Master Class: Contemporary Ballet with LINES Ballet

Maël Amatoul

Maël Amatoul is native to the French Riviera. He embarked on a journey at the PNSD Rosella Hightower in Cannes, where he trained in ballet and contemporary. Amatoul has worked on pieces by choreographers including Jean Christophe Maillot, Christophe Garcia, Hervé Koubi, and Francesco Curci. In 2022, he was awarded a Scholarship of Excellence in Art and Culture from the Côte d’Azur University. After seven years in Cannes, Amatoul decided to open up his dance experience to new techniques and joined The Ailey School. There, he had the opportunity to learn and perform works by Alvin Ailey and renowned choreographers such as Ray Mercer, Branndi Lewis, Renee Robinson, and Clifton Brown. After attending the LINES Ballet Summer Program in June 2023, Amatoul joined Alonzo King LINES Ballet as a company dancer. 

Adji Cissoko

Adji Cissoko was born and grew up in Munich, Germany, where she trained at the Ballet Academy Munich and graduated with a diploma in dance. Cissoko attended the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre in New York City on full scholarship before joining the National Ballet of Canada in 2010. In 2012, she was awarded the Patron Award of Merit by the Patrons’ Council Committee of The National Ballet of Canada. Cissoko joined LINES Ballet in 2014. Since then, she’s originated many central roles and guested for galas worldwide. Cissoko has given multiple master classes and taught classes around the world as part of the company’s outreach program. In 2020, she became certified in health/life coaching and ABT’s National Training Curriculum. Cissoko choreographed her first piece, “AZIZ,” for Ballet X in 2021. She is also a 2022 recipient of the Toulmin Fellowship and was the Artist-in-Residence for Vail Dance Festival in 2023. 

Babatunji

Babatunji was born in Portland, Oregon, but raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. He received his formal dance training from Center Stage Dance Studio and the University of Hawaii in Hilo before moving to San Francisco to train at the LINES Ballet Training Program on a full scholarship. Babatunji has performed works by diverse choreographers such as Sidra Bell, Amanda Miller, Gregory Dawson, and Maurya Kerr. He has performed overseas in Japan and China and danced with Philein/ZiRu productions, Maurya Kerr’s tinypistol, and Dawson|Wallace Dance Project. Babatunji joined LINES Ballet in 2013 and danced with the company for six years. Currently, he is a dancer with Post:Ballet and SFDanceworks in San Francisco. He rejoined LINES Ballet in 2021. 

Theo Duff-Grant

Theo Duff-Grant was born in Vancouver, Canada. He studied at Goh Ballet Academy for ten years before completing his training at the Dutch National Ballet Academy. In 2015, he joined the Dutch National Ballet, and in 2017, he moved to Saint Petersburg, Russia, to join the Mikhailovsky Theatre. He joined LINES Ballet in 2022. 

Lorris Eichinger

Lorris Eichinger started training in Grenoble at the National Conservatory and continued at the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Danse de Marseille. After training at The School of American Ballet in New York from 2010 to 2013, Eichinger joined the Professional Division Program of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. He then moved back to France to dance with the Jeune  Ballet de Lyon. Eichinger danced with De Dutch Don’t Dance in the Netherlands in 2015 and then moved to Israel to join Kamea Dance Company in 2016. He joined LINES Ballet in 2019. 

Shuaib Elhassan

Shuaib Elhassan, from Manhattan’s Lower East Side, began his formal dance training at The Ailey School under the co-direction of Tracy Inman and Melanie Person on a full scholarship. Elhassan has also trained at intensives such as Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Elhassan was a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet during their 2012–2013 season. Additionally, Elhassan has performed with Life Dance Company, Zest Collective, Dance Iquail, and the Von Howard Project. Elhassan joined LINES Ballet in 2014. 

Ilaria Guerra

Ilaria Guerra was born in Torino, Italy. At the age of five, she moved to Palos Verdes Estates, California, where she trained in classical ballet at Lauridsen Ballet Center, performing with their pre-professional company, South Bay Ballet. Guerra graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University of California with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a minor in Arts Management in 2013. She joined dawsondancesf under the direction of Gregory Dawson in 2013. In 2016, Guerra received an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Ensemble Performance. Guerra joined LINES Ballet in 2018 and has had the chance to tour all over the US, Canada, and Europe with the company. In 2022, Guerra earned her Master’s degree in Arts Administration from Drexel University. 

Marusya Madubuko

Marusya Madubuko, originally from New York, NY, began her pre-professional training at age 15 with Premiere Division Ballet under the tutelage of Nadege Hottier. In 2019, Madubuko competed at the Royal Grand Prix in Italy, winning second place for her contemporary and classical solo. She trained with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, the Royal Ballet School, and at San Francisco Ballet School, where she had the opportunity to dance repertoire including Helgi Tomasson’s Nutcracker and Cinderella, as well as George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2021, she participated in BalletUnleashed’s first creative project “Switchback,” working with choreographer Cathy Marston to create a solo. Madubuko joined LINES Ballet in 2021. 

Tatum Quiñónez

Tatum Quiñónez began her training at Master Ballet Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. She then continued her training at Ballet West Academy and the BWA Trainee Program. She spent her summers at Ballet Arizona, Ballet Austin, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet West, and Oregon Ballet Theatre. Quiñónez then joined Oregon Ballet Theatre’s second company, OBT2, in 2019. She has performed works by George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Willam Christensen, Gerald Arpino, Christopher Stowell, James Canfield, and LeeWei Chao. Quiñónez joined LINES Ballet in 2021. 

Mikal Gilbert

Mikal Gilbert raised in Virginia Beach, VA, Mikal Gilbert developed a love for dance at the age of 19 while studying music performance at the University of the Arts. It was there that his passion grew upon encouragement from several dance faculty members. He then went on to formally train at Norfolk Academy under the tutelage of Elbert Watson, where he studied ballet and modern. In 2017, Gilbert was an inaugural member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program. In 2018, he continued his studies at The Ailey School as a full scholarship recipient. 

 Mikal has attended intensives and workshops at Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Complexions, and BalletX. Mikal is a “Dancer of Philadelphia” and has been a member of Koresh Dance Company (2019–2022), Dance Iquail (2022), and PHILADANCO! (2022–2024), where he performed works by Bernard Gaddis, Milton Myers, Christopher Rudd, and Tommie Wheed. Mikal joined LINES Ballet in 2024. 

Amanda Smith

Amanda Smith grew up in Orange County, CA and trained at California Dance Academy, Pointe of Grace, and Anaheim Ballet. In 2008, she was crowned Miss Dance Drill Team California and USA. She moved to New York to study at SUNY Purchase where she received her BFA in 2012. She also studied abroad and performed at the Dance New York International Dance Festival in Madrid, Spain.  

After graduating, Smith joined Charlotte Ballet and worked with Patricia McBride. In 2015, she moved back to New York, where she joined New York Theatre Ballet. Smith also taught and participated in outside projects including The Black Iris Project and Kymera Dance, and she was featured in a national campaign for GAP. She then joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 2017 and was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine’s 2019 April issue. While at DTH, Smith performed many roles in ballets such as Allegro Brilliante and Blake Works IV. She also guested for Debbie Allen’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. Furthermore, Smith has taught classes, performed as a guest artist all over, and worked with many prolific artists such as Arthur Mitchell, Carmen De Lavalade, and William Forsythe.