KEATON LEIER, originally from Canada, grew up in the small city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Keaton started studying ballet at a later age, and he joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in 2013. After graduation from the school in 2016, he then moved on to dance with Houston Ballet’s second company for one year. Joining the ranks of Atlanta Ballet for the 2017|2018 Season, he’s now commencing his fourth season with the Company. His most recent highlight was getting to perform The Nutcracker Prince at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Some more highlights include dancing Gurn in La Sylphide, as well as the lead in Liam Scarlett's Vespertine. Dancing with the Company over the years, Keaton has enjoyed performing works from Alexander Ekman, Johan Kobborg, Liam Scarlett, Yuri Possokhov, Dwight Rhoden, Ricardo Amarante, Yury Yanowsky and Craig Davidson. Though he experimented with choreographing some in school, this is Leier's first time choreographing professionally, and he is extremely excited to explore this opportunity.

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 2018-19. New 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.

BRET COPPA is from San Pedro, California. He danced with Atlanta Ballet 2 for one season before joining Atlanta Ballet as a Company apprentice. This is his first season as a Company member. Some of his roles with Atlanta Ballet include Gaston, The Beast, Rat King, Russian, Nephew, Arabian and Red Man. He is a graduate of University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he has performed many principal roles; including Solor in La Bayadere, Principal Male in Donizzeti Variations, Waltz Boy in Serenade, The Poet in Les Sylphides and Cavalier in The Nutcracker. Bret got his start at San Pedro City Ballet, then moving to Peninsula School of Performing Arts under the artistic direction of Roberto Almageur. During his training in the Los Angeles area he performed as a guest artist in California, and danced roles throughout the country. He has also competed into the Prix de Lausanne twice, and he was a finalist in 2015. In 2017, he went to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he received his teaching certification in the Vaganova method.

CLAUDIA SCHREIER (Choreographer, Pleiades Dances) has choreographed, directed and produced for dance, opera and film across the U.S. and internationally. She is the Choreographer-in-Residence at Atlanta Ballet and has been commissioned by Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Vail Dance Festival, Juilliard Opera, ABT Studio Company and New York Choreographic Institute. Her first work for Atlanta Ballet, First Impulse, was named a 2019 Standout Performance by Pointe Magazine. Schreier served as choreographer for Juilliard Opera’s Dido and Aeneas and as co-artistic director for the production’s London and Versailles tour. The Hikers, her film and live performance collaboration with visual artist Rashid Johnson, has been exhibited in New York, Aspen, and Mexico City. She has contributed to programs at the White House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and for the Kennedy Center Honors. Her work is the subject of two documentaries, most recently PBS’s Emmy Award-winning "Dancing on the Shoulders of Giants" (Capital Region), and she was a TEDx speaker at Columbia University. She is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award, Toulmin Fellowship at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, NEFA National Dance Project Award, Lotos Prize, and Suzanne Farrell Dance Prize. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

JOSEPH R. WALLS (Lighting Designer) most recently designed the lighting for Orlando Ballet’s production of Moulin Rouge.  Additionally, he has designed original works for The Washington Ballet and a list of choreographers including Jessica Lang, Trey McIntyre, Ethan Stiefel, John Heginbotham, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Dana Genshaft. Internationally, Walls regularly works with STEPS of Panama and recently designed Marlyn Attie’s Crush at the National Theatre of Panamá with support from the United States Embassy. Walls holds a nomination for the prestigious Premios Escena award for best lighting in Panama City, Panama. In 2019, Walls designed the weeklong celebration with Pope Francis – The World Youth Day. Other design collaborations include those with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Ballet West, Utah Metropolitan Ballet, staibdance, Inland Pacific Ballet, Chautauqua Dance, Ballet Spartanburg, The Charlotte Ballet, Roswell Dance Theatre and Komasnsé Dance Theater, as well as with Sundance Mountain Resort productions.  www.jwallsdesign.com

ANDERSON SOUZA (Choreographer, Touchline) was born in Santo
Ângelo, 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! This is his is Souza's first time choreographing and he is very excited for this additional step of his career.

