Annabelle Eurich, Apprentice

Annabelle Eurich was born in Reston, Virginia where she began her dance training at CrossRoads Dance Theater. In 2019, she began additional training at Academy of Russian Ballet where she studied until her graduation in 2022. Throughout her years of training, Annabelle also attended numerous summer intensive programs at schools such as The School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet School, and Ellison Ballet. As she danced, Annabelle also pursued an associates degree in Computer Science as a duel enrolled student. Upon graduation, Annabelle received an Apprenticeship with The City Ballet of San Diego where she performed for the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons. She is excited to be joining Golden State Ballet for the 2024/2025 season!

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Ashley Onks, Corps de ballet

Ashley began dancing at the age of four years old in Los Angeles, California. Most of her adolescent years were spent training at Los Angeles Ballet Academy under the direction of Andrea Paris-Gutierrez, Conny Mathot and the Royal Ballet School’s current artistic manager, José Carayol. During these years, Ashley trained under the Royal Academy of Dance exam curriculum.

She then went on to pursue her degree at the University of California Irvine, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts and a Business Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2022. After graduating, she went on to study and receive her 450 hour classical Pilates Mat and Apparatus certification. Ashley was also invited to Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s pre-professional program in New York City, where she worked closely with choreographers, Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson and performed alongside the company in their 2020 Gala performance at the Joyce Theatre in Manhattan.

Directly after receiving her diploma, Ashley was invited to join Ballet San Antonio in Texas under the direction of the world renowned artist Sofiane Sylve dancing in the company from 2022-2024. Ashley is excited and thrilled to have the privilege of coming back to her home turf, sunny California, to join Golden State Ballet in the corps de ballet for the 2024-25 season!

Sponsored in part by Kerianne Bunch and Madeleine Hoang-Kephart

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Celyna Tran, Corps de ballet

Los Angeles native, Celyna Tran graduated from the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia with a degree for artist of ballet and teaching.

Sponsored in part by Thuy Pham

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Chantelle Pianetta, Soloist

Chantelle Pianetta, a San Francisco Bay Area native, began her dance journey as a young child at Contra Costa Ballet Centre and later trained at the prestigious School of American Ballet at 14 years old. As a student, she performed with the New York City Ballet in works by Balanchine, Stroman, and originated roles for the New York Choreographic Institute. After dancing with Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Chantelle returned to California to perform with Company C Contemporary Ballet and Menlowe Ballet. Now with Golden State Ballet since 2022, she has performed featured roles in works by Kylian, Elo, and Peck, and as Dew Drop in Raul Salamanca's The Nutcracker. A dynamic artist, she is a dedicated ballet instructor for the GSB Academy and an internationally booked professional West Coast Swing dancer.

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Emiliano Dael, Trainee

He began his dance studies in his hometown of Querétaro, at CEDART Ignacio Mariano de las Casas and the Art Dance Studios Academy. In 2016, he joined the National School of Classical and Contemporary Dance of INBAL in Mexico City as a student, where he had the opportunity to perform several times with the National Dance Company. In 2021, he continued his training at ProVer (In Favor of Veracruz Talent) in Córdoba, Veracruz, gaining experience with renowned national and international teachers. He won third place in the contemporary ensemble category with the choreography Trinité at the Youth American Grand Prix Finals held in Florida, USA, in 2023, which granted him entry into the Second Company of the Nashville Ballet for a one-year stay. His repertoire includes variations, pas de deux, and corps de ballet roles from ballets such as La Fille Mal Gardée, Carnival of Venice, La Esmeralda, Flower Festival in Genzano, Coppélia, Maurice Béjart’s Boléro, The Nutcracker, and Circadian Rhythm, among others.

