Our Team
Allison Jones Gustafson, Director
After receiving her BA in Foreign Languages from Southern Methodist University, Ms. Gustafson earned her MA in Sociology from the University of Arizona. Her strong belief that a dance studio should provide a healthy environment where both learning and personal growth can occur stems from her academic research concerning the connection between the environment of the dance studio and a dancer’s self-esteem. Ms. Gustafson has many years experience teaching ballet to all levels of children and adults. She is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training in Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National training Curriculum. Ms. Gustafson continues her work as a college level professor of Sociology. In addition, she is a both a Founding Director on the State Street Ballet Board of Directors, as well as a Director on The Ballet Alliance Board of Directors.
Cecily MacDougall, Director
Cecily MacDougall is from Santa Barbara, CA and is also the Founder and Director of Library Dances, part of State Street Ballet’s educational outreach program. She danced professionally with New York Theatre Ballet, Allegro Theatre Company, Richmond Ballet, and State Street Ballet. Cecily has choreographed numerous pieces for State Street Ballet, as well as for The Bartered Bride, produced by Music Academy of the West, and El amor brujo, in collaboration with Opera Santa Barbara. She received the Indy Award for Anne’s Window in 2015, and in 2020 earned the Apogee Award for her successful arts outreach initiatives. Cecily graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in Performing Arts from St. Mary’s College and is an ABT Certified Teacher. She has taught dance for over a decade and currently serves as the Associate Executive Director of State Street Ballet.
Teaching Artists
Marina Fliagina
Marina Fliagina was born in Russia, and graduated with distinction from Perm State College of Choreography in Russia. In 1990, she was admitted to the Moscow State Theatre Kremlin Ballet where she worked with the renowned Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova. She has performed roles in all of the famous classical ballets and has toured internationally with the Russian Imperial Ballet, Moscow Classical Ballet, and the Moscow Festival Ballet. Fliagina joined State Street Ballet as a dancer in 1998, and was promoted to Rehearsal Director in 2000. In addition to her duties as Rehearsal Director, she continues to appear in character roles such as the Stepmother in Cinderella and the Nurse Maid in Romeo and Juliet.
Megan Phillipp
Megan Philipp joined the staff of State Street Ballet in 2013. She created, launched, and directs the Professional Track Program, which serves as the trainee program for the company. She became a company rehearsal director in 2018 as well as co-director of our annual Summer Intensive. In addition, she has been invited to choreograph for a variety of productions, including the Nutcracker, Jungle Book, and Sleeping Beauty. Prior to coming to State Street Ballet, Megan spent four years at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. She was a faculty member and then promoted to Faculty and Curriculum Coordinator. She worked closely with the directors to create a curriculum for the newly opened Academy, taught for all levels of the school and trainee program, and ran their Los Angeles Summer Intensive. Mrs. Philipp has her Master’s in Dance Education from New York University where she studied classical ballet pedagogy at American Ballet Theater and worked in administration for the organization. She spent eight years in New York City as a performing artist, teacher, and choreographer before completing her masters and moving to Chicago. She also has a BA in Dance Pedagogy from Butler University and is certified in the Simonson Jazz Technique.
Noam Tsivkin
Noam Tsivkin, from New York City, received his dance training from Merle Sepel and his mother, Rebecca Tsivkin. He continued his training at the School of American Ballet where he performed with New York City Ballet in productions of The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. He received further training from the Alvin Ailey School, French Academie of Ballet, and State Street Ballet’s Professional Track program before joining State Street Ballet in 2016.
Amara Galloway
Amara Galloway, from Fairfax, VA, received her formal training from BalletNova Center for Dance, The Joffrey Ballet Chicago, and Ballet Arizona. She has had the opportunity to perform choreography by George Balanchine, Sir Frederick Ashton, and Jeffrey Cirio, and was a semi-finalist at The Youth America Grand Prix Competition. Amara joined the State Street Ballet Company in 2017, and has performed lead and soloist roles in ballets including Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The Nutcracker, and most recently, the title role of Cinderella. She has been featured in numerous contemporary works and, in 2021, was the Dance Captain for the Broadway musical Kismet. Amara has enjoyed many opportunities to tour nationally and internationally including performances in Japan and as a guest artist in the United Kingdom. She continues to share her passion with the students of the State Street Ballet Academy.
Arianna Hartanov
Born in Denver, CO, Arianna trained in ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, tap, and musical theater before moving to Santa Barbara in 2016 to dance professionally with State Street Ballet. She has performed various soloist and principle roles in The Nutcracker, Giselle, The Jungle Book, and The Sleeping Beauty among others. She has also had the pleasure of working with choreographers like Nilas Martins, Edgar Zendejas, Meredith Ventura, and Kassandra Taylor Knewberry in their creative processes during her career, and recently produced her first show in 2022 in collaboration with SELAH Dance Collective. Arianna became a certified Countertechnique instructor in 2023, and is excited to continue growing as a dancer, teacher and performer in the coming season, and is so happy to teach the dancers at SSBA.
Fenna Roukema
Fenna Roukema, from Santa Barbara, CA, received her early training in ballet, modern, contemporary, and jazz from State Street Ballet Academy (SSBA). She joined SBCC’s Modern Dance Company in 2018 and received her AA in Dance there in 2022. Additionally, she holds an AA in Kinesiology from SBCC and a BS in Cell & Developmental Biology from UCSB. In addition to her academic pursuits, Fenna has also choreographed a number of modern works, and has most recently won recognition for “FOAM” (2022) (Finalist at Red Rock Dance Festival 2023) and “Chronophobia” (2023) (Gala selection at ACDA Baja 2024, Finalist and Audience Choice Award at Red Rock Dance Festival 2024). Fenna has been a member of SSBA’s teaching staff since 2022; she continues to dance with the SBCC Dance Company and joined SELAH Dance Collective in 2024.
