Instructor – Anna Gemma was born and raised in Russia.  Anna started dancing classical ballet at the age of 3. Through the years she performed with several dance ensembles and traveled throughout the former Soviet Union. In her teenage years she competed at the highly regarded Artek school in ballroom dance and was awarded 1st place. Anna received a bachelor’s degree from Art and Culture University in Ussuriisk, Russia. Anna continued her education and received a Master’s Degree in History of Costume, Dance Choreography and Culture at the Government University of Art and Culture in Khabarovsk, Russia.  During her college years she taught children classical ballet at local schools and choreographed for local theaters. In 1999 Anna was selected to go on tour to perform character dance and classical ballet costume shows in Beijing, China. Anna continued her ballet education in St. Petersburg, Russia where she was trained in the Vaganovas Method, Ballanchine Method and Progressive Ballet Technique. Following her formal training Anna traveled with several dance companies around the world performing. In 2001, Anna had immigrated to United States and co-taught Eastern European Character Dance at the University of Colorado, Boulder.  Anna also taught classical ballet and contemporary dance at various dance studios and companies. Anna danced with the Opera Colorado, Flamenco Theater Dance Company and Postoley Folk Dance ensemble. In 2007, Anna moved to San Francisco to dance with the Russian Ballet Company, Ballet Russ. She had also performed with the Academy of Flamenco based at Lines Ballet in San Francisco.

After many happy years in her dance career with endless injuries and joint pain, the most important change happened in Anna’s life. She became a mother. This change in direction lead Anna to create her favorite techniques from ballet, fitness, and Pilates. The idea was to create a method easy on joints while still targeting major muscle group. ChoreoBarre®Fitness was created in 2014 by Anna.  Anna’s method was supported by Stanford Valley Care Health Care where she was a wellness instructor and educator.  Her method is approved by AFAA and NASM and Anna certifies other instructors nationwide in ChoreBarre.  Every summer Granada High School Dance Team takes classes with Anna.