Dancer roster for 2010-11
Artists of the Company
Mariano Albano
Originally from Phoenix, Mariano is in his eight season with Louisville Ballet, previously dancing with Texas Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet Arizona and Oklahoma Festival Ballet. Major roles include The Moor in Moor’s Pavane; Fredrick and Renfield in Dracula; Tybalt, Romeo and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet; and Oberon and Puck in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream. Highlights of his contemporary repertoire include Troy Game, Death and the Maiden, Prawn Watching, Mare Nostrum, Carmina Burana, The Green Table, Jardi Tancat and Going for Baroque. He has danced ballets by Adam Hougland, Twyla Tharp, Helen Pickett, Val Caniparoli, Choo-San Goh and Paul Taylor.
Leigh Anne Albrechta
Originally from Fremont, Ohio, Leigh Anne trained at Fremont Ballet under the direction of Ernst Hillenbrand and at Ballet Theatre of Toledo with Nigel Burgoine and Anne Marie Getz. She attended The Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts as a scholarship recipient and graduated in 2007. She danced with North Carolina Dance Theatre for two years as a trainee and apprentice where she performed Raymonda, Four Temperaments, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Romeo and Juliet, and Dwight Rhoden’s world premiere of Othello. Leigh Anne joined Louisville Ballet as a trainee in 2009 and has performing roles in Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and Celts. She particularly enjoyed working with Val Caniparoli in the World Premiere of The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, and with Amy Seiwert in Smiling Underneath.
Natalia Ashikhmina
Born in Bratsk, Russia, Natalia graduated from the world-renowned Novosibirsk Ballet Academy studying under Tatiana Sulimova and Tatiana Kapustina. Vyacheslav Gordeyev invited Natalia to join the Russian National Ballet in Moscow where she had the rare opportunity to work with Andrey Kudeline and partner with Yuri Burlaka. Five years and hundreds of performances around the world later, Eldar Aliev offered her a principal position with Ballet Internationale in Indianapolis. Natalia came to the U.S. to work with legends, Irina Kolpakova and Vladilen Simeonov. She joined the Louisville Ballet as a principal dancer in 2006 and has had the privilege to work with Bruce Simpson, Helen Starr, Alun Jones, Harald Uwe Kern and a multitude of wonderful choreographers and stagers. Her repertoire includes Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Giselle, Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Zabeida (Scheherazade), The Sylph (La Sylphide), Kitri (Don Quixote), Daisy (Andre Prokovsky’s The Great Gatsby), The Dying Swan, Helen Picket’s Etisian, Val Caniparoli’s Vivacé and over 100 performances as Odette/Odile (Swan Lake). Natalia won the Audience Award at the 1998 International Ballet Competition Arabesque, a gold medal at the 1999 Competition of Professional Ballet Academies in Russia, performed at the 2004 Gala des Etoiles in Montreal. She and her family now call Louisville home.
Rachel Cahayla-Wynne
Originally from Ringwood, N.J., Rachel returns for her fifth season with Louisville Ballet. She began her training with Irine Fokine at the Irine Fokine School of Ballet and continued on to study at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. While dancing with Louisville Ballet, Rachel completed her B.F.A and graduated with honors. She has danced lead roles in ballets such as Serenade, Paquita, La Bayadere, and The Nutcracker. Rachel has also performed with Dayton Ballet, Staten Island Ballet, and Dance China New York
Helen Daigle
A native of Louisiana, Helen returns for her twelfth season with the Louisville Ballet. She has trained with the Decatur School of Ballet, the Dancer’s Workshop, The Joffrey Ballet School and The School of American Ballet. Prior to turning professional, she danced with the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre for eight years. Helen began her professional career with Feld Ballets/New York and has performed with Ballet Hispanico and the Miami City Ballet. She has performed featured roles in a range of works including Lark Ascending, In the Glow of the Night, Cold Virtues, Who Cares?, Scheherazade, Company B and The Magic Flute.
