Limón Dance Company

Joseph Columbus

Joseph Columbus (he/him) began his training in the Chicagoland area where he studied with Forum Dance Theatre. In May 2016, he graduated from the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University BFA program where he performed works by Pascal Rioult, Alexander Ekman, Mark Morris, Robin Mineko Williams, Alvin Ailey, Jae Man Joo, Christopher Huggins, and Norbert De La Cruz III. Since graduating, he has had the opportunity to work with companies such as RIOULT Dance NY and Company XIV. Joey also has the pleasure of being a part of The Metropolitan Opera’s ballet company, where he has been part of productions such as Rusulka, Samson et Dalila, and Marnie. 

Terrence Donzell Mitchell Diable

Terrence Donzell Mitchell Diable (he/him) (New York, NY) a graduate from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, Diable has performed works choreographed by Paul Taylor, David Parsons, Martha Graham, Robert Battle, Aszure Barton, Matthew Rushing, Ohad Naharin and Fernando Melo. In 2011, Mr. Diable joined the Francesca Harper Project and in 2012 he collaborated with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. He also danced for The Steps Repertory and, most recently, has been assistant to Matthew Rushing on his commission of ODETTA for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Diable joined the Limón Dance Company in 2017. 

Michael Edwards Jr

Michael Edwards Jr (they/them), today is known as MJ was born in Middletown, NY, and studied at The Juilliard School, pursuing a BFA in dance. They began their professional training at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. While at LaGuardia, they trained on scholarship at MOVE|NYC|, American Ballet Theatre, Steps on Broadway, and French Academie of Ballet. In 2017, MJ then began studying at the San Francisco Ballet School and achieved the San Francisco Ballet School’s 2018-2019 Choreographic Fellowship. They are a 2019 YoungArts Winner in Modern/Contemporary, as well as a 2019 Meringoff Family Foundation Valedictory Prize Winner. They joined the Limón Dance Company in 2021. 

Mariah Gravelin

Mariah Gravelin (she/her). Born in South Korea, Mariah grew up and began her dance training in Southeastern Connecticut under the direction of Gloria Govrin, where she began her Limón training with Libby Nye at the age of 11. In May of 2018, she received a BFA from Alvin Ailey/Fordham University. Mariah joined the Limón Company as an Apprentice in January 2019, during which she performed and toured nationally, and was promoted to be a full Company member in summer 2019. Additionally, she is a photographer, a member of Peter Stathas Dance, and has been a teaching artist and Social Media Associate for the José Limón Dance Foundation since 2020. 

Johnson Guo

Johnson Guo (he/him), from Brooklyn, New York, began his dance training under Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech Program at the age of 8. There, he had the honor of performing works by choreographers Eliot Feld, Brian Brooks, Julia Eichten, and Stephanie Terasaki at the beautiful Joyce Theater. Upon graduating from Ballet Tech, Johnson continued his dance education at the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase, where he was introduced to a vast variety of techniques such as, Graham, Cunningham, Gaga, DOVA, floor work, and Limón. Johnson has had the wonderful opportunity of performing works by Rena Butler, José Limón, and Eve Chan. 

Deepa Liegel

Deepa Liegel (she/her) is thrilled to rejoin the Limón Dance Company for the 2022 season. Deepa was born in Calcutta, India and raised in Seattle, Washington. She grew up dancing with Cornish Preparatory Dance, Leela Kathak Dance and Seattle Theatre Group. She got her BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Arts Management from Southern Methodist University. Professionally, she’s worked with Mark Morris Dance Group, The Metropolitan Opera, Broadway Bares and Delta Rae. Deepa is a certified classical Pilates instructor through Power Pilates, NYC. She’s represented by Jim Keith, Movement Talent Agency, NYC Division. Instagram: @deepaleaps. 

Roman Mejia

Roman Mejia is a Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas and began studying ballet at age 3 with his mother and father. At age 13, he entered the Mejia Ballet Academy. He attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet, NYCB’s official school, in 2014 and 2015, before entering SAB full-time for the 2015 winter term. In August 2017, he became an apprentice with NYCB and he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2017. He was promoted to Soloist in October 2021 and to Principal Dancer in February 2023. His repertory with NYCB includes featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and Christopher Wheeldon, and he has also originated featured roles in ballets by Kyle Abraham, Silas Farley, Edwaard Liang, Peck, Ratmansky, and Gianna Reisen.

Outside of NYCB, Mejia was the 2022 Vail Dance Festival Artist in Residence, and he has appeared in Twyla Tharp’s TWYLA NOW and with Tiler Peck at New York City Center and Sadler’s Wells in London.

In 2019, Dance Magazine featured Mejia as one of their “25 To Watch,” and he was also the recipient of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA Dance Fellowship. In 2020, Mejia was a finalist for the Clive Barnes Award.

Nicholas Ruscica

Nicholas Ruscica (he/him) is originally from Toronto, Canada where he began his training at Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre. Nicholas continued his studies at California Institute of the Arts, receiving his BFA in 2020 and was a four-year recipient of the President’s Merit Scholarship. After graduation, Nicholas joined Limón in 2021 and has been teaching Limón technique at the National Ballet of Canada, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, and Perpich Arts Highschool in Minnesota. As well, he has had the pleasure of working with artists and companies such as Peggy Baker Dance Projects, Human Body Expression, Raúl Tamez, Olivier Tarpaga, and TOES FOR DANCE. 

