Meet the professional dancers of Grand Rapids Ballet. This wonderful, diverse group includes dancers from around Michigan, across the country, and from locations around the world. Their commitment and dedication to the art of dance and ballet is what makes what we do possible. Learn more about them here and follow us on Instagram, too!
Company photos and headshots courtesy of Ray Nard Imagemaker.
Rowan Allegra is a third generation ballet dancer from the Bay Area, CA. She received her primary ballet education from her parents, Andre Reyes and Cynthia Drayer, former principals with San Francisco Ballet. She went on to train at Boston Ballet School and later at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Rowan has danced professionally with Texas Ballet Theater, Indianapolis Ballet, and is happy to now be with the Grand Rapids Ballet. Some of her most cherished career experiences include Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Russian Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade, Balanchine’s Sonatine, Andy Blankenbuehler’s Remember Our Song, Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16, and Harald Lander’s Etudes.
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Rowan has performed various principal guest roles and also with Grand Rapids Circle Theatre in their musical production Pippin. In addition to dancing Rowan has choreographed premieres on both Indianapolis Ballet and Grand Rapids Ballet.
James Cunningham grew up in Little Hocking, Ohio. His early dance education began at age 10 at the Mid Ohio Valley Ballet Academy. In 2010, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati. While earning his BFA in dance on full scholarship, he was able to begin his career as a professional dancer with Cincinnati Ballet. His career in Cincinnati spanned 11 seasons with a promotion to Soloist in 2016. He joined Grand Rapids Ballet in 2019. Some highlights have been dancing the roles of Mercutio and Romeo from Romeo and Juliet, Escamillo from Carmen, Country Boy from Fancy Free, Principal Pas de Deux from Rubies, Stomper from In The Upper Room, Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland, Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kashchei from Firebird, Red Man from Elemental Brubeck. Waltz Boy from Serenade, Liza from Who Cares? and the Prince from Cinderella and Seeping Beauty.
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James has had the pleasure perform work by many choreographers; Adam Hougland, Penny Saunders, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Jennifer Archibald, Justin Peck, Jiri Kylian, Ma Cong, Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa, Ohad Naharin, Septime Webre, Amy Seiwart, Trey McIntyre, Lar Lubovitch, Danielle Rowe, Val Caniparoli, James Kudelka, Nicolo Fonte, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Yuri Possokhov, Alejandro Cerrudo, Ben Stevenson, Christopher Stowell, Victoria Morgan, Devon Carney, Edward Liang, and James Sofranko.
Sam Epstein is from Saratoga Springs, New York. He trained at Indiana University on a full scholarship and attended summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Ballet School. Sam began his professional career with Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company before joining Grand Rapids Ballet as a Company Artist in 2023. With Grand Rapids Ballet, performance highlights include George Balanchine’s Serenade (Elegy Man), Val Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker (Nutcracker Prince), Justin Peck’s In the Countenance of Kings (Hero), Dani Rowe’s For Pixie, Penny Saunders’s Berceuse, Lar Lubovitch’s Duet from Concerto 622, and Trey McIntyre’s Be Here Now. He has also originated roles in Jennifer Archibald’s While Away, Yuka Oba-Muschiana’s Sinfonia Concertante, and James Sofranko’s Yearning.
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Additionally, Sam has choreographed full length works for both ballet and opera, most recently the world premiere of “Anne Frank” at Indiana University. Sam is very excited to be joining Grand Rapids Ballet for the 2023-2024 season!
Julian Wen-Sheng Gan is a Malaysian ballet artist from Subang Jaya, Malaysia. Since joining Grand Rapids Ballet in the fall of 2022 under the artistic direction of James Sofranko, he has established himself as a versatile performer with a repertoire spanning classical, neoclassical, and contemporary ballet.
Prior to joining Grand Rapids Ballet, Julian was a member of the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company during the 2021–2022 season in Chicago, where he performed works by Sir Frederick Ashton and Gerald Arpino. He studied at The HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, from 2018 to 2020 under the prestigious Male Award Scholarship, which he received in 2018. Upon graduation, he was honored with the Jeannot B. Cerrone Award for Excellence in Dance Performance. Before attending HARID, Julian trained at The Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C., from 2015 to 2018, where he further developed his classical technique and artistic foundation.
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Julian has earned numerous accolades throughout his career. In 2020, he received second place in both the Senior Classical and Contemporary divisions at Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Dallas. In 2019, he was awarded second place and the Margot Fonteyn Audience Choice Award at the prestigious Genée International Ballet Competition in Toronto. That same year, he won the Gold Medal and Best Performer in Ballet (Senior) at the Hong Kong Challenge Cup.
