WE BRING WORLD CLASS PROFESSIONAL DANCERS TO TOPEKA!

Katherine Lawrence, Sugar Plum Fairy 2012 and 2017
Ms. Lawrence returns to TPAC to reprise her dazzling role as the Sugar Plum Fairy. A native of Fairfield, Connecticut, Ms.Orlowski began her ballet studies at Connecticut Dance School and furthered her training at The Harid Conservatory where she graduated as Valedictorian in 1998. After performing as a Soloist with Ballet Internationale of Indianapolis, Ms. Orlowski joined Ballet West in 2004 and was promoted to Principal Artist in 2011. She has been a guest performer with numerous companies and festivals around the world including the Universal Ballet of Korea, the Hartford Ballet, the International Ballet Festival in Havana, Cuba and the Copenhagen Opera Festival in Denmark. She is also a founding member and featured performer in three contemporary dance companies; NOW-ID, RUUDDANCES, and Dance Grand Moultrie.

​Christopher Ruud, Nutcracker Prince 2017
Mr. Ruud was recently featured in The CW’s reality television series, Breaking Pointe, a behind-the-scenes look at Ballet West that turned its company dancers into instant celebrities. Mr. Ruud has been a part of the performing arts since birth. He received the majority of his dance training at San Francisco Ballet School, and later attended the University of Utah as a student in the Ballet department. He joined Ballet West in 1998 and was named Principal Dancer in 2004. He has since performed a broad range of classical and contemporary repertoire to sold-out houses across the United States and around the world. Mr. Ruud is additionally a choreographer, creator, and coach, working to develop the next generation of dance talent. 

Arolyn Williams, Summer Showcase & Master Class Teacher 2017
Ms. Williams trained at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) where she recieved  the Chancellor’s Award for Artistic and Academic Excellence. She also spent several summers at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance where she studied Ohad Naharin’s Gaga technique, as well as repertoire by Jiri Kylian and local San Francisco choreographers Alex Ketley and Robert Moses. Ms. Williams joined Ballet West's second company in 2004 and steadily rose through the ranks to become a celebrated Principal Dancer in 2013. Along the way, (June 2010) she was profiled in Dance Magazine as a star "On The Rise". 

Christopher Sellars, Summer Showcase & Master Class Teacher 2017
Mr. Sellars was born in Huntington Beach, CA where he trained for eight years under his parents at the Orange County Dance Center followed by The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania under renowned instructors such as choreographer Christopher Fleming. Mr. Sellars is currently a First Soloist with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, UT. He served as Interim Director of Ballet West II in 2013 and was recently awarded Outstanding Choreographer in the Youth America Grand Prix 2017.

Kaleena Burks. Summer Showcase 2016 & Master Class Teacher 2016
Ms. Burks was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ms. Burks was trained by Magda Aunon and Magaly Suarez, spending summers at the School of American Ballet, Ballet Austin, Miami City Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. In 2005, she was awarded first place in the pre-professional division of the American Ballet Competition and has been invited to perform in many galas, including the International Ballet Festival of Miami. Ms. Burks has danced with Cincinnati Ballet, Columbia Classical Ballet, and the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami. With Kansas City Ballet, Ms. Burks has been featured as Myrtha in Giselle, Elegy Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Fairy Godmother in Victoria Morgan’s Cinderella, and Dew Drop in Todd Bolender’s The Nutcracker.

Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, Summer Showcase 2016 & Master Class Teacher 2016
Ryan is a native of Waterville, Maine. He began his training at the age of 15 under the instruction of Andrei Bossov. In 2003, Mr. Nye joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division where he received the prestigious Arnold Spohr Scholarship. Mr. Nye began his professional career with Festival Ballet of Providence and then in 2006 joined the Eugene Ballet Company where he performed soloist roles in several works by Artistic Director Toni Pimble. In 2007, he joined Director Peter Anastos at Ballet Idaho and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2011 and he was a member of the Kansas City Ballet for four seasons. Mr. Nye is an award-winning choreographer and has had three world premieres with Ballet Idaho, including Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and City Symphonywith music by Philip Glass. 

