The Finest Instruction

The Starchevski School of Ballet was founded in 1992 with the goal of helping young dancers develop their potential in dance and perform in dance productions.

The Academy founders, Kristof Star and Hanna Starczewski have both performed internationally as Principal and Soloist dancers while members of respected dance companies. The Starczewskis have a deep love and appreciation for the discipline, resulting in quality instruction rarely found outside of Europe. Their extensive international performing and teaching backgrounds have led to many of their students being accepting into professional companies.

Kristof Star, Artistic Director

Director, teacher, former principal dancer. Mr. Star (Starczewski) is a graduate from the National Ballet School in Gdansk, Poland and is former dancer of Alberta Ballet, Ballet Austin in Texas, Grand Theater of Lodz and Polish Dance Theater of Conrad Drzewiecki in Poznan, Poland. During the course of his international career, he has performed throughout many worldwide centers including New York, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Lyon, Moscow and Toronto to name a few. He worked with Mario Bernardi, Conrad Drzewiecki, Brigit Culberg, Adam Hanuszkiewicz, Irina Kolpakova, Lambros Lambrou, Ali Pourrfarokh, Gray Veredon and Ewa Wycichowska among others. Mr. Star has taught dance internationally in National Ballet School of Poland, Ballet Austin Texas, University of Calgary, Calgary Opera and Starchevski School of Ballet

Hanna Starczewski, M.A., RAD.

Ms. Starchevski obtained her Master Degree in Dance Pedagogy from the prestiges program at University of Frederic Chopin in Warsaw, Poland. Ms. Starczevski was a professional dancer and soloist for 15 years and is also a Professor of Dance, choreographer and a member of Royal Academy of Dancing. She had her early dance training at National Ballet School in Bytom, Poland, and then she joined the Poznan Opera/Ballet House and Grand Theater in Lodz. . After becoming a dance professor at the National Ballet School of Poland Ms. Starczewski, together with her husband, has dedicated her professional experience to conduct a ballet school in Calgary, the Starchevski School of Ballet Inc.

Rosalyn Chan, RAD Ballet Teacher

Rosalyn started ballet in Hong Kong at the age of 5, trained in Royal Academy of Dancing syllabus achieved RAD Advanced Foundation. She started her teaching since 2017 and she found it satisfying when seeing students growth and improvement. She believes that Ballet is all about technique, gracefulness and expression. She just relocated from Hong Kong to Calgary in July 2022 and she is teaching at the Starchevski School of Ballet since then.

Halyk, Ballet Teacher

Alison began dancing at Sitter School of Dance in Saskatoon, studying various disciplines including ballet, character, tap, jazz, musical theatre, lyrical, and hip hop. She believes ballet forms a strong foundation for all types of dance and progressed to advanced level ballet in the Royal Academy of Dance Syllabus. She was accepted to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet summer school division and danced various children’s roles in Alberta Ballet’s The Nutcracker.  Alison knows firsthand the benefits of life-long ballet dancing. She believes in instilling a love of movement and musical expression at a young age and enjoys watching her students discover their love of ballet. 

Valeriia Tkachenko, Ballet Teacher

Ms Valeriia started ballet when she was three years old. Ballet became an essential part of her life.

She participated in international competitions, gaining valuable experience and recognition. She also to danced at the Odesa National Opera and Ballet Theatre, one of the leading theaters in Ukraine.

In 2019, She took a step into teaching and began training young dancers in Odesa. Now, Ms Valeriia shares her knowledge and passion for Starchevski School of Ballet, helping students unlock their potential and achieve excellence in this beautiful art form.

Alisa Guri, Ballet Teacher

Alisa has been dancing with Starchevski School of Ballet for 12 years and has performed various roles in many Starchevski productions. She believes that ballet is a beautiful form of self-expression, and her passion for the art is evident. Alisa is continuing her love for dance as she attends the University of Calgary while being part of the Intermediate/Advanced class and teaching Rising Stars ballet.