His repertoire includes leading and featured roles such as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Peter Pan in Peter Pan by Septime Webre, Cavalier and Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker by Val Caniparoli, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Prince Désiré and Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, George Balanchine’s Tarantella, Flames of Paris Pas de Deux, Raymonda Pas de Quatre, Flower Festival Pas de Deux, The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, Birbanto in Le Corsaire, and Walpurgis Night. His repertoire also includes character works such as Sirtaki and Summer, originally choreographed by Igor Moiseyev.
As a contemporary artist, Julian has collaborated with many distinguished choreographers and stagers, including Michael Breeden, performing the role of The Protagonist in Justin Peck’s In the Countenance of Kings; Kaitlyn Gilliland, stager of Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room; Darrell Grand Moultrie (Le Grand Jazz); Penny Saunders (Jumpcut and Berceuse); Jennifer Archibald (While Away); Andy Blankenbuehler (Remember Our Song); Yoshihisa Arai (Appalachian Spring); Mark Godden (Return, Return Again and Conjuring Louis); and Lauren Carey (The End and Again), which was also performed with Ballet Florida during its 2020 VISION program.
In addition to performing, Julian is an emerging choreographer whose work explores athleticism, musicality, and human connection. His original creations include Fractures of the Mind (2024), created in collaboration with Ritsu Katsumata for Grand Rapids Ballet’s Jumpstart; Chaordic (2025); and Berontak (2026), both created for Grand Rapids Ballet’s Jumpstart choreographic showcase.
Recognized for his artistry, musicality, and refined classical technique, Julian continues to build an international career as both a performer and choreographer. Proud to represent Malaysia on the world stage, he is committed to expanding his artistic voice through classical and contemporary works while inspiring the next generation of dancers through his dedication to excellence, creativity, and the continued evolution of ballet.
Originally from Coral Gables, Florida, Natalia trained at Miami City Ballet School for 14 years, where she also participated in numerous prestigious summer and choreographic intensives. She was a three-time attendee of the selective Chautauqua Dance Festival (2018, 2019, 2022), studying under renowned artists Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. There, she thrived in an immersive, company-like environment that offered rigorous training and professional-level performance opportunities.
Natalia continued her training at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where she studied under esteemed faculty including Kyra Nichols, Michael Vernon, and Sarah Wroth. While at IU, she performed featured roles in several world premieres, including Sasha Janes’s The Nutcracker as Marie/Sugarplum and A Star on the Rise by Doug Fullington and Phil Chan. She graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance and an Outside Field in Art History.
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Natalia joined GRB as an apprentice for the 2024–2025 season and was later promoted to company dancer. She is thrilled to begin her second professional season with GRB.
Talia grew up in Agoura Hills, California. She began her training at the age of five at California Dance Theatre. In 2018 Talia continued her training in Kansas City Ballet School’s Daytime program on scholarship, and the following year she was invited to join Kansas City Ballet’s Trainee program. While at KCB, Talia had the opportunity to perform in Devon Carney’s productions of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, as well as a variety of roles in outreach performances. In 2021 Talia was thrilled to join the Grand Rapids Ballet as an apprentice, and in 2023 she was promoted to company dancer. Some of Talia’s favorite performances with GRB include Dream Clara and Sugar Plum Fairy in Val Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker, 5 girls in George Balanchine’s Who Cares? Beauty Fairy, White Cat and Pas De Trois in Devon Carney’s Sleeping Beauty, Wendy in Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, Elemental Brubeck by Lar Lubovitch, Evensong by James Sofranko, and In the Countenance of Kings by Justin Peck.
Born in Vitoria, Brazil, Vinicius Lima is a multifaceted Artist with an expressive movement style and a distinctive choreographic voice. Vinicius has spent most of his career with Ballet West, beginning as a trainee and advancing through the ranks to become a Soloist. During his time there, he performed works by prominent choreographers including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Jiří Kylian, William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon and Alexei Ratmansky. He is a versatile artist, with a theatrical presence and emotionally driven performance style who has danced at notable venues such as The Kennedy Center, Guggenheim Museum and Auditorium Theatre.
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Alongside his performing career, Vinicius has distinguished himself as an emerging choreographer, creating works for Ballet West, as well as schools and festivals across the United States and Brazil. His choreography blends athleticism, vulnerability, and cinematic storytelling, often drawing from his Brazilian roots and deep passion for music and human connection. His choreography has received recognition through competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix and Festival de Dance de Joinville.
