Martha Graham Dance Company

Sara Mearns

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. 

Ana Arrieta

ANE ARRIETA, a Rhode Island native and dual citizen of Spain and the US, has been a company member with the Martha Graham Dance Company since 2023, performing soloist roles in Graham masterworks such as Frontier, Cave of the Heart and Appalachian Spring. She has recently worked with Hope Boykin, Jamar Roberts, and Baye&Asa in new choreographic creations. Ane also performs with Buglisi Dance Theatre and holds a BFA from the Hartt School, where she received the Outstanding Senior Award. Ane has previously danced with Newport Contemporary Ballet and Graham 2.

Laurel Daley Smith

LAUREL DALLEY SMITH, having joined the company in 2015, enjoys performing principal roles in Clytemnestra, Errand, Appalachian Spring and Chronicle amongst others. New creations by; Hofesh Shechter, Jamar Roberts, Pam Tanowitz, Bobbie Jene Smith, Pontus Lidberg, Lar Lubovitch and Lucinda Childs. She had the privilege of revising Agnes De Mille’s title role of ‘The Cowgirl’ in Rodeo. Laurel guests internationally, working closely with Olivier award winning choreographer Kim Brandstrup, award winning Yorke Dance Project and had the privilege of dancing for the late Sir Robert Cohan.

Zach Jeppsen-Toy

ZACHARY JEPPSEN-TOY, raised in Southern Wisconsin, is an alumnus of The Juilliard School where he received his BFA in Dance. He has had the pleasure of performing pieces by Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Donald McKayle, Paul Taylor, Ohad Naharin, and many other choreographers. Before Juilliard, Zachary attended The Chicago Academy for the Arts where he studied under Randy Duncan and Patrick Simoniello.

Meagan King

MEAGAN KING, of Brooklyn, NY, is an Ailey/Fordham BFA graduate and LaGuardia H.S. alumna. Ms. King danced with Ailey II, receiving features in Dance Spirit, The TODAY Show, PIX11, NY12, Good Day Sacramento, and named BLOCH Young Artist. She performed at Holland Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary and choreographed for Women/Create! 

Lloyd Knight

LLOYD KNIGHT joined the Company in 2005 and performs major roles of the Graham repertory including Appalachian Spring, Embattled Garden, Night Journey among others. Bessie Nominated for best Performer in 2022, Dance Magazine also named him one of “Top 25 Dancers to Watch” in 2010 and one of the best performers of 2015. Mr. Knight has starred with ballet greats Wendy Whelan and Misty Copeland in signature Graham duets and has had roles created for him by such renowned artists as Nacho Duato and Pam Tanowitz. Knight has performed as a principal guest artist for The Royal Ballet of Flanders directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui as well as with Twyla Tharp Dance. Born in England and raised in Miami, he trained at Miami Conservatory of Ballet and New World School of the Arts. Recently he was an 2023 Dance Research Fellow for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and performed his one person show titled the “The Drama” at The Guggenheim in 2025.

Antonio Leone

ANTONIO LEONE, a native of Italy, graduated from the Rudra Bejart School in Switzerland. In 2021 he joined Graham 2 and the main company in 2022. He performs featured roles in Errand into the Maze and Diversion of Angels by Martha Graham, as well as roles in commissioned works by Agnes DeMille, Sonya Tayeh and Yin Yue. He is the first male dancer with CRDance and a Pearl Lang Award recipient for Excellence in Performance.

Devin Loh

DEVIN LOH, from Fanwood, NJ, holds a BFA from Purchase College, and is a Bert Terborgh Dance Award recipient. Ms. Loh joined Graham 2 in 2019, and the company in 2021. She has performed Graham classics and works by Jamar Roberts, Hofesh Shechter, and Sonya Tayeh with the company. Ms. Loh is a certified Graham Technique teacher, and is the 2025 Distinguished Graduate of UCAPA High School for passing Martha’s legacy to the next generation.

Marzia Memoli

MARZIA MEMOLI from Palermo, Italy, joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2016. Her repertoire with the Company includes Graham’s The Rite of Spring as the Chosen One, El Penitente, Chronicle, The Princess in Cave of the Heart, Satyric Festival Song, Diversion of Angels, Acts of Light, and Deep Song. She performed works by Hofesh Shechter, Elisa Monte, Bobbi Jean Smith, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Maxine Doyle, Pam Tanowitz, Sonya Tayeh, Lar Lubovitch, Andrea Miller, Jamar Roberts and recently with Benjamin Millepied in Paris. In 2022 she performed for Twyla Tharp in “In the Upper Room” and “Nine Sinatra Songs” at New York City Center. During the 24/25 season, Memoli joined Twyla Tharp for her “60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee” tour performing nationwide. Memoli is a recent recipient of the Fini International Rising Star Award.

