International Evenings of Dance I

Lil Buck

Catherine Hurlin

Born in New York City, Catherine Hurlin joined the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis school of American Ballet Theater at the age of 12 under the direction of Franco DeVita. She joined ABT’s Studio Company in 2012. She joined ABT as an apprentice in December 2013 and the corps de ballet in June 2014.  She was promoted to Soloist in September 2018 and to Principal In 2022. Her repertoire with the Company includes principal roles such as Kitri in Don Quixote, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Myrta in Giselle, Lescaut’s Mistress in Manon, Lead Maiden in Firebird, Princess Florine in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, and created the principal role Calirhoe in Alexi Ratmanski’s Of Love and Rage. As well as leading roles in works by Twyla Tharp, Wayne McGregor, Jessica Lang, Mark Morris, Michelle Dorrance, Benjamin Millepied, Christopher Wheeldon and Alexei Ratmansky. Ms. Hurlin was nominated for a 2015 Clive Barnes Award and is a 2018 Princess Grace Award recipient and Erik Bruhn Prize winner in 2019.

Lauren Lovette

Lauren Lovette personifies the intertwining of dance and choreography, moving seamlessly from one to the other. Her work has been commissioned and performed by leading dance companies and festivals, including the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Vail International Dance Festival, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Juilliard, Oregon Ballet Theater, Colorado Ballet, as well as a self-produced evening entirely of her own work in which she also danced, Why It Matters.

Born in Thousand Oaks, California, Lovette began studying ballet at the age of 11 at the Cary Ballet Conservatory in Cary, North Carolina. She enrolled at SAB as a full time student in 2006. In October 2009, Ms. Lovette became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in September 2010. Promoted to soloist in February 2013 and to principal dancer in June 2015, she stepped down from her position at the company in 2021 in order to embark on a career devoted to dance and choreography in more equal measure. She is now the choreographer in residence at the Paul Taylor Dance Company and performs as a guest principal dancer around the world.

Ms. Lovette received the Clive Barnes Award for dance in December 2012 and was the 2012-2013 recipient of the Janice Levin Award.

Savannah Green

Savannah Green grew up in New York City, where she attended LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts as a Dance Major. She attended Manhattan Youth Ballet on a full merit scholarship, performing featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Larry Keigwin. In 2017, Savannah earned her BFA in Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she was a member of the Senior Dance Company. She spent her senior year touring internationally, performing works by José Limón, Andrea Miller, and others. Upon graduation, she began working with Buglisi Dance Theater, performing new works in New York City and the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center. In 2019, Savannah became the inaugural Dance Fellow at BalletX, before being invited to join the company in 2020. Since joining BalletX, she has performed in ballets by Matthew Neenan, Jamar Roberts, Tiler Peck, Nicolo Fonte, Amy Hall Garner, Trey McIntyre, Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa, among others.

Jerard Palazo

Jerard Palazo was born in Manila, Philippines and moved to Canada at 8 years old, where he began his formal dance training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2006. After graduating in 2012 he moved to Toronto to further his dance studies with the Toronto Dance Theatre for a year. Upon receiving a full tuition scholarship from the Alvin Ailey School Jerard moved to New York and trained at Ailey from 2013-2015. Jerard was selected for summer programs on full tuition scholarships at Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Program and Nederlands Dans Theatre. He has worked with Nai Ni Chen Dance Company, Peridance Company and Lavagnino Dance in New York.Jerard made his debut as a choreographer at iHeartDanceNYC on June 2021 with ‘New Beginnings’. A duet he specially conceived for New York City Ballet soloist Megan LeCrone, performed by Ms. LeCrone and Jerard on the rooftop of the Empire Hotel near Lincoln Center. It turned out to be the onset of ‘So Close’ his first full-length ballet that had its world premiere in the spring of 2022 at Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and was received enthusiastically. Jerard Palazo is excited to dance in his first season with BalletX.  

Sara Mearns // Artist-In-Residence

SARA MEARNS, Columbia, SC, principal dancer New York City Ballet since 2008. Originated roles with choreographers Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, Alexei Ratmansky, Pam Tanowitz, Bobbi Jene Smith, Christopher Wheeldon, Guillaume Cote, Beth Gill, among others. Guest Performer: Paul Taylor Dance Company, The Cunningham Centennial Celebration, Jodi Melnick Dance, Bill T Jones/Lee Ming Wei, and Wang Ramirez. At NYCC, she starred in Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Encores! I Married An Angel, and Twyla Now as well as multiple Fall for Dances, and performed Dances of Isadora Duncan at Lincoln Center. At The Joyce in 2022, Sara performed a full evening with five world premier pieces, titled “A piece of Work”, awarded the Bessie Award for outstanding performer in 2018, awarded the Dance Magazine Award in 2019, and an Honorary Doctorate University of South Carolina in 2019. 