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Evan Arredondo, Corps de ballet

Evan Arredondo grew up in San Diego, California and is an alumni of the Golden State Ballet Academy, where he graduated with honors in 2022. He has trained at many prominent schools such as San Francisco Ballet, Ballet Austin, Boston Ballet, and most recently the highly selective Choreographic Workshop at Ballet West. Evan was offered many opportunities to perform with GSBA, exploring his artistry with mentorship from Andrew Brader as well as in brand new works such as Last Warning, choreographed by Andrea Schermoly. He worked to develop his technical side through classical repertoire such as “Raymonda” and “The Nutcracker,” where he performed the role of the Nutcracker Prince. His professional career started with Grand Rapids Ballet as an apprentice in 2022. Some of his performance credits at GRB include Elemental Brubeck, Off The Canvas, Balanchine’s Serenade and Who Cares?, Val Caniparoli's The Nutcracker, James Sofranko's Romeo and Juliet, and a world premiere by Penny Saunders.

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Harrison Pickering, Corps de ballet

Harrison Pickering started dancing at the age of 10 in London England as a junior associate of the Royal Ballet Programme. At age 11 he attended Young Dancers Academy in London before heading to the National Ballet of Canada for 3 years. While at the school he performed in three seasons of The Nutcracker with National Ballet of Canada and in the opening of the Pan Am Games in Toronto. Pickering then attended Master Ballet Academy in Arizona from age 15-17, performing annually in The Nutcracker with Phoenix Ballet. He also competed in YAGP, placing 1st in the Classical division in 2019 (Dallas) and Pas de deux categories 2018 (Phoenix).

Pickering attended and received full scholarships for summer intensives at both American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet. He also trained privately with David king and attended Golden State Ballet academy in 2019 before attending San Francisco Ballet on full scholarship, where he trained for two years and performed along side San Francisco ballet in The Nutcracker. After graduating in 2021 he joined Ballet Arizona’s studio company and performed in works such as George Balanchine’s Violin Concerto, Slaughter on 10th Avenue, and Serenade, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs, and Ib Andersen’s The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, and Juan Gabriel. In 2022 he joined Texas Ballet Theatre as an apprentice and performed in Ben Stevensons Cirque de ballet, Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Dracula, George Balanchine’s Rubies and Lew Christensen’s Beauty and the Beast. He is very excited to join Golden State Ballet for this upcoming season.

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Haley Desjarlais, Apprentice

Haley Desjarlais was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She began her ballet training at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts in Franklin, MA under Cheryl Madeux Abbott. In 2017, Haley continued her training at Boston Ballet’s Pre-Professional program under the direction of Margaret Tracey. She remained in the Pre-Professional division for two years and was then promoted to Trainee for her third year. As a Trainee, she had the opportunity to perform in company productions. During these years she also attended summer programs at American Ballet Theater, Miami City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and BalletMet. In 2020, she attended The Prix De Lausanne as a part of their Partner Schools Choreographic Project where she got to work with Mauro Bigonzetti.

In 2020, Haley joined BalletMet as a Trainee where she performed in the company's productions of Edward Liang’s Giselle and Gerard Charles’ The Nutcracker.She also performed Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, and George Balanchine’s Western Symphony with the Trainee program.. After two years with BalletMet, Haley then joined Indianapolis Ballet as an apprentice in 2022.While with the company, she performed George Balanchine’s Serenade and The Four Temperaments, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Victoria Lyras’ Bolero. Haley then moved to San Diego in 2023 to join City Ballet of San Diego as a Studio Company member. She had the opportunity to perform in George Balanchine’s Serenade and The Four Temperaments for a second year. She also performed in Betsey Wistrich’s The Nutcracker and Bolero, as well as Geoff Gonzalez’s An American in Paris and Carmina Burana. Haley is so excited to be joining Golden State Ballet as an apprentice for the 2024-2025 season!

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Haley Mauldin, Corps de ballet

Haley Mauldin was born in Aspen, Colorado where she started taking dance classes at the age of 2. She later moved to Encino, California where her training continued with the Los Angeles Ballet Academy until 2018. Under the direction of Andrea-Paris Gutierrez, Mauldin completed all Royal Academy of Dance examinations with Distinction, and the ABT National Training Curriculum Level 7 with High Honors. During the summers she trained with Atlanta Ballet, City Ballet School of San Francisco, Ballet West, Joffrey Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

In 2018, Mauldin was accepted into Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Graduate Program, where she received four years of training under the direction of Janet Popeleski, Marjorie Grundvig, and Dennis Marshall. She had the opportunity to perform excerpts of ballets such as Divertimento No. 15, Serenade, Raymonda, Terrence Orr’s Nutcracker, Giselle, and Susan Jaffe’s Swan Lake. In 2022, Haley joined Lexington Ballet Company for their 2022-2023 season. Her most notable roles during that time included Sugar Plum Fairy and Dew Drop in the Lexington Ballet’s Nutcracker, and Princess Tsarevna from Firebird.

