Our dedicated team
Virginie Personne
Founder & Artistic Director /
Ballet, Modern-Contemporary,Yoga instructor
Virginie began her studies in ballet at the national conservatory of France and graduated in 1999 with a diploma in classical dance. Her passion with dancing and performing extended beyond the classical and into modern and contemporary dancing. She explored her craft even further by joining national and international dance companies (France, Germany and Canada).
Everything that she undertakes in life, she does with passion and love. Virginie feels lucky to have many loves in her life, her 3 boys and her very supportive husband and also many passions. Dancing has allowed her to express her artistic nature and explore her more creative side. She simultaneously also pursued a diploma in engineering and biotechnology and eventually went on to become a Pediatrician. She has always managed to incorporate them both into her daily life while living in Paris. During her medical studies, she continued to stay closely involved with her artistic craft. She taught at many Parisians dance schools and also choreographed many of their performances. In 2015, she moved to San Francisco with her whole family and realized her dream to open her own dance school. As Ballerina at heart, she is offering classes that effortlessly integrates contemporary movements. As Next Generation Yoga® Teacher, she also gets the opportunity to teach children the beneficial powers of internal well-being.
Léna Alvino
Ballet,Yoga instructor
Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED certified
Léna is originally from Switzerland where she trained in ballet, modern and contemporary. After graduating from an artistic high school, she joined Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program in San Francisco. In August 2017, she moved to Santa Barbara, danced with State Street Ballet’s Professional Track Program and taught at Momentum Dance Company. She was very excited to come back to the Bay Area in 2018 to join eMotion Arts dance co. and Peninsula Ballet Theatre where she still has the pleasure to perform exciting ballets!
Throughout her dance training and career, Léna had the chance to dance lead roles in a variety of performances such as The Nutcracker, Giselle, Romeo and Juliette, The Carnival of the Animals, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. Léna joined Petits Pas in April 2018 and has been sharing her passion with her students ever since!
Marie Walburg
Modern, theater instructor
Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED certified
Marie Walburg is a practitioner and teacher of theater, dance, and yoga, working with kids and adults. She is passionate about creating community through movement art and helping people to listen to and move intuitively with their bodies to express their inner self. She received a degree in performing arts in the National Conservatory of France and toured for 4 years as a professional actress in several theater companies. Marie moved from France 10 years ago and has been enjoying teaching in the Bay Area since. She has been the program manager and Aerial yoga instructor at Zaccho Dance Theater, co-directed and acted in 2 shows with dance theater company Carte Blanche, got certified as a yoga teacher with Yoga tree and in Aerial yoga with Levity Aerial, teaches dance at the Lycée Français, teaches drama and directed 4 shows at the French American High School, and finally, she 's also a dance/theater and acrobatics teacher with Petits Pas Studio. Her special touch is to draw upon her broad experience in a variety of techniques to deliver a fun, invigorating, and joyful class experience, while creating a safe place for her students to develop and grow.
Claire Pascal
Ballet instructor
Claire began her ballet training at the early age of two in Marseille, when her mother enrolled her in dance classes because "she had so much energy and was always on the move." At seven, she decided to explore other passions, including circus arts, playing the flute and piano, as well as gymnastics, stepping away from ballet for a time. Thankfully, her love for ballet rekindled later, and she joined a pre-professional program in Lyon. There, she trained in ballet 20 hours per week for 6 years, competed in numerous national and international competitions, and performed in several school productions, including "Coppélia".
Claire then entered the "Compagnie Lyon Ballet" school company, and later joined the company "Jeunes Danseurs en Scène". She had also the opportunity to perform in "Carmen" with the "Compagnie Osipova Ballet Saint Petersburg" in Lyon.
Although ballet remained a deep passion, Claire pursued her dream of becoming a doctor. She attended medical school and specialized as an allergist, working in Paris for five years before relocating to San Francisco in 2024.
Now, she is grateful to be part of the Petits Pas team. Returning to her first love, she takes great pleasure in teaching children the joy of ballet. Her favorite ballet is "Études" by Harald Lander, her favorites ballerinas are without a doubt Darcey Bussell, Dorothée Gilbert and Marianela Núñez, and when it comes to choreographers, she is torn between George Balanchine, William Forsythe, and Crystal Pite.
Fun fact: Claire was known by her friends in ballet school for her passion for velvet leotards with long sleeves (even in summer ;-)
Marie-Edith de Malefette
Studio Manager
Marie-Edith has been our Office Manager since September 2017.
Originally from the Toulouse area in France, she moved to the US in 2008. Marie-Edith keeps a strong affection for her native region but embraces her life in San Francisco with her family.
Event planner for over 10 years, Marie-Edith runs all administrative aspects of Petits Pas and brings a focused expertise in logistical planning and organization. She serves Petits Pas to grow as a business, always seeking the best quality of service to match dancer's needs and Petits Pas’s spirit.
She had never taken any dance classes before joining Petits Pas, but now Marie-Edith discovers this world by joining our adults program. “What a surprising adventure, a fun and challenging opportunity to push our own limits, for our well-being!!”