Erica De Le O
Erica De La O began her studies with Le Studio in Pasadena California under the direction of Cynthia Young, Phillip and Charles Fuller as well as Stephan Wenta and Alicia Head. Prior to joining the Louisville Ballet in 2002, she danced with Columbia City Ballet under the direction of William Starrett.
She has danced lead roles in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Prokovsky’s The Three Musketeers, Marie/The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, Giselle, Bruce Simpson’s Swan Lake, Alun Jones’s Cinderella, Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues and Jimmy Gamonet’s Nous Sommes. Her repertoire includes works by Ben Stevenson Harrison Mc Downey, Twyla Twarp, Choo-San Goh, Val Caniparoli, Domy Reiter- Soffer, Paul Taylor, Anne Marie DeAngelo, Agnes De Mille, Andrea Dawn Shelly, Jose Limon, August Boumonville and David Ingram, Graham Lusting, Helen Picket. Jimmy Gamonet, Susan Jaffe, Michael Shannon, Joe Cipolla, and Holly Johnson.
Erica received 2nd place in the 1997 Music Center Spotlight Awards of Southern California. She was a recipient of the 1999 John Orr Award, a finalist at the New York International Ballet Competition in 2003 and was invited to perform in the NYIBC Gala Performance. Recent guest artist appearances include Fort Wayne Ballet, Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, Boca Ballet, Arabesque Gala in Delaware, San Antonio Metropolitan Opera, Configurations (Buffalo, NY), Infinite Movement and Beyond in Santa Barbara CA., Ballet Theatre of Indianapolis.
Amanda Diehl
A native of Spokane, Wash., Amanda graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts. She joined the Louisville Ballet in 2000 and was promoted to 2nd Soloist in 2007. Amanda’s repertoire includes Going for Baroque; Romeo and Juliet; In the Glow of the Night; Anna Karenina; several Balanchine ballets including Rubies, Agon, Who Cares?, Serenade; and a variety of roles in Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. She has most recently danced in Mark Godden’s The Magic Flute, Twyla Tharp’s Golden Section and Paul Taylor’s Company B and has worked with choreographers including Helen Pickett, Graham Lustig, Val Caniparoli and Adam Hougland.
Evgeni Dokoukine
Born in Moscow, Evgeni Dokoukine began his classical ballet training at age nine with teacher, Yuri Vrazhkin. In 2003, he attended Canada’s National Ballet School and then in 2005, the School of Canadian Ballet Theatre, under artistic director Nadia Veselova-Tencer.
Evgeni has performed with The National Ballet of Canada, Canadian Ballet Theatre, Ballet Espressivo, and Israel National Ballet. His repertoire includes Prince Seigfried and Pas de Trois in Swan Lake, Prince Desiré in Sleeping Beauty, Pas De Trois and Arabian Doll in Nutcracker, Solor in La Bayadère, and Basil in Don Quixote. Most recently, Evgeni performed the role of Third Movement Soloist in George Balanchine’s Symphony in C with the Israel National Ballet.
In 2009, Evgeni was the silver medal winner in the Pas De Deux category at the Youth American Grand Prix Finals in New York. The same year he also performed in the Young Medalists Ballet Gala at the Miami International Ballet Festival. This is his first season with the Louisville Ballet.
Robert Dunbar
A native of High Point, N.C., Robert returns for his eighth season with the company. In recent years, he has performed a variety of roles including Bugle Boy in Paul Taylor’s Company B, Beast in Domy Reiter-Soffer’s Beauty and the Beast, Papagano in Mark Godden’s The Magic Flute, and numerous soloist and corps roles in both classical and contemporary works. Robert attended school at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied under the late Melissa Hayden and the late Duncan Noble.
