GRIFF BRAUN
Griff Braun is a freelance artist and a member of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.  He has danced professionally with American Ballet Theatre, The Royal Swedish Ballet, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Complexions, the Dallas Ballet, and Feld Ballets, NY.  He has appeared as a guest artist with many companies, including Stiefel and Stars, Martine Van Hamel’s New Amsterdam Ballet, and the Washington National Opera.  He has performed principal roles in original ballets and repertoire of such choreographers as Agnes DeMille, Antony Tudor, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, Jiri Kylian, Mark Morris, Doug Varone, John Neumeier, James Kudelka, José Limón, Eugene Loring, Eliot Feld, Dwight Rhoden, and Stanton Welch, among others.  Mr. Braun is an NFAA “Scholar in the Arts,” and in October of 2003 was honored by the Dance Council with a “Legacy Award”: the Nathalie Skelton Award for Artistic Achievement.

photo courtesy of Saddiqi Ray

LAURA FEIG
Laura Feig, a New York native, trained at Seiskaya Ballet Academy and later studied with Maggie Black. She recently appeared in Twyla Tharp's "Movin' Out" as Judy. A member of the Atlanta Ballet for ten years, Laura has performed leading roles in works by Julia Adam, George Balanchine, Diane Coburn-Bruning, Ben Stevenson, and Lila York. She counts principal roles in John McFall's "Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake", Michael Pink's "Romeo and Juliet", "Dracula", and "Hunchback of Notre Dame", and Stephen Mills' "Hamlet" among her most memorable. Ms. Feig has had many roles created for her by choreographers including Christopher Hampson, Margo Sappington and Stanton Welch. She has also performed as a member of Ballet NY, Configuration Dance, Chautauqua Ballet, and Virginia Ballet Theatre.

Laura Feig in "Ramblin' Suite," photo courtesy of Charlie McCullers

MICHELE GIFFORD
Michele grew up in Dallas, Texas. She began her training at the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet. At sixteen she moved to New York City to attend the School of American Ballet on full scholarship. Two years later, she became a member of the New York City Ballet. In her twelve year career at New York City Ballet, Michele performed many soloist and principal roles including :Balanchine's "Apollo"," Rubies", "Agon", "Symphony in Three Movements", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Stars and Stripes". Michele also originated many roles including Jerome Robbins' "West Side Story Suite", Peter Martins'" Echo", Christopher Wheeldons'" Slavonic Dances", and David Parsons' Touch". In 2000, Michele joined Texas Ballet Theater under Ben Stevenson and performed principal roles including Ben Stevenson's "Copellia", "Four Last Songs"," Dracula", and "Peer Gynt" along with Balanchine's "Allegro Brilliante" and "The Four Temperaments". Michele has also made several guest artist appearances including "Tchaikovsky pas de Deux", "Who Cares","Barber Violin Concerto", "Carmina Burana", and most recently with the Bruce Wood Dance Company. In 2006, Michele joined the Bruce Wood Dance Company as a full time company member and Company Manager. Michele is married and has two children, Ryan and Morgan.

ANNA LAGHEZZA
Anna Laghezza was born in Kyoto, Japan and grew up in New York City. She trained at the School of American Ballet and went on to dance professionally with Miami City Ballet, James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theatre, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, BalletNY, and Morphoses / the Wheeldon Company. Ms. Laghezza has performed much of the Balanchine repertoire and has performed leading roles in works by Antony Tudor, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Sir Frederick Ashton, Lar Lubovitch, and others. She has worked on new works with many choreographers including Christopher Wheeldon, Lar Lubovitch, Lise Houlton, James Sewell, Uri Sands, Dwight Rhoden, Hernando Cortes, and Rebecca Kelly, among others.

RAMON THIELEN
Ramon Thielen, born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, began his ballet studies in the Casa de la Cultura Julio Garmendia with Nery Johnson and later continued in the Gustavo Franklin Ballet School in Caracas. In 1987 he joined the Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas and later the Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, directed by Zhandra Rodriguez, where he was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1990. In 1991 he joined the San Jose Cleveland ballet where for seven years he performed many principal roles in the classical and contemporary repertoire. Mr. Thielen joined The Dance Theater of Harlem in 1998 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1999. He is the first Hispanic male Principal Dancer at the institution in 36 years. Some of his principal roles include: Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Carmina Burana, Raymond (in the ballet movie The Blue Suede Shoes), Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Diana and Acteon and Apollo. He has been a guest artist with many international companies, and has toured many countries, including: Venezuela, Colombia Curacao, USA, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Russia, Australia and China.

