The Company
Established in 2019, Ballet Roots is Pleasanton's very own premier ballet company. Our mission is to provide the local community with professional-quality performances exhibiting both classical and contemporary ballet. While strongly rooted in a ballet foundation, our repertoire includes a variety of dance styles, showcasing our multi-talented dancers and appealing to a wide audience of all ages. We are honored to have the opportunity to share our joy of dance with the Pleasanton community!
Our Dancers
Carol Tsen
Apprentice
As a child, Carol always wanted to do ballet but instead studied classical music. From the age of 5 to 18, she dedicated her time to playing the piano, and was also a violinist for El Camino Youth Symphony throughout her teenage years. After graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration, she dabbled in aerial arts for a few years before returning to her childhood love of ballet. She started with online classes in 2020 and has been training under Tenaya and Talia at Vineyard Ballet Academy since 2021. Carol is grateful to dance with Ballet Roots this season!
Eri Ito
Eri began ballet at the age of 3 after seeing her older sister perform in The Nutcracker and begging her mother to let her take classes. She trained in Japan under Michiko Kobayashi, former soloist with Tokyo City Ballet, until graduating from high school. Eri has performed variations including Bluebird from The Sleeping Beauty, The Naiad and the Fisherman from Paquita, and the Pas de Trois from The Nutcracker. In college, she continued ballet as a hobby and even explored other styles including swing and modern dance. After a 5 year hiatus during the pandemic and to welcome her daughter, who is now 2, she is thrilled to return to the stage for the first time in 10 years and to make her debut with Ballet Roots!
Makenzie Annalee
Makenzie's debut to the stage took place as a Gingerbread Cookie in The Nutcracker when she was just three years old. From 2007 to 2016, she trained in classical ballet under the guidance of Edward Stegge, Erin Leedom, and Rebecca Berke. She then worked as a professional dancer and magician's assistant to Illusionist Jack Alexander, where she performed in magic shows all over the Bay Area. Makenzie received a BFA in performing Arts from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy where she studied musical theater and dance. Her favorite previous roles include Iris in Fame, Dance of the Little Swans in Swan Lake, and Spanish Chocolate in The Nutcracker. Outside of Ballet Roots, you can find Makenzie teaching and sharing her love of ballet to budding new dancers!
Talia Fallis
Artistic Director
Talia began dancing at the age of 2 and has been dancing ever since. While trained in a variety of different styles of performance dance, her true passion has always been classical ballet. She trained locally under teachers such as David Fonnegra, Terrin Kelly, Derek Sakakura, Ikolo Griffin, and Lindsey Salvadalena. In addition to directing and performing with Ballet Roots, Talia has performed with various ballet companies around the greater Bay Area. She is thrilled to be bringing professional ballet right here to Pleasanton! In addition to performing, Talia teaches ballet to dancers of all ages, and in 2013, she and her sister opened their own school here in Pleasanton, Vineyard Ballet Academy, where she continues to teach today.
Tenaya Fallis
Tenaya can't remember a time when dance, especially ballet, was not a part of her life. She started out as a ladybug in a year-end production when she was only three years old, and has since danced in productions as varied as The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Messiah, The Jungle Book, and of course, The Nutcracker. After graduating high school, she spent a few years dancing professionally while also teaching ballet before she and her sister opened Vineyard Ballet Academy where she continues to teach. She has also dabbled in various other styles of dance including tap, jazz, lyrical, Scottish country dance, Irish ceili, and most recently social ballroom dance. She hopes to bring a wide variety of influences to Ballet Roots while staying true to her favorite, ballet.