SANTIAGO BEDOYA, originally from Medellín, Colombia, began training at Andrea Wolff Ballet in his hometown at the age of eight and attended the summer intensive programs at Miami City Ballet from 2015 to 2017. At the age of 14 in 2017, Bedoya received a scholarship to Idyllwild Arts Academy, a boarding school for the arts in L.A., and moved there to combine his high school studies with dance training. In 2018, he attended the Houston Ballet summer intensive program and received a full scholarship to the professional division. He graduated after three years. During his time at the Houston Ballet Academy, he had the opportunity to perform works by Houston Ballet Artistic Director and Choreographer Stanton Welch A.M, as well as various performances throughout the year-round school program. In 2021, Bedoya was offered a contract with Atlanta Ballet 2, where he was able to expand his training and experience, dance alongside company dancers in a number of their productions, and perform leading roles in the second company. Bedoya was promoted to Atlanta Ballet at the start of the 24|25 season.
Company Ballet Dancers
SEVERIN BROTSCHUL's training commenced at the Dance Conservatory of Maryland and was further refined at the Academy of International Ballet in Media, Pennsylvania. He continued his studies at the Houston Ballet Academy, where he was fortunate to join the junior company. Recognized for his dedication and artistry, Brotschul was honored with a Professional Program Academy Award. In 2020, he moved to Atlanta to dance in the Atlanta Ballet 2. He joined Atlanta Ballet in 2022.
KHULAN BURENJARGAL was born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and studied at the Mongolian State Conservatory from 2015 to 2022. After graduating, she danced major roles such as Odile in Swan Lake and The Queen of Dryads in Don Quixote, among various other classical and national repertoire pieces at the prestigious Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet. Burenjargal was also a valued member of the Nomadic Ballet production. In 2023, she became a soloist at The National Buryatia Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, where she performed iconic roles such as Giselle in Giselle, Nikiya in La Bayadere, Niriti in Talisman, and Prelude and Seventh Valse in Chopiniana, among others. While in Buryatia, Russia, she had the honor of working with the legendary Andris Liepa. Burenjargal’s talent has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the Gold medal of the Mongolian International Ballet Competition, the Mongolian Grand Prix, the Silver medal of the Korea International Ballet Competition, and the Bronze medal of the World Ballet Grand Prix. She is thrilled to be joining Atlanta Ballet for the 24|25 season.
GEORGIE GRACE BUTLER is 24 years old and from Roswell, Georgia. She began her training at the Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance. In 2015, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to train at Boston Ballet School as a pre-professional student. She danced roles in Mika Nissinen’s The Nutcracker, Raymonda, and The Sleeping Beauty. In 2018, Butler became a trainee at Pennsylvania Ballet. There she danced roles in Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Angel Corella’s Giselle, and The Sleeping Beauty. She joined Atlanta Ballet 2 in 2019, and has danced in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker, August Bournonville’s Napoli, George Balanchine’s Serenade, and in Giselle, Don Quixote, and Paquita. She has also danced the roles of The Evil Queen in Snow White and Belle in Beauty and the Beast, both choreographed by Bruce Wells. Butler had her choreographic debut in 2020 with No Ordinary Love that premiered at the Georgia Tech Arts: Skyline Series. She is looking forward to her second season with Atlanta Ballet.
EMILY CARRICO was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, and received her classical ballet training from Kentucky Ballet Theatre Academy, The HARID Conservatory and The Art of Classical Ballet. She has danced professionally with Kentucky Ballet Theatre, Columbia City Ballet and currently with Atlanta Ballet. Carrico feels fortunate to have performed principal roles, such as Kitri in Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, the Sylph in Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide, and Marie in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker. Along with dancing many other classical ballets, she has performed works by Helgi Tomasson, Mark Morris, George Balanchine, Liam Scarlett, Stanton Welch, Dwight Rhoden, Ricardo Amarante, Yury Yanowski, John McFall, Craig Davidson, Max Petrov, Claudia Schreier and Mark Godden. In May of 2019, she was named Dance Magazine’s dancer “on the rise.” Aside from dancing, Carrico is very passionate about teaching ballet and has been a part of the Atlanta Ballet Summer Intensive faculty for four consecutive years.
MICHAEL CAYE was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where began his training at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School and the Point Park University International Summer Dance Program. At 16, Caye was a finalist at Youth America Grand Prix and received a scholarship with Miami City Ballet Pre-Professional Program under the direction of Arantxa Ochoa, the same year. While in Miami, Caye performed roles such as George Balanchine’s Tarantella, Mathew Neenan’s Penumbra and works by Durante Verzola and Ariel Rose. During his last year in Miami, he was given the opportunity to choreograph on the pre-professional students and perform in West Side Story Suite with the Miami City Ballet company. Caye then was a Company Dancer with Nevada Ballet Theater in Las Vegas, under the direction of Roy Kaiser. He performed many principal and soloist roles, the most notable of which included Frederick in Ben Stevenson’s Dracula, Kaschie in Yuri Possokov’s Firebird, and Melancholic in George Balanchine’s Four Temperaments. Caye is beginning his fourth season with Atlanta Ballet where you may have seen him in the Peasant Pas in Giselle, as the lead soloist in Justin Peck's Increases, and as the Red man in Darian Kane’s Dr. Rainbow, among others.
