Christopher Wheeldon, O.B.E. (1973), Carousel. Director and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1991. In 1993, he joined New York City Ballet (NYCB) and was promoted to soloist in 1998. He was named NYCB’s first resident choreographer, in July 2001. Since then, he has created and staged productions for many of the world’s major ballet companies.

In 2007, Wheeldon founded Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company and was appointed an associate artist for Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. He now serves as artistic associate of The Royal Ballet. As such, he has created many works, including the full-length Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale, both of which were co-productions with the National Ballet of Canada. For the Metropolitan Opera, he choreographed Dance of the Hours for Ponchielli’s La Gioconda (2006) and Richard Eyre’s production of Carmen (2012), as well as ballet sequences for the feature film Center Stage (2000) and Sweet Smell of Success on Broadway (2002).

Wheeldon created a special excerpt for the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. In April 2016, he was the artistic director for the Fashion Forwardexhibition in Paris at La Musee Arts et Decoratif. In 2014, he directed and choreographed the musical version of An American in Paris, which had productions in Paris, on Broadway, and in London. The year 2016 was The Joffrey Ballet’s world premiere of The Nutcracker reimagined by Wheeldon, and he directed and choreographed the gala presentation of Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon starring Kelli O’Hara and Patrick Wilson at New York City Center in 2017.

Jerome Robbins (1918-1998), Antique Epigraphs. Born on October 11, 1918, in New York City, Jerome Robbins is world renowned for his work as a choreographer of ballets, as well as his work as a director and choreographer in theater, movies, and television. His Broadway shows include On the Town, Billion Dollar Baby, High Button Shoes, West Side Story, The King and I, Gypsy, Peter Pan, Miss Liberty, Call Me Madam, and Fiddler on the Roof. His last Broadway production, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, in 1989, won six Tony Awards, including best musical and best director.

Among the more than 60 ballets he created are Fancy Free, Afternoon of a Faun, The Concert, Dances at a Gathering, In the Night, In G Major, Other Dances, Glass Pieces, and Ives, Songs, which are in the repertories of New York City Ballet and other major dance companies throughout the world. His last ballets include A Suite of Dances created for Mikhail Baryshnikov (1994), 2 & 3 Part Inventions (1994), West Side Story Suite (1995), and Brandenburg (1996).

In addition to two Academy Awards for the film West Side Story, Robbins received four Tony Awards, five Donaldson Awards, two Emmy Awards, the Screen Directors’ Guild Award, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. He was a 1981 Kennedy Center Honors Recipient and was awarded the French Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur.

Sasha Janes, Wildflower. Sasha Janes is an associate professor in ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. He has danced professionally with West Australian Ballet, Australian Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, and Dayton Ballet, performing principal roles in works by Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, Marius Petipa, Septime Webre, Anthony Tudor, Dwight Rhoden, Alonzo King, Twyla Tharp, Alvin Ailey, and many others. He has served as both associate artistic director and resident choreographer of Charlotte Ballet. His choreographed works include Carmen, Dangerous Liaisons, We Danced Through Life, Last Lost Chance, Shelter, At First Sight, Loss, The Four Seasons, The Red Dress, Utopia, Playground Teasers, The Seed and the Soil, Chaconne, Queen, Sketches from Grace, and Rhapsodic Dances, which was performed as part of the Kennedy Center’s Ballet Across America series in June 2013. The Washington Post called Janes “a choreographer to watch.” He was a participant in New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute and has been a guest choreographer for Richmond Ballet’s New Works Festival.

Twyla Tharp (1941), Deuce Coupe. Twyla Tharp was born in Portland, Indiana. At age 10, she moved with her family to California, where she studied dance at the Vera Lynn School of Dance. While attending Barnard College in New York City, she began dancing with Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham. Upon graduation, she joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company and, in 1965, she formed her own company, Twyla Tharp Dance. With this company, Tharp began putting her signature on choreography, combining ballet technique with natural movements like running, walking, and skipping. While modern dance had historically aspired to high seriousness and spirituality, Tharp’s work was humorous and edgy.

In 1988, Twyla Tharp Dance merged with American Ballet Theatre, where Tharp created more than a dozen works, including Push Comes to Shove featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov. Since the 1980s, Tharp choreographed pieces for many major ballet and modern companies, including The Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, and Martha Graham Dance Company.In 1991, Tharp reunited her company, with Mikhail Baryshnikov joining the group in a program titled Cutting Up. The work enjoyed one of the most successful tours in the history of contemporary dance. In 2002, Tharp and Billy Joel’s Tony Award-winning musical, Movin’ Out, premiered on Broadway and continues to tour the world today.

Tharp has created more than 135 pieces, choreographed for five Hollywood movies, directed and choreographed two Broadway shows, and written two books. She is the recipient of two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, 17 honorary doctorates, and the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and is a 2008 Kennedy Center Honoree. Her works are among the most sought-after pieces by major dance companies around the world.

David Jang has conducted the Castleton Festival Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, multiple Jacobs School of Music orchestras, and the San Antonio Symphony. He has worked with many highly esteemed conductors, including Marin Alsop, David Effron, Arthur Fagen, Lorin Maazel, Gustav Meier, Jorge Mester, Joel Smirnoff, and Ben Zander. Maazel invited him to serve, at the age of 20, as the Castleton Festival’s youngest apprentice conductor, and praised Jang’s conducting for “displaying verve and determination, two essential qualities for a conductor.” Jang currently serves as an associate instructor in the Jacobs School’s Orchestral Conducting Department, where this season he is assisting with the production of Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites in addition to conducting the Fall Ballet. He completed his undergraduate studies in cello with Wendy Warner at Columbus State University and undertook graduate studies as an Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting candidate with Paul Hostetter. He earned a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting degree as a student of David Effron and Arthur Fagen at the Jacobs School, and he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music in Orchestral Conducting degree as a student of Arthur Fagen, David Neely, and Thomas Wilkins.

