Artists

Eduardo Cazarez is from San Diego, California. He trained at North County Academy of Dance, where he was a YAGP Winner and Finalist from 2019-2021. He attended summer courses at San Francisco Ballet and Ellison Ballet. Eduardo joined San Francisco Ballet School in 2021 under the direction of Patrick Armand and Pascal Molat. He got promoted as a Trainee the following year. Eduardo performed featured and leading roles during his Trainee year in Myles Thatcher’s “Afterlight”, Val Canirapoli’s “Stolen Moments”, Dana Genshaft’s “Stereo is King”, and Davide Occhipinti’s “Sunhead” just to name a few. During that year Eduardo also performed in Helgi Tomasson’s “Nutcracker”, “Giselle”, “Romeo and Juliet” and in Christopher Wheeldon’s “Cinderella”. Eduardo got promoted as an Apprentice with San Francisco Ballet in 2023 under the direction of Tamara Rojo. During his apprentice year Eduardo performed in the World Premiere of Azsure Barton’s “Mere Mortals”, Helgi Tomasson’s “Swan lake”, and George Balanchine’s “Midsummer Nights Dream” in the San Francisco Ballet Gala. This is Eduardo’s first season with Sacramento Ballet.

Ava was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, and received her early training at the Flint School of Performing Arts. She then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Ballet and Legal Studies from Indiana University. She also trained at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and performed with the company while there. Since joining the Sacramento Ballet in 2010, some of Ava’s favorite roles have been Choleric in The Four Temperaments (George Balanchine), Tall Girl soloist in Rubies (Balanchine), soloist in Wild Sweet Love (Trey McIntyre), Myrtha in Giselle (Ron Cunningham), and Gertrude in Hamlet (Stephen Mills). She has also been featured in works by Val Caniparoli, Ma Cong, Jodie Gates, Adam Hougland, Gabrielle Lamb, Edwaard Liang, Darrell Moultrie, Amy Seiwert and Septime Webre.  Ava is a founding member and dancer with Capital Dance Project, and has previously danced for Texture Contemporary Ballet, Oakland Ballet, and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet. Ava is additionally on the faculty of the School of Sacramento Ballet. She also enjoys embroidery and sewing and has her own business creating handmade goods (Picky Stitches).

Coming from the south of France, Maxence Devaux began learning dance in the National Ballet Conservatory of Avignon at the age of 8. After a few years of ballet training he got his first short contract at the age of 18 years old with the Ballet of Metz in France along with other ballet tours around Europe. At the age of 20 years old he decided to join the Arles Youth Ballet Company directed by Norton Fantinel and Karina Moreira for following 3 years in which he became part of important works by famous choreographers such as Craig Davidson, Julien Guerin, Kin Sun Chan, Yoel Carreno, Patrick Delcroix and many others. Maxence joined Sacramento Ballet in 2023.

Born in Davis, California, Julia Feldman was trained under the direction of Pamela Hayes at Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet.  During her time with the Sacramento Ballet, she has danced principal and featured roles in works choreographed by George Balanchine, Ma Cong, Ron Cunningham, Jodie Gates, Adam Hougland, Gabrielle Lamb, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Penny Saunders, Amy Seiwert, and Septime Webre, among others. Highlights have included performing the central couple in Jodie Gates’ Keep Me Wishing in the Dark, ‘1st pas’ in Ma Cong’s Bloodrush, the Pas de Deux from George Balanchine’s Agon, Adam Hougland’s Cigarettes, and the role of Ophelia in Stephen Mills’ Hamlet.

Since joining the company in 2011, Julia has developed a passion for choreographing through the Sacramento Ballet’s annual Beer and Ballet. She has created works for the program annually since 2012, as well as for the School of Sacramento Ballet. As a founding member of Capital Dance Project, she has loved creating premieres for the summer-based company since its inaugural performance in 2015.  Her works have included collaborations with composer and violinist Andy Tan, rap artist Paul Willis, and visual artists Brandon Manning and Franceska Gamez. Julia has also been fortunate to spend the summers of 2015-17 collaborating with emerging and established choreographers at the National Choreographer’s Initiative in Irvine, California, under the artistic direction of Molly Lynch.

