Artistic Director
Formally trained with Ballet Manila Company for seven years, Lina danced with their corps de ballet before her passion for teaching led her to Perry Sevidal Ballet, where she taught for a decade. During this time, she balanced her dual pursuits of dance education and academic excellence, earning degrees in International Studies and Accountancy.
Her dedication to pedagogical excellence took her to Rigas Horeografijas Vidusskola (Riga, Latvia), where she refined her teaching methodology, and later to the prestigious Vaganova Ballet Academy (St. Petersburg, Russia) as an invited trainee.
During the pandemic, Lina, Earned her Vaganova Primary Level certification under mentors Ms. Annette Thomas and Ms. Inna Stabrova. Achieved Off-Ice Ballet for Figure Skating certification under Ms. Annette Thomas (endorsed by American Ice Theatre), passing with mastery in 2023 (Primary) and 2025 (Level 1).
She recently completed a teaching internship at the Paris Opera Ballet School (Nanterre, Paris) through their teacher-training program in July 2025.
Now, Lina channels her expertise into nurturing the next generation of dancers in the Philippines, combining rigorous technique with infectious passion at her studio.
The Faculty
Proper guidance Is key in any successful career. We hope to instill a love for dance to our students through our instructors.
Our instructors are equipped with professional dance experience from top schools and companies around the Philippines and around the world.
Jazz, Contemporary, & Ballet Teacher
Julio grew up in dance, so naturally, he became a dancer himself. He started his dance training at age 7, taking lessons at Steps Dance Studio under his parents James and Liesl Laforteza, and Sofia Zobel Elizalde. He started with jazz, then progressed onto ballet and modern dance at age 11. Julio performed in numerous shows and recitals with Steps and has had the privilege to work with guest teachers and choreographers from all over the world.
He was also able to compete at the Asian Grand Prix in 2012 and 2013, winning a scholarship in his division and 5th place over the respective years. In 2016, he moved to New York City to study dance at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he once again had the privilege to study and work with dancers, teachers, and choreographers worldwide. In 2018, Julio moved back to the Philippines and in 2019 became a member of Galaw.Co Dance Theatre under his former jazz teacher PJ Rebullida.
In 2022, Julio found himself in musical theater as part of Repertory Philippines’ production of Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s Carousel. Julio finds deep joy in teaching and sharing his experiences with his students, as he believes it is a responsibility to help young artists to develop into full-fledged professionals. On top of it all, Julio loves to have fun, as is apparent in all his classes.
Eira Joanne Tangalin has undergone intensive training in Classical and Modern Ballet, Choreography, and Contemporary dance at a very young age. Through dancing, she received a scholarship from the Philippine High School for the Arts and De la Salle-College of St Benilde.
She has entered local and international dance scenes including the Seoul International Dance competition and the exchange artist program of La Salle College of the Arts Singapore.
After graduating, she pursued her dancing professionally in Ballet Philippines and has been part of major Ballet productions including Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Cinderella, Nutcracker, and distinguished contemporary pieces. She is currently a company artist for the Philippine Ballet Theatre. She is extending her craft and love for kids by teaching Ballet from baby to advanced level all around Metro Manila.
Ballet Teacher
Katrene began formal dance training under Effie Nañas at age seven and took classes at various prestigious dance institutions such as Broadway Dancentre, Steps in Broadway in New York, Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, and private classes at Beijing Dance Academy.
In 2013, she received a scholarship at the Vaganova-based City Ballet School of San Francisco, where she trained under the direction of Galina Alexandrova and Anne-Sophie Rodriguez Hoyt.
In 2014, she joined Ballet Philippines and performed roles such as 'Snow White' in Effie Nañas’ "Snow White", 'Titania' in Carlo Paris’ "A Midsummer Night’s Dream", 'Cinderella' in Alice Reyes’ "Cinderella", 'Cupid' and 'Mercedes' in Don Quixote, as well as featured roles in Swan Lake and Redha Benteifour’s "Opera".
In 2016, she graduated with a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Dance while working with the company.
Katrene was also a member of Alice Reyes Dance Philippines, where she performed in choreographic classics such as “Salome” in Agnes Locsin’s “Elias at Salome” and “Sita” in Alice Reyes’ “Rama, Hari.” She also portrayed classical ballet roles such as “The Sugarplum Fairy” in “The Nutcracker” and “Aurora” in “The Sleeping Beauty”.
Recently, she participated in a special project with the Hong Kong Ballet in collaboration with Hong Kong Disneyland, and was later invited to perform in HKB’s production of Swan Lake, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov.
Ballet Teacher / Guest Artist
Teacher Abby has always had a passion for movement and performance at a young age. After focusing on gymnastics and dabbling as a figure skater at one point, she ventured onto ballet where she trained under Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's School of Ballet Manila.
After joining Ballet Manila's second company, she participated in dance competitions such as the Asian Grand Prix and CCP Ballet Competition. She performed in various Ballet Manila shows, including Swan Lake, Lola Basyang, and Ibong Adarna.
Following a hiatus from dance, she graduated from the University of the Philippines Manila with a degree in Speech Pathology. She then pursued contemporary dance under the guidance of PJ Rebullida at Galaw Co.
Additionally, she received mentorship from local dance luminaries such as Gerardo Francisco, Ea Torrado, Julie Alagde-Carretas, and Carissa Adea. She also had the opportunity to work with international dance artists Mathilde Gilhet and Dario Dinuzzi in a workshop with SHIFT Dance in Singapore.
Currently, she is a company member at Galaw Co. and teaches at the Studio Dance by Lina Shangri-la. Furthermore, she works as a pediatric speech-language therapist.
Contemporary Teacher
Chloe Alcid is a professional dancer and movement teacher based in Manila, Philippines. She started her dance training at Steps Dance Studio, where she studied classical ballet, modern, and jazz under Rica Balagtas, Raul Sauz, Jeffrey Espejo, Jun Saagundo, and James and Liesl Laforteza. She was a scholar at the studio from 2008 to 2011.
She was a Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) examination candidate until Advanced 1. Later, she pursued contemporary dance at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and earned her BFA in Dance in 2014.
As a professional dancer, Chloe has collaborated with Daloy Dance Company (2019-2020) under the direction of Ea Torrado and is currently a member of Galaw.Co Dance Theater under PJ Rebullida. Her freelance projects include commercials and dance films such as “Insula”, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Fifth Wall Fest 2022. She also represented The Philippines at the Dubai World Expo 2020 (held in Feb 2022) as a dancer in “Daluyong ng Diwa”, choreographed by JM Cabling.
After college, Chloe completed her first yoga teacher training, which sparked her passion for teaching. For the past 9 years, Chloe has been a full-time dance and yoga teacher. Currently, she teaches at Nudefloor, Galaw.Co, TM Dance Studio, Beats and Steps Arts Academy, and Studio Dance by Lina - Shang. As a teacher, Chloe’s philosophy is to focus on developing technical rigor while also encouraging a holistic and sustainable approach to learning movement
Contemporary Teacher
Teacher Luvic began her ballet training at the age of 14 with JNA Dance and Fitness Center under the guidance of Teacher Kris-Belle Paclibar-Mamangun. She currently trains with Studio Dance by Lina and has since expanded her repertoire to include Jazz and Contemporary dance.
Her passion for dance has opened doors for her not only as a performer but also as a valued member of the SDBL team, where she serves as a teacher assistant, Baby Ballet teacher, and admin staff.
In addition to her work in the studio, she is pursuing a degree in B Sports Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where she continues to balance her academic life with her commitment to dance.
Ballet Teacher/Teacher Assistant