JESSICA ASSEF joined Atlanta Ballet in 2017. Originally from São Carlos, Brazil, she received her early training at Escola de Ballet Corpo e Arte with Jolles Salles. At the 2010 Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) she was awarded full scholarships to Orlando Ballet School and the Princess Grace Academy in Monaco. That same year, she won the gold medal at Passo de Arte competition in Brazil. In 2013, she won silver medal at YAGP semifinals and gold medal at YAGP New York City finals. Assef spent two years at Orlando Ballet School as a trainee before becoming a member of its second company in 2013. She joined Orlando Ballet in 2014, that same year she competed at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.
Company Ballet Dancers
NADYNE BISPO is originally from Santos coast of São Paulo, Brazil. She started dancing at the age of 4 at Balé Jovem de São Vicente under the direction of Geyssa Alencar and Sabrina Olimpio. In 2012, she represented Brazil at Tanzolimp in Berlin, her first international festival. She graduated in 2015, at the age of 17 from the Balé Jovem de São Vicente. Nadyne participated in the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) three times and, in 2016 received a scholarship for the summer course and contract with Boston Ballet II. She attended the four weeks summer intensive under the direction of Peter Stark. In 2018, she was a finalist at YAGP, and she got a contract to work with Atlanta Ballet 2 under the direction of Gennadi Nedvigin and Sharon Story, where she attended for two years (2018- 2020). In 2020, she was promoted as a Company member with Atlanta Ballet. Nadyne is really thankful for her family and friends' support.
SEVERIN BROTSCHUL, originally from Glen Arbor, Michigan, began his dance training in Maryland at age 13. He later studied with Denis Gronostayskiy and Anastasia Babayeva at School of International Ballet in Media, Pennsylvania. He moved to Houston at age 16 to dance at Houston Ballet Academy. After two years in the professional levels, Severin danced with Houston Ballet II for the 2019/20 season. During his time at Houston Ballet Academy, he had opportunities to dance various works by Houston Ballet Director and Choreographer Stanton Welch AM, as well as many other esteemed choreographers.
EMILY CARRICO was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, and received her classical ballet training from Kentucky Ballet Theatre Academy, The HARID Conservatory and The Art of Classical Ballet. She has danced professionally with Kentucky Ballet Theatre, Columbia City Ballet and currently with Atlanta Ballet. Carrico feels fortunate to have performed principal roles, such as Kitri in Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, the Sylph in Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide, and Marie in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker. Along with dancing many other classical ballets, she has performed works by Helgi Tomasson, Mark Morris, George Balanchine, Liam Scarlett, Stanton Welch, Dwight Rhoden, Ricardo Amarante, Yury Yanowski, John McFall, Craig Davidson, Max Petrov, Claudia Schreier and Mark Godden. In May of 2019, she was named Dance Magazine’s dancer “on the rise.” Aside from dancing, Carrico is very passionate about teaching ballet and has been a part of the Atlanta Ballet Summer Intensive faculty for three consecutive years.
MICHAEL CAYE was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he trained at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School and the Point Park University International Summer Dance Program. At 16, Michael was a finalist at Young American Grand Prix and received a scholarship with Miami City Ballet Pre-Professional Program under the direction of Arantxa Ochoa, the same year. While in Miami, Michael performed roles such as George Balanchine’s Tarantella, Mathew Neenan’s Penumbra and works by Durante Verzola and Ariel Rose. During his last year in Miami, he was given the opportunity to choreograph on the pre-professional students and perform in West Side Story Suite with the Miami City Ballet company. Michael was most recently a company dancer with Nevada Ballet Theater in Las Vegas, under the direction of Roy Kaiser. He performed many principal and soloist roles, the most notable of which included Frederick in Ben Stevenson’s Dracula, Kaschie in Yuri Possokov’s Firebird, Melancholic in George Balanchine’s Four Temperaments and a featured dancer in Nicolo Fonte’s Bolero. Michael is thrilled to be joining the Company and is excited for his future at Atlanta Ballet.
ANASTASIA CHEPLYANSKY began her training at Ballet San Jose and Lise la Cour’s LaCademy of Ballet. She graduated from Bayer Ballet Academy in 2018, under Inna Bayer’s direction. While at Bayer Ballet, she performed roles such as Medora in the Le Corsaire Grand Pas de Deux, Paquita Pas de Trois, Queen of Dryads in Don Quixote’s Dream Scene, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Gerda in Snow Queen, and she was invited to participate in Young American Grand Prix New York finals. Anastasia also performed at the Apollo Arts Festival’s gala in 2018, as the corps for Don Quixote Act III Pas de Deux and for Gamzatti’s Grand Pas alongside Adiarys Almeida and Maria Alexandrova, respectively. She joined Atlanta Ballet 2 from 2018-2020, where she got to perform with the Company for The Nutcracker, La Sylphide, Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, and performed a principal role in Atlanta Ballet 2’s The Swan Princess. In 2020, Anastasia joined Atlanta Ballet as an apprentice and performed Claudia Schreier’s Pleiades Dances and a duet choreographed by Carraig New for the Silver Linings program. Over the summer of 2021, she had the special opportunity to learn from and be choreographed on by world-renown choreographer, Vasily Medvedev for his world premiere, which will later be danced by schools and companies in Europe. She danced the Rose as the lead role and Nasturtium, the antagonist, in his ballet, The Romance of the Rose and the Butterfly-A Love Story. Anastasia is excited for her second season with the Company!