Isabella Boylston

Aran Bell

Aran Bell was born in Bethesda, Maryland. He began studying ballet at age four, receiving the majority of his early training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and with Denys Ganio in Rome, Italy. He has performed in galas throughout Europe and the United States. Bell was featured in the 2011 film First Position: A Ballet Documentary. Bell joined the ABT Studio Company in September 2014, joined the main Company as an apprentice in May 2016 and became a member of the corps de ballet in March 2017.

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 masterclasses 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 also is a 2022 recipient of the Toulmin fellowship.

Youba Cissokho

Frances Samson

Frances Lorraine Samson is a New York based artist originally from Toronto, Canada. She has been featured by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), TEDx and Harper’s Bazaar, and has had the honor of working for institutions such as The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase College and the Danish National Academy of Music. Frances was a principal dancer with the Limón Dance Company from 2017-2023 and is currently on faculty for the Limón Institute. She has had the pleasure of collaborating with artists such as Kate Weare, Francesca Harper, Raúl Tamez, Kayla Farrish, Madeline Hollander and Aszure Barton. Frances most recently performed for Award-winning choreographers Twyla Tharp and Baye & Asa. She is the 2023 recipient of the Clive Barnes Award for Dance and is an unarmed actor combatant certified by The Society of American Fight Directors.

Olivia Bell

Olivia Bell is a member of New York City Ballet’s Corps de Ballet. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, she trained locally before being accepted to the School of American Ballet in 2018. While a student, Olivia performed in the New York Choreographic Institute, the Virginia B. Toulmin Female Choreography Program, and the 2022 SAB Annual Workshop, originating a featured role in Gianna Reisen’s Signs. Olivia was selected for Rising Stars Weekend at Kaatsbaan Summer Festival in 2022, where she performed works by George Balanchine, and originated a role in Haley Winegarden’s Reminisce for Tomorrow. As an apprentice with New York City Ballet, Olivia has performed works by George Balanchine, including a featured role in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.

Philip Duclos

Philip Duclos is a member of the Corps de Ballet with The Royal Danish Ballet. He has danced featured roles in Wayne McGregor’s Dante Project, George Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony and The Nutcracker, John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Gregory Dean’s Gotta Dance. He has performed roles in Jerome Robbins’ Glass Pieces and The Four Seasons, August Bournonville’s La Sylphide and Napoli, as well as Nikolaj Hubbe’s Swan Lake and Giselle.  He has also attended the Vail Dance Festival in 2021, 2022, and 2023. 

Calvin Royal III

Calvin Royal III is an acclaimed internationally recognized Principal classical ballet dancer. He began his ballet training at fourteen and a half, and received a scholarship from ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of ballet in 2007. Despite his unprecedented late start, he was promoted to the American Ballet Theatre’s Main Company in 2010, achieved Soloist in 2017, and Principal Dancer in 2020. This makes him the third African-American artist to achieve this honor in the history of the iconic Company – following in the footsteps of Desmond Richardson and Misty Copeland.  

Calvin has performed star turns throughout ABT’s global tours, and at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City – as the title role in George Balanchine’s Apollo, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, The Prince in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Count Albrecht in Giselle, and has worked with notable choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Justin Peck, Benjamin Millepied, Alonzo King, Mark Morris, Wayne McGreggor, Kyle Abraham, Michelle Dorrance, Jamar Roberts, and many more.  

Calvin was a finalist at the Clive Barnes Awards, the winner of the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship, a cover star of Dance Magazine in July 2020, and was the 2020/21 Artist in Residence at the Vail Dance Festival in Vail, Colorado. He is represented by IMG Models and has been featured in global campaigns for GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Target, Ralph Lauren, Mavi Jeans, Canali, and has partnered with Deckers Brands, HOKA, Johnnie Walker and The Luxury Collection hotels. Follow Calvin on Instagram & TikTok @calvinroyaliii

Gilbert Bolden III

Gilbert Bolden III is a Soloist with New York City Ballet. He was born in San Diego, California and began dancing at the age of nine in Las Vegas, Nevada. His ballet training began in 2011 at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, CA, and he continued his studies at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA in 2013. In 2014, Mr. Bolden enrolled at the School of American Ballet, NYCB’s official school. He became an apprentice with the Company in August 2017, joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in August 2018, and was promoted to Soloist in October 2023. Since joining the company Mr. Bolden has originated featured roles in ballets by Justin Peck, Silas Farley, and Gianna Reisen. He has also been featured in many works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. 

