Meghan Dolata moved to Grand Rapids in January of 2022 after graduating from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Advertising & Public Relations and Dance. Meghan joined the ballet as the Marketing & Development Specialist in July 2022 and was promoted to Marketing Director in February 2023. She is currently a member of WMPRSA and is on the board of the Cultural Marketing Group. She is passionate about dance, community outreach, and the arts and is thrilled to combine her passions of marketing and dance in this position.

Outside of GRB, Meghan is a dance teacher at a local dance studio, where she has the privilege of helping educate and inspire the next generation of dancers.

Dawnell retired from dancing with Grand Rapids Ballet in 2017 after 16 seasons. She then transitioned to Artistic Coordinator and Ballet Mistress at Grand Rapids Ballet.  Previously dancing with Cincinnati Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Dayton Ballet and Metropolitan Ballet Theatre of Detroit, Dawnell enjoyed a long, rewarding career with a repertoire spanning the classics to contemporary masterpieces, including Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Paquita, Dracula, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Firebird, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Jack The Ripper, Red Angels, Fingerprints, Black and White, Sync, Jewels, Allegro Brilliante, Who Cares, Serenade, Four Temperaments, Divertimento No. 15, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Concerto Barocco, Nine Sinatra Songs, Where the Wild Things Are, Celts, Rapture, Il Distratto, Con Amore, The Sofa, This Is Not A Raincoat, and The Gift of the Magi.

Having the opportunity to work with esteemed choreographers and teachers from around the world such as Lila York, Nils Christe, Fredrick Franklin, Suzanne Farrell, Kirk Peterson, Val Caniporoli, Peter Boal, Septime Webre, Raymond Lukens, Mario Radakovsky, and Stanton Welch helped shape her artistry.  Having new roles crafted for her and mastering the classics were her happy place as a dancer.  Performing live in concert with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and the John Jorgenson Quintet were outstanding stage experiences.

Additionally, Dawnell took over as the owner and Artistic Director of Academy of Dance Arts in Comstock Park, Michigan, six years ago and enjoys fostering an environment where the students can grow in all the different disciplines of dance, as well as staging and creating new works.  She holds a professional membership with Dance Masters of America and the Cecchetti Council of America and enjoys guest teaching, dancing and judging around the country.

Ms. Dryja is married to Bryce Black and has a daughter Tevyn who is the light of her life.

John Ferraro came to Grand Rapids Ballet in 2008. Initially brought on board as Production Manager having graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy as a theater tech major and having worked with various theaters in Chicago and Boston.

Over time his responsibilities have changed and grown to eventually become Company Manager as well as managing the Grand Rapids Ballet facilities.

After attending Columbia College in Chicago as a photography major John has worked in a variety of industries from industrial design at Synergy Product Development to electronic publishing at McGraw Hill, to technical writing for Siemens Dematic. He also has extensive experience in the custom furniture world.

In what seems to him like another life, John also studied violin making at the Chicago School of Violin Making and continues to make the occasional instrument in his home shop, which he donates to young musicians who can’t afford a good quality violin.

Nancy, a first-generation Luso-American, was born in historic New Bedford, Massachusetts where the spark that ignited her love of sewing and costumes began. Nancy has 18+ years of costume experience working as a professional healthcare clown at Children’s Hospitals in Boston, Providence, and Chicago for the Big Apple Circus, Healthy Humor, and Vaudeville Chicago. An award-winning costumer and Milliner, Nancy’s work can also be seen at local theaters such as Holland Community Theater, Central Park Players, and Master Arts Theater. Using her creative and colorful costumes, Nancy brings laughter and playful distraction to seniors in nursing care facilities along with music, magic, and more through her organization, The Funnybone Foundation. Nancy worked part-time as a licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant for 17 years in elementary schools before moving to West Michigan in 2015. A competitive rower of American Beetle Boats, Azorean Whaleboats and Cornish Pilot Gigs, Nancy brought the love of rowing to the Grand Rapids area by forming the Great Lakes Currach Rowing Club. She Serves as West/Central Michigan Community Relations Coordinator, a year-round volunteer position, for Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child and formed a sewing group creating clothing and school items for impoverished children around the world. Nancy speaks fluent Portuguese, is a long-time member of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America, and when not at a sewing machine or doing hand embroidery work, she enjoys gardening, reading, cooking, gf baking, and sharing life’s adventures with her husband, Edward.

Chris Jabin founded Dragonfly Advisors, Inc. in 2017. The Firm offers strategic consulting services to organizations helping them build funding networks, develop leadership, prepare and test campaign readiness and establish or enhance development programs. It also advises individual clients and their advisors on the benefits of including charitable gifts in financial plans to achieve philanthropic objectives.

Clients served include Joffrey Ballet, The Chicago Community Trust LGBT Community Fund, Chicago Children’s Museum, Chicago Academy of Sciences/Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Howard Brown Health, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, St. Louis Aquarium Foundation, School of Architecture at Taliesin, Acorn Center for the Performing Arts, and Chikaming Township in Southwest Michigan. Dragonfly Advisors, Inc. is affiliate counsel to Public Communications Incorporated (PCI) Chicago.