DYLAN CLINARD, from Clemmons, North Carolina, began his dance education at the UNCSA Preparatory Dance Program under the direction of Dayna Fox. At age 13, he was offered a scholarship to train at Houston Ballet Academy, where he spent three years in the top level of the school before his promotion to Houston Ballet II under the tutelage of Andrew Murphy, Sally Rojas, Sabrina Lenzi, Claudio Muñoz and Stanton Welch. While at Houston Ballet II, Clinard performed in Welch’s Raymonda, A Dance in the Garden of Mirth, La Bayadère, Clear, Swan Lake, The Gentlemen, Blue, The Long and Winding Road and Brigade. He joined Atlanta Ballet as an apprentice in 2015. His favorite performances to date are Yuri Possokhov’s Classical Symphony, Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine and Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort. He is thrilled to return to Atlanta Ballet this year as a Company member and thanks his family for their love and support.
CATHERINE CONLEY was born in Chicago and began her formal dance training at the Ruth Page School of Dance. She danced as Swanhilda in Coppélia and appeared in Civic Ballet of Chicago productions. At age 18, she participated in an exchange program between Ruth Page and the National Ballet School of Cuba. Catherine was subsequently invited to train in Havana full time—a first for an American ballerina. While there, she performed as Gulnare and Medora in Le Corsaire, and competed in the International Competition for Ballet Schools in Havana, winning the silver medal with the pas de deux from Paquita. In 2017, Catherine entered the National Ballet of Cuba as the company’s only foreign dancer. During her time with the company, she performed in Giselle, Swan Lake and Cinderella, as well as Queen of the Nymphs in Alberto Mendez’s La Fille du Danube. She then went on to dance with Milwaukee Ballet, performing in Coppélia, The Nutcracker and Rise by Nicole Teague-Howell. Catherine joined Atlanta Ballet last year and performed in This Bitter Earth by Guilherme Maciel and Teneo Integrum by Sergio Masero. Catherine is excited to begin her second season with Atlanta Ballet.
LARISSA DAL’SANTO was born in Chapeco – SC, Brazil, and started her studies of ballet in Vanessa Batistello School of Dance. At age 11, Dal’Santo was approved with a full scholarship to study at the Bolshoi Theatre School in Brazil, where she studied classical ballet, character dance, contemporary dance and music for seven years, with renowned teachers. As a student, Dal’Santo performed ballets of repertoire such as Nutcracker and Don Quixote, as corps de ballet. She had the opportunity to rehearse with one of the most famous dancers in the world: Vladmir Vassiliev. In 2018, she was certified in the Bolshoi School Internship Program as an assistant teacher of first and fourth grade classes. In 2019, Dal’Santo enjoyed Voronezh State Opera and Ballet Theatre as a soloist. In Russia, she performed complete ballets such as Romeo and Juliet as Juliet, Cipollino as Radish, Nutcracker as Masha (Clara), La Bayadere as Manu and Drum Dance soloist, Swan Lake as Little Swans and Neapolitan Dance soloist, as well as Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Le Corsaire, and others. In 2021, she was invited by the artistic director of Voronezh Theatre, Aleksander A. Lityagin, to perform a contemporary duet in the award “Soul of Dance,” which was based in Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre in Moscow. In 2020 during the pandemic, she started an online project titled Ballet Couple, with Luiz Fernando Xavier, to share with Brazilian students and audiences about a professional ballet dancer’s life. The project includes online classes and workshops of classical ballet for Brazilian students. In 2022, through this project, Dal’Santo was invited to give workshops and perform in cities around Brazil, including São Paulo, Recife, Araraquara, Chapeco, Joinville and Guarapuava, for more than 500 participants.
GEORGIA DALTON began dancing at the age of 3 in Columbus, Ohio, with Dublin Dance Centre and Columbus City Ballet. Georgia attended Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Ballet Program as a recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award. There she worked closely with teachers Violette Verdy, Kyra Nichols, Carla Körbes, Sarah Wroth, Sasha Janes and Michael Vernon. She performed many leading roles, including principal in George Balanchine’s La Source, August Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano and Sugar Plum Fairy in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker. In 2018, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in ballet and outside field in marketing. Georgia went on to join Boston Ballet II, under the direction of Peter Stark, Mikko Nissinen and Russell Kaiser. The following year she was promoted to corps de ballet artist. During her time spent with Boston Ballet she performed in works by George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Jerome Robbins, Sir Fredrick Ashton, Bruce Wood, Mikko Nissinen, Jorma Elo and Matthew Slattery. Georgia is excited to be dancing with Atlanta Ballet for a third season.