Mark Stanley is resident lighting designer for New York City Ballet, where he has designed over 200 premieres for its repertoire, including works for Peter Martins, Susan Stroman, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Benjamin Millepied, William Forsythe, Mauro Bigonzetti, Ulysses Dove, and others. In addition, he has designed for Kevin O’Day, Susan Marshall, David Gordon, Doug Varone, Tim Rushton, Nicolo Fonte, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Mauricio Wainrot, Lar Lubovitch, Laura Dean, and numerous ballet companies across Europe and the United States. Stanley previously served as resident designer for the New York City Opera, lighting over 20 new productions for the resident and touring companies. He has designed plays for the Kennedy Center, Huntington Theatre Company, Long Wharf, The Ordway, The Goodspeed , and Off-Broadway companies. His designs have been seen nationally on PBS for Live From Lincoln Center and Great Performances. He is on the board of directors of the Gilbert Hemsley Lighting Programs and is author of The Color of Light Workbook.

Jennifer Tipton is well known for her work in theater, dance, and opera. Her recent work in opera includes Romeo et Juliette directed by Bartlett Sher at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her recent work in dance includes Liam Scarlett’s The Age of Anxiety for The Royal Ballet in London. In theater, her recent work includes The Room by Harold Pinter for the Wooster Group. Tipton teaches lighting at the Yale School of Drama. She received the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize in 2001, the Jerome Robbins Prize in 2003, and the Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture in New York City in April 2004. In 2008, she was made a United States Artists “Gracie” Fellow and a MacArthur Fellow. (Photo by Brigittela Combe)

Aaron Bowersox is a Pennsylvania native and graduate from Indiana University with a master’s degree in lighting design. He currently resides in New York City, where he works as a freelance lighting designer and photographer. His most recent lighting designs include Chicago, Tuck Everlasting, La Cage Aux Folles, Spring Awakening, Sweeney Todd, Sweet Charity, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Dana Tzvetkov designs and constructs costumes for opera, ballet, and theater. Her work has recently been featured in Central City Opera’s Tosca (2016) and Carmen (2017), and the National Opera Association’s Hagar (2016). It has appeared on Indiana University’s Musical Arts Center stage in Saudade, Carmen, and Peter Grimes. She has designed rentals for Ball State Opera Theater, Mississippi Opera, DePauw University, and Butler University. She worked alongside Linda Pisano for Opera San Antonio to build costumes for a cast including Patricia Racette and Michelle DeYoung. She has been commissioned to create concert gowns for DeYoung and Sylvia McNair. Tzvetkov served as the costume shop supervisor for IU Jacobs School of Music Opera and Ballet Theater from 2013 until recently, when she was promoted to shop manager. She will be returning to Central City Opera in summer 2018 to coordinate its production of Il Trovatore.

As performer, rehearsal director, and stager, Richard Colton has worked with Twyla Tharp since 1972 and has performed in her works as a member of The Joffrey Ballet, Twyla Tharp Dance (1977-88), and American Ballet Theatre. He was in the premieres of Tharp classics Nine Sinatra Songs, In the Upper Room, Baker’s Dozen, As Time Goes By, and Deuce Coupe 2. He appears in the films Hair, Amadeus, and the PBS Great Performances presentation of The Catherine Wheel, with music by David Byrne, all choreographed by Tharp. He has staged Tharp’s work for companies including American Ballet Theatre, The Paris Opera Ballet, and London’s Royal Ballet among others. He founded and directs, with Amy Spencer, Summer Stages Dance @ The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, a residency for the creation of new, collaborative work by dance makers, visual artists, writers, and musicians. He was a member of The White Oak Dance Project, directed by Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Shawn Stevens is originally from Houston, Texas. At age 14, she attended Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts, under the direction of Sydelle Gomberg. She continued her training at the School of American Ballet. In 1982, she was chosen by George Balanchine to join the New York City Ballet (NYCB). During her time with the company, she performed principal roles in Balanchine’s ballets, including Symphony in Three Movements, The Four Temperaments, and Symphony in C. She also danced in the original cast and performed principal roles in Brahms/Handel, choreographed by Twyla Tharp and Jerome Robbins. Stevens has worked with many other choreographers, such as Peter Martins, William Forsythe, Edward Villella, Ib Andersen, and Joseph Duell. During the 10 years she performed with NYCB, she danced in the TV programs Live from Lincoln Center with NYCB and Dance in America. She has also appeared as a principal dancer with the New York City Opera in Cinderella. In 1991, she joined Twyla Tharp Dance, where she performed for five years. With Tharp’s company, she performed repertoire works as well as new works as a principal. She was asked to dance in the Cutting Up tour with Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Stevens’ film credits include I’ll Do Anything and In the Upper Room, both choreographed by Tharp. Stevens was personally invited to perform in Tharp’s hit Broadway musical Movin’ Out. She has been teaching ballet at several schools, universities, and companies throughout the United States. She is approved by the George Balanchine Trust to restage George Balanchine works and also stages works by Tharp through the Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation.