Prior to establishing Dragonfly Advisors, Inc., Jabin built a 30-year career serving several prominent Chicago cultural institutions including Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago Zoological Society and the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation. During his tenure leading development programs for these organizations, he oversaw campaigns supporting annual operations, programs, endowments, capital funds and planned giving totaling more than $400 million.

In recognition of his many contributions to the field, Jabin received the Benjamin Franklin Award from the Chicago Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2014. He was elected to the Board of Arts Alliance Illinois in 2012 and served as a member of the Executive Committee through 2021. He was honored by UBS in 2008 as one of the first participants in their Nonprofit Scholars Art of Leadership Program offered in conjunction with Northwestern University. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at the School of the Art Institute and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Jabin received his BA degree from Albion College in Michigan with a concentration in public service from the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Service.

Attila was born in Kisvarda, Hungary. He received his early training at the National Ballet Institute in Budapest. After moving to the United States, he joined the Joffrey Ballet School. He has performed as a guest artist with Mobile Ballet, Bravo Dance, Harrisburg Ballet, Ballet Theatre of Chicago and the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. Attila spent sixteen years as a company dancer and eight years as a Ballet Master at Grand Rapids Ballet. As a company dancer, a few of his notable roles include The Prodigal Son in George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son, Max in Septime Webre’s Where The Wild Things Are, Charlie Chaplin in Gordon Peirce Schmidt’s Flickers, Tibalt in Mario Radacovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, and Melancholic in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. Attila became the Director of the Grand Rapids Ballet School Junior Company in 2011 and School Director in 2017. For the Junior Company, Attila has choreographed Snow White, Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, Carnival of the Animals, Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes, and The Wizard of Oz.

Mindy has been teaching at the Grand Rapids Ballet School since 1996. She received her early training under the instruction of Charthel Arthur and Robert Estner at Grand Rapids Ballet School. Mindy danced professionally with Grand Rapids Ballet for 15 years before retiring in 2009. She was the company’s Ballet Mistress for 2 years before becoming the School Curriculum Coordinator in 2011. Mindy is married to Attila Mosolygo (School Director and Junior Company Director). They have a daughter, Vivian, and a son, Cameron.

A dancer for the past 18 years at San Francisco Ballet,  James Sofranko has danced in numerous works and world premieres by choreographers such as Helgi Tomasson, Val Caniparoli, William Forsythe, Liam Scarlett, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Edwaard Liang, Lar Lubovitch, Wayne McGregor, Mark Morris, Julia Adam, Yuri Possokhov, Christopher Wheeldon, Paul Taylor, Arthur Pita, Stanton Welch, Jorma Elo, Hans Van Manen, Jiri Kylian, John Neumeier, James Kudelka, Lila York, Kenneth Macmillan, George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins. Some of his favorite roles include ‘Mercutio’ in Tomasson’s Romeo and Juliet, ‘Eros’ in Mark Morris’ Sylvia, ‘Bugle Boy’ in Taylor’s Company B, and the second sailor in Robbins’ Fancy Free.

He received an Isadora Duncan award (“Izzie”) for Best Performance in 2011 in Yuri Possokhov’s  Classical Symphony.

James was featured in the principal role of ‘Eddie’ in the Broadway touring company of  Movin’ Out, a musical choreographed by Twyla Tharp to the songs of Billy Joel.

In 2012, Sofranko co-founded DanceFAR (Dance For A Reason), an annual benefit performance and after-party that brings the Bay Area dance community together to support the work of the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC). In 2014, he received the Inspiration Award from CPIC. To date, DanceFAR has raised over $450,000 in support of their programs and initiatives to prevent cancer.

In 2014, Sofranko formed a new contemporary repertory company in San Francisco, SFDanceworks. The first two seasons have played to sold out houses and the company has presented works by Alejandro Cerrudo, Lar Lubovitch, José Limón, and world premieres by Penny Saunders, James Graham, Danielle Rowe, Dana Genshaft, and James Sofranko.

Sofranko has also created many original choreographic works, including two for the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee program, SFDanceworks, Long Beach Ballet, and Marin Dance Theater.  James also works as a repetiteur for Yuri Possokhov, resident choreographer for San Francisco Ballet, and has staged his ballets on Cincinnati Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet.

Along with his duties to Grand Rapids Ballet, Sofranko will continue to develop SFDanceworks, currently presenting a San Francisco season every summer.

As a recent graduate from Eastern Michigan University, Halle Stiverson earned her Bachelor of Art in Entertainment Design and Technology with a focus in Stage Management. While attending college fulltime as an honors student, she was a Supervising Stage Manager for EMU Theatre, acting as a mentor and presenting workshops for fellow students in the theatre program. She also stage managed or assistant stage managed over a dozen productions and special events. After graduation, she worked as an Accounts Receivable Specialist for TLS Productions Inc until the company closed in late 2023, while stage managing small productions and special events in her free time. Halle joined the Grand Rapids Ballet in December 2023, and is continually thrilled at the opportunity to be the production manager for such a staple in the performing arts community.

When not doing theatre in some capacity, Halle enjoys many other art forms, including reading, writing, painting, and exploring new places like Grand Rapids.