Unity Phelan

Unity Phelan was born in Princeton, New Jersey where she studied at the Princeton Ballet School. After attending summer courses at the School of American Ballet, Phelan was invited to attend the school full time and remained at the school for three years. Phelan was invited to join the New York City Ballet in the winter of 2012 as an apprentice and joined the company as a Corps de Ballet member in 2013. In the Winter of 2017, Phelan was promoted to Soloist dancer and in the Fall of 2021, she was promoted to Principal dancer. In her time at New York City Ballet, Phelan has danced numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon and other choreographers. Phelan has been featured in Dance Magazine, Elle Magazine, and People Style Magazine. In the last couple years, Phelan has been found on the silver screen acting in “John Wick 3: Parabellum” and “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”. In 2019, Phelan was awarded the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award for her work at New York City Ballet.

Ben Rudisin

Ben Rudisin was born in Woodbridge, Virginia and trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem and Houston Ballet II in Texas. Ben joined The National Ballet of Canada as a RBC Apprentice in 2013 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2021.

Most recently, Ben made his debut in the title role of Romeo and Juliet, as Adam in the world premiere of MADDADDAM by Wayne McGregor and performed in the Canadian premieres of David Dawson’s Anima Animus and Alonzo King’s The Collective Agreement. An elegant dancer with pristine technique, he excels in roles such as Diaghilev in Nijinsky, Siegfried and Rothbart in Swan Lake, Prince Gremin in Onegin and the male lead in Being and Nothingness as well as Icicle in The Nutcracker, The Mad Hatter in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and L’Allumeur in Le Petit Prince. His repertoire includes roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Cinderella, The Winter’s Tale, Nijinsky,  Anna Karenina, The Merry Widow, Manon, Frame by Frame, A Streetcar Named Desire, La Sylphide, The Four Seasons, The Concert, Chaconne, Allegro Brillante, Symphony #9, Carousel (A Dance), The Second Detail, Approximate Sonata 2016, Chroma, Genus, Angels’ Atlas, Emergence, Cacti, Petite Mort, Paz de la Jolla, Night, Orpheus Alive, The Dreamers Ever Leave You and Soul. 

Davóne Tines

Davóne Tines, heralded as an artist “changing what it means to be a classical singer (The New Yorker) and “[one] of the most powerful voices of our time” (Los Angeles Times), is a pathbreaking artist whose work encompasses a diverse repertoire, ranging from early music to new commissions by leading composers, while exploring the social issues of today. A creator, curator, and performer at the intersection of many histories, cultures, and aesthetics, he is engaged in work that blends opera, art song, spirituals, contemporary classical, gospel, and protest songs as a means to tell a deeply personal story of perseverance connecting to all of humanity. 

Tines is a musician who takes full agency of his work, devising new programs and pieces from conception to performance. He reflects this ethos in his Recital No. 1: MASS, an examination of the liturgy, comparing Western European, African American, and 21st Century traditions; as well as in his orchestral creations: Concerto No. 1: SERMON, a work he premiered with the Philadelphia and BBC Symphony Orchestras; and Concerto No. 2: ANTHEM, premiered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Tines has also premiered operas by today’s leading composers, including John Adams, Terence Blanchard, and Matthew Aucoin; and his concert appearances include performances of works ranging from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to Kaija Saariaho’s True Fire. This season, he makes his Metropolitan Opera debut performing in John Adams’ El Niño.  

He is Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Artist-in-Residence and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale’s first-ever Creative Partner. He recently served as Artist-in-Residence at Detroit Opera—an appointment that culminated in his performance in the title role of Anthony Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X in the spring of 2022. Tines is featured on the Grammy-nominated world premiere recording of the opera released on BMOP/sound in 2022. Tines is a member of AMOC and co-creator of The Black Clown, a music theater experience commissioned and premiered by American Repertory Theater. He is Musical America’s 2022 Vocalist of the Year, a winner of the 2020 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and the recipient of the 2018 Emerging Artists Award from Lincoln Center. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Harvard University.  

