Giannone’s work, Equilibrium, examines the dynamic interplay between opposing forces, exploring the dialogue of strength and vulnerability, yielding and resisting, self and other.  It reflects the ongoing recalibration at the heart of human connection.

Giannone is our modern instructor at Golden State Ballet Academy. A dancer, choreographer, and circus artist based in San Diego, she originally hails from New York City and holds a BFA in Dance from Fordham University and The Ailey School. Giannone has performed in shows and with companies including Queen of the Night, Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, Company XIV, Quixotic Fusion, Malashock Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theater, STREB, Diavolo, and in the works of Kazuko Hirabayashi, Pascal Rioult, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, and Milton Myers. She is a certified instructor in Horton Technique, GYROTONIC®, and Cyr Wheel, and currently teaches at Golden State Ballet Academy, Mironova Classical Ballet Academy, and San Diego Circus Center, as well as serving as a guest instructor at Malashock Dance School, SDSCPA, Circus Juventas, and Idyllwild Arts Academy.

In 2015, Giannone became a world champion in competitive wheel gymnastics for Team USA. Her honors and affiliations include Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative, Gold Medalist Pianist at Carnegie Hall, winner of the Dance Magazine video competition, recipient of the STREB Emerging Artist Commission, Bindlestiff First of May Award (2013), and residencies at Spaceworks NYC and Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, California.

Giannone’s choreographic works have been presented at Youth America Grand Prix, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, San Diego Circus Center, Golden State Ballet Academy, Circus Juventas, Galapagos Arts Space, Dixon Place, STREB, California State University Long Beach, Cornish College of the Arts, and The Ailey School. She has also appeared on Harry TV, Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, and other television programs. Giannone is thrilled to be working with the Golden State Ballet company as a guest choreographer for Crafted II.

Nathan Madden has been blessed to have a full career of designing, choreographing, directing, and performing all around the world and with each experience he becomes more of a well-rounded creative force.  He is thrilled to be creating work on this amazing San Diego-based company! After completing his degree at the Juilliard School,  he went on to grace the stages of countless theaters during two seasons with Les Ballet Jazz des Montreal, touring with Twyla Tharp's Come Fly Away, and guesting with Lar Lubovitch Dance. His Broadway journey began with Fosse’s legendary CHICAGO, then was an original cast member of Christopher Wheeldon's An American In Paris, and part of the team bringing back the revival of Hello, Dolly! He was awarded the Héctor Zaraspe Prize for exemplary movement, was a finalist for the Capezio ACE Awards, and has had his work place in The National Society of Arts and Letters competition. He created new works for The Current Sessions, the Reverb Festival, the Dumbo Dance Festival, Arts on Site, and various museum openings across the country.  As a designer with Water Entertainment Technologies, he has brought movement to water features worldwide. He remains passionate about the pursuit of leadership development; supporting youth organizations through ministry, arts education and outreach. 

Rader’s latest piece is a third movement and continuation of her work Thoughtscape, which premiered at Golden State’s initial Crafted production in March. The whole work is a look into the mind, and the visualization of different feelings and thoughts. This third movement is a duet that observes the different parts of oneself. Despite our best intentions, there will always be a piece of ourselves that we don't like. Whether we choose to work against, or work with this, it's part of what makes us who we are.

Rader 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. Next, 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.

Most recently, Rader joined Golden State Ballet as an apprentice in the 23/24 season. She's been able to perform in Raul Salamanca's TheNutcracker and Cinderella, Norbert de la Cruz III's Semblance, and Gabrielle Lamb's Hemidemisemiquaver. She was also able to choreograph for their inaugural production of Crafted in March 2025. Rader also holds a comprehensive Pilates Certification and is teaching Pilates and freelancing around Southern California.

Handbrake, set to Micatone’s composition of the same name, revolves around a relationship that is devoid of interest and care. Despite their unfeeling nature towards each other, our central couple carries on living dissatisfied together, showcased by the dancers in a series of solos and tango-inspired duets. Throughout the piece, the two couples embody a lack of control in the relationship through off-balance falls, drags, and catches. These moments of risk and momentum propel the dance into continual motion much like a car without brakes.

Read Abbott’s story here.

Denney’s piece, Inner tension, explores the tension between individuality and conformity within a collective. Set to multiple compositions by The Black Dog, the music underscores this struggle, with each piece offering distinct energy while remaining thematically connected. Through precise formations and moments of disruption, the work considers the balance between control and freedom—leaving space for interpretation. 

Read Denney’s story here.

Hallburn’s piece, If Only, explores his journey toward self-acceptance—learning to see his body, his heart, and his worth as one. It reflects the struggle of feeling disconnected from himself and like an outsider in the dance world, and the transformation that came when he began to embrace every part of who he is—his body, his talents, his flaws, and his imperfections. Through that acceptance, he discovered that he had belonged all along.

Read Hallburn’s story here.

Jenkins’ piece, Shakti, is a dance inspired by the Hindu goddess Durga, the embodiment of protection and inner strength. Born from the great creator Brahma to restore balance, Durga is of a warrior race and is gifted with the powers of the divine masculine. As the male lords seek to claim her, she challenges them, multiplying herself to face their armies. With each tear she sheds, warriors evaporate, and as they send more, she splits into countless forms, defeating them all. In the final confrontation, the lords themselves fall, consumed by the flames of their own egos as they meet her gaze. Set to music by Cam Steen, the dance ultimately explores the battle between ego and the highest self, honoring the feminine as the source of creation and life.

Read Jenkins’ story here.

Entitled Madinat Al-Salam, The City of Peace, and set to music by Brendan Angelides, Joudeh’s latest solo is a fusion of Sufi traditional movement and ballet, as a heartfelt prayer for peace in his hometown, Damascus. Sharing this work in Crafted II holds deep meaning for Joudeh, as it represents a bridge between Eastern spirituality and Western art, uniting cultures through the language of dance.

Read Joudeh’s story here.

Frame carefully watches as the bond of performer and spectator unfolds, set to contrasting scores by Martin Rev and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Momentary glances and soft stares, sat in a theater or standing outside a window.

Read Simpson’s story here.

Tran’s piece Between Moments, set to Kirill Richter’s Chronos, explores the balance between motion and stillness in a world that rarely pauses. It reflects on the relentless pace of modern life and how we rush from one experience to the next without taking the time to breathe, notice, or truly connect. The piece contrasts chaos and calm, the external noise of the world and the quiet inner rhythm we often overlook. It reminds us that even in our constant state of motion, we are allowed to slow down, to find presence in the in-between moments, and to recognize that meaning often lives not in endless movement, but in the brief pauses that let us feel and simply be.

Read Tran’s story here.