CATHERINE CONLEY was born in Chicago and began her formal dance training at the Ruth Page School of Dance. She danced as Swanhilda in Coppélia and appeared in Civic Ballet of Chicago productions. At age 18, she participated in an exchange program between Ruth Page and the National Ballet School of Cuba. Conley was subsequently invited to train in Havana full time—a first for an American ballerina. While there, she performed as Gulnare and Medora in Le Corsaire, and competed in the International Competition for Ballet Schools in Havana, winning the silver medal with the pas de deux from Paquita. In 2017, Conley entered the National Ballet of Cuba as the company’s only foreign dancer. During her time with the company, she performed in Giselle, Swan Lake and Cinderella, as well as Queen of the Nymphs in Alberto Mendez’s La Fille du Danube. She then went on to dance with Milwaukee Ballet, performing in Coppélia, The Nutcracker and Rise by Nicole Teague-Howell. Conley joined Atlanta Ballet in 2020 and has performed works by George Balanchine, Johan Kobborg, Cathy Marston, Guillherme Maciel, Mark Morris, Juliano Nunes, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Sergio Masero Olarte, Justin Peck, Yuri Possokhov, Kiyon Ross, Claudia Schreier and Remi Wörtmeyer.
LARISSA CAPITANIO DAL’SANTO was born in Chapecó, SC, Brazil. At age 11, Dal’Santo was approved with a full scholarship to study at the Bolshoi Theatre School in Brazil, where she studied for seven years, with renowned teachers and graduated in December 2018. Also in 2018, she was certified in the Bolshoi School Internship Program as an assistant teacher. She had the opportunity to rehearse with one of the most famous dancers in the world, Vladmir Vassiliev. In 2019, Dal’Santo joined Voronezh State Opera and Ballet Theatre as a soloist. In Russia, she performed complete ballets such as Romeo and Juliet as Juliet, Cipollino as Radish, Nutcracker as Masha (Marie), La Bayadere as Manu and Drum Dance soloist, Swan Lake as Little Swans and Neapolitan Dance soloist, as well as Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Le Corsaire, and others. In 2021, she was invited by the artistic director of Voronezh Theatre, Aleksander A. Lityagin, to perform a contemporary duet in the award “Soul of Dance,” which was based in the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow. In 2020 during the pandemic, she started an online project titled Ballet Couple (@ballet_couple), with Luiz Fernando Xavier, to share with Brazilian students and audiences about a professional ballet dancer’s life. Through this project, Dal'Santo was invited to give workshops and perform in many cities around Brazil, including Bolshoi School in Brazil during the Joinville Dance Festival which is the world's biggest dance festival (Guiness Record). She joined Atlanta Ballet in the 2022|2023 season and was cast in world premieres such as Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Yellow by Juliano Nunes, Querencia by Sergio Masero, and Significant Others by Remi Wörtmeyer. Dal'Santo is excited for her third season with the Company.
BROOKE GILLIAM is from Boulder, Colorado, and began her training at the Colorado Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Julia Wilkinson Manley. At 16, after attending the summer intensive, she was offered a merit scholarship to the Conservatory Program at Atlanta Ballet. From there, Gilliam was a part of Atlanta Ballet 2 for two seasons before her promotion to the main company in 2018. Since joining, some of her most noteworthy performances include The Shadow in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon, Russian Girls in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Garrett Smith's Corridors, Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, Juliano Nunes' Yellow, demi-soloist in Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, and Remi Wörtmeyer’s Significant Others. One of her most memorable moments with Atlanta Ballet has been touring and performing The Nutcracker at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This is Gilliam’s seventh season with Atlanta Ballet.
JESSICA HE, a native of Rancho Cucamonga, California, began her dance journey at Inland Pacific Ballet Academy. Her talent quickly flourished, leading her to join The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia on full scholarship in 2012. Further refining her artistry, Ms. He joined Houston Ballet II in 2015 and subsequently became a member of the esteemed Atlanta Ballet in 2017, where she is currently celebrating her eighth season with the company. She has since performed featured principal and soloist roles; some of her most memorable include George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Helgi Tomasson’s 7 for Eight, Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, George Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Jiří Kylián's Return to a Strange Land, Kiyon Ross’ Sum Stravinsky, Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine and world premiere Catch, Ricardo Amarante’s Love Fear Loss, Lar Lubovitch’s Elemental Brubeck, and Yuri Possokhov’s Firebird. Ms. He received praise and recognition as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2019 for her performances in Craig Davidson's world premiere Remembrance/Hereafter, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Who Cares?
