About Us – Dance Mentorship

Two careers. One shared observation. A program built to close the gap.

Between them, Nathan Bland and Sebastian Vinet have performed on stages across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. They have trained under world-class choreographers, navigated company auditions, and built careers in one of the most competitive fields in the performing arts. They have also watched talented dancers struggle through the transition that no training program fully prepares you for — the moment after graduation, when the structure disappears and the real work of becoming a professional begins. STRIVE was built for that moment. Not as another intensive. Not as an extension of pre-professional training. But as a deliberate, mentorship-driven bridge between where serious dancers are and where they are trying to go.

Our Mission

STRIVE | Dance Mentorship exists to prepare serious dance artists for the transition from student to professional through a focused, mentorship-driven environment that prioritizes growth, accountability, and readiness.

Grounded in the principles of Support, Trust, Responsibility, Individual Growth, Vision, and Experience, STRIVE provides artists with the guidance and structure necessary to refine their craft, clarify their artistic direction, and approach auditions and professional opportunities with confidence, integrity, and purpose.

Why Us

Mentorship at the professional level

STRIVE is led by two professionals with careers at the highest levels of the field — not instructors, but artists who have lived the transition you are preparing for. The guidance here is direct, honest, and grounded in real experience.

Intentionally small

The cohort is capped at 16 dancers. That is not a limitation — it is the point. Every dancer in STRIVE receives individualized attention, individualized feedback, and a mentorship relationship that cannot exist in a larger program.

Structured like the professional world

Four days a week, five hours a day, for five months. The schedule is designed to mirror the consistency and discipline of a professional environment — because that is what you are preparing to enter.

Preparation that goes beyond the studio

STRIVE covers audition strategy, video submission coaching, mock auditions, and professional development. You leave not just technically stronger, but strategically positioned and professionally ready.

Founders

NATHAN BLAND | Co-Founder

Artistic Director, Berks Ballet Theatre

Nathan Bland has spent his career on both sides of the stage.

As a performer, he served as a Soloist with the National Ballet of Croatia and danced with Kansas City Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Ballet Idaho, and Oklahoma City Ballet, among others — performing a wide-ranging repertoire that included works by George Balanchine, Todd Bolender, and Twyla Tharp.

As an educator, he has built Berks Ballet Theatre into a conservatory-style pre-professional program with a consistent record of developing dancers who go on to collegiate programs and professional careers. His approach is defined by technical precision, structured mentorship, and a clear belief that disciplined training and consistent opportunity are the foundations of long-term success.

Through STRIVE, Bland extends that philosophy into the space where it matters most — the transition from student to emerging professional.

SEBASTIAN VINET | Co-Founder

Former Principal Artist, San Francisco Ballet

Sebastian Vinet brings an international career and a deeply personal understanding of what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of professional ballet.

Born in Santiago, Chile, he trained at the Escuela de Ballet del Teatro Municipal de Santiago before earning a full scholarship to the Houston Ballet Academy. He joined Houston Ballet in 2009 and San Francisco Ballet in 2010, where he performed principal roles in works by Kenneth MacMillan, William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon, Helgi Tomasson, Stanton Welch, and Mark Morris.

A prizewinner at the Prix de Lausanne, Vinet has appeared as a guest artist at international galas across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. His career has extended beyond performance to include artistic

direction, creative leadership, and the founding of international ballet initiatives spanning multiple continents.

He is a sought-after teacher and mentor at leading ballet schools worldwide, and serves as a juror for Prix de Lausanne, Youth America Grand Prix, and other prestigious international competitions.

Through STRIVE, Vinet offers dancers something rare — mentorship from someone who has navigated the exact transition they are preparing for, at the highest level of the profession.

Bria Walton | Mentor

Performer · Choreographer · Educator

Bria Walton is a Philadelphia-based performer, choreographer, and educator whose work spans the full range of the dance profession — from national television and major commercial campaigns to concert dance, competition choreography, and the next generation of working artists.

Her performance credits include Good Morning America, the Pharrell Williams Sephora Fragrance Launch, and a featured role in Todrick Hall’s visual album. As a company artist with Introspective Movement Project under the direction of Sonia Pennington, she performed at the Wawa Welcome America Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

As a choreographer, Walton’s work has been seen across the country — from Squad 76, the Philadelphia 76ers’ official dance team, to competitors on the Youth America Grand Prix stage. She recently produced Defining Moment, her own full-length concert work, as a platform for her artistic range and creative voice.

Her work as an educator is defined by one consistent principle: creating an environment where dancers are genuinely challenged and fully supported. She travels nationally to teach, judge, and set choreography — bringing professional perspective and practical mentorship to dancers at every stage of their development.

Through STRIVE, Walton brings that same approach to dancers navigating the transition from student to professional — offering the kind of honest, experienced guidance that only comes from having done the work herself.

Contact Us

STRIVE begins August 31, 2026. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Cohort limited to 16 dancers.