Atlanta Ballet artistic director Gennadi Nedvigin has announced the 2017-2018 company roster and the company's new season.
This year’s team of 30 dancers includes 13 new members from companies around the world, such as Ballet Memphis, Boston Ballet, City Ballet of San Diego, Houston Ballet and Orlando Ballet.
The ballet company spent the summer rebuilding after losing 13 dancers at the end of the last season.
Internal promotions to the professional company include Dylan Clinard, Saho Kumagai and Francesca Loi. Dancers who were promoted from the top level of the Atlanta Ballet school to apprenticeships in the company are Erin Robinson and Mikaela Santos.
The new season begins with the final production of the current version of "The Nutcracker," which will be performed Dec. 8-28. The season includes "Don Quixote" in February, "Black Swan" in March, "Tu Tu & More" in April, and the season finale, "Bach to Broadway," in May. The ballet will also perform Act III of "Swan Lake," George Balanchine's neoclassical "Who Cares?" the revival of contemporary choreographer Ohad Naharin's "Minus 16," and three world premieres.
Creation of the choreography for Atlanta Ballet’s new “Nutcracker” production by Yuri Possokhov, which premieres in December, 2018, will also begin this fall.
Here are the members of the company:
•Zachary Alden, born in San Francisco, California, began his ballet studies as a senior in high school with Vaganova-trained dancer, Anton Pankevich.
•Erica Alvarado, born in Tucson, Arizona, began her dance training at Ballet Arts in Tucson under the direction of Mary Beth Cabana.
•Jessica Assef, originally from São Paulo, Brazil, received her early training from at Escola de Ballet Corpo e Arte with Jolles Salles.
•Alexandre Barros, a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, received his early training from Escola de Dancas Alice Arja and Escola Estadual de Dancas Maria Olenewa.
•Jacob Bush grew up in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, where he trained at Minnesota Dance Theatre under the direction of Lise Houlton.
•Stéphano Candreva is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and graduated from the Alice Arja School of Dance in 2006.
•Emily Carrico, originally from Lexington, Kentucky, began her training at the Kentucky Ballet Theatre Academy under the direction of Rafaela Cento Muñoz.
•Dylan Clinard, from Clemmons, North Carolina, began his dance education at the UNCSA Preparatory Dance Program under the direction of Dayna Fox.
•Taylor Fikes (apprentice), an Atlanta native, began her formal ballet training in 2008 at Baltimore School for the Arts.
•Nikolas Gaifullin, born in Sarasota, Florida, received his ballet training from his parents, Stephanie Murrish of Sarasota Ballet and Daniil Gaifullin of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet Academy.
•Monika Haczkiewicz was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Throughout her training, she has danced at Nevada Ballet Theatre, Kwak Ballet Academy, Tara Foy’s Elite Ballet, Nevada School of Dance and Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
•Jessica He, originally from Rancho Cucamonga, California, began her ballet training at Inland Pacific Ballet Academy.
•Airi Igarashi was born in Gunma, Japan. At the age of 7, she began her training at the Reiko Yamamoto Ballet School.
•Saho Kumagai, originally from Japan, began dancing at the age of 9.
•Jordan Leeper, a native of Jamestown, New York, began dancing at the age of 12 with the Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet, and later studied at San Francisco Ballet.
•Keaton Leier grew up in Saskatoon, Canada, where he discovered his love for dance at 8 years old while dancing hip-hop.
•Francesca Loi was born in Cagliari, Italy, and began her training at the ballet school of Teatro dell’Opera di Roma.
•Nadia Mara, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, trained at Uruguay’s National School of Ballet, where she graduated as the best dancer in school and earned the Elena Smirnova Gold Medal.
•Sergio Masero-Olarte, originally from Madrid, Spain, began his training at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Mariemma.
•Juliana Missano (apprentice) was born in Lloyd Harbor, New York, and started ballet at the age of 5.
•Miguel Angel Montoya was born in Cali, Colombia, where he began his training at the Instituto Colombiano de Ballet, Incoballet and continued to dance with Incoballet Company under the direction of Gloria Castro de Martinez.
•Jackie Nash, a native of Connecticut, started her pre-professional ballet training at the Connecticut Dance School under the direction of Alan Woodard.
•Keith Reeves (apprentice), from Augusta, Georgia, began his training with Jennifer Tools at the Jessye Norman School of the Arts.
•Boris Richir, originally from Antwerp, Belgium, received his dance education at the Paris Opera Ballet School.
•Erin Robinson (apprentice), a native of Acworth, Georgia, began her training at The Georgia Ballet under the direction of Gina Hyatt-Mazon and Janusz Mazon.
•Mikaela Santos (apprentice), a native of Manila, Philippines, began her dance training at Effie Nañas School of Classical Ballet, and then joined the Philippine Ballet Theatre as an Apprentice in March 2016.
•Anderson Souza, a native of South Brazil, received his training at the Conservatorio Brasileiro de Danca under Jorge Teixeira.
•Jared Tan, originally from the Philippines, began dancing at the age of 9 with the Philippine Ballet Theatre under the direction of Gener Caringal.
•Ashley Wegmann, born in New Jersey, received her early training from the National Ballet of New Jersey and later studied at the Princeton Ballet School on scholarship.
•Olivia Yoch, from Richmond, Virginia, received her dance training from the School of Richmond Ballet and Butler University.