GIANNA HORTON-SIBBLE was born in Hornell, New York, and began pursuing her ballet career in 2012 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania under the training of Marcia Dale Weary. There she performed many roles which included Juliet in Alan Hineline’s Romeo and Juliet, Waltz Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade, Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and more. In 2019, Horton-Sibble was accepted into the School of American Ballet for their winter term. While training at the School, she performed Valse Fantasie, Chaconne, Four Temperaments, Raymonda Variations, and several student choreographic pieces. In 2022, Horton-Sibble studied under former San Francisco Ballet principals Davit Karapetyan and Vanessa Zahorian at Pennsylvania Ballet Academy. During her time there, she performed Le Corsaire and competed in the Youth America Grand Prix Finals. This is Horton-Sibble’s first year with Atlanta Ballet as a company dancer, following two seasons with Atlanta Ballet 2. She is excited for the opportunities ahead in the 24|25 season.
AIRI IGARASHI was born in Gunma, Japan. She received her early training at the Reiko Yamamoto Ballet School and continued her training under John Neumeier at The Ballet School of the Hamburg Ballet in Germany, where she performed in Neumeier’s The Nutcracker and danced the role of Princess Florine in Marius Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty. She won first place at the All Japan Ballet Competition in 2011 and third place in 2015. In addition, she was a semi-finalist at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition in Switzerland in 2013 and 2015. Igarashi joined Atlanta Ballet in 2017, and she has performed principal roles such as Kitri in Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, The Sylph in Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide, Marie in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker, Firebird in Yuri Possokhov’s Firebird and Giselle in Marius Petipa’s Giselle. She has also performed works by Liam Scarlett, Helgi Tomasson, Mark Morris, Jili Kylian, George Balanchine, Kiyon Ross, John McFall, Stanton Welch, Ohad Naharin, Dwight Rhoden, Ricardo Amarante, Craig Davidson, Max Petrov, Claudia Schreier, Remi Wörtmeyer, Ben Stevenson and Cathy Marston. Igarashi was named as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2020.
DARIAN KANE is from northern California where she received her dance training at the Capitol Ballet Center in Sacramento, under the direction of Stuart Carroll and Sharon Newton. From 2015 to 2018, she danced with BalletMet2 and BalletMet in Columbus, where she performed in Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16 and Gustavo Ramírez Sansano’s Carmen, as Cigaretta. This is her sixth season with Atlanta Ballet. In past seasons, some of her favorite roles include performing in Alexander Eckman’s Cacti, Return to a Strange Land from Jiří Kylián, and dancing the third movement principal in Sum Stravinsky choreographed by Kiyon Ross. Most recently, she performed in Claudia Shreier’s Fauna, danced the role of Myrtha in Gennadi Nedvigin’s re-staging of Giselle, and danced Arabian in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker. In 2020, she appeared as the dancer in an episode of Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories on Apple TV+. She began choreographing on the Company in 2021 with the beginning of her ballet Dr. Rainbow’s Infinity Mirror and in 2022, she expanded that work into a full, world premiere ballet as part of the Company’s Firebird program.
MATOI KAWAMOTO, originally from Tokyo, Japan, began her early ballet training at the Kaneta Kouno Ballet Academy in Japan. She continued her training at San Francisco Ballet School, where she received a David Palmer scholarship, and completed the Architanz Training Program in Tokyo before starting her professional career. Kawamoto’s career has seen her dance with companies such as Balletmet and Opéra National de Bordeaux, before joining Atlanta Ballet in 2024. She has also been recognized at numerous international competitions, most recently winning the 1st Professional Prize at the Rudolf Nureyev Concours in 2024. Other awards include 2nd prizes at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition, Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), and the All Japan Ballet Union Competition. Kawamoto has performed a diverse range of roles in both classical and contemporary ballets, in productions such as Pas de Deux, Pas de Trois, and Pas de Quatre in Swan Lake, Pas de Deux in Sleeping Beauty, Kitri in Don Quixote, Clara in The Nutcracker, La Sylphide (Bournonville), Don Quichotte by José Martinez, and Grand Pas Classique, some of which were also performed in by-invitation galas. In addition to her classical repertoire, Kawamoto has also performed contemporary works such as Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, Justin Peck’s Times Are Racing, Edward Liang’s Murmuration, Tributary, and Dorothy and the Prince of Oz, Ulysses Dove’s Vespers, David Nixon’s Dracula and Roland Petit’s Notre Dame de Paris. This is her first season with Atlanta Ballet.
SOJUNG LEE, from South Korea, began her early ballet training at age six, in her mom’s studio, and continued training at the Korea National Institute for Gifted in Arts, Yewon Arts School and Seoul Arts High School. She entered the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul two years earlier than her classmates, and went on to receive multiple awards in world competitions, such as a Gold medal from Youth America Grand Prix in 2009. Lee was also a finalist in the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2014. Upon graduation, she joined Boston Ballet in 2016. At the Boston Ballet, under the direction of Mikko Nissinen, Russell Kaiser and Larissa Ponomarenko, Lee performed works from Marius Petipa, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, John Cranko, August Bournonville, Sir Frederick Ashton, Mikko Nissinen and Jorma Elo. She also danced with the BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio, for one season. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Lee briefly returned to Korea and continued to perform with the Busan Ballet Theatre. In 2021, Lee accepted the offer to join Atlanta Ballet and made her debut as Marie in The Nutcracker that same year. This season marks her fourth with Atlanta Ballet, and she is excited to be part of a company that will continue to captivate audiences.
