Pia Russo

Pia Russo, former School Principal at Tulsa Ballet Center of Dance Education from 2012 to 2016 and former ballet teacher at the Ballet School of Teatro San Carlo of Naples, the oldest European ballet school founded by Salvatore Taglioni, worked as Guest Ballet Mistress for the most important Italian Companies, following a distinguished and unconventional career as Soloist Dancer and co-founder of one the most successful private company in Italy. Her experience as teacher has given her a special insight into the needs of young dancers, and her background of Italian artistry, Russian classical ballet, and contemporary American dance adds a unique flavour to her teaching.
Her career as dancer spans over twenty-four years, beginning in Reggio Emilia with teachers from the Bucharest Opera House, Maestro Gabriel Popescu and his ballet partner Valentina Massini Apostolescu, and ending ten years ago within the company she co-founded: Fabula Saltica Compagnia di Danza in Rovigo. She initially worked with the Così-Stefanescu Ballet Company performing in classical ballet repertory including Don Quixote, Coppelia, Raymonda among others. In 1986 she established the Fabula Saltica Company where she has also featured in works by Gheorghe Iancu, Robert North, Robert Cohan and many other masters. In 1996, after two years of teaching practice, she graduated in Ballet Pedagogy as Teacher of Classical-Academic Dance at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Her thesis topic was “Space, time and dance: preadolescence, pedagogic considerations.”  From 1996 to 2002, she directed Professional Dancers’ Workshops financed by Region of Veneto, overseeing the audition process, company repertoire, and teaching ballet technique. Some of her best students started their careers with Fabula Saltica and later joined some of the most important Italian companies: Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Teatro alla Scala in Milan and Teatro dell’Opera in Rome.