Dancers

 

Jared Brunson Jared Brunson is a Saint Petersburg, Fl. native, and began his dance training at age seven. By age 11, he began studying Vaganova with Suzanne Pomerantzeff and Sean Musslemen at the Acadamy of Ballet Arts, and he continued his vigilant training entering the dance program at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts (PCCA) at age 14. While at PCCA he earned numerous scholarships from major schools such as Houston Ballet, The Rock School, Ballet Met, Alvin Ailey and many more. He also trained exclusively under Pavel Fomin, Erik Wagner, and Michael Sheridan. in 2010, Jared was offered a trainee scholarship with the Boston Ballet, and in 2012 was offered an apprentice scholarship with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Jared has had the opportunity to work with nationally acclaimed artists/choreographers, such as Duncan Cooper, Iquail Johnson, Benny Royce, Tyce Diorio, Ronen Koresh and many more. This is Jared's first season with Balletx.

William Cannon William Cannon began his dance training at age 11 at BalletMet Dance Academy in Columbus, Ohio. As a student, he performed with the company works by Artistic Director David Nixon. In 2002, William was selected to participate in the National Foundation for the Advancement of Arts "ARTS week". Following graduation from BalletMet's Professional Training Program in 2002 he became a BalletMet company member, performing works by George Balanchine and Stanton Welch among others. Cannon went on to dance with Hubbard Street 2 and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Dance Magazine named William one of 25 to watch in 2005. He danced with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet from 2008-2011 performing works by Jorma Elo, Nicolo Fonte, Jiri Kylian and Cayetano Soto. This is William's second season with BalletX.

Colby Damon Colby Damon received his training at the Richmond Ballet, the Boston Ballet, and the Virginia School of the Arts. He has danced professionally with the Sacramento Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Amy Seiwert's Im'ig-ery, the Northwest Dance Project, Avi Scher and Dancers, and Thang Dao Dance Company among others, in addition to appearing in choreographic projects with Luca Veggetti and John Selya. in 2008 he joined BalletX, and has since been featured in over 15 world Premieres. Colby is a student of Chinese language, energy work, and martial arts, is pursuing his BA in Dance through the New York LEAP program, and is active in the fight against Hydraulic Fracturing within the state of Pennsylvania and throughout the United States.

Chloe Felesina Chloe Felesina received her primary training from Allyson Deane and Barbara Crockett at Deane Dance Center in Sacramento and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance directed by Summer Lee Rhatigan. Through SFCD, she performed works by William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian and many San Francisco Bay Area choreographers. Chloe spent three years dancing for the San Francisco based company The Foundry directed by Alex Ketley where she was integral to the creation of works involving processes such as improvising outdoors, collaborating with poets and going to residency programs around the country. She then joined Sacramento Ballet for 3 seasons season where she performed various principal and soloist roles, her favorite being Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.

Jaime Lennon Jaime Lennon began her training at the Dance Center in West Chester, PA under the direction of Donna Muzio at the age of seven. Since then she has trained with notable instructors including Nancy Page, Cherie Noble, Christine Cox, and the staff at the School of American Ballet. in May 2010, Ms. Lennon graduated with a BA from West Chester University in Communication studies, all the while performing as a principal dancer with the Brandywine Ballet. Resident Choreographer, Nancy Page, created numerous roles for her, including Lucy in Dracula. She has been a member of Balletx since 2010 and in that time has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Matthew Neenan, Alex Ketley, Jodie Gates and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.

Caili Quan Caili Quan is a native of Guam. She began her dance training with John Grensback and Bettina Sanzotta. At the age of 16 she moved to New York City to continue her training at Ballet Academy East under the direction of Darla Hoover. In 2007 she received a scholarship to be a trainee with the Richmond Ballet and in 2009 received an apprenticeship with North Carolina Dance Theatre under Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. She has spent the last three seasons with First State Ballet Theatre under the direction of Pasha Kambalov where she has been given the opportunity to dance soloist roles such as Gypsy Queen in Don Quixote, Violente Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, Walpurgis Night, and Viktor Plotnikov's Nonsense in the Sense of Innocence. She has also performed with Opera Delaware and One World Symphony in New York. This is her first season with BalletX.

Jesse Sani Jesse Sani was born and raised in Nazareth, Pennsylvania where he began his dance training at the Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Performing Arts. After graduation he continued his education at New World School of the Arts, the Ailey School and Jacobs Pillow where he trained with Arturo Fernandez, Banu Ogan, Pamela Pribisco, Milton Myers and Stacey Calvert. There he performed works by Azure Barton, Helen Pickett and Tero Saarinen. Jesse then joined Philadelphia's own PHILADANCO, performing nationally and internationally for two seasons. He became a member of Balletx in 2011 and has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Jodie Gates, Alex Ketley, Matthew Neenan and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.

Richard Villaverde Richard Villaverde was born in Miami, Florida and began dancing at the age of thirteen. He graduated from New World School of the Arts in 2009 under the direction of Daniel Lewis. In 2009 Richard won the title of Senior Male outstanding dancer at New York City Dance Alliance and was also awarded a four year full scholarship to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA where he has worked with Douglas Becker, Michael Sheridan, Ronen Koresh, Scott Jovovitch, and Christine Cox. In December 2011 Richard was selected to study abroad in Venice at La Biennale for six months under the direction of Ismael Ivo. There he trained with contemporary artists Francesca Harper, Jozef Frucek, Linda Kapatanea, and Adriana Borriello. Richard is currently a senior at the University of the Arts, this is his first season with BalletX.

Allison Walsh Allison Walsh, originally from Bethesda, Maryland, trained at Maryland Youth Ballet and at the School of American Ballet summer workshops on full scholarship. She is extremely pleased to be in her second season with BalletX. Allison also danced with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago for 7 years. During her tenure at Joffrey she performed leading roles in The Rite of Spring, Tharp’s Waterbaby Bagatelles, Lubovitch's Othello, Possokhov's Bells, Tarentella, Dark Elegies, and Les Presages among others. She has also worked with the Washington Ballet and the Avi Scher and Dancers Company. She has performed at the White House, is featured in the documentary "The Joffrey Ballet: American Mavericks of Dance”, and was recognized by Pointe Magazine for a Standout Performance of 2012 for her solo in BalletX’s Differences in Sections.

Andrea Yorita Andrea is from Irvine, California where she received her classical ballet training at Academy of Dance under the direction of Merle Sepel and Rebecca Tsivkin.  Originally trained under the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, Andrea has completed all Vocational R.A.D. exams with distinction as well as received the Solo Seal Award.  In 2008 Andrea competed as a finalist in the Genée International Ballet Competition in Toronto, Canada.  She has attended summer intensives at the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, in both Orange County and New York, American Academy of Ballet in New York under the direction of Mignon Furman as well as the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Summer Intensive.  She has also participated in summer dance projects such as Molly Lynch’s National Choreographers Initiative as an apprentice in July 2010, as well as the Traverse City Dance Project under the direction of Jennifer Lott and Brent Whitney in July 2012.  In September 2011 she assisted Jodie Gates in setting Rochambeau on Ballet West II.  Andrea graduated in June 2012 with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine where she studied under Jodie Gates, Molly Lynch, Diane Diefenderfer, Tong Wang, Michel Gervais and Loretta Livingston.   She has also worked with modern dance legend Donald McKayle as a member of his Etude Ensemble.  This is Andrea’s first season with BalletX.