Since joining Golden State Ballet in 2023 she has had the incredible privilege of performing works by Jorma Elo, Andrea Schermoly, Norbert De La Cruz III, Gabrielle Lamb, and Justin Peck. Haley looks forward to many more wonderful performances with the company.

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Isabella Bertagni, Corps de ballet

Isabella Bertagni is from Laguna Hills, California.  She began dancing at the age of five at Pacific Ballet Conservatory, where she trained for 11 years.  In 2019, she joined Colburn Dance Academy, under the direction of Jenifer Ringer and James Fayette, on merit scholarship. There, she performed as the Sugarplum Fairy in Silas Farley’s The Nutcracker.  During her years of training, she attended summer programs at SAB’s California Workshop, Miami City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and on full scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet.  In 2021, she accepted an offer to dance in the Professional Division program on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet, under the direction of Peter Boal.  There, she had the opportunity to perform roles in Swan Lake, the Evil Queen in Bruce Wells’ Snow White, and in Balanchine’s Serenade, The Nutcracker, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Isabella is also a full time online college student, working toward a degree in Kinesiology.

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Megan Nicotera, Corps de Ballet

Born in San Francisco and raised in Las Vegas, Megan began her training at the age of 4 at Nevada Ballet Theatre. Her teachers included Ella Gurkova, Monika Rostomian, and Tara Foy. She became a member of the company at 18 and danced with them for two seasons. When she was 20, she took a break from ballet and decided to attend culinary school. After four years of cooking for a profession, she realized she wanted to have ballet in her life again and began training at Kwak Ballet Academy, owned by Kyudong Kwak and Yoomi Lee, two former Principal dancers of NBT, who had also been two of Megan’s childhood instructors. She auditioned and was offered a contract which, lead to her moving to San Diego. Since her arrival, she has danced with San Diego Ballet, City Ballet of San Diego, California Ballet, and now Golden State Ballet.

Some of Megan’s most memorable roles have been, Indian Maiden in Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, Corps de Ballet in George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Corps de Ballet in George Balanchine’s Emeralds, Princess in Thor Sutowski’s Swan Lake, Mirliton and Spanish in Bruce Steivel’s The Nutcracker, and Demi Soloist Flower and Spanish in Jared Nelson’s The Nutcracker. Megan’s love for ballet has lead her to become an instructor as well. Currently, she teaches at multiple studios

Sponsored in part by Lisa Nicotera

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Miranda Giles, Principal

Miranda Giles was born in Columbus, Ohio. She began her training under Shir Lee Wu at the age of three with Columbus City Ballet School, the recipient of YAGP Outstanding School and Teacher awards. Giles also worked to refine and diversify her training with frequent guest teachers such as Katrina Killian, Ethan Brown, Anna Reznik, and Alexei Moskalenko. During the summers, Giles trained at The School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and the Kirov Ballet under significant or full scholarships. Giles was awarded the Youth American Grand Prix “Hope Award” twice for outstanding promise, performing classical and contemporary works choreographed by Christopher Flemming and Alexei Kremnev.

Miranda had always felt inspired to live in California, so she moved west to join the Los Angeles Ballet for before moving to San Diego in to become a professional dancer. Miranda was promoted to soloist a few months after joining Golden State Ballet in 2021. Her favorite role she has performed is “Dew Drop” in Jared Nelson’s “The Nutcracker”, the "Black Swan" Pas De Deux from "Swan Lake" and hopes to one day perform the role of "Juliet" in "Romeo and Juliet". In Miranda's free time she loves to try new restaurants, teach ballet, work on her clothing line, Miranda Rose Designs, and of course explore beautiful San Diego.