JORDAN LEEPER, a native of Jamestown, New York, began dancing at age 12 with the Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet and later studied at San Francisco Ballet. Leeper danced with Charlotte Ballet under the direction of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride, performing at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during Ballet Across America in 2013. He has performed works by Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Jiří Bubeníček, Sasha Janes, Mark Diamond and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, among others. He has been a guest artist with Metropolitan Ballet Theatre and City Ballet of Wilmington. He also danced with Complexions Contemporary Ballet under Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson during the company’s 20th-anniversary season at the Joyce Theater in New York City.
GUILHERME MACIEL began his studies at the age of 11 in São Paulo, Brazil. He studied at renowned schools, such as Ballet Adriana Assaf and Raça Centro de Artes e Especial Academia de Ballet. In 2006, he attended The HARID Conservatory's Summer Program in Boca Raton, Florida, where he followed his studies for the following year. Maciel was awarded as a dancer and choreographer in important dance competitions in Brazil, standing out among them, Passo de Arte, Festival de Danças de Joinville, Premio Desterro, among others. In 2006 and 2008, he was a Bronze medalist in the senior category and Best Choreographer in 2016 at the Youth America Grand Prix finals in New York, where he received a scholarship for Houston Ballet II. Maciel was a dancer at São Paulo Dance Company, directed by Iracity Cardoso and Inês Bogea from 2008 to 2010. He participated in the 2011 and 2017 editions of The Nutcracker of the Black Swan Dance Company directed by Hulda Bittencourt and Dani Bittencourt. In 2013, Maciel was a guest dancer of the galas “Black Swan” and “The Virtuous of the Ballet World” on tour in Russia. In 2017, he was the first Brazilian to participate in the Workshop for Young Choreographers at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, as a choreographer and dancer. In 2018, Maciel was a guest professor at the “Cloche Ballet” summer course in Cordoba, Argentina, and judged at the Danza National Contest in Paraguay. Under the direction of Vinicius Anselmo, he performed as a dancer in the production of Intuição Cia de Ballet "Epifania" in 2019. Maciel was the artistic director and resident choreographer of the Grupo Jovem Paulista em São Paulo, Brazil, between 2012 and 2019. This is his sixth season with Atlanta Ballet.
SERGIO MASERO is from Madrid, Spain, and began his training at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Mariemma. He continued his training on scholarship at San Francisco Ballet School. Masero then joined Ballet Memphis where he performed lead roles, such as Romeo in Steven McMahon’s Romeo & Juliet, and Swan Lake; Matthew Neenan’s Water of the Flowery Mill; and in works by Mark Godden, Gabrielle Lamb and Joshua Pugh. Since joining Atlanta Ballet, Masero has performed principal roles such as Basilio in Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote; James in Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide; and the Nutcracker Prince in the world premiere of Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker. He’s also been featured in ballets by Helgi Tomasson, Stanton Welch, Mark Morris and Craig Davidson, among others. Aside from dancing, Masero enjoys the world of choreography. He created two pieces on his colleagues at Ballet Memphis and two full-length productions for the Dance Academy of Bartlett, in Tennessee. After the success of his first creation for Atlanta Ballet’s Silver Linings program, Teneo Integrum, he was commissioned to create two other another pieces. Schubertiada, a piece that featured an all-male corps de ballet, debuted in May of 2022, and Querencia, a breathtaking portrayal of love and longing, debuted in May of 2024, to great acclaim.
JULIANA MISSANO was born in Lloyd Harbor, New York, and began studying ballet at age five. She trained at the Lynch School of Ballet until she was 15, and then continued her training at The Rock School under the direction of Bo and Stephanie Spassoff. In 2017, Missano was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts and performed at the Kennedy Center. She has competed in the Youth America Grand Prix, receiving the Grand Prix Award, placing first in the pas de deux category and advancing to the final round where she performed at Lincoln Center. This is Missano’s eighth season with Atlanta Ballet. Some of her favorite repertoire include Gemma Bond’s Denouement, Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, Claudia Schreier’s Nighthawks and Kiyon Ross’ Sum Stravinsky.
MIGUEL ANGEL MONTOYA was born in Cali, Colombia, and began his training at the Colombiano de Ballet and Incoballet. He continued to dance with Incoballet Company under the direction of Gloria Castro de Martínez. In 2008, Montoya moved to Philadelphia to attend The Rock School. In 2010, he reached the second round semifinals in the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as the Youth America Grand Prix New York City finals. In 2012, as an Atlanta Ballet apprentice, he originated roles in Twyla Tharp’s The Princess & the Goblin. Other favorite roles include the Slave in Le Corsaire and Basilio in Don Quixote. He joined the Atlanta Ballet company in 2013. He has performed in such notable ballets as Jorden Morris’ Moulin Rouge® - The Ballet, Michael Pink’s Dracula, Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16, Gina Patterson’s I AM, Helen Pickett’s Camino Real, Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush and Alexei Ratmansky’s Seven Sonatas. Montoya has been featured in the Paquita Pas de Trois, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort.
