Paola Garza

Paola began studying dance in the Ballet Academy of Coyoacan in Mexico City under the direction of the world renowned ballet instructor, Ana Castillo at the age of 8 years old. Later she enrolled in the “Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza de Monterrey” which is a part of the National Institute of Fine Arts of Mexico, where she received her bachelor degree in dance in 1990. Immediately after graduating she began working at the Ballet of Monterrey Dance Company becoming one of the original professional dancers of this new company. In 1996, she became the soloist dancer of Ballet de Monterrey and in 1998 she also became the regisseur of the company. In 2002, having been invited to the Festival del Barrio Antiguo, she founded and directed a new independent dance group called "Fabulas y Cuentos" (Fables and Stories). This group continued to operate for 10 years until 2012 performing in cultural festivals, and other celebrations. Its purpose was to expose children to the world of ballet using well known stories and fables as the content for the ballet performances. In 2010 she launched a community based dance education program, Aprender con Danza (Learn through Dance), where she was responsible for implementation, administration, coordination, training, and management of a team of 48 dancers and musicians. This program provided children in 27 economically challenged schools and 7 community centers totaling 4,000 students, to utilize dance as a tool to improve self confidence, muscle coordination, teamwork and improved group dynamics. Overall, student performance increased in both school grades and social interactions. She earned ABT (American Ballet Theatre) Certifications - Primary Level thru Level 5 in New York City in 2010-2011. She has consistently been a ballet instructor for all skill and experience levels over the last 26 years. Overall, she has taken dance courses and trained in Mexico, Cuba and the United States. In 2015, she received an additional bachelor’s degree in Classical Ballet Instruction from the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City. Throughout her professional career she has had the opportunity to work with well renowned figures in dance including Fernando Bujones, Ann Marie de Angelo, Fernando Alonso, Susana Benavides, Tulio de la Rosa, Fernando Jones, Cynthia Gregory, Kirk Peterson, Melissa Hayden, Loipa Araujo, Jonathan Watts and many more. Paola is married to Israel Luzunaris Jr. and has three wonderful daughters, Lorna, Tamara and Marla.