Michele Gifford grew up in Dallas, Texas. She began her training with Ann Etgen and Bill Atkinson at the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet. At the age of 16, she moved to New York City to attend the School of American Ballet on full scholarship. Two years later, she became a member of New York City Ballet. In her 12-year career at New York City Ballet, Gifford performed many soloist and principal roles, including in Balanchine’s Apollo, Rubies, Agon, Symphony in Three Movements, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Stars and Stripes, to name a few. She also originated many roles, including in Jerome Robbins’ West Side Story Suite, Peter Martins’Echo, Christopher Wheeldons’ Slavonic Dances, and David Parsons’ Touch. In 2000, she joined Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) under Ben Stevenson. While at TBT, she performed several principal roles, including in Ben Stevenson’s Copellia, Four Last Songs, Dracula, and Peer Gynt, along with Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and The Four Temperaments. Gifford has also made several guest artist appearances, including in TchaikovskyPas de Deux, Who Cares, Barber Violin Concerto, Carmina Burana, and Rubies, later joining Bruce Wood Dance Company, where she was also company manager. Gifford has taught throughout the country, including at Ballet West, Boston Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, Mejia International Ballet, and Indiana University, to name a few. Besides teaching, she is a repetiteur for the Balanchine Trust as well as renowned choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. Throughout her 29-year performing career, she has taught, and owned her own Gyrotonic studio, Studio G, passing on her knowledge of movement to people from all walks of life. Her passion doesn’t stop in the ballet studio or Gyrotonic studio but continues at home with her two children, Ryan and Morgan.

Korean-born pianist Han Sol Jeong moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, at age 4, starting lessons at age 10. His past teachers include Michael Endres and Neville Baird. He earned his Bachelor of Music with Honors at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, studying under Thomas Hecht. Jeong has appeared as concerto soloist with the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Symphony Orchestra, Risingholme Orchestra, and members of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, playing works by Gershwin, Schumann and Beethoven. He participated in the Bowdoin International Music Festival with Julian Martin and Douglas Humphreys in 2017. Jeong placed third (no first prize was awarded) in the Artist Category of the National Piano and Violin Competition in Singapore. He is currently in his first year of the Master of Music in Piano Performance program at the Jacobs School of Music, studying under André Watts.

Kaden Larson, from Utah, began playing piano at age three as a therapeutic activity to help fight a severely crippling case of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in his hands and feet. He initially learned piano from his mother and then began piano lessons with Tricia West. He has also studied with accomplished pianists Chad Schumacher and Stephen Beus, and was a student of Scott Holden from 2008 to 2018. Larson has performed with the Lyceum Repertory Orchestra of American Fork, Oquirrh Mountain Symphony, Utah Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Brigham Young University (BYU), and the BYU Philharmonic. He earned his B.M. at Brigham Young University and has just begun graduate work at the Jacobs School of Music, studying with Norman Krieger. He is active as a student, performer, collaborative artist, and teacher.

Kyra Nichols is professor of ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music, where she holds the Violette Verdy and Kathy Ziliak Anderson Chair in Ballet. Nichols began her early training with her mother, Sally Streets, a former member of New York City Ballet (NYCB). Nichols became an apprentice and then a member of the corps de ballet at NYCB in 1974 and was promoted to soloist in 1978. In 1979, George Balanchine promoted her to principal dancer, and she worked closely with both Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She performed numerous leading roles in the NYCB repertoire, including Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto Number 2, Stars and Stripes, Liebeslieder Walzer,and Davidsbündlertänze. She has worked with an extensive list of choreographers, including William Forsythe, Susan Stroman, Christopher Wheeldon, Jacques D’Amboise, Robert La Fosse, and Robert Garland.She retired from New York City Ballet in June 2007, after 33 years with the company, as the longest-serving principal dancer in the company’s history. Immediately prior to joining the Jacobs School, she was ballet mistress at Pennsylvania Ballet.

Christian Claessens is lecturer in ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. He began his ballet training at the Conservatoire de la Monaie. In 1978, he came to New York on scholarship to the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre School. After graduating, he performed with the Kansas City Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. In 1984, he returned to Europe as a member of the Dutch National Ballet. As a soloist, Claessens toured internationally with Stars of the American Ballet, Stars of the New York City Ballet, Stars of the Hong Kong Ballet, and Kozlov and Friends. In 1991, he cofounded the Scarsdale Ballet Studio with Diana White. In 1999, he codirected the International Ballet Project with Valentina Kozlova and White, both of New York City Ballet. In 1998, he took over the directorship of the Purchase Youth Ballet. He was the director of La Leçon: Christian Claessens School of Ballet in Westchester, New York.

Carla Körbes is associate professor of ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. She was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and began training at age five. In 1996, Peter Boal encouraged her to come to the United States to study at the School of American Ballet. She joined New York City Ballet as an apprentice in 1999 and was made a member of the corps de ballet in 2000. She was promoted to soloist in 2005 and joined Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) as a soloist later that year. She was promoted to principal dancer at PNB in 2006 and retired from the company in 2015. Körbes danced numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, William Forsythe, Alexei Ratmansky, and Twyla Tharp, and performed classical works including Swan Lake, Giselle, and Don Quixote. Before joining the Jacobs School of Music faculty, she served as associate director of the L. A. Dance Project and taught at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.

