Gulfcoast Studio Company Faculty

 
 
 
 

Sarasota Cuban Ballet School Artistic Director Ariel Serrano is the Co-Director of the Gulfcoast Studio Company. A native of Oriente, Cuba, Mr. Serrano trained with Cuba’s National School of Ballet system. He concluded his studies in 1990 at the National School of Arts in Italy. Upon his return to Cuba, he danced with Ballet Camagüey under the direction of Fernando Alonso, and then joined the Youth Corps of the National Ballet of Cuba under Laura Alonso and artistic director Alicia Alonso. Next, he became a principal dancer with the Ballet de Monterrey in Mexico. In 1993, he and his wife, Wilmian Hernández, defected from Cuba. A year later, they were invited to join The Sarasota Ballet, then under the direction of Robert de Warren, where they both danced principal roles until their retirement in 2000. In 2011, Serrano and Hernández co-founded the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School, the first school in the United States to exclusively teach the Cuban training method to all proficiency levels, from beginners to pre-professional.

 
 

Sarasota Cuban Ballet School Managing Director Wilmian Hernández is the Co-Director of the Gulfcoast Studio Company. A native of Havana, Cuba, Ms. Hernández graduated from the National School of Arts in Cuba in 1984 and began her professional career under the artistic direction of Fernando Alonso at Ballet Cuba. She rose to principal dancer, and then joined the Youth Ballet of the National Ballet of Cuba under Laura Alonso and artistic director Alicia Alonso. In 1993, she accepted an invitation from Marie d‘Angelo to join the Ballet de Monterrey in Mexico. While in Monterrey, Hernández and her husband, Ariel Serrano, took the hard decision of defecting from Cuba and a year later moved to the United States to join The Sarasota Ballet, then under the direction of Robert de Warren. It was in Sarasota, where Hernández and Serrano danced principal roles until their retirement in 2000. Ms. Hernández didn’t leave the dance world for long. After her daughter Camila was born, she started working as a guest instructor at various ballet schools in Florida. In 2011, Hernández and Serrano co-founded the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School.

 
 

Master Teacher Rolando Yanes is the Associate Director of the Gulfcoast Studio Company. A native of Villa Clara, Cuba, Mr. Yanes was a principal dancer with Ballet de Camagüey under the direction of Fernando Alonso. In 1995, he was awarded a Silver Medal at the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Brasilia, Brazil. Mr. Yanes came to the United States in 1996 as a principal dancer with Milwaukee Ballet Company and served as director of the Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy from 2004 to 2021.

 
 

Master Teacher Monica Isla serves as Ballet Mistress for the Gulfcoast Studio Company. A native of Habana, Cuba, Ms. Isla was a dancer with Ballet de Camagüey under the direction of Fernando Alonso, and later a principal dancer with the Pro-Danza Company under the direction of Laura Alonso. In 1996, she was awarded a Silver Medal in the Alicia Alonso International Ballet Competition. Ms. Isla performed with the Neoclassic Company of the University of Mexico, as soloist with Ballet Concerto in Puerto Rico, and performed on international tours. She joined the Milwaukee Ballet School in 2008, and in 2016 she worked with the Rockford Dance Company in Illinois as choreographer of the Nutcracker. Ms. Isla created Healing With Ballet, teaching ballet classes for the Cancer Center in Froedtert Hospital in Wisconsin.

 

For more information about the Gulfcoast Studio Company:

Gulfcoast Studio Company Fact Sheet

gulfcoaststudiocompany@gmail.com