Sponsored in part by Jonathan Bunis

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Mackenzie Davis, Corps de ballet

Mackenzie Davis grew up in Frederick, Maryland where she began her dance training at age four. She started her love for dance at 24/7 Dance Studio in Frederick, Maryland where she learned all styles of dance such as jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop, ballet, and musical theater. She then trained at City Dance School and Conservatory in Bethesda, Maryland under the direction of Lorraine Audeoud Spiegler and Ballet Master Stanislav Issaev. Mackenzie performed many classical and contemporary works in her training, and participated in the Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition where she placed 1st in the contemporary category and Top 12 in the classical category. To further her training and evolve her love for ballet, Mackenzie attended summer intensives at the Joffrey Ballet School in Chicago and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Mackenzie joined Grand Rapids Ballet under the direction of James Sofranko for the 2021/2022 season as a Trainee, and later as an apprentice in 2023. At her time in Grand Rapids she performed many roles in Val Caniparoli’s Nutcracker which include Snow and Flower Corps, Sugar Plum Doll, and Marzipan. She also performed in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, George Balanchine’s Serenade, George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Christopher Stowell’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Isaac Aoki’s Soireé, and Little Red Riding Hood in Artistic Director James Sofranko‘s Spring Break for Kids. She is excited to join Golden State Ballet as a corps de ballet member for their 23/24 season.

Sponsored in part by James Patterson

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Mia Gonzalez-Llorens, Apprentice

As a Miami native, Mia received her early training from prima ballerina Martha Mahr, and continued her instruction at Miami City Ballet School, joining its Pre-Professional Program and training under Arantxa Ochoa.

Upon completing the Pre-Professional Program, Mia continued her ballet education at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music Ballet Department where she trained with instructors Sarah Wroth, Michael Vernon, Carla Körbes, Kyra Nichols, Christian Claessens, and Sasha Janes. At Indiana University, Mia performed roles in notable ballets, including George Balanchine‘s Donizetti Variations, Marius Petipa’s Swan Lake (Four Little Swans), and Nicole Haskins’ Unearthing. She also performed original works by Michael Vernon, Sasha Janes, Gianna Reisen, and other legendary choreographers. Additionally, Mia has trained at Art Of Madrid, American Ballet Theatre, and School of American Ballet.

After graduating from Indiana University, Mia joined Ballet Tucson as an apprentice where she performed various original works, as well George Balanchine’s Serenade and Divertimento No. 15. She also performed in Chieko Imada’s world premiere of Eternal Love and her renditions of Paquita and Giselle.

Mia is extremely excited to be joining Golden State Ballet this season.

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Nicole Denney, Corps de ballet

Originally from San Clemente, California, Nicole Denney began her dance journey at the age of three at the Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy. Throughout her training, Nicole attended prestigious summer intensives on full merit scholarships, including the School of American Ballet, Harid Conservatory, and San Francisco Ballet.

In 2018, Nicole received the Youth Grand Prix award at the Youth American Grand Prix Semi-Finals and was a top 12 Finalist in the Senior Division at the Youth America Grand Prix International Final. She is also a Grand Prize Finalist for Classical Ballet in the Music Center’s Spotlight Awards and a recipient of the Laguna Dance Festival Scholarship.

At the age of 18, Nicole joined the Royal New Zealand Ballet as a guest artist for their Bold Moves tour, performing alongside the corps de ballet in works such as George Balanchine’s Serenade and William Forsythe’s Artifact II.

In the spring of 2024, Nicole graduated from the University of Southern California's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance with a degree in Dance and a minor in Advertising. During her time at USC, she had the privilege of performing works by renowned choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, Hope Boykin, and Paul Taylor.

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Natasha Rader, Apprentice

Natasha grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon, where she trained under her mother, Christine Rader along with Angela Steidl. She continued on to train at Marin Dance Theatre with Lynn Cox and Margaret Swarthout for two years before training at Orlando Ballet School and then moving on to Alberta Ballet School in their Post Graduate Program. Most recently, she was in the Studio Training Company at Texas Ballet Theater. There she was able to perform in many of Ben Stevenson's ballets including as a Snowflake in The Nutcracker, a soloist in Glazunov Variations, various roles in Alice in Wonderland, as well as working with Mr. Stevenson directly to originate a role in his new ballet: Requiem.