Rachel Tormann was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. At age 12, she received the Kingston Symphony Association’s top prize, the Allan-Jack Award. In 2016, after placing first in both municipal and provincial levels of the Kiwanis Music Festival, she proceeded to the Open Woodwind Division of Canada’s National Music Competition, where she was awarded first place. The same year, she was the winner of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra’s annual concerto competition. Other awards include the Itani Award, Avery College Scholarship, Leading Note Trophy, Queen’s Performing Arts Award, and Jacobs Scholar Award. Tormann is currently a junior at the Jacobs School of Music, where she is on full scholarship studying with Thomas Robertello

Michael Vernon is professor of music (ballet) at the IU Jacobs School of Music. He studied at the Royal Ballet School in London with Dame Ninette de Valois and Leonide Massine. He performed with The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera Ballet, and the London Festival Ballet before moving to New York in 1976 to join the Eglevsky Ballet as ballet master and resident choreographer under the directorship of Edward Villella. Vernon served as artistic director of the company from 1989 to 1996. He has choreographed for the Eglevsky Ballet, BalletMet, and North Carolina Dance Theatre, and Mikhail Baryshnikov commissioned him to choreograph the pas de deux In a Country Garden for American Ballet Theatre. Vernon has taught at Steps on Broadway (New York City) since 1980, been involved with the ballet program of the Chautauqua Institution since 1996, and been a company teacher for American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Sarah Wroth is the chair of the Ballet Department and associate professor of ballet at the IU Jacobs School of Music. She began her training at the Frederick School of Classical Ballet in Frederick, Maryland. In 2003, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Education from the Jacobs School of Music. That same year, she joined Boston Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. With the company, Wroth performed principal roles in works by William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Marius Petipa, Jerome Robbins, Helen Pickett, and Mikko Nissinen, and soloist roles in ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, and August Bournonville. She has performed with Boston Ballet internationally in Spain, England, South Korea, and Finland, and, in 2009, she was awarded the E. Virginia Williams Inspiration Award for her unwavering dedication to ballet and the Boston Ballet Company. Wroth earned a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University in 2015 and retired from Boston Ballet in May 2017.

Irina Ter-Grigoryan earned her degrees of piano performance, pedagogy, and accompanist in the former Soviet Union. She was fortunate to start studying piano with L. Egorova, the author of the one of the best tutorial books for piano beginners. Among her teachers, she also studied with R. Atakishiev, the student of C. Igumnoff. She also studied many years with E. Kulesh, student of Henrich Neuhaus. In addition, Ter-Grigoryan is a successful piano teacher. Several of her students have won international competitions. In 2013, she received an award from the University of Chicago as Outstanding Educator. She served as a faculty member at the Baku State Conservatory and as an accompanist for the Azerbaijan State Theater Opera and Ballet. She was selected from a small pool of musicians to accompany international and regional competitions representing the Soviet Union. During her time in the United States, Ter-Grigoryan has continued her work as an accompanist with the Temple Square Concert Series Recitals in Salt Lake City, Utah; the University of Utah; and Ballet West Co.; and as a collaborative pianist at DePauw University. She has been on the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department since 2000.

Grace Armstrong is from Shoreline, Washington. She began dancing at age four, receiving her training from Olympic Ballet School under the direction of Mara Vinson and Oleg Gorboulev. There she performed roles from The Nutcracker, Coppelia, The Sleeping Beauty, Paquita, and more. In 2014 and 2015, she competed in the Youth America Grand Prix and was awarded Top 12 in the semifinals. Last summer, she performed as a guest artist with Olympic Ballet Theatre in its Summer Gala. Armstrong is a recipient of the Premier Young Artist award and a junior at the Jacobs School of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Arts Management. With IU Ballet Theater, she has performed in Giselle, Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, Jerome Robbin’s Fanfare, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels, and George Balanchine’s Valse-Fantasie and La Source. Most recently, Armstrong performed in the “Odalisques Pas de Trois” from Le Corsaire, Sasha Janes’ Playground Teasers, and Sally Streets’ Chopin Pas de Deux.

Haley Baker is a junior from Enola, Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Psychology. She has been dancing since age three, beginning her ballet training at Pennsylvania Regional Ballet in 2010 under the direction of Sandra Carlino. While there, she studied under Victoria Silva, Laszlo Berdo, and Erin Stiefel-Inch. She also attended Ribbon Mill Ballet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with individual coaching from Leslie Hench. She has attended summer programs at Pennsylvania Ballet, Miami City Ballet, the USA/IBC Dance School, and Joffrey Ballet Chicago. In her time at Indiana University, Baker has performed in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, George Balanchine’s The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Valse Fantaisie, and La Source, and Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet. Baker has received scholarships from Pennsylvania Regional Ballet and Regional Dance America and is also a recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award from the Jacobs School of Music.

Anna Barnes was born in Los Angeles, California, and started her ballet training at age three at the Westside Ballet School in Santa Monica, run by the late Yvonne Mounsey. In 2015, Barnes graduated from Colburn Dance Academy, run by Jenifer Ringer and Benjamin Millepied. Barnes is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Marketing at the Kelley School of Business. Her favorite ballets performed while attending Jacobs are Twyla Tharp’s Surfer at the River Styx, George Balanchine’s Serenade, Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, and Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet.

Mason Bassett is a sophomore at Indiana University from Bryan, Ohio. He started dancing at Bryan Community School of Dance, under the direction of Kimberly Shaffer, taking ballet, jazz, tap, and modern. He later trained with Nigel Burgoine at the Ballet Theatre of Toledo. For his senior year of high school, he attended Interlochen Arts Academy, studying with Joseph Morrissey. He has attended summer intensives at Interlochen Arts Camp (2014), Pennsylvania Ballet (2015), and The Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory (2016). At the Jacobs School, Bassett is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Arts Management. With IU Jacobs School of Music Ballet Theater, he has performed in two pieces choreographed by Sasha Janes (You and I and Lascia la Spina, Cogli la Rosa), Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, and Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels.

Lily Bines is a 19-year-old sophomore from Dallas, Texas. She began her ballet training at the Dallas Conservatory at age 10, and at age 17, she began training in the pre-professional year-round program at Boston Ballet. Bines has attended summer intensives at Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Indiana University. She is currently majoring in ballet with an outside field in exercise science. At the Jacobs School, she has performed in Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels, George Balanchine’s La Source, and Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker.

