Meet the Founder
Natalie Wright
Founder / Artistic Director / Ballet Instructor
Natalie Wright was born in Miami Beach, Florida and began her dance training at the Martha Mahr School of Ballet. A member of the Miami Ballet's Junior and Senior Company she performed regularly throughout the city in various productions.
Natalie attended the official school for New York City Ballet, School of American Ballet, on full scholarship for five consecutive summers. At the age of 15 she received a full tuition scholarship to SAB's year round program, and accepted an invitation to train in the Advanced Division. She studied with Stanley Williams, Antonia Tumkovsky, Susan Pilarre, Suki Schorer, Richard Rapp, Violette Verdy, Kay Mazzo and Jock Sotto.
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Upon graduating from SAB and completing her academic studies at the Professional Children's School, Natalie moved to Seattle, Washington where she trained on full scholarship and performed with Pacific Northwest Ballet in various productions including Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Four Temperaments, Balanchine’s A Midsummer Nights Dream, Coppelia and Western Symphony, among others.
Natalie later returned to Miami, where she spent eight years as the Outreach Coordinator and Ballet Instructor for Armour Dance Theatre’s Scholarship Program at the Miami Conservatory, South Florida’s oldest ballet school. The non profit scholarship program continues on as organization devoted to offering quality dance training to over 500 talented but underserved youth in the greater Miami area, free of charge. She taught pre ballet through advanced classes and acted as rehearsal director for numerous productions.
Natalie went on to work for two years with the Dance Theatre of Harlem School in New York City, teaching technique and advanced pointe to students participating in the Pre Professional, Community, and Summer Intensive Programs. In Los Angeles, prior to opening Ballet Conservatory West, Natalie taught for Gabriella Charter School and Los Angeles Ballet School, the former official school for Los Angeles Ballet. She trained students ranging from beginner through the trainee level and created, developed, and was the sole teacher for the school’s Creative Movement and Pre Ballet programs.
As Artistic Director of Ballet Conservatory West, Natalie has developed the school’s full ballet curriculum and taught all levels of its syllabus, overseen faculty training and supervision, and staged and produced the school’s annual Spring Concert and full length productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. She is also Level One certified in the Progressing Ballet Technique method.
Natalie resides in Los Feliz.
James Ady
Guest Ballet Instructor
James Ady began dancing when he was 15 in Clinton, Iowa, before attending the North Carolina School for the Arts his junior and senior years of high school. After graduating from NCSA, he trained at the San Francisco Ballet School before joining Pennsylvania Ballet, now Philadelphia Ballet. Ady danced numerous lead roles before leaving in 2002 to join American Ballet Theatre. While with ABT, he performed in Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, Romeo and Juliet, La Fille Mal Gardee, and toured nationally and internationally with the company. During his time with ABT, he worked with Lar Lubovitch, Natalia Makarova, Stanton Welch, James Kudelka, Georgina Parkinson and David Parsons. Ady returned to Pennsylvania Ballet in 2003 as a soloist and was promoted to principal dancer in 2005. Favorite leading roles include Romeo in John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Albrecht in Giselle, Prince Siegfried in Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake, Colas in Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardee, the 3rd Sailor in Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, and in numerous George Balanchine ballets including Agon, The Four Temperaments, Slaughter on 10th Avenue, Valse Fantaisie, Serenade, Ballo della Regina, Bugaku, and Concerto Barocco. After retiring in 2008, he graduated magna cum laude from Boise State University in 2012 with a degree in journalism.
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In 2013, James accepted an offer to become Ballet Master with Ballet Memphis. This position gave James the opportunity to develop his pedagogy and combine various aspects of his dance experience, while teaching daily technique class for the company. During his time with Ballet Memphis, Ady staged numerous ballets including The Nutcracker, Matthew Neenan’s Party of the Year, and Petr Zahradinek’s Day and Night in FedEx City. Ady enjoyed extensive touring with the company to multiple dance festivals in Saint Louis, Baltimore, Shreveport, and Kansas City, preparing many ballets such as Trey McIntyre’s In Dreams and Julia Adam’s Devils Fruit.
In 2015, Ady became an assistant professor and lecturer for three years at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. While there, he taught all levels of ballet technique, partnering, men’s and women’s variations, pointe, and men’s technique class. He assisted numerous choreographers including Matthew Neenan in a world premiere, as well as Stacy Caddell from the Balanchine Trust, staging George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht.