Kathleen Dwyer
Originally from Philadelphia, Kathleen began her training under Olga Kresin. She graduated from Mercyhurst College with a B.A. in dance and arts administration. Kathleen has danced with Lake Erie Ballet, Channel Islands Ballet and Charleston Ballet Theatre, performing in a variety of ballets such as Don Quixote, The House of Bernarda Alba and Balanchine’s Apollo and Valse Fantasie. Now in her sixth season with the Louisville Ballet, she has been featured here in various classical and contemporary works like Four Last Songs, Lambarena, Agon, The Sleeping Beauty, Vespri, The Magic Flute, and Marie in The Brown- Forman Nutcracker.
Eduard Forehand
Eduard Forehand began training at the age of nine with Thomas Armour in Miami FL. Upon graduation, he continued his studies at Nutmeg Conservatory before accepting his first contract with The Richmond Ballet. While there, Eduard enjoyed performing in Nuevo Tango and a lead role in Gershwin by George. After leaving Richmond, he ventured to Charleston Ballet Theatre where he performed in Jill Bahr’s Rite of Spring and Seven Deadly Sins among others. Following Charleston, Eduard joined Augusta Ballet then on to Dayton Ballet where he performed leading roles in Carmina Burana, Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Thresholds II. This is Eduard’s second season with the Louisville Ballet.
Brian Grant
Brian Grant received his B.F.A. in theatre arts with an emphasis in dance performance from Northern Illinois University (NIU). Raised in Rockford, Ill., he was a member of the Rockford Dance Company from 1999 to 2001 and also danced with Northern Dance Theater during his tenure with NIU. Brian has varied repertoire includes roles in Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Le Corsaire, Paquita, Raymonda, Troy Game, Vivacé by Val Caniparoli and the world premiere of Adam Hougland‘s Rite of Spring. Brian has also performed pieces choreographed by emerging choreographers such as Lee-Wei Chao and David Ingram. This is his 6th season with the Louisville Ballet.
Shannon Hokanson
Born and raised in Columbia, S.C., Shannon trained at the Columbia Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Mariclare Miranda and William Starrett. There, she received the Serge Lavoie Award for Achievement in Dance, created in memory of her late teacher and mentor. At sixteen, she joined Columbia City Ballet before moving to Pittsburgh to continue her training in the Graduate Program at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. She has attended summer programs at American Ballet Theatre, Washington Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theater. This is Shannon’s third season with Louisville Ballet.
Kazuki Ichihashi
Born in Nagoya City, Japan, Kazuki studied ballet at Reiko Matsuoka Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, Miami City Ballet School, and has danced with Orlando Ballet. His repertoire includes Golden Idol in La Bayadère, Mercutio and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese diverts among other roles in The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Who Cares?, Borelo, and many other contemporary roles. Kazuki received a gold medal in the Kobe All Japan Competition, a gold medal in the Nagoya All Japan Competition and a bronze medal in the Saitama All Japan Competition. This is Kazuki’s first season with Louisville Ballet.
Yuki Komazaki
Originally from Saitama, Japan, Yuki began her ballet training with the Kaori Tokoi Ballet Academy in Japan. Later, she was accepted to the Tachibana Ballet School in Tokyo and also attended the Asami Maki ballet training program. Yuki joined the Asami Maki Ballet Company of Japan in 1999. She won a silver medal at the 59th Tokyo National Ballet Competition in 2001 and was a semi-finalist in the Asia-Pacific International Ballet Competition. Yuki joined the Orlando Ballet in 2005 under the artistic direction of Fernando Bujones and, later, Bruce Marks. Her favorite role is Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. This is her third season with the Louisville Ballet.
