International Ballet Instructor In Trouble for Sex with Teen Student

Goh Ballet auditions

A teacher at Vancouver’s Goh Ballet Academy is facing charges of sexual exploitation and luring after allegedly having sex with an underage student, say police.

The instructor began teaching at the school in fall 2013, shortly before he is alleged to have sparked a relationship with the pupil, said Randy Fincham, a VPD spokesman, in a news release.

The alleged relationship began in January 2014, at a time when the student was between the ages of 16 and 18, said Fincham.

Alejandro Vargas Gomez, 49 and of Mexico, was taken into custody in relation to the allegations, said Fincham.

Gomez is a former ballet master, member of the artistic council, soloist and choreographer with Mexico’s National Dance Company, according to information that had been posted to the Goh Ballet website but has since been erased.

Alejandro Vargas Gomez

Gomez also taught at Mexico’s National School of Contemporary and Classical Dance, according to Goh Ballet, and he has coached at international competitions in Bulgaria, Finland, Japan, France, Guatemala, Peru, Switzerland, and the US.

Gomez has also been a guest teacher at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

The Academy is co-operating with investigators, said Fincham.

Anyone with information is asked to call the VPD Sex Crimes Unit at (604) 717-0600, or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-8477.