Amanda Moreira

AMANDA MOREIRA (New Dancer), originally from Roxbury, NJ, graduated from Marymount Manhattan College. She has assisted dance conventions with Deviate Dance and has apprenticed with Parsons Dance. She has performed works choreographed by Pascal Rioult, Twyla Tharp, Sidra Bell, Jessica Lang, May O’Donnell, and Jennifer Archibald among others. After graduating she joined Graham 2.

Ethan Palma

ETHAN PALMA (New Dancer) is originally from Appleton, Wisconsin. Ethan received a BFA in dance from Marymount Manhattan College. At Marymount, Ethan has performed in works of many choreographers including Martha Graham, Jenn Freeman, Chanel Dasilva, Pedro Ruiz. Ethan danced in the 2024 MET Opera’s Ainadamar.

Jai Perez

JAI PEREZ (New Dancer) is from Harlem, NY. He started his dance journey at the National Dance Institute, where he cultivated a love for movement. He continued his training at the Ailey School, then at SUNY Purchase, where he received a BFA in dance. He has performed works by Hofesh Schechter, Jamar Roberts, and Ronald K. Brown. Jai has performed with Buglisi Dance Theater and A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham. This is Jai’s second season with the company.

Ben Schultz

BEN SCHULTZ (Principal) joined the Company in 2009 and dances lead roles including King Hades in Clytemnestra and Jason in Cave of the Heart. He premiered Martha Graham’s work in Russia performing Errand into the Maze with prima ballerina Diana Vishneva at the Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg. Earlier dance credits include the Tony Award^® winning Blast!, the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, and Hannah Kahn Contemporary Dance. Mr. Schultz has served as faculty and resident choreographer for the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. Mr. Schultz starred in the world premiere of AXE, a work created by Mats Ek for the Company.

Anne Souder

ANNE SOUDER joined the Company in 2015 and performs lead roles in Appalachian Spring, Cave of the Heart, Diversion of Angels, Dark Meadow Suite, Chronicle, Ekstasis, Immediate Tragedy, and Hérodiade. She has performed repertoire in the Company’s new and commissioned works by Jamar Roberts, Agnes de Mille, Baye & Asa, Annie Rigney, Hofesh Shechter, Sonya Tayeh, Andrea Miller, Maxine Doyle, Bobbi Jean Smith, Lucinda Childs, Lar Lubovitch, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and Marie Chouinard. Souder began her training in Tennessee and continued on to earn her degree at the Ailey/Fordham BFA program. Upon graduation, she joined Graham 2 and was awarded a Dizzy Feet Foundation scholarship. Anne is a proud member of AGMA and has been the union rep for a total of 6 years and counting.

Leslie Andrea Williams

LESLIE ANDREA WILLIAMS grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. She earned her BFA from The Juilliard School and joined the company in 2015. Williams performs iconic Graham solos such as “Lamentation” and “Deep Song.” Her expansive repertoire of roles include Medea in “Cave of the Heart,” and notably, as the lead in “Chronicle,” which was highlighted in The New York Times’ “Best Dance of 2019” list. Outside of Graham, Williams serves as a board member of the theater company Off-Brand Opera.

Xin Ying

XIN YING, dancer and choreographer, MFA candidate, Dance Magazine cover star and a mother, joined the Company in 2011 and performs many of Graham’s own roles, including Herodiade, Errand into the Maze, Chronicle, Cave of the Heart, and others. Her performance as The Chosen One in The Rite of Spring was noted as “Transcendent and heroic” by the New York Times.  She has also been featured in works created for the Company by many contemporary choreographers including Nacho Duato, Annie-B Parson, and Hofesh Shechter.

Her posts of her improvisations have garnered attention across major social media and press platforms, and her growing resume as a collaborator and choreographer, includes commissions from Co.Lab Dance, Ballet Arkansas, Art Bath and 92NY for its 90th year celebration.She also has assisted Janet Eilber on creative projects including The Feast with the Long Beach opera.

While completing her MFA at NYU, Xin has created a GPT for the Graham Company, MarthaBot, as well as Lamentation: Dancing the Archive, a project using volumetric film and AR tracking technology, set to premiere at Jacob’s Pillow in 2025. Letter to Nobody, a collaboration with media that allows her to dance with Martha Graham, and is receiving its world premiere this season at The Joyce.