Ahna Lipchik trained and performed with the Milwaukee Ballet School and later attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. While in school, she competed at Youth America Grand Prix and World Ballet Competition, earning high marks, winning best choreography at both, and an invitation to perform in the World Ballet Competition’s final gala performance. Ahna has since performed as a company dancer with San Diego Ballet, State Street Ballet, Indianapolis Ballet, and as a guest artist with various schools and companies across the country. She has had the pleasure of dancing featured roles in works by Kevin Jenkins, Kassandra Taylor Newberry, and Autumn Eckman, and as well as principal roles in ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, and August Bournonville. Ahna has found great fulfillment through teaching, choreographing, and through her inter-arts collaborations.
Yuka was born in Japan where she received her training from Hitomi Takeuchi Ballet School. In 2006, she attended English National Ballet School in the UK where she also danced many soloist roles. Upon graduating, Mario Radacovsky invited her to join the Slovak National Ballet where she danced a variety of roles such as Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux by George Balanchine, Spring lead lady in Four seasons by James Kudelka. Yuka was then invited to join Grand Rapids Ballet in 2011 where she has since danced many principal roles in ballets by George Balanchine (Serenade, Allegro Brilliant, Who Cares?, Rubies and Four Temperaments) Marius Petipa (Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake)…
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…Yuri Possokhov (Firebird), Ben Stevensen (Cinderella), Val Caniparoli (Ibsen’s House, The Nutcracker), Christopher Stowell (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Trey McIntyre (Wild Sweet Love), Adam Hougland (Cold Virtues), Annabelle Lopez Ochoa (Written and Forgotten, Memorias del Dorado, Dangerous Liaisons), Alejandro Cerrudo (Extremely Close), James Sofranko (Romeo & Juliet Balcony Pas de Deux), Nicolas Blanc (Aquatic Hypoxia), Katarzyna Skarpetowska (Off the Canvas), Daniella Rowe (For Pixie), Olivier Wevers (The Sofa, Midsummer), Mario Radakovsky, Jennifer Archibald, David Parsons, Jose Limon, Kirk Peterson, Brian Enos, Sagi Gross, Andrea Schermoly, Norbert De La Cruz and Penny Saunders. Yuka has won many competitions in Japan including NBA All Japan Ballet Competition, Saitama All Japan Dance Competition, UB All Japan Ballet Union Competition, International Ballet Competition in Yokohama, and others. In 2013, Yuka had the honor of performing Olivier Wever’s The Sofa at the Joyce Theatre in New York and reprised her role in Seattle. Yuka performed Le Corsaire Pas de Deux in the gala at The National Theatre in Tokyo and the Pas de Deux from Le Carnaval de Venise in Fukushima. In 2014, Val Caniparoli choreographed Clara on Yuka for the world premiere of The Nutcracker. She also choreographed for Grand Rapids Ballet since 2015 such as Wave, Eriha, Death and Maiden, Tomorrow Never Comes and Chansons de Bilitis. 2021 Virtual season Yuka had the opportunity to choreograph, direct and film her piece “sol and luna” . Her new piece for the Grand Rapids Ballet “Land of Gods” was commissioned for part of the program 2023-24 season. She also was invited to choreograph and stage her piece with Ballet Arkansas, Saint Louis Dance Theatre trainee program and Flint Institute of Music.
Wade Mesecar was raised in Akron, Ohio where he first began training at Nan Klinger’s Excellence in Dance. After being awarded First Place at YAGP Pittsburgh in 2017, he moved to California to train at the San Francisco Ballet School on full scholarship under the direction of Patrick Armand. After graduating in 2021, he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to continue his training at Ballet West as a Trainee for the 21’-22’ season. He later joined Nashville Ballet as a Second Company Member for two seasons under the direction of Maria Konrad. He joined Grand Rapids Ballet as an Apprentice in 2024 and was then promoted to Company Dancer in 2025.
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Wade has also spent several summers training at San Francisco Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet West, and others. In 2022 he was awarded the Birger Bartholin Scholarship at the Royal Danish Intensive. He has performed the works of Helgi Tomasson, Willam Christensen, George Balanchine, Penny Saunders, Paul Vasterling and others. He is thrilled to return as a Company Dancer for the 2025-2026 season.
