Artists | Induction Dance

Philip Amer

Founding Artistic Director

Philip Amer was raised in northern California, where he began his dance training at age four. His early inspirations were Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, which prompted him to ask his mother to enroll him in dance. His early training was in Eureka, California with the Redwood Concert Ballet. For several summers he studied at the San Francisco Ballet School, under the direction of Richard Cammack. As a young dancer, he danced with Ballet Celeste International in San Francisco and performed with them in Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe, Japan. Early in his professional career, Philip joined the Cleveland Ballet, under the direction of Dennis Nahat, where he had the opportunity to be onstage with notable dancers, such as Cynthia Gregory. After spending a season dancing with BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, Philip was offered a position with the Sacramento Ballet. He spent six years there, where he performed an extensive repertoire of Balanchine ballets, including Rubies, Allegro Brilliante, The Four Temperaments and Prodigal Son, among many others. While in the Sacramento Ballet, he also performed principal and soloist roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker. Philip danced in Minneapolis with the James Sewell Ballet, directed by James Sewell, as well as with the Minnesota Dance Theatre, directed by Lise Houlton, former soloist of the American Ballet Theatre and Stuttgart Ballet. Philip performed with San Francisco Opera Ballet in Aida (ch. Donald Byrd) and in the Russian comic opera Betrothal in a Monastery. Locally, he danced with the San Diego Ballet performing many contemporary and classical works such as Firebird. Philip has been a guest dancer and teacher at the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet, instructing classes in ballet and pas de deux. He has been choreographing for several years, and his works have been performed at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, The Sherwood Auditorium in La Jolla, California, and Casa de la Cultura in Tijuana, Mexico. Since moving back to California he has danced with Company C Contemporary Ballet in Walnut Creek and has done numerous Nutcracker guest appearances around the Bay Area. He is currently teaching at Georgias School of Dance in Escondido, California.

Company Dancers

Karli Padilla

Company Dancer

Karli Padilla began her dance journey over twenty years ago after finding the magical world of ballet at five years old. She earned her BFA in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine, receiving excellence in dance performance recognition as well as the Gillespie and Koehler Scholarships. After college she joined Jazz Spectrum Dance Company and danced three seasons there, performing across the West Coast and internationally at the ARTS in Tank Dance Festival in Seoul, Korea. Karli also has a passion for teaching Pilates after rehabbing for herself as a younger dancer and now loves helping others find strength and the joy of movement. She lives in the coastal town of San Clemente and enjoys surfing, hiking, reading, and exploring the outdoors in her free time.

Lauren Clarke

Company Dancer

Lauren Clarke is a versatile and passionate dance artist based in Southern California, holding a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine. Trained extensively in ballet, modern, jazz, and hip hop, Lauren brings both technical excellence and expressive depth to her work as a performer and educator. Her performance credits include featured roles in UC Irvine’s Dance Visions concert series, where she danced in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Vitor Luiz’s Bitter Suite and Luna E’motions, and Molly Lynch’s Moonlight. She has also performed in original works by emerging choreographers at UC Irvine’s undergraduate and MFA concerts, including My Felicity and Fabric of Life by Ashley Cook. Her early training began at the Academy of Ballet Arts, where she performed in full-length ballets such as The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Coppélia as well as original works choreographed by Dana Nelson and Jose Chavez. She competed in the Youth America Grand Prix from 2014–2019 as a soloist and in ensembles. She furthered her ballet training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, performing as one of the three shades in La Bayadère. As a dance educator, Lauren has taught ballet at the Academy of Ballet Arts and N10 Dance Studios. She is a certified Progressing Ballet Technique (level 1) instructor and integrates this training into her classes to support student strength and alignment. She is committed to nurturing young dancers in an inclusive, supportive, and technically rigorous environment. Lauren is a two-time recipient of the William J. Gillespie Foundation Scholarship and continues to explore her artistry through both performance and teaching.