Staff

Lotta Burton
Owner, Artistic Director, Choreographer
Lotta studied choreography at the St. Petersburg Institute of Performing Arts in Russia. She then was a soloist in the Moldovenyaska Dance Company, with whom she toured Europe and Asia. In the former USSR, she performed at major government events in the Kremlin Palace, Bolshoi Theater, Luzhniki Hall, and others. Following that, she began her teaching and choreography career at Sperantza, one of the top five children's dance ensembles in the former USSR.

In 1989, Ms. Burton immigrated to the US and studied ballroom and latin dance at the Arthur Murray Inc. Academy of Dance under Terry Leone, a dance colsultant to major Hollywood films such as Salsa and Mambo Kings. Lotta then toured the US with the show, Kings of Mambo and taught at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio from 1989-1992, throughout which time she was on the corporation's elite list of Top 20 teachers in the Country.

In 1994 she joined her mother, founder of Firebird Dance School (formerly Lysaya Dance School), Roza Lysaya and began teaching and choreographing at the school. In 1999, Lotta became Firebird's artistic director, and her choreography has won the admiration of audiences around the world, including, mayors, members of Israeli Parliament, and Pavel Brun, creative director of Cirque du Soleil's "O" and Mystere.

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Igor Harea
Rehearsal Director, Firebird Dance Theatre Principal Dancer
Igor Harea studied dance and choreography at the Chisinau Institute of Performing Arts in Moldova, with an emphasis in folk and classical dance. He also received his teaching credentials in 1991. He danced professionally with Moldova's Chora Mare, with whom he toured the US and Europe extensively. In addition to performing, Mr. Harea taught dance technique at the Pedagogical University, before coming to the US in 1999. Since 1999, he has been the rehearsal director and much-loved principal instructor of Firebird Dance School and a soloist in the Firebird Dance Theatre.

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Inga Lysaya
Instructor
Inga Lysaya studied at the St. Petersburg Cultural Institute, majoring in choreography. In the early 90's she was a soloist in San Francisco's Khadra Folk Dance Company, before joining Firebird Dance School as an instructor in 2000. Since 2000, she has been teaching both group and private lessons to all ages at Firebird, as well as performing in Firebird Dance Theatre shows. In addition, Inga is Firebird Dance Studio's beloved iconic clown character who has won over the hearts of all our students, and countless audience members around the world.

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Mikhail Guz
Barre & Ballet Technique Instructor, Principal Dancer
Mikhail Guz received his training at the Krasnoyarsk Choreographic School. Upon graduation he was asked to join the world famous Krasnoyarsk Dance Ensemble. Mr. Guz performed with the Far East Army Ensemble, Academic Ensemble Siberia, Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet, and Moscow Classical Ballet. He has toured extensively in China, Japan, and Korea. Mr. Guz joined Firebird Dance Studio in 2007 as a soloist and a ballet technique instructor. In addition to teaching, he has also performed in our show, Quintessence, and most recently was lead soloist in Firebird's newest show, Simcha. Mikhail teaches classical technique at Firebird to students of all ages.

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