Daisy Kate Jacobson

James Whiteside

KJ Takahashi

KJ Takahashi is a member of New York City Ballet’s corps de ballet. He was born in Dallas, Texas, and began his ballet training at age 8 at Ballet Academy of Texas under the direction of Lisa Slagle. In 2014, he studied ballet at Mejia Ballet International under the direction of Paul Mejia and in 2015, he began training at Ballet Tech under the direction of Elliot Feld. He entered the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, in 2016, and received additional training at summer courses at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Mr. Takahashi was named an apprentice with NYCB in 2019 and as an apprentice, performed featured roles in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Candy Cane, Tea) and Lauren Lovette’s The Shaded Line. He originated a featured role in Kyle Abraham’s dance film Where We Fell in 2020 before joining the Corps de Ballet in August 2021. Mr. Takahashi was recently promoted to soloist in April 2023. 

Mr. Takahashi was the Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2022-2023. 

Herman Cornejo

Herman Cornejo was born in Villa Mercedes, San Luis province, Argentina, and began his ballet studies at the age of eight at Teatro Colón’s Instituto Superior de Arte, Buenos Aires. At fourteen he received a scholarship from the School of American Ballet, the dance school of New York City Ballet and on his return to Buenos Aires he joined Julio Bocca’s Ballet Argentino. In 1999 Herman joined American Ballet Theatre, New York, was promoted to Soloist in 2000 and was appointed Principal Dancer in 2003. Herman has participated in numerous galas and has performed as Principal Guest Dancer with Ballet del Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Boston Ballet, Compañía de Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, Corella Ballet Castilla y León, New York City Ballet and Sapporo Ballet.

Kayla Mak // Scholar-In-Residence

Kayla Mak grew up in Rye Brook, NY and is of Japanese, Chinese, and Cuban descent. She studied at Westchester Dance Academy and Ballet Academy East and is now in her third year at The Juilliard School in NY where she will receive her BFA, under the direction of Alicia Graf Mack and associate director Mario Alberto Zambrano. Kayla currently trains in ballet, modern, classical pointe, and contemporary pointe. Her inspiration for dance sparked at the young age of 4, while watching ABT’s production of The Nutcracker. She soon became involved in competitive dance where she was able to gain exposure to stage performance. In the past years, Kayla has performed at the Kaatsbaan Cultural Park Summer Festival 2022, in the “Rising Stars” Show where she had the honor to perform Alvin Ailey’s “Memoria” coached by Masazumi Chaya and Elizabeth Roxas- Dobrish, as well as Justin Peck’s “In Creases” in Juilliard’s Spring Dances 2023, coached by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck. This past summer Mak performed with Juliano Nunes in his work “O’clock”, which premiered in Switzerland at the Origen Festival Cultural. In the future, Kayla dreams to become a professional dancer in a company where she can meld her love for both ballet and contemporary as well as spread her love for the beautiful art form of dance.

Spencer Lenain

Born in San Diego, California, Spencer Lenain began his dance training at age 7 at Ballet Arte where he was instructed by Erlends Zieminch and Sara Viale. He also attended nine summer intensives at American Ballet Theater, earning the National Training Scholar scholarship three times. He attended the California Institute of the Arts and graduated with a BFA in dance in May 2024. Spencer is also very active on social media where his ballet videos are featured on TikTok @spencerdancerrr and Instagram @spencerdancer. 

Melissa Toogood

Melissa Toogood is a Sydney and New York based Dancer, Master Teacher, Stager, Coach, Contributor, Mother, and sometimes Choreographer. She is a New York and Performance Award (Bessie) winning Performer. Melissa is both Dancer and Rehearsal Director for Pam Tanowitz Dance. She has assisted Tanowitz on new creations for the Australian Ballet, L.A. Dance Project, Martha Graham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, The Royal Ballet, and others. She was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, is a 2013 & 2015 Merce Cunningham fellow, has taught Cunningham Technique since 2007, and is a licensed Stager of Merce Cunningham’s work. She has performed with Kyle Abraham/A.I.M., Kimberly Bartosik/Daela, Rosie Herrera Dance Theater, Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Reiner, Stephen Petronio Company, Sally Silvers & Dancers, Christopher Williams, The Bang Group: Tap Lab, Bill Young and many others. Her own work has been commissioned by the Boston Ballet, New York Theater Ballet and the Vail International Dance Festival. This year marks Melissa’s 10th season with the Festival.