MARIUS MORAWSKI graduated from the State Ballet School in his hometown of Łódź, Poland. As a student, he won several national and international competitions. He participated in various dance workshops, including Ellison Ballet Summer Intensive, Arts Ballet Theater of Florida, and Dance Open Festival, among others. In 2017, he joined the Finnish National Ballet Junior Company and after two years was promoted to Corps de Ballet, where he danced soloist roles in ballets such as La Bayadere (Natalia Makarova), Infra (Wayne McGregor), and Carmen (Liam Scarlet), and has performed in works by Alexander Ekman, John Neumeier, August Bournonville, Carolyn Carlson, Patrice Bart, Jorma Elo, Anjelin Preljocal, and Val Caniparoli, among others. In 2021, he joined Tulsa Ballet, where he danced in repertoire created by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Yury Yanowsky, Andy Blankenbuehler, Katarzyna Kozielska, Andrew McNicol, Ma Cong, Jennifer Weber, Craig Davidson, Nicolo Fonte, Kenneth Tindall, Itzik Galili, and Alexander Ekman. As a young choreographer, Morawski has presented his own creations at many different dance galas in the Czech Republic, Russia, Belarus, Hungary, Poland, and on TV shows. He choreographed for Tulsa Ballet Centre for Dance Education and won first place and four special awards at the IX International Choreography Competition in Poland. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Dance Pedagogy and Science from Chopin University of Music in Poland. Morawski joined Atlanta Ballet in the 23|24 season.
MAYU NAKAYAMA is from Tochigi, Japan, and began her ballet training at the age of five at Osozawa Ballet Studio. In 2018, she moved to the U.S. after receiving a full scholarship from the HARID Conservatory at the Japan Grand Prix. There she danced leading roles, such as Sugarplum in Nutcracker, until her graduation in 2022 with a Fred Lieberman Award for Excellence in recognition of outstanding academic achievement, exceptional artistic accomplishment, and exemplary student leadership. In 2022, Nakayama joined Atlanta Ballet 2 and performed the enchantress in Beauty and the Beast. She also performed with Atlanta Ballet in Serenade, Yuri Possokhov's The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, La Sylphide, Sandpaper Ballet, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon. She also danced the roles of Cinderella and Fairy Godmother in Atlanta Ballet 2’s Cinderella by Bruce Wells. Nakayama is very honored and excited to be a part of the company this season.
DENYS NEDAK was born in Odessa, Ukraine. In 2005, he began to study in the Kyiv Municipal Ukraine Dance Academy, named after Serge Lyfar. While in the Academy he was invited to perform at the National Opera House in Kyiv, where he danced his first professional performances as Paris in Romeo and Juliet and Prince in The Nutcracker. After graduation, Nedak joined National Opera House of Ukraine in Kyiv, working under the supervision and guidance of a People's Artist of Ukraine, N.D Pryadchenko, to create his repertoire. In 2008, Nedak became principal dancer. He has become known as a performer of lyrical-romantic repertoire at National Opera House of Ukraine. In the theatre he frequently partners with leading ballerinas, including E. Filipeva, T. Golyakova, N. Matsak, U. Lopatkina, N. Polakova, V. Part and P. Herrera. In 2011, Nedak was honored with the title of Merited Artist of Ukraine. His popularity in Ukraine has led to many invitations to perform at international festivals. He is a regular guest artist at the, Rudolf Nureyev International Festival of Ballet Art in Ufa. Since 2014, Nedak performed as a regular guest at the National Theater of Serbia; from 2014 to 2015, as a guest dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Vienna State Opera; from 2016 to2017, as a guest dancer in the Finnish National Opera and Ballet; and the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet. He worked with teachers, such as N. Pryadchenko, V. Yaremenko, N. Makarova, I. Kolpakova, I. Muchamedov, M. Legris, J. Boocca, and O. Evreinoff. In 2017, Nedak was honored with the prestigious title of People’s Artist of the Ukraine. He now travels frequently throughout Russia, France, Italy, Germany and Japan to show his skill. Nedak’s repertoire includes: Solor in La Bayadere, Basil in Don Quixote (Nureyev), Prince in The Sleeping Beauty (Ratmansky), Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake (Nureyev), Albert in Giselle, Jose and Escamilio in Carmen Suite, Jean de Brienne in Raymonda, Conrad in Le Corsaire, Prince in The Nutcracker, Krass in Spartacus, The Golden Slave in Scheherazade and Alexandre in Lady of Camellias, as well as roles in a Classic Pas de Deux (Balanchine), a Grand Pas de Deux (Ober), Silvia Pas de Deux (Balanchine), Red Giselle as Chekist (Eifman) and Touch of illusion (Ricardo Amarante).
CARRAIG NEW was born in Juneau, Alaska. He is a graduate of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography where he studied classical Russian technique with Bolshoi Theatre first soloist Denis Medvedev. He performed on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Yuri Grigorovich’s staging of La Fille Mal Gardée, dancing in the Gypsy Dance as one of the four friends, as well as being featured as a demi-soloist. He also performed as a soloist in La Bayadère's Dance of the Drum. New performed on the Bolshoi Historical Stage in A Tribute to Marius Petipa, which included Danse des Forbans from Le Corsaire. He was invited to dance as the guest artist at the premier performances of the Ballet de Barcelona, in Spain and France. He joined Atlanta Ballet 2 in 2018-2019. New has performed Arabian, Russian, Mice and Skier in Yuri Possokhov's reimagined production of The Nutcracker; the Beast in Bruce Wells’ Beauty and the Beast; Von Rothbart and Benno in Bruce Wells’ The Swan Princess; Dance of the Wedding Guests in La Sylphide; and a leading role in Volar, a contemporary ballet choreographed by Nadia Mara.