BRENNAN BOYER
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Brennan is building a promising career at Oregon Ballet Theatre, performing leading roles in their diverse repertoire including the leads in Julia Adams' Angelo, Christopher Stowell's Quick Time, and James Kudelka's Almost Mozart.  Brennan began dancing at 5 years old and received advanced training at the Rock School in Philadelphia, San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, where he served an apprenticeship under the direction of Kent Stowell and Francia Russel.  In Seattle, Brennan was privileged to dance favorite roles in Glen Tetley's Rite of Spring, Kent Stowell's Carmina Burana, and Kiyon Gaines' Blitz Fantasy.

KATHI MARTUZA
Born in Boston, Kathi began her serious ballet training at Maryland Youth Ballet when she was 12 and spent summers training at American Ballet Theatre and Houston Ballet Academy.  Prior to joining Oregon Ballet Theatre in 2003, she danced with San Francisco Ballet where roles were created for her by Christopher Stowell, Julia Adam, Mark Morris and Yuri Possokhov. In 2005, Dance Magazine named her to its annual list of "25 to Watch." 

ERIC MIDGLEY
Eric Midgley was born in Canada and began his dance career in 1979 performing throughout western Canada and the Pacific Northwest with the Veselka Ukrainian Folk Ensemble. In 1989, Mr. Midgley graduated from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School before joining Ballet Florida in West Palm Beach. During his twelve years there, he had numerous roles created for him and became known not only for his technique, but also for his versatility and artistry. He has had the privilege of dancing the works of world-renowned choreographers, including Mills, Patterson, Ailey, Butler, Caniparoli, Nebrada, Balanchine, Martins, Soleau, Ezralow, Kylian, Van Manen, Taylor-Corbett, Sappington, Lubovitch, McIntyre, Parsons, Forsythe, and Wainrot.

In 1996, Mr. Midgley co-founded Step Ahead – Ballet Florida’s Choreographic Workshop. During the next six years, he directed the program, which produced over 40 new works by dozens of new choreographers.

Mr. Midgley has danced across the US, including performances at the Kennedy Center, the Joyce Theater and Florence Gould Hall, and in Scotland, France, Italy, and Slovenia. He has performed with American Repertory Ensemble, Boca Ballet Theater, Juegos del Arte, Maximum Dance, and at Montana Ballet and Ballet Builders. He joined Ballet Austin in 2001 and brings to the stage a widely varied background in dance and music.

GINA PATTERSON
Gina Patterson started her dance career as an apprentice with Pittsburgh Ballet. In 1988, she joined Ballet Austin, dancing principal roles in both classical and contemporary works. In 1996, was invited to join Ballet Florida and danced a diverse repertoire including works by Vicente Nebrada, Ben Stevenson, Peter Martins, Val Caniparoli, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Mauricio Wainrot, Daniel Ezralow, Sean Lavery, and Trey McIntyre. She has appeared on stages around the world including Canada, Iceland, Greece, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and France. She has also appeared as a guest artist around the country and has performed in the Joyce Theater, at Lincoln Center, and at the Kennedy Center. Ms. Patterson returned to Ballet Austin in 2000 and continues to perform principal roles including Giselle, Juliet, Odette/Odile and Ophelia partnered by Desmond Richardson in Stephen Mills’ Hamlet as well as repertoire works by Mills, George Balanchine, David Parsons, Dwight Rhoden, Thaddeus Davis, and Ulysses Dove.