Christy Corbitt Miller
Originally from Atlanta, Christy is returns for her eighth season with the Louisville Ballet. Some of her favorite roles with the Company include Myrtle Wilson in Prokovsky’s The Great Gatsby, the second pas de trois in Balanchine’s Agon, The Man I Love pas de deux in Who Cares?, the waltz girl in Serenade, and the pas de trois in Ben Stevenson’s Four Last Songs. She has enjoyed contemporary work as the Rum and Coca Cola girl in Paul Taylor’s Company B, in Val Caniparoli’s Lamberena, and in Helen Pickett’s ballets Etesian and Upon Your Held Out Hand. Before joining the Louisville Ballet, Christy danced with the Texas Ballet Theater performing title roles in Cinderella and Giselle. She has also danced with the Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Memphis, and Ballet Dallas. Additionally, Christy teaches for the Louisville Ballet School in the intermediate division.
Robert Morrow
Rob Morrow began his ballet training in New Orleans, Louisiana with Delta Festival Ballet and went on to train at renowned schools such as Virginia School of the Arts and The Joffrey Ballet School of NYC. Professionally, he’s danced for Nashville Ballet, Delta Festival Ballet, and Dayton Ballet. Some of his favorite roles include ‘Smee’ in Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, ’Renfield’ in Stuart Sebastion’s Dracula, as well as being featured in Alan Hineline’s Thresholds II. This is Rob’s first season with the Louisville Ballet.
Benjamin Needham-Wood
Born in Massachusetts, Ben returns to the Louisville Ballet for his third season. While his dance education focused primarily on classical ballet technique, Ben has studied a variety of dance forms including modern, jazz, tap, hip hop, character dance, and acrobatics. Since joining the Company, he has appeared in such classical ballets as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and Cinderella, and has performed principal and featured roles in contemporary works by Adam Hougland, Amy Seiwert, and Helen Pickett. As a choreographer, Ben has created works for the Louisville Ballet’s Choreographers’ Showcase, the Louisville Ballet School Youth Ensemble, Impact Dance Project, and the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music’s Winter Showcase. In June 2009, Ben competed in the 10th New York International Ballet Competition where he was invited to perform Paul Taylor’s Aureole pas de deux in the Gala performance, receiving a favorable review from The New York Times. Ben recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, earning his BFA in Ballet.
Ian Poulis
Originally from Long Island, New York, Ian comes to Louisville Ballet after four years with Ballet Arizona where he performed several soloist roles in works by Bournonville, Balanchine and the classical repertoire. Prior to dancing with Ballet Arizona, he was with Ballet Met and with Ballet Internationale for four seasons during which he toured Asia, Canada and much of the United States. Ian studied at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. primarily under Vladimir Djouloukhadze, Anatoli Kucheruk and Adrienne Dellas-Thorton.
He has performed several notable Balanchine roles including Death in La Valse, 2nd Theme in The Four Temperaments, and a soloist in Rubies and Allegro Brilliante. In Bournonville and classical repertoire, he has performed the Pas de Six in Napoli and a lead student in Le Conservatorie, Espada in Don Quixote, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rothbart in Swan Lake, the Wolf and Puss-n-Boots in The Sleeping Beauty, the Forban soloist in Le Corsaire, Clopin in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Drosselmeyer and the Snow King in The Nutcracker amongst other soloist and principle roles during his career. Most recently, he performed in Ballet Across America II with Ballet Arizona at The Kennedy Center
Brandon Ragland
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, received his early training from Jacqueline Crenshaw Lockhart and continued his dance training at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. He graduated from Butler University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Dance-Arts Administration. He danced with Alabama Ballet for three seasons, where his roles included Jekyll in Roger Van Fleteren’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Benvolio in Van Fleteren’s Romeo & Juliet, Cavalier and Hot Chocolate in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Prince Charming in Cinderella, and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. This marks Brandon’s first season with Louisville Ballet.
