About louisville ballet
Mission
To inspire, engage, and educate the community through moving art.
Vision
To change lives through dance.
History
Louisville Ballet, led by Artistic Director Anthony Krutzkamp and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Smart, is an evolved but accessible ballet company committed to boldly and beautifully communicating artistic stories both classic and new. We exist to move, to evoke emotion, to provoke thought, and to challenge perceptions. We are artists, athletes, activists, inventors, and inspirers. Louisville Ballet has been one of the nation’s leading regional ballet companies since 1952. As the Official State Ballet of Kentucky, Louisville Ballet has worked with some of ballet’s brightest lights including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Twyla Tharp, and Wendy Whelan, performed for tens of thousands of people and reached over 31,000 school children throughout the commonwealth with educational programs annually.
LEADERSHIP + ARTISTIC TEAM
Artistic Director
Anthony Krutzkamp is the former Artistic and Executive Director of Sacramento Ballet, where he led a dynamic revitalization of the company. Under his leadership, Sacramento Ballet achieved record-breaking ticket sales, launched a groundbreaking Second Company, and awarded more than $125,000 annually in student scholarships. He expanded the repertoire to include works by George Balanchine, Alejandro Cerrudo, Penny Saunders, Ihsan Rustem, and others, while also creating acclaimed productions of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.
A former principal dancer with Cincinnati Ballet and Kansas City Ballet, Krutzkamp performed leading roles in both classical and contemporary works, from Romeo and Juliet to Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco. He co-founded the Kansas City Dance Festival and Moving Arts, fostering national and international collaborations, and directed Kansas City Ballet’s Second Company. Recognized as a visionary leader, Krutzkamp blended artistry, community engagement, and strategic growth to position Sacramento Ballet as a vibrant cultural force. A Kentucky native, he is also a husband and father of two girls.
Chief Executive Officer
Leslie Smart, CFRE is a seasoned nonprofit leader. In addition to her role as CEO at Louisville
Ballet, she serves as faculty at the Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s School of Fundraising and Engagement. She has served as a two-term president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Greater Louisville Chapter, Committee on Directorship for International AFP, and a forum moderator for Young Presidents’ Organization’s Bluegrass Chapter. She is a graduate of Leadership Kentucky, Leadership Lexington, and Leadership Louisville.
Smart currently serves on the board and executive committee of Leadership Kentucky, the board of OperaLex, and is a member of the Rotary Club of Louisville, where she chairs the Music and Arts Committee. This year, she is also serving as chair of the Dance/USA Tier 2 Cohort.
Smart also has a unique experience having danced with Louisville Ballet in the 1970s and studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Dance and the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet.
Senior Rehearsal Director
Co-Artistic Director of the Studio Company
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Mikelle Bruzina is a graduate of The Royal Winnipeg Ballet. In her fifteen years as a Louisville Ballet Company Artist, she performed soloist and principal roles and was recognized for her diversity in classical, modern, and contemporary ballets. As a dancer, stager, and rehearsal assistant, she has worked with choreographers such as Val Caniparoli, Mark Godden, Adam Hougland, Ronald Hynd, Lucas Jervies, Alun Jones, Ben Needham-Wood, Helen Pickett, Andre Prokovsky, Brandon Ragland, Domy Reiter-Soffer, Andrea Schermoly, Ching Ching Wong, and many others. Mikelle has choreographed works for Louisville Ballet including Gloria, Harmony of Contrasts, Life Rhythms, continuum, Sansei, and Tinjy Wits. She has also created ballets for Memphis Ballet, Boca Ballet Theatre, Lexington Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, and The Louisville Ballet School.
Mikelle began teaching in Japan in 1991 under the guidance of Emi Okajima. Having worked under the direction of Alun Jones, Bruce Simpson and Robert Curran, she carries a vast experience in teaching, staging and coaching in classical, modern and contemporary styles of dance.
Mikelle was Ballet Mistress for thirteen seasons, Artistic Director for two seasons, and is also Co-Artistic Director of the Louisville Ballet Studio Company. This marks her 30th year with Louisville Ballet.