Alexis Breen began her training at Boston Ballet School in 2011. After completing the classical ballet program, she was invited to join the pre-professional program from 2014 to 2016, under the direction of Margaret Tracy. Breen then joined the BalletMet trainee program in 2016, under the direction of Maria Torija and artistic director Edwaard Liang. At BalletMet, Breen performed in company productions such as Edwaard Laing’s Giselle, Gerard Charles’ The Nutcracker, and Michael Pink’s Peter Pan. She also performed in George Balanchine’s Serenade and as Second Violin in George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco during her time in the trainee program. In 2018, she joined Indiana University Ballet Theater.

Sophia Brodin, from Lansing, Michigan, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Exercise Science. She spent her senior year of high school training with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre before attending the Jacobs School of Music. While here, she has performed two works by Twyla Tharp, Surfer at the River Styx and As Time Goes By. Brodin has also performed in Jerome Robbin’s Fanfare and N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, George Balanchine’s La Source, Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, and as a featured dancer in Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater’s Oklahoma!

Anderson Da Silva is a 19-year-old sophomore from Tampa, Florida, where he received his ballet training at America’s Ballet School under directors Paula Nuñez and Osmany Montano. Da Silva has performed leading roles in The Nutcracker, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, Coppelia, and Diana and Acteon. At Indiana University, he has performed leading roles in Sasha Janes’ Sketches from Grace, Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, George Balanchine’s La Source, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels,and Michaels Vernon’s The Nutcracker.

Claire Donovan is a junior from Louisville, Kentucky, currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Psychology. She began her ballet training at age three with the Louisville Ballet School. In 2008, she began training under the direction of Kristen Wenrick at the Louisville Academy of Dance. Donovan then attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, under the direction of Susan Jaffe, for her junior and senior year of high school. At UNCSA, she performed in an original work by Susan Jaffe, Donizetti Variations by George Balanchine, and the annual Nutcracker. At Jacobs, she has performed in an original work by Sasha Janes, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, Giselle, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, and Michael Vernon’s TheNutcracker. She has attended summer programs at Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Lines Contemporary Ballet. Donovan is a recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award through the Jacobs School of Music.

Alexis Eicher was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She began dancing at age four in a church dance ministry and began pre-professional ballet training during the sixth grade, at the New American Youth Ballet under the instruction of Beth McLeish. Eicher has participated in master classes with renowned teachers from New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. She spent seven weeks at the Chautauqua Summer Intensive, where she worked closely with Patricia McBride and performed in George Balanchine’s Rubies with the Charlotte Ballet. She has also performed repertoire choreographed by Michael Vernon, Mark Diamond, Eddy Ocampo, Jimmy Orrante, Melinda Howe, and many others. At IU, she has performed in Sasha Janes’ Sketches from Grace, Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels, and Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker. Eicher is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Psychology.

Sam Epstein is from Saratoga Springs, New York, where he trained at the National Museum of Dance School of the Arts. He began his formal training at the New York State Summer School of the Arts School of Ballet under the direction of Daniel Ulbricht. Epstein is currently a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Choreography. He is a recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award and a member of the Hutton Honors College and Wells Scholars Program. At IU, he has performed the male principal in Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie, “Flowers Pas de Deux” in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, “Jazz Legato” in Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, and the quintet in Twyla Tharp’s The One Hundreds. In spring 2018, he won the first place JoAnn Athens Memorial Award in the Bloomington Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters Ballet Competition. In the summer of 2018, he worked with Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride at the Chautauqua Institution, where he performed Balanchine’s Serenade (Waltz Boy), Sasha Janes’ Ecstatic Orange, and Mark Diamond’s In the Interim. That summer, he also performed with Charlotte Ballet in Sasha Janes’ The Four Seasons (“Autumn” and “Winter”) and with Nashville Ballet in Balanchine’s Western Symphony. Epstein’s choreographic works have been performed at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and the Chautauqua Amphitheater (where his choreography for 10 dancers to Steve Reich’s Clapping Music won second place in the Choreographic Workshop).

Julia Margaret Fleming was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, where she trained at the Asheville Center for Performing Arts and the Ballet Conservatory of Asheville. She also spent a year training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, where she performed in George Balanchine’s Western Symphony and Serenade. Fleming has attended summer intensives at Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Carolina Ballet, School of American Ballet, and Chautauqua. Since coming to the Jacobs School, she has performed in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare & N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, George Balanchine’s La Source & Valse Fantaisie, and Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Exercise Science.

Rachel Gehr is a junior at the Jacobs School of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Arts Management. She grew up in Westfield, Indiana, where she began her ballet training at Central Indiana Academy of Dance under the instruction of Suzann DeLay and Michael Casey Clark. Gehr has attended summer programs at Ballet West, School of American Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet Chicago, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. With IU Jacobs School of Music Ballet Theater, she has performed in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, Giselle, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, and Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie and La Source. Gehr is a recipient of the Carey Rose Winski memorial scholarship and the Jacobs Premier Young Artist Award.

Julian Goodwin-Ferris, from Houston, Texas, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Music. Two years ago, he took a leave of absence from IU to dance with Ballet Austin for a season. While there, he traveled to China on tour for a month and performed solo roles in Stephen Mills’ The Nutcracker and Septime Webre’s Alice (in Wonderland), among other ballets. He started his training at the Houston Ballet Academy, where he danced for more than 10 years. In Houston, he performed numerous roles at the academy, including an adagio variation from The Sleeping Beauty, a solo from the Swan Lake hunt scene, and parts in Stanton Welch’s Brigade and Bournonville’s Napoli, as well as multiple small roles with the company. In 2015, Goodwin-Ferris studied at the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz in Dresden, Germany, for a month. Between 2007 and 2009, he sang in the Children’s Chorus for Houston Grand Opera’s productions, and he sang a solo in Village of Waltz for Hope Stone Dance Company in 2009 and 2010. He has performed roles in several Shakespeare plays, including Anthony in Julius Caesar, Oberon in A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and Feste in Twelfth Night. Adding to his repertoire of leading roles here at Jacobs, he will perform the Cavalier in The Nutcracker with the San Luis Obispo Civic Ballet this December.