Dalay Parrondo, Sugar Plum Fairy 2016
Ms. Parrondo began training at the age of nine at the Cuban National Ballet School. The recipient of numerous awards in competitions, Ms. Parrondo joined the Cuban National Ballet in 1998 and rose to the rank of First Soloist. She is currently a Soloist with the Boston Ballet and has danced a large and eclectic repertory from the classical cannon as well as famous contemporary works.

Federico Fresi, Nutcracker Prince 2016
Mr. Fresi trained at the School of Maria de Avila in Spain and has won numerous competitions and awards such as the International Ballet Competition in Zaragoza, Spain (2013) and the Audience Prize at the Roseta Mauri International Dance Competition. He has danced as a Soloist with the English National Ballet and the Teatro alla Scala and at his current company the Boston Ballet.

​Check out his high flying leaps in this rehearsal video!

Oksana Maslova, Sugar Plum Fairy Nutcracker 2014, Summer Showcase 2015 & 2016,
Master Class Teacher 2016
Ms. Maslova is originally from the Ukraine. She is a former soloist of the Odessa National Opera House and was a guest artist with Moscow Ballet in Russia. As an international award winning artist, she has danced extensively throughout  Europe as well as the United States and in Canada. Her early engagements were with the Kiev Youth Ballet and the Suziriya Dance Theater. Ms. Maslova's artistic development includes early training in rhythmic gymnastics which led to an intensive ballet program with Irina Sycheva, former ballerina of St. Petersburg Ballet. Ms. Maslova studied with great teachers and artists, including Anna Petrechuk, Nina Kosenko and Sergei Bondur.  In addition to a large classical repertoire: Nutcracker, Swan Lake,  La Bayadère,  Giselle, Sleeping Beauty to name but a few … she performs neoclassical and modern works. Ms. Maslova was a featured ballerina with the Grand Rapids Ballet and is currently a Principal Dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet.

Anton Kandaurov, Nutcracker Prince 2014,  Master Class Teacher 2014 & 2016,
Summer Showcase 2015 & 2016
Mr. Kandaurov was born in Donetsk, Ukraine. He is a graduate of the Kiev State College of Choreography and is an award winner of the international competition “Youth Ballet 2002”. Mr. Kandaurov continued to study at the "HochShule fúr Musik und Theater in Zurich". His professional engagements began with the Croatian National Ballet, then the Kiev National Opera House Ballet. He was a soloist with the Kiev City Academic Theater and the Moscow Ballet Company which toured a great deal world wide. . In 2008, Mr. Kandaurov became a member of Grand Rapids Ballet Company, where he created the wonderful role of Sebastian of Shakespear’s Tempest. His rich repertoire includes the IXI century classics as well as neo classical works such as Balanchine’s "Who Cares". Mr. Kandaurov is currently principal dancer with Connecticut Ballet.

​Emily Adams, Sugar Plum Fairy 2015
Current Principal Dancer with Ballet West, Utah (full bio here)

Prior to joining Ballet West in 2007, Ms. Adams performed in several ballets with New York City Ballet as an advanced student at SAB and choreographed ballets for two SAB student choreography workshops. Was invited at age 17 by Peter Martins, artistic director of New York City Ballet, to choreograph for the New York Choreographic Institute’s Spring Session in 2004. Danced a principle role in Tribute, a new work by Christopher D’Amboise, during SAB’s 2005 Student Workshop. Was a guest artist with Suzanne Farrell Ballet in June 2007, performing in George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. ​

Rex Tilton, Nutcracker Prince 2015
Current Principal Dancer with Ballet West, Utah (full bio here)

Rex began his training at San Elijo Dance Academy at age 13. Before joining Ballet West in 2008, he trained at schools such as Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, and School of American Ballet.