MADISON PENNEY was born and raised in Arizona, began dancing at a very young age and trained in all different disciplines of dance. When she was eight years old, she decided to focus on ballet training and joined Master Ballet Academy, in Scottsdale Arizona. Penney continuously kept growing as a dancer and an artist. Among her many accolades and awards are winning the Gold Medal at the World Ballet Competition in 2015, the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Hope Award winner at regionals and finals in 2016, the 2017 Youth Grand Prix award at YAGP regionals and finals, and the American Dance Competition (ADC) /International Ballet Competition (IBC) Grand Prix award. Penney has performed in many productions around the world. She received The Royal Ballet School International Scholar from Christopher Powney in 2017 and began her full-time training at the Royal Ballet School upper school in 2020 where she performed Playfully So by Valentino Zucchetti. She performed in roles in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker and Don Quixote. Penney graduated from the Royal Ballet School in 2023 where she received a contract from Birmingham Royal Ballet, the special award ‘3rd Year Artistic Prize for Progress and Endeavour’ and had the honor of being chosen to perform The Principal role as ‘Raymonda’ in The Royal Opera House. Madison is now 20 years old, and this will be her second season with Atlanta Ballet.
SOPHIE POULAIN began dancing at the age of three in her hometown of Halifax, NS, and ten years later began her pre-professional ballet training at Canada's National Ballet School. At 15, she moved to Florida to continue her training at The Art of Classical Ballet under the direction and guidance of Magaly Suarez and during her time there, qualified and competed in the Youth America Grand Prix NYC Finals (2018, 2019). Following her performance in the 2019 Youth America Grand Prix Finals, Poulain was offered a position in the Dutch National Ballet Academy’s BA program, where she spent the following two years. While in Amsterdam, Poulain danced with the corps de ballet of the Dutch National Ballet in Wayne Eagling and Toer van Schayk's The Nutcracker, and in Rachel Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamante's Giselle. In 2021, she was awarded the Youth Grand Prix Award at the Youth America Grand Prix Canada competition and was also awarded Top 12 in the contemporary dance category at the Youth America Grand Prix International Finals. Upon graduation from The National Ballet Academy, Poulain began her professional career back in Canada with the Alberta Ballet and in 2022, returned to Florida to work with her beloved coach, Magaly Suarez. In 2023, Poulain joined Tulsa Ballet II and was fortunate to be able to work with choreographers such as Derek Dean (Strictly Gershwin) and Yury Yanowsky (The Sun Sleeps). She is very excited to be joining Atlanta Ballet for the 24|25 season.
ÁNGEL RAMÍREZ was born in Trinidad, Cuba, and trained for eight years at the National Ballet School of Cuba in Havana, winning the gold medal in the Cuban International Ballet Competition his graduating year. Upon graduation, he was accepted into the National Ballet of Cuba and performed in classics such as Giselle, Theme and Variations and Don Quixote, as well as in works by Alberto Mendez and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Ramirez was invited to train at The Rock School in Philadelphia and competed in Youth American Grand Prix the following year, winning the Grand Prix Award in Philadelphia. Most recently, he danced with the Georgia Ballet performing principal roles in various classical ballets. Ramirez joined Atlanta Ballet in 2021 and has danced works by Cathy Marston, Claudia Schreier, Yuri Possokhov, Justin Peck, Kiyon Ross, Helgi Tomasson and Remi Wörtmeyer.
MIKAELA SANTOS was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. She began her ballet training at Effie Nañas School of Classical Ballet. In 2014, she was awarded second place at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Ballet Competition. In 2016, she was among the top 15 finalists at the World Ballet Competition. Santos joined the Philippine Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in March 2016. At the age of 17, Mikaela joined the Fellowship program of Atlanta Ballet and later became a Company apprentice in 2017 and was promoted to the Company in 2018. She took the summer intensive at Jacob’s Pillow. Santos was featured in performances such as Kitri in Don Quixote, Peasant Pas de Deux, Zulma in Giselle, Marie in The Nutcracker, Coco in Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon, Mattie in Snowblind, and Effie in La Sylphide. She had the opportunity to work with renowned choreographers such as Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Juliano Nunes, Claudia Schreier, Yuri Possokhov, Johan Kobborg, Gemma Bond, Craig Davidson, Helgi Tomasson, Maxim Petrov, Kiyon Ross, Dwight Rhoden, and Viki Physos, to name a few. In 2023, Santos was among Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch, and in 2024, she was the Digital Cover of Pointe Magazine's May/June issue.