Photo by Tony Nguyen

Coming from the middle of the desert, Ugo Frediani began learning several dance styles part-time in the small town of Alice Springs in Australia at the age of 9. At the age of 16 he decided to pursue a ballet career and started full-time ballet training at the Alegria Ballet School in Sydney. The following year in 2018, Ugo was accepted straight into the second year of the prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School which is associated with the Birmingham Royal Ballet company in Birmingham, UK. In the two years spent at Elmhurst, he had the opportunity to work with many important people such as Odette Hughes (associate director of Studio Wayne McGregor) and Chi Chao (former principal dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet as well as star of the movie ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’) along with being invited to perform in the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ as one of the four ‘Winds’ in 2020. After his graduation from the Elmhurst ballet school in 2021, Ugo joined the Arles Youth Ballet Company in France under the direction of Norton Fantinel (former guest artist with numerous galas and ballet companies in the US, as well as former principal dancer with the Washington Ballet and Tulsa Ballet). In this time, he had performed works with famous choreographers such as ‘Convergence of Pathways’ with Craig Davidson, Norton Fantinel’s ‘Le Casse-Noisette de Manon’, and Julien Guerin’s ‘Miniature’. In 2022, Ugo Frediani was one of the fourteen Arles Youth Ballet Company dancers chosen to represent France in the ‘International Ballet Festival of Miami.’ before joining Sacramento Ballet in the fall of 2022.

Florrie Sésé Geller began her pre-professional training with the legendary Marcia Dale Weary and
the faculty of Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She continued her education at Next Generation
Ballet with Ivonne Lemus and directors Peter Stark and Philip Neal, as well as summer programs
at the School of American Ballet and San Francisco Ballet school on full tuition scholarships.
Florrie won the gold medal at the Youth America Grand Prix Semi-Finals, and distinguished
herself by placing in the Top 12 Junior Women in the Final Round of YAGP at Lincoln Center
where she was selected by Susan Jaffe and Gillian Murphy as the first recipient of the Gillian
Murphy Endowed Scholarship to UNCSA. After performing Aurora and Giselle in Next Generation
Ballet’s full-length productions, Florrie completed her pre-professional training at San Francisco
Ballet school on full scholarship.

At the age of eighteen Florrie was offered a professional contract with Cincinnati Ballet’s main
company where she performed Princess Florine in Devon Carney’s The Sleeping Beauty, the solo
role in Jiri Kylian’s Sechs Tanze, Virginia Woolf in Sarah Van Patten’s Skylight, Cygnet in Kirk
Peterson’s Swan Lake, and a soloist role in Myles Thatcher’s Anomaly. Florrie also danced in
ballets by Adam Hougland, Victoria Morgan and Septime Webre.

Florrie performed the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake with Rochester City Ballet, and
originated the role of Arsinoe in Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance’s world premier Cleopatra. She has
appeared in galas including YAGP’s Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow and was invited to
represent the United States in the Beijing International Ballet and Choreographic Competition in
2019.

As an artist with Oakland Ballet Company she danced in the premiere gala of Misty Copeland’s
short film Flower and performed works by Graham Lusting, Phil Chan, Feng Ye, and Natasha
Adorlee.

Florrie is a certified instructor in various training modalities including Progressing Ballet
Technique and mat Pilates. She has taught ballet on the faculties of Cincinnati Ballet, M.
Budig Academy, Magaly Suarez’s The Art of Classical Ballet, and the Draper Center for Dance
Education and has been certified in the Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Cuba Methodology, Year 1.
Florrie has been featured in Dance Spirit Magazine’s “Dancer You Should Know,” the podcasts
Becoming Ballet, Dancer Talks, and most recently Dance Magazine’s “Pack it Up.”
Florrie is thrilled to join Sacramento Ballet for the 24/25 season.

James Griffen began his dance training in 2018 at Metropolitan Ballet Academy & Company in Jenkintown, PA under the direction of Lisa Collins Vidnovic. At Metropolitan, James had the opportunity to perform works by many notable choreographers including: Kanji Segawa, Sarah Mettin, and Ashley Walton. In 2021, he attended San Francisco Ballet School’s Summer Intensive and subsequently stayed for the next two years as a level 8 student primarily under the guidance of Pascal Molat, Patrick Armand, and Viktor Plotnikov. While at SFBS, he had the privilege of being a part of company productions such as The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, Cinderella, and Giselle, as well as a new creation by Myles Thatcher. After attending ABT’s Summer Intensive in 2023, where he got to perform an excerpt from the Principal Pas of George Balanchine’s Themes and Variations, James joined Sacramento Ballet’s second company. While a part of SB2, he performed lead roles in works by Adam Hougland, Thang Dao, and Colby Damon while also performing alongside the main company in their Nutcracker and Paul Vasterling’s Cinderella. For the 24/25 season James was promoted from SB2 to Company Artist with Sacramento Ballet.