Stanislav Ivanov, Drosselmeyer 2015 and Master Class Teacher 2014 & 2015
Mr. Ivanov began his ballet studies in his native country, Vladikavkaz, Russia (North Osetia). He was accepted to the famous Perm Choreographic School of Russia in 1988. Having graduated in 1996, he joined The Chelyabinsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of M.I. Glinka. In 1997, he received a contract with Grigorovich Ballet of Russia as soloist under the direction of Yuri Grigorovich. Tours with the Grigorovich Ballet of Russia took him to Lebanon, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Italy, Spain, Turkey and the United States. He was a principal dancer with Dance Alive National Ballet from 2002-2008. Stanislav was named the dancer who seems to “fly through the air" and his outstanding classical dancing technique combined with his remarkable acting talent allowed him to achieve the most vivid and memorable interpretations of great range of characters on stage. In 2009, he joined the Space Coast Ballet as ballet teacher and choreographer in the Russian style (Vaganova). He later joined the Gulf Coast Ballet Theatre in 2010 as the Artistic Director where he choreographed: The Nutcracker, Cipollino and Alice in Wonderland. Stanislav has been a principal guest artist and teacher with several companies around US. His repertoire has included: Romeo and Juliet, Spartacus, Don Quixote, Giselle, Raymonda, Swan Lake, Paquita, Incertezza, Constellation, Aeia Bridlet, Stars and Strips, Carmen, Madame Butterfly, Le Corsaire, Golden Age Suite, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, Lady Bug, The 1001 Night, La Fille Mal Gardée, Carmina Burana, and The Nutcracker. In the fall of 2012, Mr. Stanislav was named the Artistic Director of Classical Ballet of Tampa. 
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Angelina Sansone, Summer Gala & Master Class Teacher 2014
Angelina Sansone left her parents home in Charlotte, North Carolina at the age 14 to attend the Harid Conservatory with a full tuition scholarship. After completing her education at Harid, she spent two seasons with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago where she appeared in Robert Altman's 2003 film The Company. Following her stay with Joffrey, Ms. Sansone worked toward her B.S. in ballet at Indiana University before she joined Kansas City Ballet in 2005. In her seasons with KCB, she has performed principle parts in Apollo, The Concert , Lark Ascending, Afternoon of a Faun, Dark Elegies, Splendid Isolations III, Mozartiana, Giselle and the title role in Romeo & Juliet. She had the opportunity to perform Ben Stevenson's End of Time at the International Dance Festival of Colombia.  During her lay offs with KCB Angie has enjoyed working with Motion Dancer Theater and Quixotic Performance Fusion. 

Geoffrey Kropp, Summer Gala and Master Class Teacher 2014
Geoffrey Kropp began his ballet training in his hometown of Bakersfield, California. He spent summers training on scholarship at San Francisco Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, Boston Ballet, and The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, where he was accepted into their year-round program. After a year, Mr. Kropp joined Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) School's Professional Division. At PNB, he performed several ballets with the company including Prodigal Son, The Merry Widow, Carmina Burana and The Nutcracker, as well as the lead in Paquita in the annual school performance. Since joining Kansas City Ballet, Mr. Kropp has danced featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Todd Bolender, Yuri Possokhov, Bruce Marks,Jerome Robbins, and Anthony Tudor, among others. Some of his favorite roles include Albrecht in Giselle, leads in Balanchine's Who Cares?, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, andSerenade, and Ben Stevenson's End of Time. Mr. Kropp has also performed with the National Choreographers Initiative, Kansas City Dance Festival, ARC Dance, Owen Cox Dance Group, and UMKC's Conservatory of Music and Dance. 

Courtney Collado, Lead Arabian Nutcracker 2013 & 2014
Courtney Collado is a graduate of the prestigious Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA where she performed as part of the National Youth Ballet for four years.  She also holds a BFA in dance performance and choreography from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.  Professionally, Ms. Collado has danced with the Second Avenue Dance Company, Tina Croll and Company, Mary Seidman and Dancers, Mariana Bekerman Dance Company, Malleable Dance Theater, Nicholas Andre Dance Theater and the Isadora Duncan Dance Company in New York City.  She has performed in numerous theaters around the US, most notably Lincoln Center in NYC, and her choreography credits include film, video, musical theater and modern dance productions throughout the country.
Ms. Collado is a frequent guest faculty member of Kansas Ballet Academy and a favorite among KBA students. 

