Faculty
Our teachers are professional dance artists who are passionate about teaching and their craft. They are not only masters of their field, but also dynamic, cheerful and warm-hearted people.
Wagner Moreira
Masterclass
Contemporary, Etude & Repertoire
Artistic Director Dance Theatre & Chief Choreographer at Theater Regensburg
Wagner comes from Barbacena (Brazil). He has lived in Germany since 2003 and works as a choreographer, performer and guest lecturer at theatres and in independent companies in Brazil, Germany, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, the Czech Republic and the USA, among others. He completed his Master of Arts in Choreography at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden and was awarded the Saxon dance prize ‘Ursula Cain Förderpreis’ in 2019. As a contemporary dancer, he has received prizes at various festivals and the DAAD Prize. In the 2020/21 season, he was appointed Artistic Director and Chief Choreographer at the Landesbühnen Sachsen. His work is characterised by accessibility, mobility, inclusion and interdisciplinarity.
Since the 22/23 season, Wagner Moreira has been Artistic Director of Dance Theatre & Chief Choreographer at Theater Regensburg.
Ronaldo dos Santos
Masterclass
Ballet, Variations, Repertoire, Coaching & Adults Ballet
Ronaldo began his dance career in Brazil, the country of his birth, before studying dance at the dance foundation Birgit Keil, he began his dance studies at the Akademie des Tanzes Mannheim. dance studies.
After successfully completing his studies, he joined the Karlsruhe State Ballet as a member of the ensemble in 2004. Karlsruhe State Ballet, to which he remained loyal for 14 years. During this time he danced, for example in classics such as Sir Peter Wright' s "Giselle", Frederick Ashton's "La Fille Mal Gardeé"
or John Cranko' s "The Taming of the Shrew". He has also worked in choreographies by Christopher Wheeldon, Youri Vámos, Peter Schaufuss and others.
Following his time as an active dancer, dos Santos began studying dance education at the renowned dance pedagogy at the renowned Palucca University of Dance Dresden, specializing in ballet specializing in ballet master, which he completed with a Master of Arts.
dos Santos has been working as a freelance ballet teacher since 2018.
Aurélie Lafaye
Masterclass
Ballet, Pointe work, Variation & Children Ballet
Born in France, Aurélie studied for seven years at the Paris Opera Ballet School under the direction of Claude Bessy (dancing in works by J. Neumeier, G. Balanchine, R. Nureyev, J. Charrat, etc.) and completed her training at the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes under the direction of M. Loudières.
She began her professional career touring in Germany and Switzerland (Swan Lake, Nutcracker, The Magic Flute) then danced in various German theaters such as in Magdeburg, Halle, Brandenburg, Halberstadt where she performed
in Giselle, Don Quixote, Nutcracker, Tausenschön, Wuthering Heights, French Rhapsody, Debütantenball, Tempus Fugit, Peter Pan, etc.
She has been teaching classical dance for ten years (children, adults, gymnasts, figure skaters, professional dancers from Tanznetzdresden and the Staatsoperette Dresden). She obtained her Master's degree in dance pedagogy at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden in 2022 and finalized 2025 her scientific research thanks to the artistic masterclass program provided by the Palucca University of Dance Dresden.
CourtneyRichardson
Masterclass
Variation & Coaching
David Dawson Repertoire
Courtney Richardson is Former Principal dancer at Semperoper Ballett from 2013 to 2024, with an M.A. in Dance Pedagogy for Ballet.
Before she had following acting jobs:
Royal Ballet of Flanders/Belgium (2006–2013),
Ballet British Columbia/Canada (2003–2006),
The National Ballet of Canada/Canada (2000–2003),
The Banff Center/Canada (2002)
Awards: Dance Europe »Outstanding Performance« (2015) for »Tristan+Isolde« (D. Dawson) and »Steptext« (W. Forsythe),
Dance Europe Critics’ Choice: »Outstanding Dancer of the Year« (2010),
Dance Europe Critics’ Choice: Bouquets and daggers: »Outstanding Female Dancer« (2008),
Erik Bruhn Award (2000),
Peter Dwyer Scholarship (1999)
Fernando Coelho
Ballet, Variation, Repertoire, Coaching & Methodology
Professor of ballet, pas de deux, variation and methodology/didactics at Palucca University of Dance Dresden in Bachelor Dance und Master Dance Teacher Programm.
Founder and artistic director of "Dance Workshop e.V."
Founder/Head and Research project manager of "Dance Teacher Tutorial" Integrated research project on the digitalization of teaching: “Dance Education 4.0” with publication in YouTube channel - Online Tutorial.
