Emma Mertens, Apprentice

Emma Giselle Mertens was born and raised in Torrance, California. She started dancing at age three and fell in love with ballet. Throughout her formative years, she trained at Peninsula School of Performing Arts under the guidance of Vera Ninkovic, Roberto Almaguer, and Hasmik Amirian. During her time there she performed many lead roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker, Kitri from Don Quixote, and Swanilda from Coppelia. She also competed in YAGP, California Dance Classics, and the Spotlight Awards, winning multiple prizes and awards. In 2023 she graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a B.F.A in Dance Performance and Choreography. While at the university she trained with Lar Lubovitch, Tong Wang, Vitor Luiz, and Molly Lynch as well other esteemed faculty. She is a proud recipient of the Beth L. Koehler Scholarship for contemporary/modern dance and the William J. Gillespie Foundation Scholarship for Ballet Studies. She is very excited to join Golden State Ballet for the 23/24 season.

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