Victoria Truposkiadi, Sugar Plum Fairy Nutcracker 2013
Ms. Troposkiadi currently lives in Moscow, Russia where she is a First Soloist with the Natalia Sats Theater.  She previously worked for 12 years with the Moscow Classical Ballet and has toured extensively to Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the USA.  Her classical repertory includes principal roles in Cinderella, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Le Corsaire, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake among many others.

Ms. Truposkiadi is a 1999 graduate of the Moscow State Choreographic Institute (the Bolshoi Ballet School) and received a Diploma and Jury Prize from the Yuri Grigorovich International Youth Ballet Competition in both 1999 & 2000.

Nikolai Morschakov, Nutcracker Prince and Master Class Teacher 2013
Mr. Morschakov graduated with honors from the Saratov State Choreographic Academy, Russia in 1995.  Immediately after, he was selected for Grigorovich Ballet as a Soloist dancer. Elevated to principal dancer in 1999, Mr. Morschakov was featured as Jean de Brienne in “Raymonda”, Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet”, Basilio in “Don Quixote”, both Spartacus and Crassus in “Spartacus”, Prince Siegfried and  Von Rothbart in “Swan Lake”, Poet in “Chopiniana”, Cavalier in “Nutcracker” and in other leading and solo roles.

Mr. Morschakov is a Laureate of the Philip Morris International Ballet Competition in 1999 and 2001. During his career he has performed in Russia, USA, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, Lebanon, and Turkey.  In the US he has worked as a Principal Dancer with the Sarasota Ballet of Florida and Dance Alive National Ballet Company.

Aaron Orlowski, Nutcracker Prince 2012
Mr. Orlowski is a Fort Collins native, began his ballet training with Canyon Concert Ballet. He continued his studies on scholarship with the Boston Ballet and the University of Utah's Department of Ballet, performing with their resident company, Utah Ballet. He began his professional career with Ballet Internationale, Indianapolis in 1999. In 2001 he became a Soloist with Nevada Ballet Theatre in Las Vegas and in 2003 he joined Ballet West in Salt Lake City, where he danced for seven years. He has also danced with Canyon Concert Ballet, Peoria Ballet, AVA Ballet, and Repertory Dance Theater of Salt Lake City. After dancing professionally for 11 years, Mr. Orlowski is now pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Social Work at the University of Utah. He also teaches ballet at Salt Lake Community College and continues to perform around the US as a freelance guest artist.

Mr. Orlowski's notable roles include the Officer in Amadeo Amodio's Carmen, Rothbart in Jonas Kage's Swan Lake, Theseus in Bruce Steivel's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Warrior Chieftain in Polovtsian Dances, and Snow King, Lead Russian, and Arabian in Willam Christensen's The Nutcracker, as well as soloist roles in Glen Tetley's Rite of Spring and Mythical Hunters, Antony Tudor's The Leaves are Fading and Echoing of Trumpets, Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs, George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, Hans van Manen's In and Out, and Darrell Grand Moultrie's Everlasting Heights.
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Selahattin Erkan, Drosslemeyer 2012
Selahattin Erkan began his classical training in his native Turkey, and graduated from the National Conservatory of Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir. While there, he studied under Devkat Tursonov, Honored Artist of the republic of Uzbekistan. He has shown great skill and talent as demonstrated by his success at national and international ballet competitions. He was a finalist at the 8th Paris International Ballet Competition in 1998. Selahattin has performed some of Classical Ballet's most difficult roles. At Dokuz Eylul University, he was featured in Le Corsaire and La Fille Mal Gardée. He was invited to join Indianapolis' Ballet Internationale in 2000. During his tenure there, Selahattin was featured in several ballets including Playing Field, La Bayadere Pas D'action, RaymondaAct III, Fairy Doll Pas De Trois, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Interzone, Peter Pan,Phaedra and Carmen. He then joined the Cincinnati Ballet where he danced from 2005-2014.