Kaori began dancing when she was 3 at the Kitamura Ballet Studio in Shiga, Japan. When she was 18 she attended Japan Grand Prix 2004 where she won the bronze prize and also received a scholarship prize to attend The Royal Ballet School in England. While at The Royal Ballet School she had an opportunity to perform Raymonda Act III, Kirk Peterson’s The Eyes That Gently Touch and Robert Hill’s Piano Concerto No.2 under Ms. Jacquelin Barrett. After she graduated from The Royal Ballet School, she joined Colorado Ballet Studio Company for two years before joining The Saint Louis Ballet. Some of her favorite performances while working with The Saint Louis Ballet include The Nutcracker (Snow Queen/ Dew Drop), Christopher d’ Amboise’s Tribute (principal role) and George Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie (principal role). Kaori joined Sacramento Ballet in 2012 and some of her favorite works are Ron Cunningham’s Carmina Burana, A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, Blackbriar, George Balanchine’s Who cares?, Rubies, Serenade, Agon pas de deux, and contemporary works by Darrell Grand Moultrie, Gabrielle Lamb, Ma Cong, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Edwaard Liang. Kaori is a founding member of Capital Dance Project and has supported it as a dancer, choreographer, and costumer. She loves designing and creating costumes and leotards, and has worked with Ron Cunningham, Rex Wheeler, David Fernandez, Texture Contemporary Ballet, Smuin Ballet, and Richmond Ballet.

Enrico Hipolito was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He began his training through Pacific Northwest Ballet’s outreach program “Dance Chance” in the third grade. He continued his dance education at PNB on full scholarship until graduation. He then continued his training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, performing principal roles in many ballets including George Balanchine’s “Emeralds”, “Serenade” and “Western Symphony”.

Enrico joined Ballet West 2 in 2015 where he spent two seasons performing alongside the company. Enrico joined Kansas City Ballet in 2017 and enjoyed performing many internationally renowned works including soloist roles in William Forshythe’s “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated” and Val Caniparoli’s “Lady of the Camelias”. Enrico has had works
created on him by Anabelle Ochoa Lopez, Ma Cong, Val Caniparoli, Norbert de la Cruz, and Kate Skarpetowska at KCB and Richmond Ballet where he continued his career prior to joining Sacramento Ballet in 2023.

Michelle Katcher was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. At the age of seven, she began classes at Anchorage Classical Ballet Academy, where she studied for nine years under Farah and Michelangelo Canale. Michelle then moved to Washington, D.C., to train at the Kirov Academy of Ballet. Upon graduating, she was invited to study under the legendary American ballerina Gelsey Kirkland in New York City. Michelle was a founding member of the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet. With GKB, Michelle danced many principal and soloist roles, including Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Marie in The Nutcracker, and Columbine in Harlequinade. Michelle then joined Ballet Arizona for one season, where she danced in ballets such as Ib Anderson’s Coppélia and The Sleeping Beauty, as well as George Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements, Rubies, and Walpurgisnacht. Since joining the Sacramento Ballet in 2016, Michelle has had the opportunity to work with many choreographers, including Ron Cunningham, Val Caniparoli, and Penny Saunders. Her favorite roles include Cinderella in Paul Vasterling’s Cinderella, as well as George Balanchine’s Tarantella and Apollo.

Dylan Keane started his dance training in South Carolina at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Upon graduation he had the opportunity to dance with many ballet companies, including Carolina Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and Richmond Ballet. before joining Sacramento Ballet in 2013. Throughout his career he has performed lead roles in La Bayedere, Petrushka, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, and Paquita. He has been fortunate enough to work with many wonderful choreographers including Alonzo King, Val Caniparoli, Ma Cong, Gina Patterson, Gabrielle Lamb, Septime Webre, Phillip Neal, and many more. Mr. Keane has had the honor to travel the world on tours and as a guest artist to countries including Argentina, Uruguay, Japan, and Oman.