Emily Reinking-O’Dell
Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Emily trained and danced at the Fort Wayne Ballet under the direction of Michael Tevlin, Judy Jacob and Robert Kelley. She earned her BSOF in Ballet and Arts Administration from Indiana University in 2000, studying with Leslie Peck, Jacques Cesbron and Violette Verdy. She joined the Louisville Ballet that same year. Emily has enjoyed working with Adam Hougland on Cold Virtues, Devolve, Made to Be Broken, Fragile Stasis and Rite of Spring. Her favorite classical roles include Fairy of Charm in The Sleeping Beauty, Pas de Trois in Raymonda, Red Girls in Les Patineurs, Winter Fairy in Cinderella, Fairy Godmother in Beauty and the Beast, Juanita in Don Quixote, and most recently, Two Swans and Lead Czardas in Swan Lake. Some of her favorite contemporary roles are in Company B, Nine Sinatra Songs, Vivacé, Going for Baroque, Variations Serieuses, In the Glow of the Night, Agon, Rubies and Etesian.
Nobuyoshi Okada
Originally from Okayama, Japan, Nobuyoshi began his ballet training at the Yukimo Tsutsumi Ballet. In 1998, he was accepted at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) School, graduating in 2000. While at the RWB School, he received the Prince Edward Award in 1999. Nobuyoshi joined the Orlando Ballet in 2001, first under the direction of Fernando Bujones and then Bruce Marks. His favorite role is Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, James in La Sylphide and Ali in Le Corsaire. This is his third season with the Louisville Ballet.
Douglas Ruiz
A native of Puerto Rico, Douglas began his training with Roberto Rodriguez. In 2004, he graduated from Virginia School of the Arts and later joined Milwaukee Ballet II. While there, he performed roles in ballets such as Michael Pink’s Dracula and Kathryn Posin’s Scheherazade. In 2006, Douglas joined the Louisville Ballet. During his tenure, he has danced in a wide variety of ballets including Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Adam Hougland’s Fragile Stasis, Cold Virtues and Rite of Spring, Mark Godden’s Magic Flute, Helen Pickett’s upon your held out hand, André Prokovsky’s The Great Gatsby, Bruce Marks’ Lark Ascending and Val Caniparoli’s Vivacé. This is his fifth season with the Louisville Ballet.
Kateryna Sellers
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Kateryna is returning for her sixth season with the Louisville Ballet. She began her training in Toronto where she studied with Sean Boutilier, Glenn Gilmour, Kevin Pugh and Roberto Campanella. In 2005, she graduated from Butler University with a B.F.A. in dance performance. While at Butler, she had the pleasure of studying with Marek Cholewa, Susan McGuire, Derek Reid and Rosanna Ruffo.
Since joining the Louisville Ballet, Kateryna has danced the roles of “Two Swans” in Swan Lake, “Autumn Fairy” in Cinderella, “Pas de Trois” in The Sleeping Beauty and Raymonda and “One For my Baby” from Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. She was thrilled to perform the principal role in Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues as well as dancing in other ballets created by Adam Hougland such as Fragile Stasis and Rite of Spring. Kateryna has also been seen in Company B, Agon, Lambarena, Celts, Vivacé and Etesian.
Ashley Thursby
Originally from Richmond, MO., Ashley trained with the Kansas City Ballet School, where she spent her senior year as a student apprentice. Ashley continued her studies at Indiana University, receiving a BS in ballet and journalism in 2008, and joining the Louisville Ballet that same year. While at IU, she was coached by Violette Verdy in numerous roles including The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and the Principal role in Walpurgisnacht. She was also coached by Helen Starr in Les Patineurs for the White Pas de Deux. Ashley has taken master classes from Maria Tallchief, Jocelyn Vollmar, Alonzo King and David Parsons. Her Louisville Ballet performance highlights include Val Caniparoli’s Vivacé, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and Amy Seiwert’s Smiling Underneath.