Jack Grohmann is a freshman from Louisville, Kentucky. Beginning dance at age 8 and ballet at age 14, he trained in ballet and contemporary at local studios in Louisville as well as at the Youth Performing Arts School. Afterward, he moved to Boston as a pre-professional student under Peter Stark and Margaret Tracey at the Boston Ballet School. His performances in Boston include the school’s choreographic festival as well as the student showing, Next Generation. He has attended the Next Generation Summer Intensive under Philip Neal, Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program, and Miami City Ballet Summer Intensive under Aranxta Ochoa, Francis Veyette, and Alexander Iziliaev.

Natalie Hedrick, from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, began her ballet training in 2009 at the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the artistic direction of Karen Kroninger Knerr. From 2012 to 2013, Hedrick studied at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre (ABT) under the direction of Franco De Vita. While there, she performed small roles in ABT company productions of The Nutcracker, Le Corsaire, and The SleepingBeauty. In 2015, she was accepted into Boston Ballet School’s pre-professional division under the direction of Margaret Tracey and, in 2016, was promoted to trainee. At Boston Ballet School, Hedrick performed in Next Generation performances as well as several Boston Ballet company productions, such as The Nutcracker and The SleepingBeauty. She was awarded a scholarship to attend the Jacobs School of Music and is currently a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance. While at IU, she has performed in Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie and La Source, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet,and Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker.

Darren Hsu was born and raised in Rockville, Maryland, and began his training with the Maryland Youth Ballet when he was seven years old. There he studied with Michelle Lees, Christopher Doyle, Rhodie Jorgenson, and several other former professional dancers and ballet masters. With their encouragement, Hsu briefly trained with Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Orlando Ballet School, and the master class series held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He is currently a senior at the Jacobs School of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Informatics.

Camille Kellems is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Arts Management. She was born and raised in Newport Beach, California, and began dancing at age three at Classical Dance Center. Her pre-professional ballet training began at Ballet Pacific, which transitioned to the Maple Conservatory, under the direction of Charles Maple. She has attended summer intensives with San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, School of American Ballet, and Boston Ballet. At IU, she has performed in Giselle,George Balanchine’s Serenade, Divertimento No. 15, La Source and Valse-Fantasie,Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare,Twyla Tharp’s As Time Goes By, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels,and Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker.

Jared Kelly, from Suitland, Maryland, is a senior at the Jacobs School of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Marketing. He began formal ballet training at age nine with Dance Theatre of Harlem’s pre-professional residency program at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., under the leadership of founder Arthur Mitchell. Shortly afterward, Kelly began more intensive training at The Washington School of Ballet (TWSB) with Kee Juan Han and Katrina Toews. With TWSB, he performed at the White House for former President and First Lady Obama. After middle school, Kelly trained under the direction of Norma Pera along with the dance faculty at the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA). At BSA, he performed numerous lead roles, such as The Preacher in Appalachian Spring by Martha Graham and The Prince in Barry Hughson’s The Nutcracker, as well as on the Lyric Opera House stage in Baltimore, Maryland. While attending the Baltimore School for the Arts, he became a founding member of Vision Contemporary Dance Ensemble, performing modern, African, and contemporary pieces under the artistic direction of Katherine Smith. In the past three years at Jacobs, Kelly has danced masterworks by choreographers such as George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, and Mark Morris. Most recently, he performed the Flower Festival in Genzano pas de deux by August Bournonville, Diversion of Angels by Martha Graham, and N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz by Jerome Robbins.

Mark Lambert is a junior at the Jacobs School of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Arts Administration. He began studying ballet at age 14 at Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, under Cameron Basden and Joseph Morrissey. There he performed principal roles in The Nutcracker, La Bayadère, and Peter and the Wolf, and numerous roles in Coppelia, The Sleeping Beauty, and New Works pieces. With Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Ballet Theater, he has performed in Michael Vernon’s TheNutcracker as Snow Cavalier, Arabian, and Flowers, George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15,Sasha Janes’ Saudade and Sketches from Grace, Twyla Tharp’s As Time Goes By, and Jerome Robbin’s Fanfare and N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz. Lambert was also a featured dancer in IU Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater’s West Side Story, choreographed by Sasha Janes.

Sterling Manka is a senior from Fishers, Indiana, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Ballet Performance. He began dancing at age eight at the Butler University’s Jordan Academy of Dance and graduated from Indiana Ballet Conservatory, where he trained with Sergey Sergiev. Manka also trained privately under Marek Cholewa and Rosanna Ruffo at Butler University. He placed in the top 12 in the Ensembles category at the Youth America Grand Prix finals in New York City for his performance in Sergey Sergiev’s Amélie. He attended the 2015 Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive in New York City, where he won a scholarship to spend a month training at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia, and an invitation to train at the academy year round. Recently, he choreographed the contemporary solo Wake for his twin sister (and apprentice with American National Ballet), Hanna Manka, for the 2016 Varna International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. While at IU, he has performed in George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15, Valse Fantaisie,and The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Twyla Tharp’s As Time Goes By, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, and Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater’s Oklahoma! Manka is a member of the Hutton Honors College.