Having arrived in Los Angeles in 2018, Ady is happy to be part of the vibrant dance community here. He has taught for the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and the Colburn School, and is currently teaching at Ballet Conservatory West and Westside School of Ballet. Additionally, James is certified in the GYROTONIC Method.
Jessica Gadzinski
Ballet Instructor
Jessica Gadzinski is a professional dancer, model, actor and dance educator based out of Los Angeles, CA. Originally from Riverside, California Jessica Gadzinski began dancing at the age of three, training at Riverside Ballet Arts until 2005. In the fall of 2006 she moved across the country to study under Marcia Dale Weary, Leslie Hench, Laszlo Berdo and Darla Hoover at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Jessica received additional training and performing experience at Charlotte Ballet, Ballet Academy East and Richmond Ballet.
Professionally, Jessica has danced on LA’s biggest stages including the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Dorthy Chandler Pavilion, the Broad Stage, the Ford and the Wallis. She’s danced with major artists and companies including Hermes, Barak Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, the LA Phil, La Opera, Rita Ora, Charlie Puth and Lenny Kravitz.
As an actor, she’s appeared commercially in campaigns with such notable brands as Pepsi, Walmart, Toyota, Meta, 76, Jim Beam, Panera, Squarespace and many more.
At Ballet Conservatory West, Jessica teaches Intermediate and Advanced level ballet technique classes.
Sarah Lozoff
Guest Ballet Instructor
Sarah Lozoff is a ballet teacher, Gyrotonic instructor, and intimacy director. After training at the Miami Conservatory (now Armour Dance Theatre) and New World School of the Arts, she performed soloist and principal roles with Ballet Rosario Suarez. Sarah has taught ballet for professional companies and schools for over twenty five years. She has been an invited guest at TU Dance, Larkin Dance School, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, Common Thread Contemporary, Armour Dance Theatre, Minnesota Dance Theatre, and RudduR Dance, and a faculty member at Gabriella Charter School, Everybody Dance, LA Ballroom Program, Marat Daukayev School of Ballet, and Ballet Conservatory West where she also served as Associate Artistic Director for the school’s full length productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.
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As the first intimacy director to work with American Ballet Theatre, she paved the way for intimacy direction in concert dance. Sarah intimacy directed Touché and Lifted, both groundbreaking commissions for ABT, and served as the consulting intimacy director for ABT's Fall 2021 and Summer 2022 seasons. Sarah was the first resident intimacy director for a major regional theater at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and was named by Broadway Women's Fund as a "Woman to Watch on Broadway". She's choreographed and been a guest artist for intimacy direction at OSF, Geffen Playhouse, Colorado Symphony, Guthrie Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre, Stanford, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Kentucky at Lexington, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Southern Oregon University, Society of American Fight Directors, Barnard/Columbia, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, Oklahoma City Ballet, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts School of Dance.
Sarah has been featured for her work in multiple textbooks, and by Vice News, The New York Times, Dance Magazine, Pointe Magazine, Jefferson Public Radio, The Oregonian, Playbill, and Broadway World.
Jane Zogbi
Contemporary Instructor
Classically trained at Cary Ballet Conservatory in Cary, North Carolina, Jane was encouraged to explore her personal artistry through multiple genres of expression from a young age. Jane’s introduction to contemporary dance and musical theatre began at William G. Enloe Magnet High School under the instruction of Courtney Greer and Freddie Lee Heath. A Point Park University graduate, Jane holds a BFA in dance with a minor in musical theatre.
As a performer, Jane's worked alongside esteemed artists such as Christopher & Charlotte d'Amboise, Tyce Diorio, Jae Man Joo, Sidra Bell, Alexandra Damiani, Jim Cooney, Michael Rupert, Anouk Van Dijk, John Carrafa, Brian Golden, Luca Renzi and Mike Tyus. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2021, Jane joined MashUp Contemporary Dance and Invertigo Dance Theatre. While still committed to the values of concert dance, Jane began dabbling in LA’s commercial industry working with music artists like Clean Bandit, Chloe Bailey, Lila Forde, and Grace Vanderwaal.
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Jane also enjoys spending her time supporting the next generation of dance artists. You can find her teaching ballet to all ages at Serendipity Dance Co. in Simi Valley. Last but not least, Jane is so excited to be joining Ballet Conservatory West as contemporary faculty for their 26/27 season!