Ilana Giardina

Ilana Giardina
Teaching Assistant Professor, Dance
giardinai21@ecu.edu
252-328-6325
112 Messick
Mail Stop 553
East Carolina University

Ilana Giardina received her early training within the RAD syllabus at the Academy of Dance in Southern California under Merle Sepel and Rebecca Tsivkin. She went on to earn a BFA in Dance from the University of Arizona where she had the opportunity to perform in many renowned works, to include demi-soloist roles in George Balanchine’s Serenade and The Four Temperaments.

In 2011 Ilana joined the corps de ballet of the California Ballet Company and was promoted to soloist in 2013. During this time, she danced leading roles in Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Swan Lake. Ilana later moved to San Francisco where she was a guest artist with Company C Contemporary Ballet, Menlowe Ballet, and a member of the dance corps of the San Francisco Opera in Les Troyens and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Ilana has also performed with the Ormao Dance Company in Colorado Springs, during which time she danced modern and contemporary works by choreographers to include Emily Schoen Branch and Mike Tyus.

As a PMA certified Pilates instructor within the Fletcher Pilates training, Ilana’s teaching meshes the benefits of Pilates and somatic practice with sound dance technique to help dancers remain injury-free while maintaining a high level of performance. She has taught dancers in several notable companies including Colorado Ballet and Ballet Tucson. In 2021, Ilana received her MFA in Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from the University of Arizona. During this time, she created several choreographic works and dance films utilizing interdisciplinary collaborations within dance, music, and film including A World Apart (premiered in March 2021), At the Table (premiered in April 2021), and her MFA Thesis, Coming Home (premiered in May 2021). Ilana was the recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the School of Dance for demonstrating exceptional teaching ability during her time in the program. She is thrilled to be a part of the dance community at ECU.