ANDERSON SOUZA, born in Santo Angelo, Brazil, received his training at the Conservatório Brasileiro de Dança under Jorge Teixeira. After graduating, he joined the Cia Brasileira de Ballet in Rio de Janeiro, dancing principal and soloist roles and competing in national and international competitions, including the Beijing International Ballet Competition. Souza traveled with the Company to perform in Colombia, China, Israel, and France. In 2013, Anderson joined Gelsey Kirkland Ballet, where he matured his artistry under the unique guidance of Kirkland. His talent received praise from national critics, including those at The New York Times. He has had the pleasure of dancing roles in renowned ballets such as The Nutcracker (by Yuri Possokhov), La Sylphide as Gurn (staged by Johan Kobborg), Sum Stravinsky (by Kiyon Ross), Sandpaper Ballet (by Mark Morris), Tuplet (by Alexander Ekman), and the world premiere of Catch (by Liam Scarlett). Anderson is thrilled to be joining Atlanta Ballet for his ninth season, having joined the company in 2016.
PAXTON SPEIGHT is from York County, Virginia, where he began pursuing musical theater at Centerstage Academy. In 2018, he began studying at Eastern Virginia School of the Performing Arts with Ron Boucher. A year later, he began classical ballet training at International Ballet Academy in Cary, North Carolina, under the direction of Nadia Pavlenko. It wasn’t until 2021 that he realized dancing was the dream he wanted to pursue for his early career. While in North Carolina, Speight had the privilege of competing in international dance competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix and American Dance Championships Youth International Ballet Competition, where he accepted a position at Atlanta Ballet 2. After two years with Atlanta Ballet’s second company, he joins Atlanta Ballet for the 24|25 season. Speight is looking forward to the opportunity to perform with such a versatile and talented company and is delighted to join Atlanta Ballet alongside fellow Atlanta Ballet 2 graduates.
EMANUEL TAVARES began studying dance at the age of 14 in his hometown of Fortaleza, Brazil, at the Instituto de Dança Goretti Quintela. He has been celebrated at many dance festivals and has received national and international scholarships, including the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition in New York and IBStage in Barcelona. Tavares became a professional dancer in 2016 with Especial Academia de Ballet in São Paulo, Brazil, where he performed principal roles such as Siegfried in Swan Lake, Solor in La Bayadère, Ali in Le Corsaire, and Jean de Brienne in Raymonda. At the age of 19, he joined the Virginia National Ballet in Virginia as a Soloist and was soon promoted to Principal Dancer. In 2021, Tavares joined Cleveland Ballet, where he performed Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, George Balanchine’s Serenade, and was the principal soloist in Ilia Zhivoy’s Symphony of Life. His most recent performances with Cleveland Ballet was the Raven and Lilac Fairy Cavalier in Robert Weiss’ Sleeping Beauty. He has also been a guest artist and performed in Urushima Taro & By George, with Ballet Hawaii in Honolulu. In 2024, he performed Prince Desiré in Sleeping Beauty with Toledo Ballet. Tavares is a Jacob’s Pillow Alumni from the Contemporary Ballet summer program in 2024, where he has performed works by acclaimed choreographers Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Silas Farley. This is his first season with Atlanta Ballet.
MUNKHJIN ULZIIJARGAL received a full scholarship to study at Perm Ballet School when he was ten years old and completed his studies as a professional ballet dancer in 2018. He started his career as first soloist at Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in 2018. During his college years, Ulziijargal participated in the Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition (IBCC) in 2017 and was awarded the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) special award. In 2019, he was awarded the silver medal from the 1st Russian Japanese Eurasian Ballet Competition, and in 2022, received a Diplomat award from the Moscow International Ballet Competition. That same year he participated in the Korea International Ballet Competition 2022 and was awarded the Gold medal. In 2023, Ulziijargal became the dancer of the year in Mongolia and received the National award “Mungun Mod”. His latest achievement was the Robert Joffrey Award of Merit from the USA International Ballet Competition (USA IBC 2023). Ulziijargal joined Atlanta Ballet for the 23|24 Season.
KELSEY VAN TINE was born in Naples, Florida, and trained at the Naples Dance Conservatory under the direction of Abdelazis Roque. Van Tine is proud to have worked with coaches/choreographers Anna Patsfall, Roberto Sifontes, Kirt Hathaway, Andres Arambula, world renowned “Cuban Jewel” Aurora Bosch and Alla Osipenko, to name a few. In 2009, Van Tine joined Kentucky Ballet Theatre as an apprentice and was promoted to company dancer within her first season. At the end of the 2012|13 season, she was promoted to principal dancer by Artistic Director Norbe Risco. During her time at Kentucky Ballet Theatre, Van Tine performed not only the entire Kentucky Ballet Theatre repertoire but a wide range of roles in many classical, neoclassical and contemporary works, as well. This is her fourth season with Atlanta Ballet. Upon joining Atlanta Ballet in 2021, Van Tine performed Marie in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker, The Princess in Yuri Possokhov’s The Firebird, and as Peasant Pas De Deux in Giselle, as well as works by Johan Kobborg, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Kiyon Ross, Juliano Nunes, Mark Morris, Sergio Masero and Claudia Schreier.