THOMAS DAVIDOFF, originally from Lincoln, England, began his dance training in Princeton, New Jersey, at the age of 10, with Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz. He later studied at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education before culminating his training at the School of American Ballet. He was fortunate to perform alongside New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center during an annual celebration of George Balanchine, as well as in multiple New York Choreographic Institute and School of American Ballet Workshop performances. Davidoff was critically acclaimed by The New York Times’ Alastair Macauley for his role in Balanchine’s Danses Concertantes. In 2017, Davidoff became a member of Boston Ballet II, where, under the direction of Peter Stark, Mikko Nissinen, Russell Kaiser and Margaret Tracy, he performed works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, John Cranko, Paulo Arrais, Christopher Wheeldon, August Bournonville, Sir Frederick Ashton, Bruce Woods, Yury Yanowsky and Matthew Slattery, in both company and second company settings. He was a 2016 Princess Grace Award nominee and placed among the top 12 senior men at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2017. Davidoff joined Atlanta Ballet in 2019.
BROOKE GILLIAM is from Boulder, Colorado, and began her training at the Colorado Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Julia Wilkinson Manley. At 16, after attending the summer intensive, she was offered a merit scholarship to the Conservatory Program at Atlanta Ballet. From there, Brooke was a part of Atlanta Ballet 2 for two seasons performing leading roles in Bruce Wells’ Snow White and Beauty & the Beast, Robert Barnett’s Arensky Dances and Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine. Since joining the Company in 2018, some of her favorite repertoire and roles have included Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide, Dwight Rhoden’s Sunrise Divine and Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, as well as the roles of Russian and Spanish in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker. One of her most memorable moments with Atlanta Ballet thus far was touring and performing The Nutcracker at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Brooke is excited for her third season with the Company.
SUJIN HAN is from South Korea. She began dancing at age 9, and she entered the Yewon School in South Korea and studied character dance at the Vaganova Academy. In 2010, Sujin entered the Seoul Arts School on scholarship. There she performed pas de deux such as the Sugar Plum Fairy Variation from The Nutcracker. She also participated in many South Korean ballet competitions, including the Seoul International Dance Competition. Han earned the Great Performers Scholarship to attend Ewha Womans University, where she began choreographing and learned several George Balanchine works and the Bournonville method. After graduating, Han joined Atlanta Ballet for the 2017|2018 Season, danced the role of Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote. Since she joined Atlanta Ballet, she worked with choreographers Craig Davidson, Max Petrov, Dwight Rhoden, Ricardo Amarante and Yuri Yanowsky. Favorite performances include Jiří Kylián's Return to a Strange Land, Alexander Ekman's Cacti, Lar Lubovitch's Elemental Brubeck and the world premieres of Claudia Schreier's First Impulse, Pleiades Dances and Fauna. She also danced the role of Myrtha in Giselle. She is excited to start her sixth season with Atlanta Ballet! Special thanks to Sujin's Pas de Deux Society Patron Atlanta Ballet Corps de Ballet.
JESSICA HE, originally from Rancho Cucamonga, California, received her early ballet training at Inland Pacific Ballet Academy. She moved to Philadelphia in 2012 at the age of 14 to enter the pre-professional training program at The Rock School for Dance Education on full scholarship, where she received multiple awards and merit scholarships at competitions, such as the Youth America Grand Prix and World Ballet Competition. Jessica danced with Houston Ballet’s second company for the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons, where she enjoyed touring internationally and performing a varied repertoire. One of the most memorable moments in her career thus far with Atlanta Ballet has been premiering the Principal Woman in Craig Davidson’s world premiere Remembrance/Hereafter during her 2017/18 debut season. She has since performed featured principal and soloist roles in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Helgi Tomasson’s 7 for Eight, Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, George Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Jiří Kylián's Return to a Strange Land, Kiyon Ross’ Sum Stravinsky, Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine and world premiere Catch, Ricardo Amarante’s Love Fear Loss, Lar Lubovitch’s Elemental Brubeck, and Yuri Possokhov’s Firebird. Jessica received praise and recognition as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2019 for her performances in Remembrance/Hereafter, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Who Cares?. She is very much looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that her sixth season with the Company will bring.
AIRI IGARASHI was born in Gunma, Japan. At age 7, she began her training at the Reiko Yamamoto Ballet School. She continued her training under John Neumeier at The Ballet School of the Hamburg Ballet in Germany, where she performed in Neumeier’s The Nutcracker and danced the role of Princess Florine in Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty. She won first place at the All Japan Ballet Competition in 2011 and third place in 2015. In addition, she was a semi-finalist at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition in Switzerland in 2013 and 2015. Airi joined Atlanta Ballet in 2017, and some of her favorite highlights with Atlanta Ballet include performing Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker as Marie and Don Quixote as Amore; August Bournonville/Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide as the Sylphide; Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote Grande Pas de Deux; Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine and Catch; Jiří Kylián’s Return to a Strange Land; Ricardo Amarante’s Love Fear Loss; Craig Davidson’s Remembrance/Hereafter; Kiyon Ross’s Sum Stravinsky; and Dwight Rhoden’s Sunrise Divine. Airi was named as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2020.
