Test performers

Roman Mejia 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. Mr. Mejia attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet, New York City Ballet’s official school, in 2014 and 2015 before entering SAB full-time for the 2015 winter term. In August 2017, Mr. Mejia became an apprentice with NYCB, and he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2017. Mr. Mejia was promoted to the rank of soloist in October 2021.  In 2019, Dance Magazine featured Mr. Mejia as one of their “25 To Watch” picks and he became a recipient of the prestigious Princess Grace Foundation – USA Dance Fellowship. In 2020, Mr. Mejia was named a Clives Barnes finalist. His repertory includes leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon among many others. Most recently, he starred in Twyla Tharp’s TWYLA NOWand Tiler Peck’s Artists at the Center at New York City Center. Mr. Mejia will be Vail Dance Festival’s 2022 Artists in Residence. 

Roderick Phifer was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he graduated from Northwest School of the Arts. At the age of 11, he found his interest in ballet after a summer intensive at Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Shortly after this experience, he received a scholarship to train at North Carolina Dance Theater, under the direction of Jean Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. He later finished his training at Dance Productions, under the direction of Lori Long and his mentor Denise Britz-Clark. Roderick graduated from North West School of the Arts and continued on to the University of the Arts, where he received a full-tuition scholarship. He received his BFA from the University in 2017 and began his journey with BalletX. In his spare time, he is a freelance contemporary dance teacher and choreographer. He has had the opportunity to teach at UPenn Arts House (2016-2018) and has been a guest teacher with Jena Burgin-Peters Entertainment in Charlotte, NC since 2013. Most recently, he was invited to teach at World Dance Camp in Poland (2018-2019).

Chloe Perkes received her training at Deane Dance Center in Sacramento, CA and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. She began her professional career in 2005 at the Foundry, a San Francisco-based contemporary company under the direction of Alex Ketley. In 2008, Chloe returned to classical ballet for three seasons at the Sacramento Ballet, performing many principal and soloist roles. In 2010, Chloe joined BalletX after meeting company co-founder Matthew Neenan. Chloe has been featured in over 60 world premieres by choreographers including Matthew Neenan​, Jodie Gates, Nicolo Fonte, Trey McIntyre, Jorma Elo, and Kevin O’Day, among others. In 2014, Chloe was named “Best of the Best” by Pointe Magazine for her role in Neenan’s seminal piece, Sunset, o639 Hours. Since 2015, Chloe, along with cellist Gabriel Cabezas and composer Alyssa Weinberg, co-directs duende, an experimental music and dance company.

Francesca Forcella came to BalletX in 2013 after working as a company member with the Washington Ballet Studio Company and Los Angeles’ American Contemporary Ballet. She trained with Gina Forcella at Dance Stop Education Center in New Jersey, then continued her classical ballet training with Risa Kaplowitz and Susan Jaffe.  At 16 she joined Houston Ballet II (HBII) and continued training with Claudio Munoz and Sabrina Lenzi.  With HBII, she toured nationally and internationally, and in 2011, she represented Houston Ballet at the International Youth Dance Festival in Budapest, Hungary. Francesca has enjoyed the privilege of having ballets set on her by choreographers Ma Cong, Elie Lazar, and Lincoln Jones.  She has danced ballets by George Balanchine, Stanton Welsh, Twyla Tharp, and Septime Webre.  Among her favorite roles are the female leads in Trey McIntyre’s Blue Until June and in Stanton Welch’s Fingerprints. 

Zachary Kapeluck hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he received his early training at Southwest Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. He trained at The Juilliard School and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Summer Intensives, and in the summer of 2011, he worked as a guest artist with Mary Miller Dance in Pittsburgh in a project titled Confluence. He graduated with a BFA in Dance from Point Park University, where he had the opportunity to perform works by such choreographers as George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Toru Shimazaki, Kevin Iega Jeff, Val Caniparoli, Jessica Lang, and Alejandro Cerrudo.  He received training there from Doug Bentz, Kiesha Lalama, Garfield Lemonius, and Dana Arey. Zachary joined BalletX in 2013.

Blake Krapels, a 2011 United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts, trained in New Jersey under the tutelage of Billy Larson and Jamie Salmon. In 2015, Blake graduated with a BFA in dance from The Juilliard School, where he performed repertoire by William Forsythe, Merce Cunningham, Elliot Feld, Jose Limon and Peter Chu. In addition to his core training at school, Blake participated in Summer Intensives at Nederlands Dans Theatre (2014, 2016) and Springboard Danse Montreal (2013). Since graduating, he has danced for The Metropolitan Opera, Keigwin & Company, GroundWorks Dance Theatre, Emery LeCrone Dance, and Konverjdans. Last fall, Blake launched Alpha, a dance theater company with two of his Juilliard classmates Michael Marquez and Gemma Bender. They curated their world premiere as a part of Cleveland DanceWorks 2017. Blake joined BalletX in 2018.

Skyler Lubin is originally from Miami Beach, also growing up in the New Jersey and Philadelphia area. She received her early training from The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA, then continued her training at the Miami City Ballet School. Skyler also attended summer programs at The School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. From 2010-2014, Skyler danced as a member of the Corps de Ballet with Miami City Ballet, under the direction of Edward Villella and Lourdes Lopez. She has performed in featured roles, including Flower Festival pas de deux, Swan Lake pas de trois, and Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun, and has premiered pieces by Alexei Ratmansky and Liam Scarlett. Skyler joined BalletX in 2015.

Andrea Yorita is from Irvine California, where she received her classical ballet training at Academy of Dance, under the direction of Merle Sepel, Rebecca Tsivkin, and Mignon Furman. In 2012, she graduated as a Gillespie Scholar with a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine, where she studied under Jodie Gates, Molly Lynch, and Donald McKayle. Originally trained under the R.A.D. syllabus, Andrea has completed all Vocational R.A.D. exams with Distinction, as well as received the Solo Seal Award. In 2008, Andrea competed as a finalist in the Genée International Ballet Competition in Toronto, Canada. She has participated in the National Choreographers Initiative, as an apprentice, and the Traverse City Dance Project. Andrea was a 2016 Dance Finalist for the Clive Barnes Award. She joined BalletX in 2012.