Bryanna Mitchell is a sophomore at the Jacobs School of Music studying ballet performance and arts management. She began studying ballet at age 12 while attending the Alabama School of Fine Arts in her hometown, Birmingham, Alabama. She’s spent the past four summers studying at Alabama Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Dance Theatre of Harlem’s summer intensives. At IU, Mitchell has performed in Jerome Robbins’ N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels,and Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker

Kyra Muttilainen is a graduating junior from Richmond, Vermont, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance. She began her training at age five at Vermont Ballet Theater, under the direction of Alex and Kirsten Nagiba. She has attended summer intensives with the Bolshoi Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ellison Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Chautauqua Institution, and Jacob’s Pillow. At IU, she has performed in Giselle, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, George Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie, George Balanchine’s La Source, and Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker. Muttilainen is a recipient of the Jacobs School’s Premier Young Artist Award.

Ginabel Peterson Padilla is a senior at the Jacobs School of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Law and Public Policy. She began her ballet training at age six at Wissahickon Dance Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She later attended the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C., under Mariana Labanova and Elena Tenchikova, and Miami City Ballet School under Geta Constantinescu, Maria Torija, and Maribel Modrono. While at the Kirov Academy, Peterson performed in Marius Petipa’s LaBayadere, Giselle, The SleepingBeauty, and August Bournonville’s LaSylphide. At Miami City Ballet, Peterson performed in George Balanchine’s WesternSymphony in addition to works by Maribel Modrono and Gerard Ebitz. She also attended the San Francisco Ballet School’s 2014 summer intensive. While at the Jacobs School of Music, Peterson has performed in Michael Vernon’s TheNutcracker, George Balanchine’s Elegies, Serenade and DivertimentoNo.15, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare and NewYorkExport:OpusJazz, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels,and Sasha Janes’ Saudade.

Claudia Rhett is from Nashville, Tennessee, and trained at Harding Academy School of Dance from age 3 through 18, where she studied several styles of dance and, in 2008, began assistant teaching. She has attended summer intensives at the School of American Ballet, and on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Chautauqua Institution. As an apprentice at Chautauqua, she danced with Nashville Ballet in Balanchine’s Western Symphony. She also performed the role of the Dark Angel in Balanchine’s Serenade. As a member of the Hutton Honors College and a recipient of a Jacobs School of Music scholarship, Rhett is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Business. While at IU, she has performed in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker (most recently as the Snow Queen), Giselle as staged by Eve Lawson, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, Sasha Janes Sketches from Grace, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet, and the role of the Red Girl in Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels. She is also a teacher for the IU Pre-College Ballet Program.

Rachel Schultz is a junior at the Jacobs School of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Arts Management. She began her ballet training at age eight in Crystal Lake, Illinois, at the Judith Svalander School of Ballet. She has studied at ballet schools including Omaha Theater Ballet School under the direction of Robin Welch, Ruth Page Center for the Arts under the direction of Doloris Lipinski and Victor Alexander, Southold Dance Theater under Erica Fischbach, and in 2016, she graduated from Indiana Ballet Conservatory under the direction of Alyona Yakovleva-Randall. She also studied privately with Allen Fields, Ellen Huston, and Tatiana Pali. In 2016, Schultz won second place in the senior classical division at Youth America Grand Prix in Indianapolis. This past spring, she competed in the National Society of Arts and Letters for the Bloomington chapter and won a grant. During her time at IU, she has danced in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, Giselle, and as the soloist in Balanchine’s La Source.

Mary Kate Shearer is a sophomore from Ridgeland, Mississippi. She trained from age three with Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet, under the direction of Jennifer Beasley. Shearer joined Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Ballet Theater in January 2018. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in English, and plans to minor in French. She has attended summer intensive programs at Atlanta Ballet, The Rock School for Dance Education, Colorado Ballet, USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Boston Ballet, and the Jacobs School of Music. With Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet, Shearer has performed leading roles in The Nutcracker and Kristy Nilsson’s Frozen Heart as well as works by choreographers including Leaia Alsup, Andrew Brader, John Magnus, and Sara Sanford at the annual Southeastern Regional Ballet Festival. At Jacobs, Shearer was featured as the Yellow Lady in Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels.

Brandon Silverman started dancing at age five and immediately fell in love with ballet. He studied at the pre-professional level under Marcia Dale Weary for three years. While at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, he performed in Lazlo Berdo’s Carnival of the Animals and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, and originated one of the demi-soloist roles in Alan Hineline’s Brio. In 2016, he joined Pennsylvania Regional Ballet, where he performed in its production of The Nutcracker as the Harlequin, Snow King, and Arabian Prince. During the 2017-18 season, Silverman was a finalist in the Kennedy Center Master Series Program and received a full scholarship to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s 2019 Summer Intensive from the 2018 Regional Dance America Northeast Festival. He is a freshman double majoring in ballet performance and finance.

Lauren Smolka, a senior from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, began dancing ballet at age three. Her passion for ballet began to develop at age 13, when she was admitted into the pre-professional division at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT). She performed in Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s company production of The Nutcracker as a Snowflake and a Flower alongside company members. In PBT school performances, she performed in David Lichine’s Graduation Ball and Marius Petipa’s La Bayadere. Smolka has also performed in works by George Balanchine, including Snowflakes, Raymonda Variations, Concerto Barocco, Elegies, Divertimento No. 15, La Source,and Valse Fantaisie.She has also performed in Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels and Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet. One of her most memorable performances is dancing the role of the Oboe in Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare at IU. She has attended summer intensive programs at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre.

Caroline Tonks is currently a junior at the Jacobs School of Music pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance. She grew up in Huntington, New York, where she trained at the Lynch School of Ballet under the direction of Karen Lynch, Elizabeth Aymong, and Ian Thatcher. Tonks has attended summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ballet Met, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Sarasota Ballet, Ballet West, and the Art Of program in Madrid and Zürich. At IU, she has performed in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, Giselle, George Balanchine’s Valse-Fantasie and La Source, Mark Morris’s Sandpaper, Sasha Janes’ Playground Teasers, and the third Odalisque variation from Le Corsaire. She is a recipient of the Premier Young Artist Award from the Jacobs School of Music.