DARIAN KANE is from northern California where she received her dance training at the Capitol Ballet Center in Sacramento, under the direction of Stuart Carroll and Sharon Newton. From 2015 to 2018, she danced with BalletMet2 and BalletMet in Columbus, where she performed in Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16 and Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s Carmen, as Cigaretta. This is her fifth season with Atlanta Ballet. In past seasons, some of her favorite roles include performing in Alexander Eckman’s Cacti, Return to a Strange Land from Jiří Kylián, and dancing the third movement principal in Sum Stravinsky choreographed by Kiyon Ross. Most recently, she performed in Claudia Shreier’s Fauna, danced the role of Myrtha in Gennadi Nedvigin’s re-staging of Giselle, and danced Arabian in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker. In 2020, she appeared as the dancer in an episode of Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories on Apple TV+. She began choreographing on the Company in 2021 with the beginning of her ballet Dr. Rainbow’s Infinity Mirror and in 2022, she expanded that work into a full, world premiere ballet as part of the Company’s Firebird program. Special thanks to Darian's Pas de Deux Society Patrons Adrienne & Scott Hardesty.
ERIK KIM was born in Dallas, Texas, in 2001. He began dancing at the age of 9 in Little Rock, Arkansas, at Shuffles and Ballet II, learning the fundamentals of ballet under his teacher Arleen Sugano. He continued his training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under Dean of Dance Susan Jaffe, training with teachers such as Mikhail Tchoupakov and Ilya Kozadayev. After competing in the 2019 Prix de Lausanne, Erik was invited to join the Ballet Nacional SODRE (BNS) in Uruguay, under director Igor Yebra. During his time in BNS, Erik performed roles such as Pas de Cinq in Serge Lifar’s Suite en Blanc and Beggar Chief in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon. He also performed in Blanca Li’s Quixote del Plata during the BNS International Tour in Spain in 2019. Erik is excited to be joining Atlanta Ballet for the 2021 | 2022 Season.
BENJAMIN KUEFLER began his training at age 8t with Acton School of Ballet in Boston, where he studied and performed for 10 years. In 2016, he joined Koltun Ballet Boston to train with Alex Lapshin and Alexandra Koltun. He was invited to the Moscow State Academy of Choreography through the Bolshoi summer intensive in New York 2017. In the same year, he also competed in YAGP at which he was awarded Top 12. He then joined the Finnish National Ballet as a corps de ballet member in fall of 2017, at the age of 20. His repertoire includes Aminta in John Neumier’s Sylvia, Wayne McGregor’s Infra, Four Princes in David Bintley’s Cinderella, Mazurka and Pas De Duex in Suite En Blanc, and Pas De Duex in Jiří Kylián’s Symphany of Psalms. Ben has also guested over the years in productions such as Don Quixote, La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, Les Patineurs, Graduation Ball and Billy Elliot.
SAHO KUMAGAI is from Sapporo, Japan, where she began dancing at age 9. In 2009, she moved to the United States to study at the Boston Ballet School and Pacific Northwest Ballet School Professional Division under the direction of Peter Boal. In 2014, she placed among the 20 finalists at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition in Switzerland. After dancing in Charlotte Ballet II, she joined Atlanta Ballet as an apprentice in 2015. She had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Dwight Rhoden for Sunrise Divine, Craig Davidson for Remembrance/Hereafter, and Tara Lee for blink. Some of her favorite repertoire include Liam Scarlet’s Vespertine, Cupid from Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, and Alexander Ekman’s Tuplet.
SOJUNG LEE, from South Korea, began her early ballet training at age 6, in her mom’s studio, and continued training at the Korea National Institute for Gifted in Arts, Yewon Arts School and Seoul Arts High School. SoJung entered the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul two years earlier than others. Upon graduation, she joined Boston Ballet. SoJung received multiple awards in world competitions, such as a gold medal from Youth America Grand Prix in 2009, she was a finalist in the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2014, and in the Varna International Ballet Competition in 2012. She also won the Valentina Kozelova International Ballet Competition in 2015, and the Sicily International Ballet Competition in 2015. At Boston Ballet, under the direction of Mikko Nissinen, Russell Kaiser and Larissa Ponomarenko, SoJung performed works by Marius Petipa, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, John Cranko, August Bournonville, Sir Frederick Ashton, Mikko Nissinen, Jorma Elo and Jessica Burrows. She also danced with BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, for one year. SoJung is very excited to be joining Atlanta Ballet for the 2021|2022 Season.
JORDAN LEEPER, a native of Jamestown, New York, began dancing at age 12 with the Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet and later studied at San Francisco Ballet. Leeper danced with Charlotte Ballet under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride, performing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during Ballet Across America in 2013. He has performed works by Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Jiří Bubeníček, Sasha Janes, Mark Diamond and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, among others. He has been a guest artist with Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and City Ballet of Wilmington. He also danced with Complexions Contemporary Ballet under Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson during the company’s 20th-anniversary season at the Joyce Theater in New York City. Special thanks to Jordan's Pas de Deux Society Patrons Elaine & Erroll Davis.