Victor Maguad started dancing in Manila Dance Center at the age of 7, under the guidance of Luther Perez, Tony Fabella and Eddie Elejar. His formal dance education continued at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Dance School in 2004, under the mentorship of Noordin Jumalon. Victor’s professional career started when he joined Ballet Philippines as a Company Member and in 2015, he was promoted as a Principal Dancer. During his tenure, he graced the stage performing lead roles in full-length classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Snow White, among others. In addition to his classical repertoire, Victor showcased his versatility dancing the works of esteemed choreographers including Redha Benteifour, Norman Walker, Bam Damian, Carlo Pacis, George Birkadze, David Campos, Enrico Labayen, and Kun Yang-Lin. His artistic endeavors led him to be a member of Les Ballet Eloelle/Grandiva, a renowned all-male ballet touring company under the artistic direction of Victor Trevino. In 2020, he joined the Cultural Center of the Philippines Dance Workshop, a special project for professional dancers initiated by the Philippines’ National Artist for Dance, Alice Reyes. Victor joined Sacramento Ballet in 2021. With Sacramento Ballet, he has contributed to captivating performances featuring the works of esteemed choreographers such as George Balanchine, Val Caniparoli, Jennifer Archibald, Julia Feldman, Isaac Bates-Vinueza, Jermaine Spivey, Caili Quan, Adam Hougland, Alejandro Cerrudo, Ihsan Rustem, Ma Cong and Marika Brussel. He also portrayed lead roles in iconic ballet productions including Swan Lake, under the re-staging of Anthony Krutzkamp, and Paul Vasterling’s Cinderella.

Born in Portland, OR, Wyatt McConville-McCoy began his ballet training at Oregon Ballet Theatre. In 2017 he joined Boston Ballet II, under the tutelage of Peter Stark, where he performed Harlequinade in Boston Ballet’s At Home Series and alongside the main company in Jerome Robbin’s West Side Story. Two years later he joined Atlanta Ballet II where he had the privilege of performing in ballets such as La Bayadere and in featured roles of The Nutcracker while on tour to the Kennedy Center. Wyatt joined Sacramento Ballet in 2021 where he has graced the stage in roles such Gnome in The Nutcracker, the Men’s Trio in Val Caniparoli’s Tutto Eccetto il Lavandino, and the featured pas de deux in Isaac Bates-Vineza’s Rumor as well as in Jennifer Archibald’s Soar.

Juan Negreira was born in Montevideo city, Uruguay in 2004. His family emigrated to Brazil in 2009. At the age of 10 he joined the Guaira Theater Dance School in the city of Curitiba. Two years later he was accepted into the prestigious Bolshoi Theater School of Brazil where he graduated as a Classical Dancer in 2021. He participated in different competitions in Brazil, winning first place several times. In 2022 he was admitted to the Arles Youth Ballet Company (Arles/France) directed by the talented directors Norton Fantinel and Karina Moreira. During his two-year stay in the company he had the honor of working with several prestigious choreographers such as: Craig Davidson, Julien Guérin, Katarzyna Kozielska, Kinsun Chan, Patrick Delcroix, Ricardo Amarante and Young Soon Hue. 2024 will be his first season with Sacramento Ballet.

Seungkyun Park, originally from Seoul, South Korea, began his dance journey later than most, starting at age 17. Remarkably, just nine months after beginning, he was accepted into the prestigious Deokwon Arts High School, where he honed his skills in classical, modern, and traditional Korean dance. In 2016, he was admitted to the Korea National University of Arts (K’Arts), where he expanded his repertoire, training in classical, contemporary, and character dance, along with pas de deux.

Seungkyun’s performances during this time included iconic roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Spartacus, and Swan Lake. His career was paused by mandatory military service, but upon returning to dance at age 22, he quickly regained his momentum. He performed in notable works such as George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, The Four Temperaments, and Rubies, as well as powerful solos in Bolero and The Rite of Spring.

In 2022, Seungkyun earned a bronze medal at the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition, after which he danced with Columbia Classical Ballet, where his roles included Conrad from Le Corsaire and the Cavalier from Nutcracker. The following year, he joined Texas Ballet Theater, performing in Ben Stevenson’s Dracula, Balanchine’s Rubies, and Beauty and the Beast. This season, Seungkyun is excited to make his debut with Sacramento Ballet.