Principal Repetiteur + Senior Rehearsal Director
Originally from Baton Rouge, Helen Daigle began her training at Decatur School of Ballet in Decatur, Georgia. Upon her family’s return to Louisiana, she continued her training at Dancer’s Workshop under the tutelage of Molly Buchmann and Sharon Mathews. She has also studied at Joffrey Ballet School and School of American Ballet. She started performing with Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre junior and senior companies and began her professional career with Feld Ballets/New York. She has also danced with Ballet Hispanico and Miami City Ballet.
Helen joined Louisville Ballet in 1998 and enjoyed 20 wonderfully fulfilling seasons. She performed featured roles in a range of works including Lark Ascending, In the Glow of the Night, Who Cares?, Serenade, Lamberena, Scheherazade, Company B, Etesian and Cold Virtues. She has performed principal roles in full length ballets such as The Magic Flute, Don Quixote, Giselle, Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, La Sylphide and A Cinderella Story.
She has originated roles in ballets choreographed by Val Caniparoli, Amy Siewert, Helen Pickett and Adam Hougland. Helen has had the pleasure of staging Hougland’s Rite of Spring, Cold Virtues, and Fragile Stasis on companies such as Louisville Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Kansas City Ballet and Smuin Ballet. She was thrilled to work as Adam Hougland’s rehearsal assistant as he created Ten Beautiful Objects for Louisville Ballet in 2013 and for his re-imagined Petrouchka in 2016.
Helen took on the role of Cast Manager for the Children’s Cast of Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker and has been a member of the Louisville Ballet School Faculty since 2005, teaching students from age eight to adult. She has taught at summer intensives in Shreveport, Monroe, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Baltimore, Maryland; and Louisville, Kentucky. Helen was honored to be a part of the faculty for the RDA Southwest Dance Festival 2016.
She is happy to call Louisville home, where she lives with her husband Brad and their two children, Keiran and Iris, and is thrilled to continue working for Louisville Ballet as Principal Repetiteur + Senior Rehearsal Director.
Artists
A native of Fremont, Ohio, Leigh Anne Albrechta trained at The Fremont Ballet School, Ballet Theatre of Toledo, and later graduated from The Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts. She joined Charlotte Ballet for two years as a trainee and apprentice, earning the opportunity to work with Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patricia McBride, Mark Diamond, and Dwight Rhoden. In 2009, Leigh Anne joined Louisville Ballet as a trainee and was hired as a Company Artist the following season. She has enjoyed performing a range of classical and contemporary roles, including Juliet in Adam Hougland’s Romeo + Juliet, Valencienne in Ronald Hynd‘s The Merry Widow, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Rose, and Marie in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, featured roles in Andrea Schermoly’s Limbic and Rite of Spring, and principal roles in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Emeralds, and Kammermusik No.2. Leigh Anne has danced with Moving Arts Company and Choreographic Residency of Marin during her summers. She is grateful for the support and generosity of the Louisville community.
Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Ian trained and graduated from Indiana Ballet Conservatory’s Advanced Pre-Professional Day Program on full scholarship. He then joined Kansas City Ballet as a Trainee on full scholarship, and after one year was promoted to Kansas City Ballet II. Thereafter, Ian joined Ballet Austin as an Apprentice. Ian has danced numerous roles in Val Caniparoli’s North American premiere of Jekyll and Hyde, Michael Pink’s Dracula, Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, Mark Morris’ Sandpaper, Devon Carney’s Peter Pan, Giselle, and Cinderella, George Balanchine’s Jewels, and Stephen Mills’ The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. He has performed works by Peter LeBreton-Merz, Rex Tilton, Parrish Maynard, Christopher Ruud, Gabriel Lorena, Christopher Swaim, and Jimmy Orrante. Ian also performed at The Kennedy Center in Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker.
Christopher Balbuena is from Alpharetta, GA, but also lived in North Carolina and Florida. He has been dancing for the past 12 years. He trained at UNCSA during high school and recently graduated from IU with a double degree in ballet and informatics, with a cognate study in public health. Christopher has also trained at the Houston Ballet summer intensive and the Pacific Northwest Ballet summer intensive.