GUILHERME MACIEL began his studies at the age of 11 in São Paulo, Brazil. He studied at renowned schools, such as Ballet Adriana Assaf and Raça Centro de Artes e Especial Academia de Ballet. In 2006, he attended The HARID Conservatory's Summer Program in Boca Raton, Florida, where he followed his studies for the following year. Maciel was awarded as a dancer and choreographer in important dance competitions in Brazil, standing out among them, Passo de Arte, Festival de Danças de Joinville, Premio Desterro, among others. In 2006 and 2008, he was a bronze medalist in the senior category and Best Choreographer in 2016 at the Youth America Grand Prix finals in New York, where he received a scholarship for Houston Ballet II. Maciel was a dancer at São Paulo Dance Company, directed by Iracity Cardoso and Inês Bogea from 2008 to 2010. He participated in the 2011 and 2017 editions of The Nutcracker of the Black Swan Dance Company directed by Hulda Bittencourt and Dani Bittencourt. In 2013, Maciel was a guest dancer of the galas “Black Swan” and “The Virtuous of the Ballet World” on tour in Russia. In 2017, he was the first Brazilian to participate in the Workshop for Young Choreographers at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, as a choreographer and dancer. In 2018, Maciel was a guest professor at the “Cloche Ballet” summer course in Cordoba, Argetina, and judged at the Danza National Contest in Paraguay. Under the direction of Vinicius Anselmo, he performed as a dancer in the production of Intuição Cia de Ballet "Epifania" in 2019. Maciel was the artistic director and resident choreographer of the Grupo Jovem Paulista em São Paulo, Brazil, between 2012 and 2019. This is his fourth season with Atlanta Ballet.
SERGIO MASERO is from Madrid, Spain, and began his training at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Mariemma. He continued his training on scholarship at San Francisco Ballet School. Sergio then joined Ballet Memphis where he performed lead roles, such as Romeo in Steven McMahon’s Romeo & Juliet, and Swan Lake; Matthew Neenan’s Water of the Flowery Mill; and in works by Mark Godden, Gabrielle Lamb and Joshua Pugh. Since joining Atlanta Ballet, Sergio has performed principal roles such as Basilio in Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote; James in Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide; and the Nutcracker Prince in the world premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker. He’s also been featured in ballets by Helgi Tomasson, Stanton Welch, Mark Morris and Craig Davidson, among others. Aside from dancing, Masero enjoys the world of choreography. He created two pieces on his colleagues at Ballet Memphis and two full-length productions for the Dance Academy of Bartlett, in Tennessee. After the success of his first creation for Atlanta Ballet’s Silver Linings program, Teneo Integrum, he was commissioned to create another piece. Schubertiada, a piece that featured an all-male corps de ballet, debuted in May of 2022 to great acclaim.
JULIANA MISSANO was born in Lloyd Harbor, New York, and began studying ballet at age 5. She trained at the Lynch School of Ballet until she was 15, and then continued her training at The Rock School under the direction of Bo and Stephanie Spassoff. In 2017, Juliana was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts and performed at the Kennedy Center. She has competed in the Youth America Grand Prix, receiving the Grand Prix Award, placing first in the pas de deux category and advancing to the final round where she performed at Lincoln Center. This is Juliana’s sixth season with Atlanta Ballet. Some of her favorite repertoire include Gemma Bond’s Denouement, Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, Claudia Schreier’s First Impulse and Kiyon Ross’ Sum Stravinsky.
MIGUEL ANGEL MONTOYA was born in Cali, Colombia, and began his training at the Colombiano de Ballet and Incoballet. He continued to dance with Incoballet Company under the direction of Gloria Castro de Martínez. In 2008, Montoya moved to Philadelphia to attend The Rock School. In 2010, he reached the second round semifinals in the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as the Youth America Grand Prix New York City finals. In 2012, as an Atlanta Ballet apprentice, he originated roles in Twyla Tharp’s The Princess & the Goblin. Other favorite roles include the Slave in Le Corsaire and Basilio in Don Quixote. He joined the Atlanta Ballet company in 2013. He has performed in such notable ballets as Jorden Morris’ Moulin Rouge® - The Ballet, Michael Pink’s Dracula, Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16, Gina Patterson’s I AM, Helen Pickett’s Camino Real, Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush and Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas. Montoya has been featured in the Paquita Pas de Trois, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort. Special thanks to Miguel's Pas de Deux Society Patrons Bonnie & Terry Herron.