Born in Dongguan, China, Wen Na Robertson moved to Redmond, WA where she began her training at the age of seven at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She moved on to the private studio of Deborah Hadley, and studied there for the next five years before being accepted into Atlanta Ballet’s Conservatory program under the direction of John McFall and Sharon Story. Wen Na continued her training with the University of Arizona School of Dance on scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in Dance and minors in Marketing and Chinese. She joined Sacramento Ballet in 2019 where she has had the privilege of performing works by Alejandro Cerrudo, Ihsan Rustem, Andrea Schermoly, Amy Seiwert, Caili Quan, Anthony Krutzkamp, Val Caniparoli, Jennifer Archibald, Jermaine Maurice Spivey and Nicole Haskins.

Born and raised in Australia, Richard began his training at La Vive Classique Academy of Dance. He went on to finish his training and studies at The Australian Ballet School. Richard then moved to New York, where he danced with multiple companies, including Manhattan Youth Ballet and Urban Ballet Theatre, before joining the Sacramento Ballet in 2008. Richard has been featured in an array of roles in ballets by noted choreographers: George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Septime Weber, Trey McIntyre, Ron Cunningham, Ma Cong, Twyla Tharp, Jodie Gates, Stephen Mills, and Darrell Moultrie to name a few. Some of Richard’s favorite roles include El Capitan in Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, Albrecht in Giselle, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux.

Sarah Joan Smith is originally from Columbia, South Carolina, where she trained at Columbia Ballet School with Anita Ashley. She furthered her education at University of North Carolina School of the Arts under the directorship of Ethan Stiefel. Upon graduation in 2012, Sarah Joan joined Boston Ballet as a trainee. Following that, her career has allowed her to work in many ballet companies including Richmond Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. In addition to these companies, Sarah Joan has spent summers performing with Kansas City Dance Festival and the National Choreographer’s Initiative. She has performed throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada, as well as touring to China in 2015. Some of Sarah Joan’s most enjoyable ballets to perform have been Val Caniparoli’s “The Lottery”, William Forsythe’s “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated” and Greg Horsmann’s “La Bayadere. She has also originated roles in ballets by Andrea Schermoly, Matthew Neenan, Yury Yanowsky, Ma Cong and many others. Sarah Joan joined Sacramento Ballet in 2023.

Mia Steedle is from Boston, MA where she trained at Boston Ballet School before joining Boston Ballet II. She has since danced with Kansas City Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and as a freelance artist. As a freelance dancer, she performed with Moving Arts in works by Stephanie Martinez, Gabriel Lorena, and Christian Denise and with Owen/Cox Dance Group in works by Norbert De La Cruz III and Jennifer Owen. Mia is an alumni of the Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Ballet Program where she was choreographed on by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Jennifer Archibald for the 90th Anniversary Gala. She has spent many summers at Chautauqua Institution working with Patricia McBride where she performed in George Balanchine’s “Rubies,” “Raymonda Variations,” and more. Some of her other repertoire includes Christopher Wheeldon’s “This Bitter Earth,” Michael Pink’s “Dracula,” Septime Webre’s “The Wizard of Oz” and “ALICE (in wonderland)” and Gerald Arpino’s “Confetti.” Mia is very excited to be joining Sacramento Ballet after dancing with the company in “The Nutcracker” and “Cinderella” last season.

Born in Saitama Japan , Hiyori Ushikubo started dancing at the age of 7. At 12 years old she joined the Acri Horimoto Ballet Academy and trained under Massimo Acri and Miwa Horimoto. In 2018, she was accepted into the Royal Ballet School Antwerp in Belgium, and after graduation, she then joined Arles Youth Ballet Company in France directed by Norton Fantinel and Karina Moreira. During her three years in France she had the opportunity to work with many extraordinary choreographers, including Craig Davidson, Julien Guérin, Patrick Delcroix, Kinsun Chan, Young Soon Hue, Katarzyna Kozielska and Ricardo Amarante. This is her first season with Sacramento Ballet.