Fletcher is from Owensboro, Kentucky, and began dancing at age five. He decided to focus on ballet at nine years old, training and performing with Evansville Ballet, Ballet Indiana, and Owensboro Dance Theatre. In addition to attending summer intensives at Louisville Ballet and Indiana Ballet Conservatory, Fletcher has also trained at the Harid Conservatory, the Bolshoi Ballet summer intensive in New York, and toured in China with the Long Beach Ballet Summer Intensive. He graduated in 2024 from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with a Bachelor of Science degree in Ballet Performance. There, he performed roles in works by George Balanchine, Justin Peck, Dwight Rhoden, and Michael Vernon. Fletcher joined Louisville Ballet as a Company Artist in 2024.
Nicholas Bentz was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and continued his education at Butler University, receiving a BS in Dance Pedagogy. After graduating, he danced for two years in the Louisville Ballet Studio Company. Following his time in Louisville, he danced for two seasons with Indianapolis Ballet. He became a Company Artist at Louisville Ballet in 2024.
Sarah Bradley grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she began her training with Cincinnati Ballet. After training in their academy, she joined the company as a Junior Trainee, then was promoted to Trainee. She was later invited and joined Cincinnati Ballet II, where she had the opportunity to work with Val Caniparoli, Septime Webre, and Jennifer Archibald. Sarah then joined City Ballet of San Diego as an Apprentice in 2018. In 2020, she joined Louisville Ballet as a Studio Company member and enjoyed roles such as Guardian Swan in Robert Curran’s Swan Lake and Rose in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker. Sarah became a Company Artist in 2022 and has enjoyed roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Brown-Forman Nutcracker and the Slyph in George Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony.
Originally from Stoneham, Massachusetts, Lexa began her dance training at the Northeast School of Ballet under the direction of Denise Cecere. She continued her education at the University of Utah, graduating magna cum laude with a BFA in ballet performance. She began her professional career with Portland Ballet in Maine before joining Louisville Ballet as a trainee in 2014 and later as a Company Artist in 2016. A few of her favorite roles include Rose and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, Myrtha in Giselle, the Wife in Andrea Schermoly’s Appalachian Spring, the Lilac Fairy in Adam Hougland’s Sleeping Beauty, and Nikiya in an excerpt from Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère. In 2025, she was honored to help portray the life story of Naomi Warren by performing as the Survivor in Stephen Mills’ Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project. Lexa is deeply grateful to have had the privilege of performing works by a variety of choreographers over the course of her career, including George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Serge Lifar, Alun Jones, Andrea Schermoly, Adam Hougland, and Ching Ching Wong. She is also a faculty member of The Louisville Ballet School, teaching in the Pre-Professional Program. Lexa would like to thank her family for their endless love and support throughout her career.
Caleb Emory comes from Corpus Christi, Texas, where he began his training with Corpus Christi Ballet under Cristina Munro (2009). He then moved to Houston to further his training with Houston Repertoire Ballet (2020). Caleb joined Louisville Ballet’s Studio Company after the 2022 Summer Intensive and is now a proud member of the Company. In his free time, he loves to play guitar, drums, and video games. His favorite ballets are Giselle, Don Quixote, and Cold Virtues.
Anna Ford is originally from Lilburn, Georgia. She began her training at the Northeast Atlanta Ballet. After graduating in 2020, Anna moved from her hometown to Louisville to join Louisville Ballet’s Studio Company.
While training in the Studio Company for three years, Anna performed featured roles including Marie in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker and Cygnet in Robert Curran’s Swan Lake. Her repertoire also includes Robert Curran’s Coppélia, Alun Jones’ Violin Concerto, George Balanchine’s Emeralds, Adam Hougland’s Sleeping Beauty, and George Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony.
In 2023, Anna was honored with a promotion to the Company. Recent highlight performances include Second Shade in La Bayadère and Autumn Fairy in Alun Jones’ Cinderella. Additional credits include performances in Raymonda, Giselle, Romeo & Juliet, Andrea Schermoly’s Appalachian Spring, Ching Ching Wong’s 502, Stephen Mills’ Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project, and Adam Hougland’s Broken Totem.
