Zola Dishong has enjoyed an extensive career in dance as a performer and educator. At age fourteen she received one of the first Ford Foundation Scholarships to the San Francisco Ballet School, where she studied with Anatole Vilzak, Harold and Lew Christensen. At seventeen, Ms. Dishong became a member of the San Francisco Ballet and toured with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, on his first USA tour. After moving to New York, she joined American Ballet Theatre, where she performed soloist roles in most of their classical repertoire and toured throughout Europe, Japan and the USA. After returning to San Francisco, Ms. Dishong was a principal dancer with Pacific Ballet and began her teaching career as head of the Ballet Department at San Francisco State University. In 1974 she joined the faculty of the San Francisco Ballet School, where she taught all levels for 13 years and helped to train many prominent dancers. She has been recognized for her coaching skills, has taught a variety of master classes and has been called on to judge ballet competitions around the country.