Natasha also holds a comprehensive certification from Stott Pilates in Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, and Barrels. Inspired by the benefits of Pilates for her own dance career, Natasha loves to teach dancers and non-dancers alike so they can improve their physical well-being. Natasha joined Golden State Ballet as an apprentice for the 23/24 season, and is excited to be dancing professionally as well as teaching Pilates around San Diego.

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Preston Swovelin, Principal

Preston Swovelin is a native to Los Angeles. He has trained with the Pasadena Dance Theatre and Miami City Ballet School on full scholarship under Cynthia Young, Lawrence Blake, and Edward Villella. He is the recipient of various awards including 2nd place for Hip-Hop at the USA Nationals. Preston has worked with over 90 organizations including Eugene Ballet Company as a Principal, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Setsuko Kawaguchi Ballet in Japan, Boulder Ballet, San Diego Opera, CalArts, Troy University as a professor, National Choreographers Initiative, Audi, Bad Boys of Dance throughout Europe (as Romeo in Romeo & Juliet), and performed and choreographed in collaborations with Cirque du Soleil. He is a desperado by day, a connoisseur of Netflix by night, and enjoys the occasional skydive.

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Renan Cerdeiro, Principal

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ,Renan Cerdeiro began practicing in various dance styles at a young age at the Escola de dança Alice Arja in Rio de Janeiro, where he did most of his training.  

 In 2008, Cerdeiro was named a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, and that same year was awarded a scholarship to train at the Miami City Ballet School. Within two years, he was invited by the company's founding artistic director, Edward Villella, to join the Miami City Ballet as a company apprentice. In 2013, he was promoted to principal dancer by current artistic director Lourdes Lopez.  

 Cerdeiro has performed numerous principal roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Liam Scarlett, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Nacho Duato, Pam Tanowitz, Brian Brooks, Peter Martins, Sir Kenneth Macmillan, Richard Alston and original works by Justin Peck. Additionally, Cerdeiro has performed leading roles in classics such as Petipa's Coppélia, Giselle and Don Quixote, John Cranko's Romeo & Juliet and Alexei Ratmansky’s Swan lake.  

Cerdeiro has danced at the New York City Center and at the Koch Theater in New York, participated in multiple Works & Process at the Guggenheim museum, was part of the Vail Dance Festival and Nantucket Dance Festival, performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C, performed at the Music Center and Cal Performances both in California, Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, Harris Theater in Chicago, Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, as well at the Bolshoi Theater in Russia as part of the Benois de la Danse Gala. Cerdeiro was named by Dance Magazine as one of the world’s  "Top 25 Artists to Watch in 2011".  

Most recently, Cerdeiro has been guesting as a principal dancer and working with Twyla Tharp Dance. 

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Reece Taylor, Soloist

Originally from Fontana, CA, Reece began his ballet training at 18 with Inland Pacific Ballet Academy in Montclair, CA. There, he swiftly rose through the ranks of Academy Apprentice to Principal and eventually took on the role of Ballet Master, assisting in the artistic and technical growth of the company. His training also includes intensive programs with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Reece has since dedicated his career to teaching and performing across Southern California, where he has worked with students of all ages and contributed to productions in ballet, musical theater, and commercial projects. His notable roles include Cavalier in The Nutcracker, the Prince in The Little Mermaid, Phaedra in La Cage aux Folles, and Mr. Mistoffelees in CATS. This is his first season with Golden State Ballet.

Reece also holds a BA in Creative Writing from the University of California, Riverside.

