The Harid Conservatory : Ballet Faculty

Ballet Faculty

Victoria Schneider
Ballet Faculty

Victoria Schneider studied with Fred Danieli at the School of the Garden State Ballet in New Jersey. She danced professionally with the Garden State Ballet as a soloist, and with the Pennsylvania Ballet. She then taught at the School of the Pennsylvania Ballet for seven years, before moving to Italy where she worked as principal teacher at La Scuola di Danza Classica in Florence. After returning to the United States, she established the School of the Tampa Ballet and served as ballet mistress of the Tampa/Colorado Ballet. Ms. Schneider studied the teaching syllabus of Russian Classical Ballet with her late husband, Jurgen Schneider, and with Janina Ciunovas. In addition, she completed the two-year pedagogy program at the Vaganova Academy of Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. (She is one of only three Americans to be certified through this prestigious and demanding program.) Her students have won major awards in numerous ballet competitions and can be found dancing in major ballet companies in the United States and abroad. Ms. Schneider has served as a jury member for the Japan Grand Prix ballet competition since its inception in 2002. She remains active as a guest teacher. Read more

Olivier Pardina
Ballet Faculty

Born in France, Olivier Pardina is a product of the French school, having received his dance training from his father, a respected ballet teacher and director, and teachers at the Paris Opera. At the age of sixteen, he performed with the Paris Opera Ballet and was nominated Leading Dancer at a gala for international principal dancers. Subsequently, he performed with several French companies and appeared internationally as a guest artist. In 1985, he was asked to replace Rudolf Nureyev in the role of Petrouchka at a performance at Covent Garden in London. Mr. Pardina has received both a Medal of Distinction and certification as a "Teacher with Exceptional Abilities" from the French Minister of Culture, and he is a recipient of the Grand Prix for Tournoi TF1 de Danse Classique, presented to him by Serge Lifar. A number of HARID students coached by Mr. Pardina have won major prizes at several national and international ballet competitions. He remains active as a guest teacher in both Europe and the United States. Read more

Svetlana Osiyeva
Ballet Faculty

Svetlana Osiyeva is a graduate of the Vaganova Academy of Ballet (alma mater of R. Nureyev, N. Makarova, and M. Baryshnikov) in St. Petersburg, Russia. She danced professionally with the Kirov Ballet for twenty years and, as a soloist, toured internationally and worked with notable choreographers including Boris Eifman, Roland Petit, and Pierre Lacotte. After leaving the Kirov, Ms. Osiyeva served as ballet mistress and artistic director of Leningrad Ballet Theater. She then completed a degree in ballet pedagogy at the Vaganova Academy of Ballet, graduating with honors in 1995. Before moving to the United States, Ms. Osiyeva taught at ballet schools in Yugoslavia, Italy, and Portugal. She has staged Giselle, Coppelia, Raymonda, The Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, and La Bayadere. In 1997, her production of Paquita for the Maria Tallchief Fellowship Gala Performance received critical acclaim. Her students have won major awards in numerous ballet competitions and can be found dancing professionally in major companies in the United States and abroad. Ms. Osiyeva remains active as a guest teacher. Read more

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