the American Ballet Theatre, resulted in
membership with the junior touring Company of American Ballet Theatre. He then
joined the National Ballet of Canada as a corps de ballet member and was later
promoted to the rank of soloist dancer. During his tenure with the National Ballet he
worked with Rudolph Nuryev, and then performing with "Nureyev and Friends" in
Paris, France, and in the presence of Princess Margaret in London, England and was
featured on the cover of Dance Magazine in July 1985. Mr. Garcia has danced with
Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. Performing at the Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In 1991 he joined Ballet Arizona as a soloist
dancer and was moved to the ranks of principal dancer the following season. Mr.
Garcia has also performed with the Milwaukee Ballet and the Colorado Ballet.

Gail Passey Reed began her training in California with Contra Costa Ballet and San
Francisco Ballet School before joining the Marine Ballet. She then danced for two years
with Baltimore Ballet, where her leading roles included the title role in Alice in
Wonderland, Bluebird Pas de Deux from The Sleeping Beauty and Flower Festival in
Genzano. Ms. Reed joined Ballet Arizona in 1985, its inaugural year. She received critical
acclaim for her portrayal of Swanhilda in Michael Uthoff's Coppelia. Other principal
roles include the title role in Ben Stevenson's Cinderella, Sugar Plum Fairly in The
Nutcracker, George Balanchine's Valse Fantasie, Grand pas Classique, and John
Cranko's Opus1. She retired from the stage in 1997 and began teaching and
administrating for The School of Ballet Arizona. Ms. Reed is married to former Ballet
Arizona dancer Michael Reed and they have one little girl Liliana. Gail is very happy to
join the faculty of Yen-Li Chen Ballet School.

Administrative Staff ~ Christine Vargas

Victoria Coxon began her training with Joseph Carow and Cindy Mancini and
continued her training with Mr. Carow at East Carolina University where she graduated
with a Bachelor of Social Work and and Minor in Ballet Performance. She has received
scholarships from Charleston Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet. Upon graduation, she
continued her training with Melissa Hale-Coyle, Mel Tomlinson and Claudia Folts at
Charlotte City Ballet while apprenticing with the Moving Poets Theatre of Dance. She has
also studied with Martha Goodman and Carol Skzutek of Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance
Education and Maniya Barredo at Metropolitan Ballet Theatre. She was invited to join
Festival Ballet Atlanta under the direction of Nicolas Pacana and Gregory Aaron in 1999,
where she performed soloist roles in Swan Lake, Paquita, as well as the title role in Mr.
Pacana's original production of Peter Pan. While at Festival Ballet, Victoria assisted Mr.
Pacana and Mr. Aaron as a Ballet Mistress with the staging and rehearsal of Coppelia,
Swan Lake, Peter Pan, and several Nutcracker productions. After the birth of her son,
Victoria transitioned to teaching and especially enjoys working with the Primary Levels to
share her love for ballet.

Hunter Stephens began his dance training at the Ballet West Conservatory in Salt
Lake City, Utah where he was a William F. Christensen merit scholarship student. He
continued his ballet training at both the University of Utah Ballet Department and
Brigham Young University where he was a member of the Theater Ballet. While in
Utah he also studied with Jacqueline Colledge and performed with the Utah Regional
Ballet. Mr. Stephens was a summer intensive scholarship student at Ballet West. The
Rock School of Dance, and The Inland Pacific Ballet where he was offered a company
position. He most recently performed with NovaBallet, Arizona's newest professional
contemporary ballet company. Additional dance training received is through the style
of international ballroom dance. He has competed throughout the United States
studying with notable coaches such as Louis Van Amstel, Corky Balas, and Inna
Berlizyeva. He has also competed on an international level and currently holds the title
of World Pro-Am International Latin Champion.

Lauren Tomasulo is currently the owner and instructor at Pilates by Fitness Solutions,
Inc. Where she is teaching the Pilates Method of Body Conditioning. She has been
teaching in Arizona since 1995, and enjoys seeing the changes people can make in their
bodies and the wonderful feeling they get from performing the Pilates Method. Ms.
Tomasulo hails from New York and has extensive training in ballet, modern, jazz, and
musical theatre. She has performed in many dance companies and musical theatre
productions. Among some of the shows in Phoenix, Little Shop of Horrors; Fiddler on the
Roof; Once Upon a Mattress; and in New York, The Boys from Syracuse; The Gondoliers;
Carousel; Kismet; USS Pinafore; The Most Happy Fella; The Mystery of Edwin Drood;
Brigadoon; Cabaret; High Button Shoes; Oliver; Nine; How to Succeed In Business;
Showboat. Ms. Tomasulo has received a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University, an MA in
Educational theatre from New York University, and MS from Hunter College in Elementary
Education. She is happy to be teaching at the School of Ballet Arizona and Yen-li Chen
Ballet School.

Yumiko Takahashi - Yumi "la Rosa" began her dancing career in modern dance in Tokyo, Japan at an early age
participating in competitions and performing at prestigious theaters. She has studied flamenco in both Spain and US
from well known artists such as Belen Maya, Rafaela Carrasco, Isabel Bayón, Antonio Granjero, La Tania, Antonio
Hidalgo, and Lydia Torea to name a few. She started performing in Phoenix, AZ in 1999 as a company dancer with Viva
Flamenco directed by Lydia Torea, and a soloist with Calo Flamenco, Ballet de Martín Gaxiola in 2004. Currently, she is
a featured soloist with Mosaico Flamenco at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale. In 2005, she started her own show monthly at
Casa Rincon in Sedona, Arizona. Her flamenco career has extended out as a performer and teacher throughout the
Southwest and Mexico. Her teaching experience includes Flamenco workshops and on-going classes throughout the
valley and Northern Arizona; such as Arizona Ballet School, Montessori Middle School, Pat Smith Dance School,
Arizona School of Classical Ballet, Paradise Valley Community College, Scottsdale Community College, and Coconino
Community College. She has joined Arizona Commission for the Arts to educate and preserve the art of flamenco. She
also promotes workshops in the Phoenix area inviting well qualified artists from all over US and Spain.