Now entering her third season with the Company and her sixth year with Louisville Ballet, Anna is excited to continue sharing her artistry with the community.
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Nicholas Bradley Gray began his performing arts training at Milwaukee Ballet School and at First Stage Children’s Theater. Following his graduation from The Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory, Nicholas received his Bachelor’s Degree in Ballet with a minor in Theatre and Drama from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Throughout his youth, Nicholas attended summer intensives at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Chautauqua Institution. In 2018, Nicholas moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he lived for six years. He worked as a faculty member at Grand Rapids Ballet School and at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s School of Theatre Arts, as a freelance Director/Choreographer for Collegiate and Community Theatres, and as a frequent Guest Artist with Grand Rapids Ballet. Nicholas is thrilled to have accomplished so much in his first season as a Company Artist with Louisville Ballet. He has been honored to perform such roles as The Nutcracker Prince in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker and The Prince’s Friend in Alun Jones’ Cinderella. Nicholas is a proud faculty member of The Louisville Ballet School and serves his peers as the elected Dancer Representative. He is grateful for every single day he has the privilege to do what he loves.
Khalil Jackson is from Dallas, Georgia, and joined Louisville Ballet as a Company Artist in 2023. He has performed in works by Adam Hougland, Ching Ching Wong, Mikelle Bruzina, Alun Jones, and others, and performed roles such as the Cavalier, Arabian, and Russian in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker.
Alexander began his ballet training at age 17 at the Lafayette Ballet School in Lafayette, Indiana, under the direction of Sandra Peticolas and Lisa Douglas. From there, he pursued a B.A. in Dance Performance at Ball State University, studying under Vladimir Stadnik (ballet), Audra Sokol and Susan Koper (modern), and Christie Zimmerman and Michael Worcel (jazz). Additionally, he participated in Ball State Dance Theatre, the performing company, for all four years of study.
Alexander then moved to Louisville for the first time, where he completed the then two-year trainee program under the artistic direction of Robert Curran. Upon completing the program, he danced professionally with Ballet Quad Cities (Artistic Director Courtney Lyon) for two years, dancing roles such as Billy in Billy the Kid and the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland. He then moved on to Central Illinois Ballet (Artistic Director Rebekah von Rathonyi) in Peoria, where he was a principal dancer for four years. During his time at CIB, he danced roles such as Prince Charming (as well as a stepsister!) in Cinderella, the titular role in Dracula, Antoni in Sweeney Todd, and the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz.
Having returned to Louisville Ballet as a Company Artist in 2023, Alexander has since had the opportunity to perform several exciting roles, such as the second principal male in Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues, the Nutcracker in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, and Paris in Alun Jones’ Romeo & Juliet. He is thrilled to return for the 2025-2026 Season!
Caitlin started dancing in Radcliff, Kentucky. She was inspired by the Louisville Ballet alumni she had as teachers and attended The Louisville Ballet School’s summer intensive in 2014. She attended the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts in 2016 as a dance major and then joined De La Dance Center in Cincinnati as a trainee. In 2017, she returned to Kentucky as part of Louisville Ballet’s trainee program, now known as the Studio Company, and was invited to join the Company in 2021.
Since coming to Louisville, she has had the privilege of performing roles and works such as a demi soloist in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Pas De Trois in Balanchine’s Emeralds, The Sylph in La Sylphide, Marie and divertissements in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, and Ching Ching Wong’s Grass is Green. She is excited and grateful to begin a new season with Louisville Ballet!
Mark, a Virginia native, studied dance under Jefferson Baum at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. In 2004, Mark joined Ballet Tucson, where he danced for two seasons before joining Columbia City Ballet. He spent five years with the Columbia City Ballet as a Principal Dancer. Mark has been a Company Artist with Louisville Ballet since 2012.