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Samantha Schmidt, Corps de ballet

Originally from Yucaipa, California, Samantha Schmidt began her training at the School of International Ballet of Redlands under the direction of Cecilia Hering. In 2018, she furthered her training with The Kirov Academy of Washington DC where she worked with Bat Udval and Evgenia Singur. The following year she moved to Houston, Texas to dance with Vitacca Ballet. Samantha has participated in many acclaimed summer intensives including, American Ballet Theater, Colorado Ballet, and the International Master Classes in Prague. As she danced, she worked on receiving her associate degree in Spanish and in 2021 she spent a year as a dance major and English minor at The University of California, Irvine. She is currently in the process of finishing her BA in psychology at The University of Arizona online. Samantha spent the 2022/23 season at City Ballet of San Diego and is now thrilled to be dancing as a Corps de Ballet member with Golden State Ballet. In her free time, Samantha enjoys reading and yoga and cherishes connecting with her friends and family.

Sponsored by Anna & Mario Scipione

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Savannah Rodriguez, Corps de ballet

Born and raised in San Diego, Savannah Rodriguez has been dancing since she was 1 1⁄2 years old. She started with “Mommy and Me” classes and then transitioned into jazz and tap. During that time, she was also introduced to ballet as well. At a young age, she joined her studio’s competition team and competed with her group all around the county. Being onstage and performing in front of an audience came naturally to her and it brought her immense joy to be able to shine and make the audience feel something. After a three year gap, her love for dance rekindled after she saw The Nutcracker and has been dancing ever since.

At age 14, she decided to take dance more seriously. Throughout her training, she has danced at different studios, has done many workshops, and has participated in summer intensives including: Paris Marais Dance School, Bolshoi Ballet, Laguna Dance Festival, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and Dutch National Ballet. In addition, she has competed at YAGP, California Dance Classics, NYCDA, and has won several awards during that time. This has truly helped her to be versatile throughout her years as a student and along with those experiences, she has learned various techniques and styles of dance such as Vaganova, Balanchine, Neoclassical, Cuban, Modern, Martha Graham, Horton, Musical Theater, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, and Hip Hop. Colby has also had the pleasure of working with many world-renowned choreographers and teachers such as Norbert de la Cruz, Fiona Lumis, Jodie Gates, Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, John Clifford, Andi Shermoly, Jorma Elo, Jade-Hale Christoffi, Karine Plantiditt, Misha Tchoupakov, Peter Chu, Valentin Bartes, Gabrielle Lamb, Maurya Kerr, and many others. In 2020, she joined Golden State Ballet Academy in their pre-professional program for two seasons. Soon after, she was offered to join Golden State Ballet as a trainee in their first season. In 2022, she was promoted to apprentice and has now been a corps de ballet member for the past two seasons.

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Silken Kelly, Soloist

From Denver, CO, Silken Kelly started her journey in ballet at the Academy of Colorado Ballet, before moving on to train at the Houston Ballet Academy. Her dedication and talent earned her full scholarships to summer intensives at the School of American Ballet, Ballet West, and Houston Ballet. As a professional ballet dancer, Silken has graced the stages of prestigious companies such as Houston Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Cleveland Ballet. Her artistry has extended far and wide, as she's been a guest performer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Sweetbird Production's touring sensation "Rock the Ballet," and Eglevsky Ballet. Silken has also founded her own company, Contingent Ballet, that has had successful virtual performances, and has been part of a film festival for three consecutive years, creating and directing original dance films. But Silken's artistic versatility doesn't end with ballet. She has seamlessly transitioned into the world of acting, where she's garnered recognition for her work with a supporting role in a movie and a mini-series for TV.

Sponsored in part by Gary Siegel

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Sophia Dimmick, Corps de ballet

Sophia Dimmick has lived and trained in San Diego her whole life. She began dancing at the age of 2 with California Ballet School and remained there until 2019, when she became a trainee with California Ballet Company. She joined the Golden State Ballet Academy in 2020 where she continued to dance until graduation in 2022. She has spent summers training with institutions such as Boston Ballet and the School of Ballet Arizona, and has placed and received honors at several ballet competitions, including YAGP and California Dance Classics. Since beginning her professional career, Sophia has worked with various other local ballet organizations, most recently Ballet Collective San Diego. Sophia joined the Golden State Ballet Company in 2022 as an apprentice, and was promoted to corps de ballet for the 23-24 season. She is very excited to be dancing with Golden State again this year. Outside of dance, Sophia is also completing her degree in Hospitality Management, is an accomplished harpist, and enjoys supporting the vibrant San Diego performing arts community.

