COMPANY BIOS   

	Darion Smith a native Californian started his formal dance training with Kay Fulton at the Santa Barbara City College. After one year with Ms. Fulton, Darion attended a Limon workshop on full scholarship at San Jose State University. Shortly thereafter Smith traveled overseas where he completed the four-year dance program at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany. During this time Smith studied as a guest at the Moscow Academy of Choreography Moscow, Russia. While still in Germany, Smith worked with choreographers Norbert Steinwarts, Rodolpho Leoni, Joachim Schlumer, and Derek Williams. After moving back to the States, Darion joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem's DTB Ensemble and later the Dance Theatre of Harlem's main company for performances of "St. Louis Woman." Darion has worked with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, New York Theater Ballet, State Street Ballet, Willow Oak Contemporary Ballet Company. Smith is on staff at the Silva Dance Academy, and has been guest faculty at the Santa Barbara City College, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Smith is co-founder and artistic director of JDC.
	Ms. Genest, a native of Jamestown, Rhode Island, received her primary dance education with Miki Ohlsen at the Newport Academy of Ballet in Newport, Rhode Island. Danielle furthered her studies at Boston Ballet’s Center for Dance Education, North Carolina School of the Arts and Houston Ballet Academy. At age seventeen, Danielle joined Hartford Ballet under the direction of Kirk Peterson. She performed works by George Balanchine, Choo-San Goh, Jean Grand-Maitre and Peterson himself among others. While there, she choreographed Basis which was shown in the Hartford Ballet Dancers’ Choreography Showcase. She later joined New York Theatre Ballet, directed by Diana Byer, where she continued choreographing and performing, touring both nationally and internationally. Danielle’s piece, Severed Contrasts, which she choreographed for NYTB, was shown at the 10.Internationales Ballettmeeting in Saint Polten, Austria. In the past two years, NYTB has commissioned two additional pieces, Orbiting and In These Shoes, from Danielle and premiered them in their New York City seasons. Also performed as part of the company’s repertory is Volatile Passage, which she originally choreographed for Island Moving Company of Newport, Rhode Island. Danielle's work was most recently commissioned by Tallahassee Ballet. To Another Place premiered this past September as part of the company's Evening of Music and Dance. Additionally, she has just completed a video project for PC Connection of New Hampshire. Her choreography is the basis for a commercial video for Health Connection computer software. Ms. Genest has also danced professionally with Island Moving Company, Providence Ballet, Gleich Dances, and Cadence Dance Project (Colleen Cavanaugh and Dancers) and has had works created for her by various independent choreographers. She has appeared as a guest artist with Connecticut Concert Ballet, River Region Ballet and Spindle City Ballet and has served on the faculty of Ballet School New York, Newport Academy of Ballet and Providence Ballet.
N/A	Ivanova Aguilar, was born in Mexico City and graduated from The National Ballet School and the Royal Academy. She won The Fund of National Culture Award to study in New York City. After coming to New York, she studied at The Joffrey School under full scholarship and was part of the Joffrey Ensemble touring the USA doing solos and principal roles. She has appeared as a guest artist with Ballet Clasico y Neoclasico de Madrid and the Shakespeare Festival in Washington, D.C.
	Ksenia Belavina was born in Russia and aducated at the Perm State Choreographic College,Russia.Ksenia joined the Grigorovich Ballet in 2002,she has been perfoming with dance companies in Florida,as well as touring nationally and internationally.Ksenia has performed lead roles in numerous productions including Spartacus,La Bayadere,Sleeping Beauty,Don Quixote,Swan Lake,Romeo&Juliet,Le Corsaire,La Fille Mal Gardee and of course the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.
	Mark Burns former soloist with the Dance Theatre of Harlem has danced leading roles by choreographers such as George Balanchine, Alonso King, Alvin Ailey, John Alleyne, Dwight Roden, William Forseth, and Killian. Mark began his training at the Joffrey Ballet School and then went on to study at The School of American Ballet. Mark also holds a BA, BFA from New York University
	Doris Dornelles began her professional career in Brazil. Her repertoire includes roles in Don Quixote, Coppelia, Sacre du Printemps, Raymonda, among others. She has performed with Ballet Concerto, Ballet Phoenix, Anette Lubisco Cia de Danca, Muovere Cia de Danca in Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Caxias do Sul, Dom Pedrito and Erechim. She danced in Canada with the Newton Moraes Dance Company. Her constant desire in dance has led to her participate in numerous dance festivals and workshops in Brazil, Germany, Holland, Austria, and the USA. In 1998 she was nominated best female dancer at the Acorianos Prize for Performing Arts. In 2002 Ms Dornelles completed her Artists Diploma, (equivalent of a Bachelors Degree) in Dance at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen, Germany. She then joined the Aalto Ballett Theater working with such renowned choreographers as Heinz Spoerli, Boris Eifman, Mario Schroder, Sergej Gordiyenko, Jose de Udaeto and Birgit Scherzer. In 2006 she made her choreographic debut in collaboration with the director of Ballet Concerto on the ballet Carmina Burana with the OSPA Orchestra at the SESI Theater in Porto Alegre. On an invitation from City Hall of Porto Alegre, she was part of the jury for the Acorianos Prize for Performing Arts and also for Occupation in Theaters for Dance Companies. Ms Dornelles has a Bachelors Degree in Enterprises Business Management from PUCRS University and a Masters Degree in the Theory of Performing Arts from UFRG University with a thesis in projects for including audiences in the artistic development process for the XXI century.