Frances Samson

Frances Samson (she/her) is a New York based artist originally from Toronto, Canada. She has had the pleasure of performing for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Walt Disney World, TEDx, Miss Universe Canada, New York Fashion Week and Rotary International. She is an artistic collaborator for WHITE WAVE Dance, Frog In Hand, as well as the multicultural project, The Gravity Between directed by Jacqueline Bulnes with original compositions by Niklas Emborg Gjersøe. Frances is on faculty at the Limón Institute and teaches the Limón style of movement in Europe, Canada and the United States. She joined the Limón Dance Company in 2017. 

Jessica Sgambelluri

Jessica Sgambelluri (she/her) is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, where she received her BFA in Dance in 2014. During her time there she was selected to perform in the Yang Liping International Dance Festival in Kunming, China. Upon graduating, Jessica joined Graham 2 where she received the Pearl Lang Award and performed on TED Talks Live. Since then, she has worked with Odyssey Dance Theater, ARIM Dance, Caterina Rago Dance Company, The Metropolitan Opera, and Buglisi Dance Theatre. Jessica is also a part-time faculty member at The Martha Graham School, Peridance, and a Pilates instructor at Groundfloor Exercise. Jessica is ecstatic to be dancing her first season with the Limón Dance Company. 

Savannah Spratt

Savannah Spratt (she/her) joined the Limón Dance Company in 2016. Born and raised in Rochester, PA, she attended Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School and holds a BFA in Contemporary Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She collaborates often with Helen Simoneau Danse and the Merce Cunningham Trust, most notably performing in the Los Angeles installation of Night of 100 Solos. Savannah is a licensed GYROKINESIS Level 1 Apprentice and enjoys knitting in her down time. 

Lauren Twomley

Lauren Twomley (she/her), born in Brooklyn, New York, graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Arts Management. She has worked with renowned choreographers: Doug Varone, Sidra Bell, Dylan Crossman, Kevin Wynn, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Chafin Seymour, Francesca Harper, Kate Weare, Raul Tamez and Olivier Tarpoga, and has performed masterworks by Martha Graham, José Limón and Merce Cunningham. Lauren works with Soluq Dance Theater, is a dancer, rehearsal coordinator and social media manager for Peter Stathas Dance, and is a teaching artist for the José Limón Dance Foundation. She joined the Limón Dance Company in 2019. 

Robert M. Valdez Jr.

Robert M. Valdez Jr. (he/him), affectionately known as “Buddy”, received dance training at the San Francisco Academy of Ballet and the San Francisco School of the Arts. He earned a BFA from The Juilliard School under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes. Some of the companies Valdez has performed with include Luna Negra Dance Theater, 360º Dance Company, Riedel Dance Theater, Jennifer Muller/The Works, Flexicurve, Armitage Gone! Dance, and ZviDance. Commercial work includes NYFW, Fashion/One TV, Comedy Central, and Janet Jackson’s Made for Now music video. Valdez also has certifications to teach yoga, the Feldenkrais Method®, and Latin social dancing. 

B. Woods

B. Woods (he/him), from Winston Salem, NC, BFA graduate of UNC School of the Arts (UNCSA), began a professional career dancing original works created by Duane Cyrus, Helen Simoneau, Eric Oberdorff, Zane Booker, Juel Lane and more. He soon performed and toured with the West Virginia Dance Company that featured works choreographed by Doug Varone. He is a recipient of the William R. Kenan Fellowship, which commissioned an original work he co-created, entitled “Skin-Deep”, at the Lincoln Center. Most recent collaborations include dances with StubbornMVMT, Olga Rabetskaya, and Variety Pack Collective. This is Brandon’s premiere season with the Limón Dance Company. 

Cameron Grant

Cameron Grant is recently retired after 37 years with the  New York City Ballet. As a solo pianist, he performed a vast repertoire for solo piano including the Bach Goldberg Variations, Pictures at an Exhibition, Dances at a Gathering, Polyphonia, In the Night, and numerous other solo premieres.  The concerti he has performed include works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Hindemith, Dohnanyi, Prokofiev, Bartok, MacMillan, Ravel and Gershwin.  He  toured with the company across the globe in theaters in St Petersburg, Athens, Edinburgh, Paris, London, Parma, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul and has appeared in festivals in New Hampshire, Vail and Nantucket. A renowned collaborative pianist, Cameron has worked and/or recorded with Joel Krosnick, Ronald Thomas, Hiroko Yakima, The Leonardo Trio with Erica Kiesewetter and Jonathan Spitz, and Zina Schiff, among others. He spent five years touring with James Winn as half of the Grant-Winn piano duo, a duo that took top honors at the Munich Competition. Cameron was also a member of the New York New Music Ensemble. In 2004, he won an Emmy Award as a soloist in the Live From Lincoln Center broadcast, “Balanchine at 100,” and was invited to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors with three other members of the New York City Ballet for President Bush.