KEITH REEVES (Choreographer, Bodies in Motion) is a mixed media artist that focuses on dance and choreography. As a choreographer, he creates movement that pulls from different dance genres. To Reeves, dance is universal. Connecting to an audience through movement is his main goal. In his practice, he believes in highlighting different human experiences as a narrative. He was inspired by conversations of family history with his grandmother during this time of COVID-19. Atlanta producer, Ptar’s music spoke to Reeves because of his many levels in one track. When choosing music, Reeves uses tracks with a wide variety of elements. Ptar’s music was an incredible landscape to build on. Reeves' movement is developed through research and understanding of the dancers with whom he works. Creating this piece, he wanted to play with choreographing moving architecture. In a situation where we can't touch, experimenting with how he can create a visual idea or essence of being able to touch was a challenge, but it gave him the liberty to think out of the box. With this particular piece, it's almost like Reeves saw his life unfolding. The more he started to see the complete vision, it was clear to him that Bodies in Motion is his love letter to culture and the ever-evolving beauty of diversity.

GUILHERME MACIEL (Choreographer, The Bitter Earth) reconciles his career as a dancer and choreographer since 2014 when he assumed the position of resident choreographer of the Grupo Jovem Paulista in Brazil, his native country, where he created amateur projects and choreographies for competitions.  In 2016, after winning the Outstanding Choreographer Award in the Youth America Grand Prix final in New York, he was invited to participate in the 2017 edition of the "Creative Workshop for Young Choreographers" at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he created For a Sweeter Look and performed his award-winning work Shelter.  Guilherme joined Atlanta Ballet as a dancer in the 2019-2020 season and his creation for the Silver Linings program is his first work as a choreographer for the Company.

CLAUDIA SCHREIER (Choreographer, Pleiades Dances) has choreographed, directed and produced for dance, opera and film across the U.S. and internationally. She is the Choreographer-in-Residence at Atlanta Ballet and has been commissioned by Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Vail Dance Festival, Juilliard Opera, ABT Studio Company and New York Choreographic Institute. Her first work for Atlanta Ballet, First Impulse, was named a 2019 Standout Performance by Pointe Magazine. Schreier served as choreographer for Juilliard Opera’s Dido and Aeneas and as co-artistic director for the production’s London and Versailles tour. The Hikers, her film and live performance collaboration with visual artist Rashid Johnson, has been exhibited in New York, Aspen, and Mexico City. She has contributed to programs at the White House, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and for the Kennedy Center Honors. Her work is the subject of two documentaries, most recently PBS’s Emmy Award-winning "Dancing on the Shoulders of Giants" (Capital Region), and she was a TEDx speaker at Columbia University. She is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award, Toulmin Fellowship at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, NEFA National Dance Project Award, Lotos Prize, and Suzanne Farrell Dance Prize. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

DARIAN KANE (Choreographer, Dr. Rainbow's Infinity Mirror) is from Northern California and has been a Company member of Atlanta Ballet for three seasons. This is her first year choreographing. She has been drawing for as long as she has been dancing, so she imagines her dances as fluid sequences of individual drawings in which any one moment could stand alone. She is influenced by pop composer Joe Hawley and film composer Danny Elfman, and by film directors Wes Anderson, Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino. She begins with her classical dance training and builds upon it, imbuing her pieces with the whimsy and quirkiness of her cinematic influences.

SERGIO MASERO (Choreographer, Teneo Integrum) is originally from Madrid, Spain. He received his ballet training from Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza “Mariemma” and San Franciso Ballet School. Since early in his career, the world of choreography has always appealed to Masero and he has seized every opportunity that has presented itself. His works include, La Follia and At the Ballet, for Ballet Memphis; Annie, a full-length ballet commissioned by the Dance Academy of Bartlett; and Forced Perspective and Tintinare, for galas with Northwest Florida Ballet. Masero is looking forward to growing his career as a choreographer and is thrilled to be able to create a work for Atlanta Ballet.