	Nic Ceynowa moved to New York in 2003 after graduating with a B.F.A in Dance at the University of Minnesota. Since relocating, Nic has continued training at the Paul Taylor School and with Zvi Gottheiner, and has danced with the Amy Marshall Dance Company, CorbinDANCES, and Rebecca Rice Dance.
	Megan June is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN where she majored in History and studied dance under the direction of Sharon Varosh. Professionally, Megan has performed with Dance Theatre of Harlem, dancing works by George Balanchine, Arthur Mitchell, Michael Smuin and others. Megan recently danced in the televised PBS special "In Performance at the White House" and danced with Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montreal. In addition to stage, Megan has appeared in print in Seventeen Magazine and was the featured subject in "Living in Two Worlds." Megan is both a member of Willow Oak Contemporary Ballet and Darion Smith's Janusphere.
	Simon Kazantsev born in Sverdlovsk, Russia came to the states after studies at the Moscow Academy of Choreography Moscow, Russia. Kazantsev’s studies focused on ballet and pedagogy. Simon has been a member of the Stanislavski Ballet as well as the Boston Ballet and has toured extensively abroad as in the United States. In addition to dancing Simon is on staff at the Great Neck School of Dance and Two Worlds Dance Center.
	Jaime Kotrba grew up in Manton, Mich., and started her training with Betsy Carr at Dance Arts Academy in Traverse City. She continued her training at Interlochen Arts Academy under the direction of Sharon Randolph. After graduation she moved to New York to study with Dance Theatre of Harlem and joined the Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble. In 2004, she joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem company and toured nationally and internationally dancing works by George Balanchine, John Taras, Michael Smuin and Geoffrey Holder among others. She has also worked with Collage Dance Collective under the direction of Kevin Thomas and Viewpointe Dance with Helen Heinman.
	Katie Moorhead began her dance studies in the small town of  Oxford, Pennslyvania, and is a graduate of the Kirov school in Washinton DC with honors. She is one of two dancers to first receive an Honorable Merit Diploma from the Terpsihora Foundation of St. Petersburg, Russia. Katie has performed in the states and internationally. She is also a ballet instructor in the tir-state area.
	Anne-Sophie Rodriguez was born in France and started her studies there before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. She spent most of her training at the San Francisco Ballet School with such renowned teachers as Larisa Sklyanskaya, Irina Jacobson, Jorge Esquivel, and Ricardo Bustamante. She later graduated from Boston Ballet School, having relocated there to study with Madame Tatiana Legat. After performing soloist roles in her graduation performance, Ms. Rodriguez was invited to join Boston Ballet II where she performed corps de ballet parts in Boston Ballet's expansive repertoire. She has performed with such companies as Tulsa Ballet, Delta Festival Ballet, The Norwegian National Ballet, Festival Ballet of Providence, BalletNY, Ajkun Ballet and Ballet Internationale. Her awards include numerous merit scholarships, as well as the Rita A. Gustafson Memorial Scholarship, a San Francisco Ballet Endowment Foundation awarded for outstanding merit and achievement at the San Francisco Ballet School. Ms. Rodriguez currently resides in New York City where she coaches and choreographs for students of the Ellison Ballet- Professional Training Program.
	Tomotaka Okada was born in Osaka, Japan. Okada received his training in Japan, under the direction of Shizuko Soda. He played leading roles in many ballets in Japan and has received 2nd and 3rd place in the Tokyo Newspaper Dance Competition and 2nd and 3rd place from All Japan Dance Competition Kobe and All Japan Union Competition. Okada came to New York City in 2006 and has been performing extensively here.
	Originally from New Jersey, Melissa Sadler began her training at Red Bank Ballet under Rosemary Boross. Ms. Sadler continued her formal training with The Boston Ballet, The Kirov Academy of Ballet, and The Joffrey Ballet School. She has toured both nationally and internationally with New York Theatre Ballet, where she was a principal dancer. Performance credits include Donald Mahler's Cinderella, Three Virgins and a Devil, Judgement of Paris, Les Mains Gauches, Jardin aux Lilas, Fandango, and Capriol Suite. Currently she is performing with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Ms. Sadler is also a guest artist with  The Hartford City Ballet.
	Nikki Wilson received her early training from Winthrop Corey and Ann Duke in Mobile, AL. Nikki graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University New Orleans with a B.A. in English Literature and furthered her classical training with New Orleans Ballet Ensemble under the direction of Allison Gonzales and Jefferson Performing Arts Society with Harvey Hysell. Since moving to New York, Nikki has danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. While dancing with DTH, Nikki danced works by George Balanchine, Arthur Mitchell, Michael Smuin, and Robert Garland among others and toured nationally and internationally. Most recently, Nikki performed on “In Performance at the White House” (a PBS Special) honoring Dance Theatre of Harlem Artistic Director Arthur Mitchell. Nikki has also danced with Les Grands Ballets de Montreal (Quebec, Canada) and Kinetic Dance Theater in New York City.