Watching Dance with Heather Watts

Olivia Bell

Olivia Bell is a corps de ballet member with New York City Ballet. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, she trained locally before being accepted to the School of American Ballet in 2018. While a student, Olivia originated a featured role in Gianna Reisen’s Signs. In 2022 Olivia became an apprentice with New York City Ballet and was then promoted to corps de ballet in 2023. As a corps member Olivia has performed featured roles in Kyle Abraham’s Love Letter on Shuffle, George Balanchine’s Swan Lake, Tiler Peck’s Concerto for Two Pianos, and Jerome Robbins Interplay.

Philip Duclos

Philip Duclos is a soloist with The Royal Danish Ballet. He joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2022, and was promoted to soloist in 2025. He has danced roles such as Prince Desiré in Christopher Wheeldon’s Sleeping Beauty, one of the principal men in Harald Lander’s Études, and Melancholic in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. He has also danced featured roles in Wayne McGregor’s Dante Project, Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony, Jerome Robbins’ The Four Seasons, Gregory Dean’s Cinderella and Gotta Dance, John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Nikolaj Hübbe’s Raymonda and Don Quixote. He was also awarded the Ballettens Venner Talent Prize in the spring of 2025.

Savannah Green

Savannah Green (Dancer) studied at Manhattan Youth Ballet and LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. She graduated with a BFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2017, performing works by Jose Limon, Andrea Miller, and Anna Halprin. Savannah joined BalletX in 2020.

Kayla Mak

Kayla Mak (she/her) grew up in Rye Brook, NY and studied at Westchester Dance Academy and Ballet Academy East. As a BFA student at The Juilliard School under the direction of Alicia Graf Mack and Mario Alberto Zambrano, she performed works by Justin Peck, Caili Quan, Sidra Bell, Shen Wei, and Jamar Roberts, amongst others. Kayla is also currently a member of ABT Studio Company under the direction of Sascha Radetsky and is performing works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Houston Thomas, Yannick Lebrun, Kevin McKenzie and more. Kayla participated in NBC’s World of Dance and has had other professional performance opportunities with choreographer Juliano Nunes in Switzerland and Mexico. Mak is incredibly grateful for all who have supported her along the way and looks forward to her future in dance.

Mayfield Myers

India Bradley

India Bradley is a member of New York City Ballet’s Corps de Ballet. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and began her dance training at the age of four at The Link School of the Arts in Troy, Michigan. At the age of eleven, she attended the Academy of Russian Classical Ballet in Novi, Michigan, under the direction of Sergey Rayevitskey.

Ms. Bradley attended the summer program at Dance Theatre of Harlem in 2012, and entered DTH’s Professional Training Program under the direction of Andrea Long that fall.

She attended the 2014 summer session at the School of American Ballet, NYCB’s official school, and enrolled as a full-time student later that year.

Ms. Bradley was named an apprentice in August 2017 and joined the Company as a member of the Corps de Ballet in August 2018.

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. 

Jules Mabie

Jules Mabie is a soloist with the New York City Ballet. He was born in West Palm Beach, Florida and began his dance training at the age of 8 at the Academy of Dance, Music & Theatre in West Palm Beach. In 2011, he began training under Chelsea Nasby at Ballet East, formerly Susan Lyle Studio. In 2016 Mr. Mabie joined the school of American ballet as a full time student and later joined the company in 2018. He was promoted to the rank of soloist in 2024.

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 graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2024 with a BFA in dance. He has performed at the Vail Dance Festival each of the last two years, and in the fall of 2024, he performed as Tybalt in LA Dance Project’s Romeo and Juliet. Spencer is also very active on social media where his ballet videos are featured on TikTok @spencerdancerrr and Instagram @spencerdancer. 

KJ Takahashi

Mira Nadon

Mira Nadon was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and began her ballet training at the age of six at the Inland Pacific Ballet Academy in Montclair, California.

She attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of NYCB, in 2014 and 2015, before entering SAB full-time for the 2015 winter term.

In November 2017, Ms. Nadon became an apprentice with NYCB. She joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2018. Ms. Nadon was promoted to the rank of soloist in January 2022 and principal in February 2023.

Ms. Nadon has danced as a guest at the Vail Dance Festival and Nantucket Atheneum Dance Festival and has performed as a member of Ballet Collective. She is also a part-time student at Fordham University. She is the recipient of the 2021 Clive Barnes Award for dance and is a 2022 Princess Grace Award winner.

Chun Wai Chan

Mr. Chan was born in Guangdong, China, in 1992 and trained at the Guangzhou Art School from 2004 to 2010. In 2010 he was finalist at the Prix de Lausanne, Switzerland, which earned him a full scholarship to study with Houston Ballet Academy. Chan joined the corps de ballet of Houston Ballet in 2012 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2017. In 2020, Chan was among the finalists of Hunan TV’s “Dance Smash”. 

Chan joined NYCB as a soloist in 2021 and was promoted to principal dancer the following year, making him the company’s first Chinese principle since its founding in 1948. Most recently, Forbes China included Chan in their “30 under 30” list and he was featured on the cover of Dance magazine for May 2023. (@chunner)