Emily Reed is from Monee, Illinois and began dancing when she was three. She studied at Faubourg School of Ballet followed by the Ruth Page Center of the Arts, where she trained under beloved ballet master Larry Long and Birute Barodicaite. Emily attended various summer intensives across the country on scholarship and was one of the first trainees for Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. Emily spent 2010–12 in the Milwaukee Ballet II program where she performed a wide range of repertoire with MBII and in the main company productions. For six seasons Emily was with the Minnesota Ballet dancing such roles as Lucy in Dracula, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, and George Balanchine’s Who Cares? and Tarantella before joining the Grand Rapids Ballet in 2018.
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Some of her favorite performances with GRB include Trey McIntyre’s Wild Sweet Love, Clara in Val Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker, Alejandro Cerrudo’s Extremely Close and one of the principals in Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues. Original works Emily had the pleasure of being a part of include Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Three Offerings, Danielle Rowe’s November, and James Sofranko’s Two Tangos.
A classically trained ballet dancer from San Antonio, Texas, he received his distinguished training at the San Francisco Ballet School, where he studied under renowned mentors Patrick Armand and Pascal Molat. A scholarship recipient during his time there, he gained experience performing a diverse range of classical and contemporary repertoire. He further refined his artistry as a member of Milwaukee Ballet II, working with Mireille Favarel and performing for two seasons. He is thrilled to continue his professional career with Grand Rapids Ballet as a Company Artist.
Claudia Rhett Sinclair is from Nashville, Tennessee and started her dance training at a young age. She attended summer intensives on scholarship at the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and The Chautauqua Institution, where she performed with Nashville Ballet and Charlotte Ballet. Claudia attended Indiana University Ballet Theatre as a member of IU’s Hutton Honors College and graduated in 2020 with Distinction, earning a B.S. in Ballet with an Outside Field in Business Studies.
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Her most notable performances while at IU were soloist and principal roles in works by George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Sasha Janes, Mark Morris, Antony Tudor, and Twyla Tharp. Claudia joined Grand Rapids Ballet as an Apprentice in 2020 and was promoted to Company Artist in 2022. She has since performed in works by Jennifer Archibald, George Balanchine, Andy Blankenbuehler, Val Caniparoli, Devon Carney, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Adam Hougland, Lar Lubovitch, Trey McIntyre, Penny Saunders, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, James Sofranko, Ben Stevenson, Christopher Stowell, Septime Webre. Some of her favorite roles have been in Berceuse by Penny Saunders, Sinfonia Concertante by Yuka Oba-Muschiana, the Winter Fairy in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, and the Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade.
Claudia created her first work, Sunday in the Park, for GRB’s 2024 Jumpstart Program and looks forward to choreographing more in the future. She has been teaching for 10 years and loves finding new ways to inspire the next generation of dancers, both in the Grand Rapids community and beyond.
Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Isabella first trained at Ballet Chelsea under Wendi Dubois before earning a scholarship to Miami City Ballet’s pre-professional program. After graduation, she continued her development as a trainee for Cincinnati Ballet where she danced in numerous company productions including the roles of snow and flowers in The Nutcracker and the swan corps in Swan Lake. In 2021, Isabella joined Ballet Austin as a Butler fellow and was promoted to Ballet Austin’s second company the following year. She performed in multiple corps roles in Steven Mill’s Nutcracker, Swan Lake, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cinderella, and the acclaimed Light/ The Holocaust and Humanity Project.
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Isabella also had the opportunity to dance the role of Russian Demi soloist in George Balanchine’s Serenade as well as interpreted the lead role of Maria in Maria and the Mouse Deer, a children’s ballet based on a Filipino folk tale. Isabella is thrilled to be joining Grand Rapids Ballet as a company member and is eager to work under the direction of Artistic Director, James Sofranko as well as with the talented dancers of GRB.
Rena Takahashi began her training at Hitomi Takeuchi Ballet in Japan when she was 3 years old. At 16, Rena was offered a full scholarship at The Rock School for Dance Education. While at The Rock School for Dance Education, Rena appeared in numerous performances and workshops including The Nutcracker, Flames of Paris and Paquita and Don Quixote. Rena has placed Top 12 at The Youth America Grand Prix Final several times and has also won numerous regional First Place awards in both Classical and Contemporary categories.
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Furthering her training with summer courses and short term studies, Rena attended Academie Princess Grace, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, the Australian Ballet School and the Dutch National Ballet Academy, all on full scholarship. Rena has also returned to Hitomi Takeuchi Ballet as a teacher and guest performer, dancing in a variety of classical and contemporary work.