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Stephen Hallburn, Corps de ballet

Stephen Hallburn is a Southern California native, and started dance early in Temecula, CA. In his teen years, Stephen relocated to the east coast to complete his pre-professional training, remaining there for the launch of his career. Work offers with companies on the West Coast brought Stephen back where he’s remained for the past 10 years. Stephen is excited to join Golden State Ballet and to premiere as Drosselmeyer for San Diego audiences.

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Timothy Ruelas, Corps de ballet

Timothy Mark Ruelas was born in San Dimas, California. At seven, he began taking classes at a local studio ranging from ballet, tap, and jazz to musical theatre, voice, and acting. Timothy began his formal classical ballet training at the age of ten at Inland Pacific Ballet in Montclair, CA under the tutelage of Victoria Koenig, Jill Voznick, and Clinton Rothwell. Timothy was invited to many prestigious summer programs on scholarship, including San Francisco Ballet and Colorado Ballet. He also competed on his high school’s varsity dance team, where he helped lead his team to a national team title in contemporary. Upon graduating high school, Timothy accepted a studio company position with New Ballet in San Jose for the 2018-2019 season and performed in The Nutcracker as Cavalier and in Cinderella as Prince. The following year, the SoCal native moved to Colorado to train in the Colorado Ballet Pre-Professional program. Timothy was invited to join the Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company for two seasons (2021-2023) where he danced in Giselle, The Nutcracker, The Wizard of Oz, Romeo and Juliet, Dracula, Lady of the Camellias, Cinderella, Theme and Variations, Bruch Violin Concerto No.1, and Prodigal Son. Timothy moved to San Diego, CA in August of 2023 where his grandparents have resided for over forty years, to be closer to family in Southern CA, and to complete his undergraduate education. Timothy is grateful for the opportunity to continue his dance career and his first season in the Corps de Ballet with Golden State Ballet.

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Victoria Jenkins, Principal

Victoria Jenkins is a San Diego native and has been dancing since she was 5 years old after watching a performance of the Nutcracker at the Civic theater in downtown San Diego. She knew she found her passion at a young age and received a scholarship for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School when she was 15. She lived in Canada and graduated from the school with distinction and later joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company who she danced and toured the United States and Canada with until 2018. She moved back to sunny San Diego and continued to dance with California Ballet and later Golden State Ballet. She is also a certified Yoga teacher and enjoys baking and painting.

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Ahmad Joudeh, Guest Artist

Joudeh is a dancer, choreographer, and author. He was born and raised in Yarmouk, a Palestinian Refugee Camp in Damascus (Syria) as a stateless refugee. In 2016, he moved to Amsterdam with the help of the Dutch National Ballet, joining the company that same year. Since 2017, he has worked internationally as an artist and human rights activist. In 2021, Joudeh obtained Dutch nationality. He is the Artistic Director of Dance or Die Foundation and serves as a high-profile supporter for The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and is an International Friend for SOS Children’s Villages International. Joudeh is also a 2024 Young Global Leader at the world economic forum.

Alexandria Martini, Guest Artist

Alexandria Martini began her training at the Santa Clarita Ballet Academy under the direction of Corrine Glover and Carol Guidry, where she completed all Royal Academy of Dance exams through Advanced 2 with Distinction. In 2016, she was one of ten worldwide recipients of the Darcey Bussell Bursary Scholarship for the Genée International Ballet Competition in Sydney, Australia. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2018. While in Berkeley, she also performed with Berkeley Ballet Theater under the direction of Sally Streets and Robin Dekkers, including principal and soloist roles in Paquita, Coppélia, and The Nutcracker. She then joined the City Ballet of San Diego from 2021 to 2023 as a member of their Studio Company, following a hiatus from ballet to launch her career in aerospace engineering. During her time at City Ballet, she greatly enjoyed performing in Balanchine’s Serenade and The Four Temperaments, as well as expanding her classical repertoire to include La Bayadère Kingdom of the Shades, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, and Elizabeth Wistrich’s Alice in Wonderland.