Joel Morin-Kensicki received his early training at Durham School for Ballet and The Performing Arts from Tama Guerra Rivero, Pablo Perez, Aline Molina, Miguel Campaneria, and Bolyn Willis Zeger. After graduating in 2014, he attended Butler University to perform with Butler Ballet under the direction of Larry Attaway. During his time at Butler, he studied under Marek Cholewa, Rosanna Ruffo, Ramon Flowers, Derek Reid, Michelle Jarvis, Laura Byram, Patrick Hinson, Susan McGuire, and Cynthia Pratt. He also had the privilege of performing principal roles in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Giselle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Four Temperaments, and La Bayadére, along with many contemporary works. While at Butler, he had the honor of traveling to Europe with Marek Cholewa and Rosanna Ruffo to study at the national ballet schools of Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. He graduated from Butler University in 2018 with his BA in Dance Pedagogy. He joined Louisville Ballet as a Company Artist in 2024.
A proud native of Gastonia, North Carolina, Jordan Noblett began dancing at Gaston Dance Theatre and Open Door Studios. In 2018, she continued her training at Kansas City Ballet School for two years, where she had the opportunity to perform Neapolitan in Devon Carney’s Swan Lake and original, award-winning works by Duncan Cooper and Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye at the Youth American Grand Prix. In 2020, Jordan joined Cincinnati Ballet as a Trainee, where she enjoyed performing and being featured in works by Amy Seiwert, Adam Hougland, and Victoria Morgan.
After dancing with Louisville Ballet for two seasons in the Studio Company, Jordan was promoted to Company Artist in 2023. Some of her favorite roles she has performed are Nikiya in La Bayadère, the Pas de Trois in George Balanchine’s Emeralds, and the Autumn Fairy in Alun Jones’ Cinderella. Jordan is thrilled to continue sharing art with and for the Louisville community.
Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Eleanor (Ellie) Prince trained at The Louisville Ballet School from the earliest programs through the Pre-Professional Division, then performed as a Trainee with the Company. She continued her training at Stanford University under Alex Ketley and Anton Pankevich, where she also graduated with recognition for leadership in the arts and ballet, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and graduate studies in Robotics. She is also an alumna of The School at Jacob’s Pillow, where she performed in world premieres by choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Silas Farley.
Since joining the Company, her repertoire has included the Sugar Plum Fairy and Arabian divertissement in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, La Bayadère, Giselle, Raymonda, Romeo & Juliet, Cinderella, Napoli, George Balanchine’s Rubies, and Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues, as well as works by Stephen Mills, Andrea Schermoly, Lucas Jervies, and Ching Ching Wong.
Originally from Overland Park, Kansas, Elizabeth (Ellie) began her dance training at Legacy School of the Arts. She continued her education at Butler University on the Presidential Scholarship, performing soloist roles in works such as Gerald Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi, Paul Taylor’s Piazzolla Caldera, and George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, as well as Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. She graduated magna cum laude in 2018 with a BFA in Dance Performance with highest honors, and a minor in Mathematics. She completed the University Honors Program, writing a thesis discussing the importance of K-12 arts funding. Ellie danced as a trainee and in Louisville Ballet’s Studio Company for three seasons before joining as a Company Artist in 2022. Her favorite performances at Louisville Ballet include dancing the Survivor in Stephen Mills’ Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project, Scots Lady in George Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony, Effie in La Sylphide, Dawn in Robert Curran’s Coppélia, the Spring Fairy in Alun Jones’ Cinderella, and roles in Jones’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Liebestraume, Ching Ching Wong’s 502 and Grass is Green, and Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker. Ellie is looking forward to her fourth season as a Company Artist!
Aleksandr Q. Schroeder started his ballet training at the age of three at Anderson Young Ballet Theater. In 2014, he was asked to be a part of the Anderson University dance program. He danced in the program until graduating high school in 2016 and had the opportunity to perform at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. After that, he joined Nashville Ballet’s Second Company, training and performing for two years before being promoted to Company Apprentice. He joined Louisville Ballet in 2019. In his time here, he has performed the roles of The Nutcracker Prince in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, Gurn in La Sylphide, the Peasant Pas De Deux in Giselle, and The Bluebird in Adam Hougland’s Sleeping Beauty, among others. He also completed a degree in Business Administration with the hopes of continuing to work more with arts nonprofit organizations after he retires from dancing.