DENYS NEDAK was born in Odessa, Ukraine. In 2005, he began to study in the Kyiv Municipal Ukraine Dance Academy, named after Serge Lyfar. While in the Academy he was invited to perform at the National Opera House in Kyiv, where he danced his first professional performances as Paris in Romeo and Juliet and Prince in The Nutcracker. After graduation, Denys joined National Opera House of Ukraine in Kyiv, working under the supervision and guidance of a People's Artist of Ukraine, N.D Pryadchenko, to create his repertoire. In 2008, Denys became principal dancer. He has become known as a performer of lyrical-romantic repertoire at National Opera House of Ukraine. In the theatre he frequently partners with leading ballerinas, including E. Filipeva, T. Golyakova, N. Matsak, U. Lopatkina, N. Polakova, V. Part and P. Herrera. In 2011, Denys was honored with the title of Merited Artist of Ukraine. His popularity in Ukraine has led to many invitations to perform at international festivals. I am a regular guest artist at the, Rudolf Nureyev International Festival of Ballet Art in Ufa. Since 2014, Denys performed as a regular guest at the National Theater of Serbia; from 2014 to 2015, as a guest dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Vienna State Opera; from 2016 to2017, as a guest dancer in the Finnish National Opera and Ballet; and the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet. He worked with teachers, such as N. Pryadchenko, V. Yaremenko, N. Makarova, I. Kolpakova, I. Muchamedov, M. Legris, J. Boocca, and O. Evreinoff. In 2017, Denys was honored with the prestigious title of People’s Artist of the Ukraine. He now travels frequently throughout Russia, France, Italy, Germany and Japan to show his skill. Denys’ repertoire includes: Solor in La Bayadere, Basil in Don Quixote (Nureyev), Prince in The Sleeping Beauty (Ratmansky), Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake (Nureyev), Albert in Giselle, Jose and Escamilio in Carmen Suite, Jean de Brienne in Raymonda, Conrad in Le Corsaire, Prince in The Nutcracker, Krass in Spartacus, The Golden Slave in Scheherazade and Alexandre in Lady of Camellias, as well as roles in a Classic Pas de Deux (Balanchine), a Grand Pas de Deux (Ober), Silvia Pas de Deux (Balanchine), Red Giselle as Chekist (Eifman) and Touch of illusion (Ricardo Amarante).
CARRAIG NEW was born in Juneau, Alaska. He is a graduate of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography where he studied classical Russian technique with Bolshoi Theatre first soloist Denis Medvedev. He performed on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Yuri Grigorovich’s staging of La Fille Mal Gardée, dancing in the Gypsy Dance as one of the four friends, as well as being featured as a demi-soloist. He also performed as a soloist in La Bayadère's Dance of the Drum. Carraig performed on the Bolshoi Historical Stage in A Tribute to Marius Petipa, which included Danse des Forbans from Le Corsaire. He was invited to dance as the guest artist at the premier performances of the Ballet de Barcelona, in Spain and France. He joined Atlanta Ballet 2 in 2018-2019. Carraig has performed Arabian, Russian, Mice and Skier in Yuri Possokhov's reimagined production of The Nutcracker; the Beast in Bruce Wells’ Beauty and the Beast; Von Rothbart and Benno in Bruce Wells’ The Swan Princess; Dance of the Wedding Guests in La Sylphide; and a leading role in Volar, a contemporary ballet choreographed by Nadia Mara.
PATRIC PALKENS, was born in Boston and began his dance training at the age of 4 at his mother’s jazz studio. He was introduced to ballet through a scholarship to train with the Municipal Theater Ballet School in Santiago, Chile. After which he trained with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Chicago and Orlando Ballet. Palkens has performed with numerous companies over his 13-year career, including Orlando Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, The Washington Ballet, and most recently spent five years as a soloist with Boston Ballet. Over the years Palkens has performed many works by choreographers from around the globe, including George Balanchine, Fredrick Ashton, Miko Nissinen, Wayne Mcgregor, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Val Caniparoli, Devon Carney, Alejandro Cerrudo, Ma Cong, Adam Hougland, James Kudelka, Victoria Morgan, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Septime Webre.
HUI WEN PENG was born in Taiwan and received her early training with Peiyu Wu and Meiying Lin in her hometown of Taichung. At age 15, she won the gold medal at the Taiwan Grand Prix Ballet Competition, where she received full scholarships to attend the Harid Conservatory and National Conservatory Dance School of Lisbon. During her years at the Harid Conservatory, she performed several soloist roles and received the Dance Study Award. In 2017, Hui Wen was invited to join the pre-professional division at The Washington School of Ballet under the direction of Xiomara Reyes and Rinat Imaev. A year later, she was promoted to the trainee position with The Washington Ballet under the direction of Julie Kent. In 2019, Hui Wen joined Atlanta Ballet 2, where she had the opportunity to perform principal roles in Atlanta Ballet 2's production of The Swan Princess and Snow White, choreographed by Bruce Wells, as well as performing alongside the Company in several productions. In spring 2022, Hui Wen was selected to participate in Helsinki International Ballet Competition in Finland and was awarded silver medal in the senior category.
ÁNGEL RAMÍREZ was born in Trinidad, Cuba, and trained for eight years at the National Ballet School of Cuba in Havana, winning the gold medal in the Cuban International Ballet Competition his graduating year. Upon graduation, he was accepted into the National Ballet of Cuba and performed in classics such as La Fille Mal Gardee and Don Quixote, as well as in works by Alberto Mendez and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Angel was invited to train at The Rock School in Philadelphia and competed in Young American Grand Prix the following year, winning the Grand Prix Award in Philadelphia. Most recently, he danced with the Georgia Ballet, dancing lead roles in Romeo and Juliet, Le Corsaire and Les Sylphides. Angel is excited to join Atlanta Ballet this season.