Phillip Velinov
Born in Bulgaria’s capital, Phillip started his training at the State Choreographic School in Sofia and later transferred to the Alabama School of Fine Arts on a full scholarship. Upon graduation, he joined the Alabama Ballet and later won the first full performing arts scholarship in the 150-year history of Birmingham-Southern College completing a B.A. with honors in Dance. Phillip has had the honor to study and work with Maestro Roumen Rachev, Dame Sonia Arova, Thor Sutowsky, Professor Mira Popovich, Vladilen Simeonov and Irina Kolpakova. He was a soloist with Ballet Internationale (Indianapolis) prior to joining the Louisville Ballet as a principal dancer in 2006.
Phillip received diplomas at the 1998 and 2002 Varna International Ballet Competions and won the 1998 Birmingham Fine Arts Society Award for Excellence in Dance. Repertoire highlights include a wide spectrum of roles: Albrecht in Giselle, the Golden Slave in Scheherazade; The Nutcracker, Sugar Plum Cavalier and Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker; Nana the dog in Peter Pan, Basilio, Espada, Gamache and Lorenzo in Don Quixote, Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, Doctor Coppelius in Coppelia; Puck in Midsummer Night’s Dream; as well as George Balanchine’s Agon, Lila York’s Celts, and “That’s Life” in Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs.
Kristopher Wojtera
Born in Poland, Kristopher began his ballet studies at the National Ballet School in Gdansk, Poland. He danced with the Polish National Theatre in Warsaw, where he portrayed roles in variety of classical pieces such as Swan Lake, Giselle and The Sleeping Beauty as well as several contemporary works throughout Poland and Europe. Upon moving to the United States, he became a soloist with Columbia City Ballet (South Carolina) where he danced principal roles in Beauty & the Beast, The Nutcracker and Coppélia.
In 2003, Kristopher joined the Louisville Ballet as a first soloist. He has performed as a guest artist with Ballet Theatre Midwest, the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet, the Carolina Ballet, the Governor’s School for the Arts in Virginia, the Hilton Head Ballet among others. In 2007, he was invited to perform Swan Lake with the English National Ballet. Kristopher is honored to have participated in the National Choreographers Initiative in Irvine, California for four summers where he has performed in original works by Gina Petterson, Ron De Jesus, Melissa Barak, Edwaard Liang, Ma Cong, Edmund Stripe, Sidra Bell and Rick McCullough.
Trainees
Juanita Araque
A native Louisvillian, Juanita started dancing at the age of 3, joining the Louisville Ballet School at the age of 7. Through the School, she was able to perform roles in Louisville Ballet productions of The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, Cinderella, Romeo & Juliet, and Alice in Wonderland. As a member of the Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble, Juanita attended South East Regional Ballet Association (SERBA) Festivals from 2004-2010. Through SERBA, she received scholarships for and attended summer programs with Dance Collective, Alabama Dance Theater, Jordan Academy (Butler), Craft of Choreography (PNB), as well as receiving a prestigious cash award. She also attended programs with Joffery Ballet NY and Ohio Dance Theater as a scholarship student. Juanita has choreographed four works for the Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble. In 2010, her piece was selected to be performed at SERBA Festival. This will be Juanita’s first season with the Louisville Ballet.
Elizabeth Ashbaugh
Elizabeth began her dance training at the Kansas City Ballet School under Karen P. Brown and William Whitener. She was tutored by the late Todd Bolender and selected to be a student apprentice. Elizabeth continued her training at Butler University receiving a BFA with honors in dance performance. Last year, she attended the Graduate Program at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. She has also attended summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Lines Ballet with Alonzo King, and Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet. This is Elizabeth’s second season with the Louisville Ballet.
