Rena kamariotakis

Rena began her early ballet training with Rosemary McCarter and former Joffrey principal Elizabeth Huebner. At age 13 she started intensive coaching under Stela Viorica of the Romanian National Ballet, studying the Vaganova method for several years. In addition, she received training from Maria Sifuentes, Shao-Pen Wang, Vladimir Kolesnikov, Alexander Greschenko, Alaine Haubert, Stefan Wenta, Larry Rosenberg, Melissa Allen Bowman, and Michel Gervais. Rena performed extensively with the Ballet Montmartre in many ballets including Don Quixote, Paquita, Alice in Wonderland, Bluebird pas de deux from Sleeping Beauty, and in a ballet adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, where she performed the roles of Mrs Cratchit and the Ghost of Christmas Past. Afterward, Rena joined the Anaheim Ballet as a company artist, performing the Arabian Queen in their Nutcracker tour in Nevada and Southern California and dancing soloist roles in Hans Christian Andersen, Martini, Carnival of the Animals, and Balanchine’s Serenade. Rena then began a career in software engineering and currently works for Zillow. Over the years she has been teaching ballet at schools throughout Orange County, including Jimmie Defore Dance Center, Anaheim Ballet School, Maple Conservatory, Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet, and V&T Dance. She loves passing down her knowledge and passion for ballet to her students, and places emphasis on artistry and epaulement in her teaching. In 2019, Rena founded the SoCal Ballet Scene, which aims to support the ballet community by building public awareness of the local professional ballet companies that are in Southern California. SoCal Ballet Scene hosts a festival gala that invites local companies and freelance dancers to perform on one shared stage in a mixed repertoire performance.