Ms. Patterson has been hailed as a choreographer of “startling originality” (Back Stage) and “a standout on the soul front” (Sun-Sentinel). Her first work, Insideout, garnered her instant acclaim. She has presented four pieces at the Ballet Builder's Showcase in New York and her work, Life Wind, was awarded the prestigious Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography in 2002. Trail of Tears was awarded the B. Iden Payne Award for Outstanding Choreographer. Free to Fly was performed in Europe and she created Liquid Eyes for Hubbard Street 2, winning their National Choreographic Competition.  In 2006, she created a new work at the National Choreographic Initiative in California and created world premieres for both Nashville Ballet and Ballet Austin in 2007. Her works have been performed by such companies as Ballet Austin, Nashville Ballet, Ballet Florida,  Dayton Ballet, Ballet Pacifica, Hubbard Street 2, Ballet Austin II, Ballet East, Montana Ballet, and Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Dallas.

ARTUR SULTANOV
Artur was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. He trained at Vaganova Academy, and at age 17, joined the Kirov Ballet, where he danced a classical repertoire. Artur has performed with Eifman Ballet as a soloist and in 2000, moved to San Francisco to join Alonzo King's Lines Ballet. There, he worked closely with Mr. King on creating original contemporary ballets. In 2003, Artur joined OBT, and in June 2006, added the role of Price Siegfried to his repertoire. His other favorite roles include Balanchine's Duo Concertant, Trey McIntyre's Just and Christopher Stowell's Eyes On You. Last summer Artur performed with the Trey McIntyre Project and he recently danced the role of Romeo as a guest for California Ballet Company.

JOHN WELKER
Currently performing leading male roles with Atlanta Ballet, John began dancing in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio with the BalletMet Dance Academy and then went on to train throughout the United States and abroad on full scholarship. He has recently performed as a guest artist nationally and internationally with the Chamber Dance Project, Configurations, and New Orleans Ballet Theater. Principal roles John has performed recently with the Company include Dracula in Michael Pink's "Dracula," Pinkerton in Stanton Welch's "Madame Butterfly," Ghosts in Margo Sappington's "Shed Your Skin," and the lead male in Julia Adam's world premiere "If a rose falls." When he is not dancing, John is a self-taught carpenter and enjoys cooking for his wife, fellow Company member, Christine Winkler.

Welker and Winkler in "Romeo & Juliet," photo courtesy of Charlie McCullers

CHRISTINE WINKLER
California native, Christine Winkler trained with Sacramento Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet School, later performing with those companies as well as Ballet West. She has been a guest artist with Maximum Dance, Chamber Dance Project, and Configurations. Christine has performed principal roles in John McFall's "Nutcracker" and "Peter Pan" Michael Pink's "Dracula" and "Romeo & Juliet;" Ben Stevenson's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Cinderella" Stanton Welch's "Madame Butterfly" Septime Webre's "Carmen" and Margo Sappington's "Shed Your Skin." She has worked with acclaimed choreographers Julia Adam, Diane Coburn Bruning, Christian Holder, David Parsons, and Lila York. Christine currently performs leading female roles with Atlanta Ballet and is married to Company member John Welker.

IKOLO GRIFFIN
Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Mr. Griffin received his dance training from San Francisco Ballet School. In 1993, he became the first student from the school´s outreach program to join the San Francisco Ballet Company. Mr. Griffin joined the Dance Theater of Harlem in 2001 as a soloist and was later promoted to principal. He is now a principal dancer with The Joffrey Ballet.  He has danced leading roles in Fancy Free, Agon, Stars and Stripes, Prodigal Son, and St. Louis Woman. He has created many world premieres with choreographers such as Val Caniparoil, James Kudelka, Stanton Welch, Christopher Wheeldon, and Mark Morris. Mr. Griffin has also danced in works choreographed by Helgi Tomasson, Lew Christensen, Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, Anges deMille, Arthur Mitchell, Lila York, and Antony Tudor.

STEPHANIE WALZ
Stephanie Walz was born in Virginia and trained at the Washington School of Ballet under Mary Day and at American Ballet Theatre School of Classical Ballet under Mikhail Baryshnikov. She is the recipient of a number of awards including scholarships from the Princess Grace Foundation, the USA International Ballet Competition at Jackson, Mississippi, and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Ms. Walz also received first prizes at the National Society of Arts and Letters, and  Prix de Lausaunne competitions, and was honored to attend the Golden Plate Awards. In 1991, President Bush named her a presidential Scholar in the Arts recognizing her artistic and academic achievements. She danced with American Ballet Theatre for eight years and has appeared internationally as a guest artist. She danced with Maximum Dance Company for seven years and is currently a freelance artist. She most recently appeared in the Florida Grand Opera’s new production of Aida in the soloist role of the High Priestess for their grand opening at Miami’s new Carnival Center.