In the capacity as Head of the MA Dance Teacher Programme at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden from 2010 to 2021, Prof. Fernando Coelho continuously developed the dance pedagogy programmes and established them as a vibrant center of dance pedagogy education with regional, national and international significance. In 2017, he created Germany's first work-study programme with the main goal of supporting the transition from dancer to ballet master or dance teacher.
International stage experience as ballet master and assistant director.
Guest lecturer and jury member for various (dance) companies, workshops and educational institutions around the world.
Elena Gruß
Contemporary, Creative Dance , Project & Methodology
Chairperson and artistic director Puck e.V. Children's and youth dance.
Elena graduated from the Palucca University of Dance in Dresden in 2002 with a degree in dance pedagogy, Elena has been studying the pedagogical legacy of Gret Palucca for several years. She has adopted and further developed the teaching methods and principles of the exceptional personality and passionate pedagogue for Creative Children's Dance.
Since 2004 she has been working as a freelance lecturer at the Palucca University. At first she led the children's classes. From this, the dance association Puck Kinder- und Jugendtanzklassen an der Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden e.V. was founded in 2011 with Elena as dance teacher and artistic director in a permanent position.
Since 2018/19 she has been a lecturer in the new Master Dance Teacher course for the training subject of the TTI (dance, technique, improvisation).
Pedro Ferreira
Contemporary, Choreographie & Adults Contemporary
Pedro Henrique Ferreira is from Paraopeba - MG, Brazil. He started to dance in a social project created in his hometown with contemporary dance classes in 2006. He has a bachelor degree in Dance by Universidade Federal de Viçosa, where he had the opportunity to be part of different projects inside the university working as a dancer, teacher, rehearsal assistant and choreographer. Together with the studies he was working as a professional dancer at Extase Cia de Dança for 3 years,. After finished the studies, in 2016 he went back to his hometown to work as a dancer, teacher and rehearsal assistant at Paraopeba Cia de Dança and came to Germany to perform at Tanzwoche Dresden in 2018 and 2019.
Worked as freelance teacher and guest dancer at Semperoper Dresden, Theater Hagen and Tanzcompagnie Landesbühnen Sachsen in Radebeul. Was part of the projects "PLAY.Ground" choreographed by Helena Fernandino and "Taming our Trauma" choreographed by Andreas Reise.
In 2022 graduated at Palucca Hochschule für Tanz with a Master degree in Dance Pedagogy in Contemporary Dance for professional dancers.
He has been living in Regensburg since July 2022, where he spent the last two years as a solo dancer at Theater Regensburg's season 2022/2024 and now working as freelance artist!
Riccarda Reuber
Children Ballet & Jazz
Riccarda Reuber is from Germany and lives and works in Dresden. She is the founder of RIBALUCA and works at the intersection of dance, movement education, and movement-based education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in dance education from the Palucca University of Dance Dresden. She subsequently completed a master’s degree in prevention, sports tHOMEherapy, and health management. As a trained educator, she combines artistic practice with in-depth knowledge of the body, perception, and learning processes. Her work involves artistic projects, educational formats, and working with diverse target groups.
Her approach is characterized by mindfulness, clarity, and a structured teaching of movement. The focus is on training body awareness, developing the quality of movement, and fostering a health-related understanding of functional connections within the body. Her work is characterized by clarity, a conscious methodological approach, and an open, interdisciplinary perspective on dance and movement.
Yamile Navarro
Children Ballet
Yamile Anaid Navarro Luna ist eine vielseitige Tanzkünstlerin, deren Arbeit zeitgenössischen Tanz, Choreografie und Bildung umfasst. Ihre Leidenschaft gilt der Förderung junger Talente. Sie war Co-Leiterin der Young Dance Company am JKS (2023–2024) und arbeitet regelmäßig mit der Modern-Dance-Company von Öh-Töne zusammen. Einmal pro Woche unterrichtet sie Ballett für Kinder (ab 7 Jahren). Yamile hat einen Bachelor of Arts der Palucca Hochschule für Tanz in Dresden (2012) und einen Berufsabschluss in klassischem Tanz des Institut del Teatre in Barcelona (2009). Sie bildet sich kontinuierlich weiter, hat kürzlich die vollständige 4Pointe-Zertifizierung erworben (2025) und entwickelt Methoden, die Stimme, Bewegung und elektronische Musik miteinander verbinden.
Yamile wurde in Mexiko-Stadt geboren und lebt seit fast zwei Jahrzehnten in Dresden.







