Daniel Scofield joined Louisville Ballet as a Company Artist in 2022 and has performed roles and works including Romeo in Alun Jones’ Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker and Sugar Plum Cavalier in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, an Ugly Stepsister in Alun Jones’ Cinderella, Andrea Schermoly’s Appalachian Spring, Ching Ching Wong’s 502 and Grass Is Green, Adam Hougland’s Broken Totem and Cold Virtues, and Anne Jung’s #fourwithsix.
A Louisville native, Daniel began his performing arts training primarily in musical theatre, later focusing more heavily on dance. Daniel graduated Cum Laude from Butler University in 2021, earning a B.S. in Dance/Arts Administration and a Minor in Business. Repertoire performed at Butler included Paul Taylor’s Piazzolla Caldera, Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain, Patrick de Bana’s Falling Sky, The Firebird, and The Sleeping Beauty.
As a faculty member of The Louisville Ballet School, Daniel has taught in almost every program, including the Summer Intensive and Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble. He has created original works for Louisville Ballet (Soma, 2024), for The Louisville Ballet School, and has choreographed multiple local musical theatre productions. When he isn’t dancing or teaching, Daniel loves to hang out with his pets, family, and friends and enjoy the outdoors.
Ashley grew up in Richmond, Missouri, and began formal dance training at age nine on full scholarship with the Kansas City Ballet School. She later studied Ballet and Journalism at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where she was mentored by Violette Verdy, Cynthia Gregory, and other esteemed artists. Since joining Louisville Ballet in 2008, her notable roles have included the Ballerina in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, a soloist in George Balanchine’s Rubies, Myrtha in Giselle, Swanhilda in Coppélia, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker. A passionate advocate for the arts, she is currently the co-curator of Louisville Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Exhibit and a 2024 History Inspires Fellow, researching dance archives at the Filson Historical Society. Ashley also collaborates with community partners and leads The Louisville Ballet School’s mind. body. balance. Adult Dance + Fitness program.
Kayleigh Western is from Lexington, Kentucky, and began her dance training at the Lexington Ballet School. Her studies continued there and at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts before becoming a student of Cary Ballet Conservatory’s Professional Training Program. Kayleigh went on to dance three seasons with Louisville Ballet’s Studio Company and thereafter joined Lexington Ballet Company. There, she danced principal roles in The Nutcracker, The Firebird, excerpts of Romeo and Juliet, and several original works by Eric Trope. Throughout her career, she has attended programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre and performed works by George Balanchine, Ronald Hynd, Val Caniparoli, and Juliano Nuñes. Kayleigh has been featured in Pointe Magazine, Dance Teacher Magazine, Ballet Rosa’s Créateur Catalog, as well as the album cover art for Whirr’s Raw Blue. Kayleigh is thrilled to return to Louisville Ballet for the 2025-2026 Season.
Amber Wickey is originally from Tenafly, New Jersey, where she began her dance training at Nunnbetter Dance Theater under the direction of Leath Nunn. She graduated from Butler University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Pedagogy. After dancing with the Louisville Ballet Studio Company for two years, she joined the Company in 2022.
Amber has enjoyed performing a variety of works with the company, ranging from classical ballet to contemporary. Some of her favorite roles include the pas de trois in George Balanchine’s Emeralds, a soloist in Dysart Award winner Anne Jung’s #fourwithsix, the Confidence Fairy in Adam Hougland’s Sleeping Beauty, Dawn in Robert Curran’s Coppélia, Marie in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker, and Spring Fairy in Alun Jones’ Cinderella. Amber has also enjoyed dancing in Robert Curran’s Swan Lake and La Sylphide, George Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony, Alun Jones’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo & Juliet, Andrea Schermoly’s Appalachian Spring and Limbic, Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues, Ching Ching Wong’s 502, and Stephen Mills’ Light / The Holocaust & Humanity Project.
When Amber is not dancing, she can be found teaching at The Louisville Ballet School or relaxing with her cats and a good book. Amber is excited to continue bringing dance to the Louisville community!
Brienne Wiltsie grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and danced professionally with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s company for two seasons after training in both their high school and graduate training programs. Favorite memories of performing in her hometown include Grand Pas Classique and Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs. Her love of being on stage then brought Brienne to Louisville, where she enjoyed performing with Louisville Ballet for two seasons (2009- 2011).
