Meet the Faculty

Miguel Campaneria
Owner & Artistic Director

Mr. Campaneria was born in Cuba and was trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba under the guidance of Alicia Alonso, Fernando Alonso and Azari Plisetski.  He joined the National Ballet of Cuba and was promoted to soloist at the age of 17.  He won the Bronze Medal in the Junior category at the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria.  He also partnered with Alicia Alonso in Marguerite, Armand and other ballets.

Upon leaving Cuba, Mr. Campaneria danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Harkness Ballet, America Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Ballets de San Juan.

Mr. Campaneria has over 45 years of dance experience as a Principal Dancer, guest artist, choreographer and artistic director in various well-established ballet companies all over the world.  In 2007 President Georg W. Bush appointed Mr. Campaneria to serve on the National Endowment of the Arts Council (NEA).

In August 2008, Mr. Campaneria was appointed the chair of dance at The Hartt School Community Division.

For over 20 years, Mr. Campaneria has been invited to Japan, serving four schools as Artistic Advisor, coach, choreographer and selective liaison bringing professional artists from the U.S. to perform in his ballet productions in Japan.  Additionally, Mr. Campaneria has been strategic in training talented international students from abroad in his programs here in the United States.  Since 2010, Mr. Campaneria has been Artistic Director and Ballet Master coaching pre-professional students and professional dancers in the state of North Carolina.  He currently has over twenty former students who are working in professional companies all around the world.

Under his professional coaching, numerous students have competed in many world competitions and won top places in both Classical and Contemporary Ballet categories.  In addition, he has been awarded “The Outstanding Teacher Award” by the Youth America Grand Prix in 2012 and 2013.  In 2014, Mr. Campaneria provided the opportunity and selected top students to perform abroad, dancing leading roles that provided not only invaluable dance experience and exposure to the students but tremendous personal cultural enrichment.

In September 2015, Mr. Campaneria established a permanent home in his own school in Cary, North Carolina – Campaneria Ballet School. In May of 2021, the school relocated to Apex, North Carolina.

Karen Olsen
Ballet

Ms. Olsen received her ballet training at the School of American Ballet in New York City, where she attended on a Ford Foundation Scholarship for four years. There she studied under such ballet greats as Antonia Tumkovsky, Alexandra Danilova, Stanley Williams and Suki Shorer. Upon graduation she joined New York City Ballet as an apprentice where she performed in such Balanchine ballets as Theme and Variations, Symphony in C, Jewels and others. Ms. Olsen has performed in various cities across the U.S. and Europe and has appeared as guest artist with London Ballet Theatre, Maximum Dance Company and Miami Youth Ballet. For the past 25 years, Ms. Olsen has taught Ballet for various schools, including the prestigious Gulliver Academy. She designed the award-winning preschool dance program in Dade County, Florida, for Headstart. Currently, Ms. Olsen resides in Cary with her husband, Pat, and has three adult children.

Chavela Riera
Ballet

Chavela Riera, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Cuba. She has over 11 years of professional experience. She trained at the National Ballet of Cuba Fernando Alonso and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance of the Art from the university of for the arts. Chavela’s repertoire includes leading roles in classics like Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Balanchines Theme and Variations, Les Sylphides, and Esmeralda, as well as contemporary choreographies. She has also worked with renowned choreographers such as Gemma Bond, Jessica Lang, Ben Stevenson, Luis Serrano, Anabel López Ochoa, Cathy Marston, and Johan Kobborg. With over 5 years of teaching experience, she mentored young dancers at the Fernando Alonso National Ballet School, developed curriculum, and prepared students for national competitions. Based in Cary, North Carolina, Chavela continues to inspire both on stage and in the classroom. 

Brooke Averette
Contemporary

Brooke Averette is born and raised in North Carolina, studied dance and graduated from East Carolina University. She has been a life long mover, and trained extensively at The Academy for the Performing Arts. She is fundamentally trained in Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Ballet, and Hip Hop, with contemporary being her focus. She enjoys sharing her love of teaching travelling the country to choreograph and as a judge. Her unique style is one of a kind, with a shift away from repetitive tricks, instead focusing on the execution of musical visualization, highlighting subtlety dynamics, and fluidity through fast intricate movement .

Callie Leinbach

Callie Leinbach has over 17 years of dance experience, including 10 years with a competitive dance team at a local studio. She began her pre-professional training at Campaneria Ballet School in 2017 and TRAIN by Threeehouse Studios in 2019 to expand her dance education in multiple disciplines. Ms. Leinbach has been teaching for 3 years at Campaneria Ballet School in Apex and Dance Ascension in Garner. She continues her academic studies as a sophomore at Wake Technical Community College.

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