Caroline Betancourt
Caroline Betancourt was born and raised in Miami, FL where she started dancing at the age of three. She studied ballet at the Miami Conservatory of Ballet under Mariana Alvarez-Brake. She attended New World School of the Arts high school where she continued to study ballet and modern. Under the diligent guidance of her instructors she has been able to participate in numerous ballet competitions. Caroline won her first competition, the American Ballet Competition, at age fifteen. At seventeen, she was honored to participate in the VIII USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS, known to many as the Olympics of ballet. In 2009, she was privileged to compete in the Tenth New York International Ballet Competition with Benjamin Needham-Wood – being one of twenty-four couples from around the world chosen to compete. In June 2010, she received her BFA in ballet from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. This is Caroline’s first season with the Louisville Ballet
Jordan Burke
Jordan Burke comes to Louisville Ballet from Cape Cod, Massachusetts where he began his training under the direction of Laura Faria. After a year, Jordan was accepted as a scholarship student to the intensive program at the Boston Ballet School where he spent a year studying under Christopher Hird. Jordan continued his training at Butler University, where he received a BFA in dance performance. This is his first season as a trainee with the Louisville Ballet.
Sarah Farnsley
Sarah Farnsley recently received her BFA in dance performance from Butler University. Prior to high school, she spent three years in England moving through the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus and performing with the London Junior Ballet. As a teenager, she trained at Dancers Studio, Inc, in Columbus, (IN) and then later with the Louisville Ballet School. Sarah has participated in summer programs with American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, the Glenda Brown Choreography Project, The Paul Taylor Company, and as part of a traveling company in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her favorite roles include Dew Drop Fairy, Pas de Trois from Swan Lake, and Balanchine’s Serenade (Butler), as well as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker (Dancer’s Studio). This is her first season as a trainee with the company.
Annie Honebrink
Raised in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, Annie trained with the Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig Academy under the direction of Valentine Liberatore, Mishic Marie Corn, and Devon Carney. While there she performed various principal and soloist roles. During the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, Annie had the opportunity to perform corps de ballet roles with the Cincinnati Ballet in Giselle and The Nutcracker. For the 2009-2010 season she was named a CBII with Cincinnati Ballet. She has attended summer programs with Cincinnati Ballet, Joffrey Midwest, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Louisville Ballet. This will be Annie’s first season with the Louisville Ballet.
Jennifer LaWall
Jennifer began her training at Monona Academy of Dance in Monona, Wisconsin under the direction of Jo Jean Retrum, Jason Cisler, and Nicole Cisler. She continued her training at Butler University where she recently received a BFA in Dance Performance. While at Butler, Jennifer had the opportunity to dance principle roles in Cinderella, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Serenade, and Paul Taylor’s Cloven Kingdom. She has attended summer programs at Ballet Austin, Orlando Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Ballet West. This is Jennifer’s second season with Louisville Ballet.
Clayton Mandly
Clayton Mandly was born and raised in Connecticut. He started his study of dance at the age of nine with the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts. He has also studied with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and The Joffery school. He is currently working towards a BFA in ballet at the University of Cincinnati’s College- Conservatory of Music. There he has danced lead roles from Paquita, Swan Lake, Sonnet to Sundry Notes of Music V and Walpurgisnacht. Clayton has had the pleasure of working with Frederick Franklin, Maria Calegari, and Vivi Flindt. This is hiss first season with the Louisville Ballet.
Emma McGirr
Born in Marietta, OH, Emma began her training at the age 7 with the Schrader Youth Ballet in Parkersburg, WV. During high school, she attended several summer programs such as North Carolina School of the Arts, Point Park International Summer Dance, and North Carolina Dance Theatre. After graduating high school, Emma went on to study dance at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) as a ballet major. While at CCM, she has had the opportunity to perform the lead roles in Balanchine’s Pas de Dix, staged by Frederic Franklin, and Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère, staged by Deirdre Carberry. She has also had the opportunity to perform with Ballet Theatre Midwest and in the Charleston Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. Emma will graduate from CCM in the spring of 2011 with her B.F.A. This is her first season with the Louisville Ballet.