Mei-Ling Murray
Mei-Ling Murray is a classically trained dancer from Northern California. She spent summers training at American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and graduated with a BFA in Dance from the University of Arizona. She has performed works by George Balanchine, Jiri Kylian, Robert Moses, Alex Ketley, and Maurice Causey. A career in dance diplomacy brought her to Panama and India, working with U.S. embassies to develop international dance programs through the non-profit organization Movement Exchange. She danced professionally with Project B. Dance company in San Francisco, where she also served as a teaching artist for the SF Unified School District. She most recently moved to SB from New Orleans, where she was a company dancer with New Orleans Ballet Theatre for four seasons.
Nathaniel Tyson
Nathaniel Tyson is originally from Valley Forge, PA. He began his formal ballet training at the Greater York Center for Dance Education in York, PA, before attending Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, where he graduated cum laude with his BA in Dance-Pedagogy. In 2020, Nathaniel joined the State Street Ballet Professional Track Program before becoming an apprentice in 2021 and a full company member in 2022. While at State Street, he has performed Soloist and Principal roles in Carmina Burana, The Nutcracker, Appalachian Spring, and The Sleeping Beauty, as well as featured roles in works by Kassandra Taylor Newberry, Laurie Eisenhower, and William Soleau. He has a background in musical theatre as well, his most recent production being the Broadway production of Kismet under the direction of Lonny Price. His teaching experience includes teaching at both universities and orphanages in Panama City, Panama.
Amber Hirschfield
Amber Hirschfield, from Southbury, CT, trained with The Nutmeg Conservatory, Orlando Ballet, and State Street Ballet’s Professional Track Program for two years. With the Professional Track she performed the principal roles in Giselle and Paquita, as well as the pas de deux from Diana and Acteon. She was invited to tour with the company in The Nutcracker in 2018, joined State Street Ballet as an apprentice in 2019, and was promoted to full company member in 2020.
Madelyne Herbert
Madelyne Herbert was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California and began dancing with SSBA when she was 2 years old. Madelyne danced many roles with SSBA, and SSBYD including Rudolph, Clara, and the Queen of Hearts, and in the past, Madelyne’s choreography has been performed at The Ballet Alliance Festival. Madelyne has been teaching at SSBA in the summer for the past 3 years, and she is excited to be teaching more this school year! After being a member of SSBYD for 6 years, Madelyne joined State Street Ballet’s professional track program in 2023.
Hailey Maynard
Hailey Maynard graduated from the Orlando Ballet School under the direction of Phillip Broomhead in 2019 and later, graduated from Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s Training Program in 2023. She also studied under Edwaard Liang and Maria Torjia at BalletMet. Additionally, she attended summer intensives at Alvin Ailey/Broadway, Joffrey Ballet, The Rock School, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Mark Morris Dance Group. Hailey has worked with choreographers such as Alonzo King, Brett Conway, Christian Burns, and Carmen Rozestraten. Hailey has had the opportunity to choreograph on BalletMet’s Trainee Program, Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s Training Program, and State Street Ballet’s Professional Track. She also most recently joined the staff for Santa Barbara’s local youth theatre company, LightsUp! as Dance Captain and Co Choreographer. Hailey has been on staff for Alonzo King LINES Ballet Summer Intensive since 2021, as well as teaching for State Street Ballet, and CSD Performing Arts since 2023. She is currently a company member with Selah Dance Collective, as well as State Street Ballet’s Professional Track.
Natalie Burkhart
Natalie Burkhart is from Ventura, California where she trained at Ballet Academy Ventura. She has attended summer intensives with State Street Ballet, the Marat Daukayev School of Ballet, and the Rock School for Dance Education. In May 2024, Natalie graduated from Butler University with a B.A. in Dance Pedagogy. While at Butler, she performed in classical ballets including the Nutcracker, Giselle, Swan Lake, La Vivandiere and Cinderella. She also performed in various contemporary works choreographed by David Ingram, Ramon Flowers and Derek Reid. Additionally, she has had the opportunity to choreograph for her peers, including a piece for Butler Ballet’s Senior Choreography Showcase. Natalie is excited to be a part of State Street Ballet’s Trainee Program and to teach at SSBA this year!
Susan Manchak
Susan Manchak was born in Madrid, Spain. She lived for six years in Singapore and Malaysia studying under the Royal Academy of Dancing. Following her studies with Rosella Hightower in Cannes, France and Richard Collins in London, England, she performed with the Frankfurt Ballet, Washington Ballet, and as a principal with the Colorado Ballet and with the Kansas City Ballet. She performed in a wide range of styles, including the classics, (Odette in Swan Lake, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker); Balanchine (The Sleepwalker, Serenade, The Four Temperaments, The Siren in The Prodigal Son; Bolender (The Stillpoint), Tudor (Lilac Garden), and Ailey (The River).
Ms. Manchak was Interim School Director for the Springfield Ballet where she also choreographed a children’s ballet. For the Ballet Arts of Minnesota she set The Stillpoint and gave master classes. She performed her pas de deux “Duo Danza” at the Ballet Builders Showcase in New York city. According to the New York Times, her pas de deux was “a high point of the evening.”
Locally she has choreographed several works for the Santa Barbara Chamber Ballet ,Los Olivos Dance Gallery and Class Act Dance in Paso Robles, including The Nutcracker for Class Act Dance. Her work has been shown at the Regional Dance Festival, Santa Barbara Dance Alliance and the Fountain Theater in Hollywood, California. She has given workshops and master classes throughout the country and is presently teaching ballet in several studios in Santa Barbara including Gustafson Dance, The Dance Hub, Parks & Rec and Starlight Dance Academy in Ojai. She also coaches privately.