This year marks the beginning of Brienne’s 15th year teaching at The Louisville Ballet School (2011-present). She feels incredibly fortunate to work with the Pre-Professional students and the Louisville Ballet Youth Ensemble. In addition to teaching ballet, Brienne is also a certified Pilates instructor.
Brienne returned as a Company Artist during the 2018-2019 Season under the artistic direction of Robert Curran. She has treasured every minute of being able to perform in both classical and new works and is especially grateful for the opportunity to take on the role of Odette in Robert Curran’s Swan Lake and Swanhilde in his Coppélia, Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, and the principal lady in Jerome Robbins’ In G Major. Brienne has also been honored to perform as the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Rose in Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker.
Born in Bulgaria’s capital, Phillip began training at the National Ballet School in Sofia, later transferring to the Alabama School of Fine Arts on a full scholarship. Following graduation, he joined the Alabama Ballet and won the first full performing arts scholarship in the 150-year history of Birmingham-Southern College, completing B.A. in Dance with honors. Rumen Rashev, Dame Sonia Arova, Thor Sutowsky, Mira Popovich, Eldar Aliev, Vladilen Simeonov, Irina Kolpakova, Bruce Simpson, Alun Jones, and Helen Starr have all played an instrumental role in shaping Phillip as an artist. He was a soloist with Ballet Internationale (Indianapolis) prior to joining the Louisville Ballet as a principal dancer in 2006. He also performed as a guest artist with Kathryn Posin’s Dance Company in NYC in 2014 (Voices of Bulgaria and America). Phillip received diplomas at the 1998 and 2002 Varna International Ballet Competitions and won the 1998 Birmingham Fine Arts Society Award for Excellence in Dance. Repertoire highlights spanning three continents include a broad spectrum of roles: Albrecht (Giselle), Siegfried and Rothbart (Swan Lake), The Golden Slave (Scheherazade); the Nutcracker, Cavalier, and Drosselmeyer (Val Caniparoli’s The Brown-Forman Nutcracker); Chief of Thieves (A 1001 Nights), Benvolio and Tybalt (Romeo & Juliet), Nana the dog (Peter Pan), Basilio, Espada, Gamache, and Lorenzo (Don Quixote), Carabosse (Sleeping Beauty), Doctor Coppélius (Coppélia); Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream); Balanchine’s Agon, Kammermusik No.2, Theme and Variations, and Square Dance; the Red Man in Lila York’s Celts; Twyla Tharp’s “That’s Life” (Nine Sinatra Songs), Adam Hougland’s Ten Beautiful Objects, Petrouchka, and Cold Virtues, and Andrea Schermoly’s Appalachian Spring, among others. Phillip also served as a founding teacher of the Male Division of the Clara Noise Ballet Academy in Indianapolis, and most recently assisted in staging A 1001 Nights at the Sofia National Ballet. He is happy to call Louisville home with his wife and colleague Natalia and their two children.
STUDIO COMPANY
The Louisville Ballet Studio Company is a tuition-free program designed to provide professional-caliber training in technique and artistry in preparation for a professional career in classical ballet and versatility in various derivative styles. Our goal is to further an aspiring dancer’s education and aid in the aspirations of gaining professional employment by providing the opportunity to experience work in a fully professional company environment.
The Studio Company is a four-year program, forming Levels 7, 8, 9 and 10 – a post-secondary extension of the Pre-Professional Program at The Louisville Ballet School. These emerging artists are truly the bridge between the School and Company.
To be considered for the Louisville Ballet Studio Company, a dancer should attend a company audition. For more information, or for performance bookings, please contact Christy Corbitt Krieger at [email protected].