McKinkley Nicoson
McKinley Nicoson, a native to Louisville, started dancing at the age of five at the University of Louisville Dance Academy under the direction of Chuck Bronson and Cynthia Bronner. She was the 2005 recipient of the Fund for the Arts Whittenberg Scholarship for Excellence and has attended summer programs at American Ballet Theatre (Scholarship), Walnut Hill School (Scholarship), Chautauqua Institution(Scholarship), and the School of American Ballet (Scholarship). McKinley attended the School of American Ballet during their year-round term. She has danced and performed with the North Carolina Dance theatre in Chautauqua under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Mark Diamond and also with the New York City Ballet. This is her first season with Louisville Ballet.
Gwynn Root
Born in Connecticut and raised in Tennessee, Gwynn trained at the Johnson City Ballet Academy and City Youth Ballet in Johnson City, Tennessee, under the direction of Susan Pace-White, and received additional study and coaching under Pat Holden, Olena Safonova, Marvin Askew and others. In 2008-09, she studied at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Gwynn attended Princeton Dance and Theatre summer program under Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz, and summer intensives of American Ballet Theatre and Orlando Ballet. This is her first season with the Louisville Ballet.
Shaely Simonton
Shaely Simonton is originally from Kendallville, Indiana. This is her first year as a trainee with the Company. She received her training at the New American Youth Ballet and Conservatory in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There, she was taught by Beth McLeish and Edward Moffat. She later studied with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Shaely has attended summer programs with the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Miami City Ballet. She has also studied on scholarship with the Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, the Milwaukee Ballet, and the Rock School. Last year, Shaely was a student in the Louisville Ballet School at the Pre-Professional level.
Kate Simpson
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Kate trained at the Ballet Center of Houston under the direction of Gilbert Rome and Victoria Vittum. She has attended numerous summer programs including the Joffrey San Antonio Workshop, Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program, and the Atlanta Ballet Summer Program for four summers, two of them in the professional division. This is Kate’s second season with the Louisville Ballet having performed last season with the Company in The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, Celts, and Swan Lake.
Ryan Stokes
A native of Louisville, Ryan began his training with the Louisville Ballet School in 2003. In 2005, he joined American National Ballet under the direction of Armando Maldonado, dancing numerous contemporary roles. Ryan joined the Minnesota Ballet in 2007, where he danced for three years under the direction of Robert Gardner. While there he had the opportunity to dance roles in ballets such as The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Sylvia, Coppélia, George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Antony Tudor’s Little Improvisations and Alan Field’s Rough Cut Swing. This is Ryan’s first season with the Louisville Ballet.
Jason Wang
Raised in Ames, IA, Jason began his journey through dance as a break-dancer with the Floor Spiders Crew to later find his love for classical ballet. At 19, he enrolled at the Robert Thomas Dancenter under the guidance of Bob and Miyoko-Kato Thomas and Michael Fothergill. Jason continued his training at the University of Iowa where he toured with “Dancers In Company” performing many premier ballets by Deanna Carter as well as Donald McKayle’s renowned Games and Louis Falco’s Escargot. Upon graduation, Jason trained at the Cincinnati Ballet under full scholarship where he appeared in The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, and Bolero. Jason is excited to return for his second season with the Louisville Ballet having performed in last year’s premiere of the new Brown-Forman Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Celts, and Swan Lake.
Brienne Wiltsie
Brienne was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She trained with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School throughout high school before joining Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for two seasons. Some of the ballets she had the opportunity to perform while with that company include Swan Lake, Balanchine’s Who Cares? and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. Brienne also enjoyed teaching ballet classes while studying as a history major at the University of Pittsburgh. This is her first season with the Louisville Ballet.
Anna Young
Raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Anna trained at the Columbia Ballet School under Anita Ashley, Ann Kent, and McCree O’Kelley. At 15, she began attending high school at the North Carolina School of the Arts under Nina Danilova, Nigel Burley and the rest of the NCSA faculty, graduating in 2009. Anna has attended summer programs at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Kaatsbaan, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Atlanta Ballet. This is her second season with the Louisville Ballet.