EVELYN ROBINSON is from the small town of Tyler, Texas, where she began her training at age 7 at Tyler Junior College Academy of Dance under Thereza Bryce-Cotes, Shurrell Wiebe, and Carolyn Hanna. At the age of 15, Evelyn began attending the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) high school dance program on full scholarship. There she trained under Jennet Zerbe, Susan Jaffe, Eva Draw, Angelina Sansone, Jared Redick, Laura Martin, and many other UNCSA dance faculty members. While at UNCSA from 2017 to 2020, Evelyn danced principal roles in Ethan Steifel’s The Nutcracker, Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations, Joseph Mazilier’s Paquita, Marius Petipa’s Harlequinade and Sleeping Beauty, and Ilya Kozadayev’s Dream(s)pace. During her training, Evelyn attended Atlanta Ballet, Ballet West, UNCSA, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Houston Ballet, and the Royal Ballet’s summer programs. In 2020, Evelyn competed at the Prix de Lausanne and was one of 21 dancers who moved to the finals. After graduating from UNCSA’s high school program in 2020, Evelyn joined Atlanta Ballet 2. She is looking forward to this next chapter with the Atlanta Ballet. She thanks all her teachers and family for their love, support, and guidance.
KAITLIN MATREE ROEMER is from Highland, Michigan. She began her ballet training at the age of 5 at Modern Messages Dance Company under the direction of Hollie Bottiglia, with whom she attended the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) Finals in New York City. In 2014, Kaitlin was accepted into the advanced pre-professional division of Ballet Detroit at the Detroit Opera House, directed by Sergey Rayevskiy, where she studied dance history, character dance and the Vaganova technique. During this time, she danced Ricordi, choreographed by Irma Cardano and later, traveled to Florida to dance in Katerina Fedotova’s Don Quixote as Kitri’s Friend, Swan Lake as Odette, and The Nutcracker’s Florida tour as Clara/Sugar Plum Fairy. She was also honored to represent Ballet Detroit in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the Dance Open Festival in 2018. Kaitlin joined Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education’s Academy V and was awarded the Audrey B. Morgan Merit Scholarship. During her time in Academy V, Kaitlin had the opportunity to perform soloist and corps roles in Atlanta Ballet 2’s The Swan Princess by Bruce Wells and traveled with Atlanta Ballet to The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. to perform Yuri Possokov’s The Nutcracker. She is thrilled to begin her second season as a member of Atlanta Ballet 2, and thanks her loved ones for their support.
MIKAELA SANTOS was born in Manila, Philippines. She began her ballet training at Effie Nañas School of Classical Ballet. In 2014, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Ballet Competition, she was awarded second place. In 2016, she was among the top 15 finalists at the World Ballet Competition. She joined the Philippine Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in March 2016. At the age of 17, Mikaela joined the Fellowship program of Atlanta Ballet and later became a Company apprentice in 2017 and was promoted to the Company in 2018. She took the summer intensive at Jacob’s Pillow and was featured in performances such as Peasant Pas de Deux and Zulma in Giselle, Kitri’s friends in Don Quixote, Chinese and Spanish in The Nutcracker and Demi Sylphs in La Sylphide. She had the opportunity to work with renowned choreographers such as Yuri Possokhov, Johan Kobborg, Gemma Bond, Craig Davidson, Helgi Tomasson, Maxim Petrov, Kiyon Ross and Dwight Rhoden, to name a few. Mikaela is excited to start her fifth season with Atlanta Ballet!
ANDERSON SOUZA was born in Santo Angelo, Brazil. Anderson received his training at the Conservatório Brasileiro de Dança under Jorge Teixeira. After graduating, he joined the Cia Brasileira de Ballet in Rio de Janeiro, dancing principal and soloist roles and competing in national and international competitions, including the Beijing International Ballet Competition. Souza traveled with the Company to perform in Colombia, China, Israel and France. In 2013, he joined Gelsey Kirkland Ballet. Under the unique guidance of Kirkland, Anderson matured his artistry and received praise from national critics, including those at The New York Times. He has enjoyed dancing roles in The Nutcracker (by Yuri Possokhov) La Sylphide as Gurn (staged by Johan Kobborg), Sum Stravinsky (by Kiyon Ross), Sandpaper Ballet (by Mark Morris), Tuplet (by Alexander Ekman) and the world premiere of Catch (by Liam Scarlett). Anderson is excited to be joining Atlanta Ballet for his 4th season! Special thanks to Anderson's Pas de Deux Society Patron Atlanta Ballet Corps de Ballet.
FUKI TAKAHASHI was born in Yokohama, Japan, and began training at age 3 at Yuzue Ballet Academy. She moved to the United States in 2010, and trained at Princeton Ballet and Hariyama Ballet in New York. Takahashi competed in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2014 and 2018. She earned silver in the Tanzolymp International Dance Festival and was offered a place in the Orlando Ballet Trainee Program during the American Dance Competition. In 2017, Takahashi joined Orlando Ballet’s second company to then move on to Atlanta Ballet in 2018. Her favorite performances with Atlanta Ballet include Vespertine, Catch and First Impulse.