Alongside her ballet career, Martini has an established career as a systems engineering manager, designing and testing aerial communication platforms. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, video games, cooking, and spoiling her dog Espresso.

RAUL SALAMANCA

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CEO, Golden State Ballet
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Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Raul Salamanca brings over 25 years of professional dance and teaching experience to the beautiful city of San Diego. He started his dance training at the age of 13 at the acclaimed Magda Aunon School of Classical Ballet, where he graduated with honors after completing their program based on the world-renowned Cuban National Ballet School curriculum. He later went on to supplement his training on full scholarships with the Arizona Ballet School and the Boston Ballet School. Throughout his training, he worked closely with many distinguished teachers such as Laura Alonso, Ib Andersen, Sergei Berezhnoi, Devon Carney, Frank Galvez, Kee Juan Han, Magaly Suarez, and Tatiana Terekhova, gaining a wide array of knowledge and exposure in the Balanchine, Bournonville, Cecchetti, Cuban, and Vaganova methods of ballet. As a student, Mr. Salamanca was an award recipient of the National Society of Arts and Letters and the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts. He was twice selected to be a representative for the United States at the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi in 1998 and 2002.

Mr. Salamanca launched his professional career at the age of 17 with Ballet Arizona and later went on to dance with Boston Ballet, Les Grand Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, and Ballet San Antonio. As a professional dancer he performed Principal and Soloist roles in well-known classical ballets such as La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, La Fille Mal Gardee, Don Quixote, Giselle, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and La Sylphide. He originated roles in ballets by Ib Andersen, Stijn Celis, Lucinda Childs, Jorma Elo, Mark Morris, Mikko Nissinen, Moses Pendleton, Helen Pickett, and Dwight Rhoden. He has also performed in a wide range of works by neoclassical and contemporary masters such as Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, John Cranko, David Dawson, Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Anthony Tudor, and Christopher Wheeldon. Mr. Salamanca’s performing career has taken him extensively all over the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has also been invited as a guest artist to perform alongside some of the brightest stars in the ballet world in galas such as the “Gala of International Ballet Stars” and Youth American Grand Prix Gala “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow.”

In 2012, Mr. Salamanca became Ballet Master and Director of Education for Ballet San Antonio, where he co-choreographed and consulted in the creation of the company's The Nutcracker and spearheaded an outreach program with the Boys & Girls Club of San Antonio. In that same year, he became the sole stager in the United States for Boston Ballet Resident Choreographer, Jorma Elo. His collaborations with Elo have taken him to prominent companies and schools around the world such as Tulsa Ballet in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Beijing Dance Academy in Beijing, China.

In 2013, Mr. Salamanca joined the faculty of Silicon Valley's Los Gatos Ballet, becoming Associate Director in 2015 and Artistic Director in 2017. During his tenure there, he helped earn the titles of “Best Dance Company” by Metro Silicon Valley and “Best Non-Profit of the Year” by the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce by expanding and defining the school’s programs, reinvigorating its productions, and expanding their presence in the community. Through the Leaps and Bounds outreach program at Los Gatos Ballet, Mr. Salamanca shared his passion for dance through education and mentoring in the Bay Area by establishing an outreach program for second graders at local elementary schools, which received much acclaim. Due to its success, the program has been expanded and has begun to receive its own funding.

Mr. Salamanca's students have been accepted into many prestigious ballet schools and universities around the world including the Acadamie Princesse Grace, Boston Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, Houston Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet School, Ballet West, USC Kaufman, and Juilliard to name a few. As a choreographer, he has created over a dozen original solo and group contemporary pieces and a full-length classical ballet, Alice in Wonderland. His wide array of teaching credits include the Boston Ballet School, Kansas City Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet San Antonio, Bay Pointe Ballet, Western Ballet, and the Academy of Classical Ballet. He has also collaborated and consulted with various performing arts organizations, such as the Silicon Valley Ballet and the West Valley College Dance Department.

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