Photo by Don Becker

JENNIFER GOODMAN
Jennifer Goodman is currently with The Joffrey Ballet and has been a member since 1992. Jennifer received her training in Michigan under the direction of Mary Kashinsky, Mary Geiger, and Cornelia Sampson. With The Joffrey Ballet, Jennifer has toured internationally performing the world renowned rock-ballet Billboards and has performed an extensive repertoire including ballets by Gerald Arpino,Robert Joffrey,George Balanchine, Anthony Tudor, Leonard Massine, Agnes de Mille, Nijinsky, Vicente Nebrada, Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins, John Cranko, Donald Byrd, Twyla Tharp, and the roles of Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Robert Joffrey's Nutcracker. Jennifer has also performed guesting roles in the ballets Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Les Sylphides, Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Paquita, Le Corsaire, Diana et Acteon, Coppelia, and Cinderella.

MISA KURANAGA
Misa Kuranaga began her training at the Jinushi Kaoru Ballet School in
1991, and went on to study at San Francisco Ballet School and the School of American Ballet. In 1993 she performed the Black Swan variation at the Bolshoi Theatre, as a participant in the Seventh Moscow International Ballet Competition Gala Performance. Kuranaga was personally invited to the competition by former Bolshoi Ballet Artistic Director Yuri Grigorovich. In 2001 Kuranaga won the gold medal in the Junior Division of the Ninth Moscow International Ballet Competition, and was also the recipient of the "Hope of the World Ballet" prize, an award voted on by all jury members with an additional vote from the audience. That same year she was a scholarship award winner at the Prix de Lausanne. Kuranaga joined Boston Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet, and was promoted to second soloist in 2005. Her repertory includes The Sleeping Beauty (Songbird Fairy and Princess Florine), The Nutcracker (Snow Queen, Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara) La Sylphide (the Sylph), Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote (Amour/Cupid), John Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew, George Balanchine's Divertimento No. 15 and Rubies, and Lucinda Childs' world premiere for the Company, Ten Part Suite.

GABOR KAPIN
Gabor Kapin trained at the Hungarian Dance Academy for nine years, and during that time often performed with the Hungarian National Ballet. For two summers he studied with Alicia Alonso and the Cuban National Ballet in Spain. In 1998 Kapin was a finalist at the Nureyev Competition in Budapest. As a dancer with Carolina Ballet under the direction of Robert Weiss, Kapin performed in George Balanchine's Rubies, The Four Temperaments, Prodigal Son, Donizetti Variations and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Kapin has worked with Richard Tanner, Christopher Wheeldon, Damien Woetzel, Margot Sappington, and Lynne Taylor-Corbett. Kapin now dances with Boston Ballet.

DANIELA DELOE
A Las Vegas native, Daniela received her training at the Academy of Nevada Dance Theatre and participated in summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and the School of American Ballet. She joined Nevada Ballet Theatre in 1997, where she rose in the ranks from apprentice to soloist dancing lead roles in Choo San Gogh's Glow in the Night and Myrta in Giselle. She moved to Portland and began dancing with Oregon Ballet Theatre in 2002 and has enjoyed dancing leading roles in George Balanchine's Serenade and Divertimento No. 15, Jerome Robbins' In the Night, Christopher Stowell's Eyes on You, and Lar Lubovitch's Concerto 622.

AARA KRUMPE
Originally from Corpus Christi, Aara Krumpe received her early training from Nancy Sulik. She attended summer sessions at Houston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Richmond Ballet, and Ballet Austin. Ms. Krumpe completed her last three years of high school in the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre/Schenley Program. She performed in Balanchine’s Nutcracker, Western Symphony, and Symphony in C with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. With Ballet Austin, she has enjoyed dancing in Stephen Mills’ Touch, Cinderella, and as the lead flower in The Nutcracker. Ms. Krumpe was a member of Ballet Austin II for two years before joining the company in 2001.