Isabella Velasquez grew up training in Orange County at the Maple Conservatory. At 17 she joined The Washington Ballet in DC as a trainee, and continued training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s graduate program for two years after. Isabella joined Sacramento Ballet in 2014 where she has had the opportunity to perform many lead roles including Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Cinderella in Paul Vasterling’s Cinderella, Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker, Ophelia in Stephen Mills’ Hamlet, and the lead in George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Donizetti Variations and Tarantella. She has also been featured in neoclassical and contemporary works by choreographers Alejandro Cerrudo, Ma Cong, Septime Webre, Adam Hougland, Ron Cunningham, Amy Seiwert, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Val Caniparoli, Twyla Tharp, and Ihsan Rustem. Outside of Sacramento, Isabella has danced multiple times with The National Choreographers Initiative in Irvine, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery in San Francisco, and has guested multiple times with Nevada Dance Company. Isabella has also danced and choreographed for Capital Dance Project, and Ballet Project OC. When not working Isabella loves to spend time with her two wiener dogs Luigi and Leonardo!

Jennifer was born and raised in Sacramento. She began taking ballet lessons at the age of two at Janelle Sebren’s Sacramento Academy of Dance. She attended Sacramento Ballet School under the direction of Carinne Binda and Melanie Haller, and danced various roles in Ron Cunningham’s The Nutcracker. She attended San Francisco Ballet School for two years before joining The National Ballet of Canada as an apprentice in 2018. In 2019 she became a member of their corps de ballet and continued with them until 2021. Jennifer’s diverse repertoire includes: Frederick Ashton’s The Dream, Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Anna Karenina, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Angels’ Atlas, Etudes, and The Sleeping Beauty. Jennifer joined Sacramento Ballet in 2023.

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas Joseph started his love of dance through hip-hop and slowly started to get into ballet at the Ballet Academy of Texas. In his senior year of high school, Joseph moved to Columbus, Ohio to be a trainee with BalletMet for one year with his most notable role being the Fourth Movement lead in Balanchine’s “Western Symphony”

Joseph then was accepted into Sacramento Ballet’s second company as an SB2 member in its inaugural year. For the next two years he performed works both in the second company and with the main company choreographed by Anthony Krutzkamp, Julia Feldman, Colby Damon and many others.

Joseph is excited to be an apprentice with Sacramento Ballet for its 70th season!

When he was nine years old, William began taking ballet classes at Dance Gallery of SD in his hometown, Sioux Falls, SD. There, he trained extensively in the Cecchetti method of ballet, receiving his Advanced Grade VII certificate through the Cecchetti Council of America. Upon graduation, he joined Kansas City Ballet School’s Daytime program, and danced in the academy’s performing ensemble, Kansas City Youth Ballet. After that season, he joined Sacramento Ballet’s Second Company as an inaugural member of SB2. While in the second company, he performed works by Ilana Goldman, Thang Dao, Paul Vasterling, Julia Feldman, Colby Damon, Jill Marlow Krutzkamp, and Anthony Krutzkamp, among others. He was most recently promoted to the rank of Apprentice in the main company for the 2024-25 year.

Born and raised in Houston, Tx, Julia Payne began her ballet training at Payne Academy of Ballet. After graduating high school, Julia attended the University of Oklahoma where she continued her training in the School of Dance under the direction of Michael Bearden. In 2019, she joined Texas Ballet Theater’s Studio Training Company where she performed in many works including Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty.

Julia joined Sacramento Ballet as a trainee in 2021 and was promoted to SBII the following season. During those two years, she performed many classical and contemporary works by Anthony Krutzkamp, Jill Krutzkamp, Colby Damon, and Julia Feldman. In 2023, Julia joined the main company as an Apprentice.

Ava Grace began her training in all styles of dance under the instruction of her mom, Leigh Williams. From there, she continued to train mainly in ballet locally around her home town of Wilmington, North Carolina. Ava Grace attended summer programs at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Miami City Ballet, and later went on to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for all four years of high school. At UNCSA, she had the opportunity to perform roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, and Little Red Riding Hood in the Sleeping Beauty to name a few. While training at UNCSA and beforehand, Ava Grace competed and placed in both YAGP and ADC IBC for multiple years. After graduating from UNCSA, Ava Grace went on to dance with Sacramento Ballet 2 for one season. She had the opportunity to perform in works such as K281 by Adam Hougland, Nocturnal Bliss by Thang Dao, and alongside the company in The Nutcracker and Cinderella. Ava Grace was promoted to an apprentice after one season with SB2 and is excited to continue dancing here in Sacramento with the main company.