SPENCER WETHERINGTON is from Bridgeton, New Jersey, and began dancing at age four at his local studio. He continued his training at the School of Philadelphia Ballet, formerly the School of Pennsylvania Ballet. Upon graduation from St. Augustine College Preparatory School, Wetherington went on to study at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography, also known as the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. With the academy, he performed variations from Flames of Paris, Napoli and La Bayadere, as well as soloist roles in the school’s production of La Fille Mal Gardée. Additionally, he competed in the International Ballet Competition "Dance Moscow" and was awarded second place. From there, he joined Atlanta Ballet 2 where he danced for two seasons. His notable performances include Gaston in Bruce Wells' Beauty and the Beast, Prince Siegfried in Bruce Wells' The Swan Princess, Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, and Russian in Yuri Possokhov’s The Nutcracker, among others. Wetherington was promoted to apprentice with Atlanta Ballet in the 2020-21 season. Since joining, he has performed in roles such as Igor Stravinsky in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon, Gurn in Johan Kobborg's restaging of La Sylphide, Garrett Smith's Corridors, Sergo Masero's Querencia, Blue Man in Helgi Tomasson’s Concerto Grosso, Snowblind by Cathy Marston and Romeo in Claudia Schreier’s Romeo and Juliette performed at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, to name a few. This is Wetherington’s fifth season with Atlanta Ballet. He thanks his loving family for their support.
LUIZ FERNANDO XAVIER was born in São Paulo, SP, Brazil, and started ballet classes at the age of nine at the Municipal Dance School “Iracema Nogueira,” where he had the opportunity to join in workshops promoted by renowned Brazilian dance companies, such as Deborah Colker, Cisne Negro, São Paulo Cia. De Dança and others. At the age of 14, Xavier joined the Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil, where he graduated from Ayrat Khakimov’s class in 2018. As a student, he had the opportunity to rehearse with great personalities, such as Vladimir Vasiliev and Galia Kravchenko. In 2018, Xavier was certified in the Bolshoi School Internship Program as an assistant teacher for the first and fourth grade classes at Bolshoi Brasil. In 2019, he joined Youth Company Bolshoi Brazil, where he worked until September. In October of the same year, Xavier was hired as a soloist dancer at the State Opera and Ballet Theater in Voronezh, Russia. In 2021, he was awarded the “Bravo Contest” by the Cultural Union of the Russian Federation, for his performance as Nikolia in the ballet, The Toy Seller. In Russia, Xavier performed principal roles like Solor and Golden Idol in La Bayadere, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Prince in Nutcracker, Cipollino in Cipollino, Rothbart in Swan Lake, Ratmir in Ruslan and Ludmila, Piotr in The Calvary Halt, Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, and Pas d’esclave in Le Corsaire. During the pandemic, he became co-creator of the Ballet Couple project, with Larissa Dal’Santo, to share experiences about professional ballet and life in Russia in an accessible way. The project includes online classes and workshops of classical ballet for Brazilian students. In 2022, through this project, Xavier was invited to give workshops and perform in cities around Brazil, including São Paulo, Recife, Araraquara, Chapeco, Joinville and Guarapuava, for more than 500 participants. He joined the Atlanta Ballet in the 22|23 season and has enjoyed dancing roles in The Nutcracker, Classical Symphony and Don Quixote (by Yuri Possokhov), Concerto Grosso (by Helgi Tomasson) and Significant Others (by Remi Wörtmeyer). In 2023 he competed in the USA International Ballet Competition. Xavier is very excited for his third season with the Company.
REI YAMAGUCHI is from Hokkaido, Japan. He began training at Hisatomi Ballet in Japan and continued training at the English National Ballet School in London, graduating in 2021. He danced with Birmingham Royal Ballet during his time at school, English National Ballet, and Hong Kong Ballet before joining Atlanta Ballet as a Company Dancer in 2023. Yamaguchi has performed in numerous productions, including David Bintley’s Cinderella for Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Wayne Eagling’s The Nutcracker and Tamara Rojo’s Raymonda for the English National Ballet. For Hong Kong Ballet, he performed in Septime Webre’s Carmina Burana, The Nutcracker, and Romeo and Juliet, in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon, and in Vladimir Malakhov’s La Bayadere. This is his second season with Atlanta Ballet.
NICHOLAS YURKEVICH was born in San Francisco and started folk dancing at the age of five, creating many riveting YouTube videos and a fan following. At the age of nine, he retired from his folk dancing career, and committed to classical ballet training. Yurkevich progressed through every level of the San Francisco Ballet School on a merit-based scholarship, including their trainee program. Performing with the company from a young age, Yurkevich was inspired by San Francisco Ballet's principals, Pascal Molat and Gennadi Nedvigin. While at San Francisco Ballet, Yurkevich performed in many ballets, including Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Cinderella, Don Quixote, Frankenstein, Sleeping Beauty, Flames of Paris, and Nutcracker. As part of the school's showcase, Yurkevich danced principal roles in George Balanchine's Symphony in C and Paquita. Through his training and performing opportunities, Yurkevich developed into a charismatic and technical dancer. He is excited to join Atlanta Ballet for the 24|25 season.