Pavel Fomin, Ballet Master

Pavel Fomin was born in the Ukraine and received his ballet training from 1955 to 1961 at the Odessa Ballet School and the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad under the guidance of A. Pushkin and S. Kaplan. From 1964 to 1990 he was a principal dancer with the State Academic Opera & Ballet House in Odessa City and danced the entire classical repertoire, including Basilio in Don Quixote, Solar in La Bayadere, Albrecht in Giselle, and Prince Desiree in The Sleeping Beauty. Contemporary ballets in which he performed include The Moor's Pavane by Jose Limon, Carmen by Alberto Alonso, and Tcheishov's Spartacus, among others. Mr. Fomin rose quickly to the position of Principal Ballet Master and Artistic Director, was responsible for his company's tours in Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, Japan, and Montreal with a cultural exchange of Canadian artists. Mr. Fomin has worked with choreographers of the stature of L. Lavrovsky, Oleg Vinograkov and E. Tchernishov, and received the title of Honored Artist of the Ukraine in 1971. Mr. Fomin graduated with honors from The Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in 1990 with an M.A. in pedagogy of classical ballet. Mr. Fomin joined The Sarasota Ballet in 1991 as Ballet Master 

Yaima Franco, Assistant Ballet Mistress

Yaima began her ballet training at age nine with the Cuban National Ballet School. She graduated in 1999 and then joined The National Ballet of Cuba under the direction of Alicia Alonso. Yaima danced soloist roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Coppelia, The Nutcracker and Paquita. In 2000, Yaima danced in George Balanchine's Ballo Della Regina, staged by Merrill Ashley and one of the few Balanchine ballets performed in Cuba. Being a dancer with The National Ballet of Cuba has given her a vast knowledge of the classical, romantic & contemporary repertoire of the company. It also afforded her the opportunity to represent the company in many theaters through out Latin & North America, Asia & Europe.

Yaima joined the Sarasota Ballet faculty in 2008. She has also performed with the Company as Love in Dame Ninette's de Valois' Checkmate and Countess Vronsky in Andre Prokovsky's Anna Karenina. Yaima currently teachers ballet, pointe and variations for the upper level in the Sarasota Ballet School, dancers in the Trainee Program and Company class. She has also choreographed ensemble and solo pieces for students. She was made Assistant Ballet Mistress in 2009.