KELSEY VAN TINE was born in Naples, Florida, and trained at the Naples Dance Conservatory under the direction of Abdelazis Roque. In 2009, Ms. Van Tine joined Kentucky Ballet Theatre as an apprentice and was promoted to company dancer within her first season. At the end of the 2012-13 season, she was promoted to principal dancer by Artistic Director Norbe Risco. During her time at Kentucky Ballet Theatre, Ms. Van Tine performed not only the entire Kentucky Ballet Theatre repertoire but a wide range of roles in many classical, neoclassical and contemporary works, as well. Some of her favorite roles include Paquita, Le Corsaire, Norbe Risco’s The Wizard of Oz & Carmen, as well as Kirt Hathaway’s Calles de Tango. Upon joining Atlanta Ballet in 2021, Ms. Van Tine performed Marie in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker, The Princess in Yuri Possokhov’s The Firebird, as well as Peasant Pas De Deux in Giselle. This is her second season with Atlanta Ballet. Ms. Van Tine is proud to have worked with coaches/choreographers Anna Patsfall, Roberto Sifontes, Kirt Hathaway, Andres Arambula, world renowned “Cuban Jewel” Aurora Bosch and Alla Osipenko, to name a few. In 2017, by invitation, Ms. Van Tine traveled to Cancun, Mexico to perform at the 7th Annual International Encounter of Dance Festival. Also in 2017, she traveled to Camaguey, Cuba for Ballet de Camaguey’s 50th Anniversary Gala and has since returned to Cuba annually to perform with Ballet de Camaguey as a principal guest artist.
ASHLEY WEGMANN was born in New Jersey, and began her training at the National Ballet of New Jersey. She later studied on scholarship at the Princeton Ballet School. After attending Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s graduate program, she joined the corps de ballet in 2007. She danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for five seasons, and went on to dance for three seasons with BalletMet. Ashley joined Atlanta Ballet in 2015. Some of her favorite roles and repertoire include Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort, Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine, a Stomper in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Nurse in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s Lovely Together, James Kudelka’s Real Life and The Four Seasons, Mercedes in Yuri Possokhov's Don Quixote, and Madge in La Sylphide. Special thanks to Ashley's Pas de Deux Society Patron Jan Beaves.
SPENCER WETHERINGTON is from Bridgeton, New Jersey, and began dancing at a local studio at age 4. He continued his training at the School of Pennsylvania Ballet. Upon graduation from St. Augustine College Preparatory School, Spencer went on to study at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. With the academy, he performed variations from Flames of Paris, Napoli andLa Bayadere, as well as soloist roles in La Fille Mal Gardée. Spencer competed in the International Ballet Competition “Dance Moscow” and was awarded second place. Spencer has been a member of Atlanta Ballet 2 for two years. His performances with Atlanta Ballet 2 included Gaston in Bruce Wells' Beauty and the Beast, Prince Siegfried in Bruce Wells' The Swan Princess, Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, Russian in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker, among others. This is Spencer’s second season with Atlanta Ballet. He thanks his loving family for their support.
LUIZ FERNANDO XAVIER was born in São Paulo – SP, Brazil, and started ballet classes at the age of 9 at the Municipal Dance School “Iracema Noguiera,” where he had the opportunity to join in workshops promoted by renowned Brazilian dance companies, such as Deborah Colker, Cisne Negro, São Paulo Cia. De Dança and others. At the age of 14, Xavier joined the Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil, where he graduated from Ayrat Khakimov’s class in 2018. As a student, he had the opportunity to rehearse with great personalities, such as Vladimir Vasiliev and Galia Kravchenko. In 2018, Xavier was certified in the Bolshoi School Internship Program as an assistant teacher for the first and fourth grade classes at Bolshoi Brasil. In 2019, he joined Youth Company Bolshoi Brazil, where he worked until September. In October of the same year, Xavier was hired as a soloist dancer at the State Opera and Ballet Theater in Voronezh, Russia. In 2021, he was awarded the “Bravo Contest” by the Cultural Union of the Russian Federation, for his performance as Nikolia in the ballet, The Toy Seller. In Russia, Xavier performed principal roles like Solor and Golden Idol in La Bayadere, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Prince in Nutcracker, Cipollino in Cipollino, Rothbart in Swan Lake, Ratmir in Ruslan and Ludmila, Piotr in The Calvary Halt, Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, and Pas d’esclave in Le Corsaire. During the pandemic, he became co-creator of the Ballet Couple project, with Larissa Dal’Santo, to share experiences about professional ballet and life in Russia in an accessible way. The project includes online classes and workshops of classical ballet for Brazilian students. In 2022, through this project, Xavier was invited to give workshops and perform in cities around Brazil, including São Paulo, Recife, Araraquara, Chapeco, Joinville and Guarapuava, for more than 500 participants.