Anna Lisa Wilkins was born and raised in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Italian as well as a Bachelor of Science in Finance. She hopes to dance with a professional ballet company after graduation. At the Jacobs School of Music, she has been involved with many of the opera and ballet performances, either as a dancer in the ballets or working for the costume department for the operas. Her repertoire at IU includes Concerto Barocco, The Nutcracker, Divertimento No. 15, Fanfare, Flower Festival in Genzano, Sandpaper Ballet,and N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz. She has been involved with the IU Pre-College Ballet Program, both in teaching and choreographic roles. This year, Wilkins also became involved with community outreach through the Ballet Department helping to establish the Bloomington Ballet Ensemble to share further performance opportunities with the Bloomington community.

Sarah Young was born in Bloomington, Indiana, where she began her ballet training in the Pre-College Ballet Program at the Jacobs School of Music. By the time she was in high school, she had attended summer intensives at the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Houston Ballet. She continued her training under Peter Boal at the Professional Division Program at Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she danced alongside the professional company in numerous roles, including in George Balanchine’s Diamonds, Alexi Ratmansky’s Don Quixote, and Kent Stowell’s The Nutcracker. A senior, Young is a double major pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance at Jacobs and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing at the Kelley School of Business. She remains an active participant in Jacobs, Kelley, and the Hutton Honors College.

Corey Boatner is a senior B.F.A student studying contemporary dance. He has been in such notable works as Kyle Abraham’s Radio Show, Jose Limon’s Psalm, Andrea Miller’s Spill, and Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare. He took a semester off school to perform overseas with Norwegian Creative Studios

Diamond Burdine’s love for dance began in Elkhart, Indiana, where he trained in hip-hop at Concord Dance Studio. During that time, he also trained with Tremaine Dance under Tony Bellissimo as a company member. Following graduation, Burdine entered the Indiana University Contemporary Dance Program, where he began his classical training in ballet and modern, and is currently pursuing his B.F.A. He has danced in Gallim’s reworked piece Spill and Bill T. Jones’ D-Man in the Waters, among other works

Maddy Grande, from Westchester, New York, is currently a junior at Indiana University majoring in contemporary dance. She trained in dance for most of her life at Breaking Ground Dance Center, a competition studio. She has performed at many competitions and in multiple IU productions, such as New Moves, SLIP, and the MoCo showcase.

Meredith Johnson is from Arlington, Virginia, and is currently a senior at Indiana University pursuing a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance. At IU, she has performed in works by Elizabeth Shea, Stephanie Nugent, and Andrea Miller of Gallim Dance. She has also performed in works set by other students in the Junior Choreographic Showcase and in New Moves, the Senior Capstone Concert. In addition, she has choreographed for From Here On, Dances for A Future Time, and Fusion, a student-organized performance showcasing InMotion Dance Company. Johnson spent her previous semester studying contemporary dance at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel, where she worked closely with previous Batsheva company members, such as Yaniv Abraham, Yaara Moses, Noa Paran, and Noa Zuk, and also with Noa Wertheim of Vertigo Dance Company. After returning to the United States, Johnson spent the summer studying with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago faculty at their Pre-Professional Summer Intensive

Megan Kudla is a junior from Arlington Heights, Illinois, pursuing a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance, B.A. in English, and minor in Spanish. She has performed in Bodies of Light (2018), the Contemporary Dance Department’s Junior Choreographic Projects (2016-17), and New Moves (2017-18). She is a member of the Hutton Honors College and received the National Society of Arts and Letters Contemporary Dance Marina Svetlova Memorial Award in 2018. Along with participation and choreography within organizations such as University Players and InMotion Dance Company, she has served as secretary and co-social media chair of Movement Exchange and currently serves on the Event Planning Committee of Movement Cooperative. After learning Spanish and volunteering at a ballet academy in San José, Kudla now plans to travel and teach dance, English, and Spanish to both Spanish and English speakers.

Carly Liegel is a sophomore at IU studying dance and pre-physical therapy. From Madison, Wisconsin, she grew up studying ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, and contemporary. She has attended summer intensives with Chicago National Association of Dance Masters (CNADM), Inaside Chicago Dance, Ballet Chicago, and The Joffrey Ballet. She won the title of Miss Dance Masters of Wisconsin 2017, and, this past summer, she was awarded a college and merit scholarship from CNADM. This is her first time performing in the Fall Ballet, having performed last year in From Here on: Dances for a Future Time and New Moves for Indiana University Contemporary Dance.

Jay Man began dancing at age in the Indianapolis area, with primary focuses in ballet, contemporary, and jazz. Majoring in contemporary dance, he started at IU in 2015, where he performed in various works in the Contemporary Dance Department’s annual winter concert. He has performed works created by José Limón, Bill T. Jones, and Jerome Robbins. Man has traveled to perform works by Elizabeth Shea in Philadelphia and New York City, as well as performing a work for Phoenix Rising dance company at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals conference in New York City. He is currently pursuing a B.S. in Informatics, with a focus on implementing technology with fine arts.

Madison McCarthy is currently a junior pursuing a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance. Within the program, she has performed in the 2018 winter dance concert Bodies of Light, Junior Choreographic Showcases of 2016 and 2017, Senior Choreographic Showcases of 2017 and 2018, and student-run shows by the Movement Cooperative and University Players. She plans to become a contemporary dance instructor and choreographer.