Level 10
Julia Enwright
Emmaline Fontanilla
Ezra Paisley
Sameer Rhodes
Natalie Schreiner
Marissa Soluri
Gaven Stevens
Level 9
Joe Henn
Sarah Hutchison
Ava Dhira Metzger
Guinevere Nelson
Kirsten Smerud
Abigail Wyrrick
Level 8
Athena King
Eva Pregont
Milo Sapien
Ella White
Level 7
Samuel Blincoe
Barbara Booth
Ava Carroll
Madison Dunham
Addison Koerner
STAFF
MARKETING + DEVELOPMENT
Regan Nichols
Chief Marketing + Development Officer
Hallie Beard
Content + Marketing Manager
Kateryna Sellers
Development Manager + Staff Photographer
ADMINISTRATION + FINANCE
Scott Thomas
Director of Finance
Arricka Dunsford
Chief of Staff
THE LOUISVILLE BALLET SCHOOL
Christy Corbitt Krieger
Director of The Louisville Ballet School
Co-Artistic Director of the Studio Company
Tara Gardner Perry
Registration + Enrollment Manager
Amanda Rollins
Lower School Principal
Elizabeth Hines
School Administrator
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Stacey Blakeman
Director of Community Engagement
Amy Haley
Community Engagement Manager
Molly Kays
Adaptive Dance Program Manager
SALES + PATRON SERVICES
Shane Wood
Director of Patron Services + Strategy
John Aurelius
Patron Services Coordinator
RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHERS
Adam Hougland
Resident Choreographer
Andrea Schermoly
Resident Choreographer
Roger Creel
Resident Director of Shakespeare in Dance
PRODUCTION
Kathleen Kronauer
Director of Production
Megan Meyer
Stage Manager + Production Assistant
Jesse AlFord
Resident Lighting Designer
Molly Duke
Costume Director
Meagan Donahoe
Costume Manager
Megan Gesse
Costume Coordinator
Brittney Tassin
Technical Director
Tara Simoncic
Music Director
Justin Gray
Music Manager + Company Pianist
Javan Roy-Bachman
Facilities Manager + Master Carpenter
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
K. Shaver
President
Matthew E. Hamel
Vice President
James E. Haynes**
Treasurer
Pamela Thompson
Secretary
*Ex-Officio
**Former President
Lisa Biddle-Puffer
Kim Boland, MD
Tanya Bowman
Lindy Casebier*
Carolle Jones Clay
Toni Clem
Janet M. DenUyl
Lee Dorsey
Sherry M. Feldpausch
Gene Gilchrist
Mayor Craig Greenberg*
Monica Hardin
Justin Michael Hogan
Emma C. Hutchens
Gretchen Lawson*
Elizabeth Kaplan
Karen Koshewa*
Anthony Krutzkamp*
Roy Mattingly, Jr.
Jennifer Moore
Allison O’Grady
Steve Poe
Ellen Hirsch Shapira
Leslie Smart*
John A. Stough, Jr.
William Strench
Amelia Frazier Theobald
Carl Thomas
Lee Tucker
James R. Voyles
Donald G. Wenzel Jr.
Michelle Black White
Donald Whitfield
Buck Wiseman
HONORARY
Lee Purcell Best
Shirley Dumesnil
Peggy Fowler
Alexandra Gerassimides, MD
Paula Grisanti
Marlene Grissom
Susan Grubbs
Beth Klein
Nancy Martin
The late Phil Payne
D. Patton Pelfrey
Dr. Alan Roth
Barbara Sexton Smith
K. Shaver
Larry J. Steinberg
Margy Thomas
STATE ADVISORY COUNCIL — CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT REPRESENTATION
1ST DISTRICT
Ashli Watts
2ND DISTRICT
Regina A. Jackson
3RD DISTRICT
Chris McGarvey
4TH DISTRICT
Tara Johnson Noem
5TH DISTRICT
Open
6TH DISTRICT
Ben Haydon
Auditions
Auditions are now closed for the 2025-2026 Season. Please check back in spring 2026 for audition information for the 2026-2027 Season.
CAREERS
Thank you for your interest in Louisville Ballet. There are no openings at this time, but if you would like to go behind the curtain as a volunteer, click here.
RENTALS
Louisville Ballet currently has a large inventory of full-scale story ballets and contemporary one-of-a-kind pieces available for rent. Available rentals range from complete productions to dramatic drops, costumes, or simple scenic elements. Please contact Kathleen Kronauer at [email protected] or 502.583.3150 x 230 for more information.