Nigel began dancing at age 10 with The Academy of Dance in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia. In 2013, he became a trainee with Next Generation Ballet, where performed in the conservatory’s own productions as well as with Opera Tampa and the Florida Orchestra. He went on to train with BalletMet on a full scholarship, where he performed and rehearsed alongside the company in shows such as The Great Gatsby and The Nutcracker. Since he started working with the Grand Rapids Ballet in 2015, he has been a part of tours to Houghton, Petoskey, St. Louis, and Seattle, and performed in pieces such as Paul Taylor’s Company B, Alejandro Cerrudo’s Extremely Close, Andy Blankenbeuler’s Rember Our Song, and Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room.
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In his time with the company he has had the privilege of working with choreographers such as Olivier Wevers, Jennifer Archibald, Kate Skarpetowska, and Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa, and has had the great privilege of being a part of the premier of Darrell Grand Moultrie’s An Offering, Dani Rowe’s Liar King Lear, and Sherlock, by our own resident choreographer with the Grand Rapids Ballet, Penny Saunders.
His first work, Errant Thoughts, debuted on the company in 2019, and he has since choreographed several works on the company as a part of their Jumpstart program and for outreach performances. Most recently, he debuted his piece The Birth of the Moon as part of Frederik Meijer Garden’s Winter Nights series.
Tristan was born in New York City and was raised in the Bay Area. He began dancing at the age of 9 and attended the Joffrey summer intensives in New York on scholarship. He later attended the Ruth Asawa School of Performing Arts High School in San Francisco under Elvia Marta and Andrea Hinman while training at the Academy of Ballet San Francisco under Zory Karah and Richard Gibson.
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After high school, he joined the Boston Ballet School’s inaugural Graduate Program under Kathleen Mitchell, while also studying with Peter Stark, Margaret Tracey, Igor Burlak, and Andrea Long. There, he performed in Boston Ballet’s Duke Ellington’s “The Gift” and learned repertoire by Jorma Elo. While in Boston, Tristan worked on a solo with choreographer Cathy Marston for Ballet Unleashed’s first creative project, Switchback, a collaborative dance film project with other schools around the world. After he joined BalletMet 2 under Edwaard Liang, where he performed pieces such as Donald McKayle’s Rainbow Round My Shoulder and David Nixon’s Dracula as well as Liang’s Mumurations, Tributary, Cinderella, Dorothy and the Prince of Oz, Giselle, and Swan Lake.
In 2023, Tristan was selected to be a part of the USA International Ballet Competition (USAIBC) held in Jackson, Mississippi where he performed a Pas de Deux from Satanella as well as Edwaard Liang’s Symphonic Dances. He was a part of Amy Seiwert’s final season of SKETCH 13: LUCKY, being a part of unique and original pieces from choreographers Hélène Simoneau and Trey McIntyre.
Rheya Shano grew up in the Boston area and trained at The Brookline Ballet School under the direction of Trinidad Vives and Parren Ballard.
As a student, she participated in numerous ballet competitions — most notably, the USA IBC in 2018, where she was a Bronze medal prize winner, and Prix de Lausanne in 2019.
In 2019, she went on to dance in Tulsa Ballet’s second company, and then danced as a freelance artist in the Boston area before joining Grand Rapids Ballet.
Will was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, where at age 12, he told his parents he wanted to “try ballet.” Soon after, he accepted a full scholarship to train year-round with the American Ballet Theatre Gillespie School. During COVID, he joined the Houston Ballet Academy’s “ballet bubble” to continue year-round training and graduated from the Academy in 2023. In addition to performing in main stage Houston Ballet and Academy productions, Will has been a featured guest in lead roles with Richter Ballet, Victoria Ballet, and Ballet Taos, including creating original works with New York City Ballet’s Jock Soto. He is thankful to his parents and sister for their fierce support of his ballet ambitions.
Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Nathan began his training at the age of 13 at the Arkansas Academy of Dance. He attended summer training programs such at Ballet West, Joffrey Ballet, and Long Beach Ballet. In 2013, Nathan graduated from the University of Oklahoma, where he received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance. Nathan then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, dancing for the Nashville Ballet for four season. He has performed in notable works by Christopher Wheeldon, Jiří Kylián, Jennifer Archibald, Trey McIntyre, Val Caniparoli, Danielle Rowe, and Yuri Possokhov.
Jaelyn Anderson
Minneapolis, MN
Chloe Andry
Lillian Munson
Wynnewood, PA
Maya Jackson
Thane Kimple
Kyra Orozco-Davey
Eli Petraccia
Gabriel Tolmer
Sophie Anna Batista
Eva Bendesky
Maggie Crist
Tess Fein
Grace Gephart
Delila Kostiuk
Megan Murphy
Jonimarie Purtle
Cecilia Schmidt
