Milwaukee Ballet II

Born in Yerevan, Davit Hovhannisyan trained at National Ballet School of Armenia on full scholarship. In 2004, he joined Milwaukee Ballet, where he performed as a critically acclaimed Leading Artist for 20 years. He danced principal roles in several Michael Pink ballets and worked with many other esteemed choreographers before retiring in 2023. 

Born in Zaragoza, Spain, Pedro Lapetra began his training at Escuela Municipal de Danza under the direction of Cristina Miñana. From there he continued his training at Bartholin International Ballet Seminar in Copenhagen where he was awarded a scholarship to study Bournonville technique and work with master teachers such as Vivi Flindt, Johnny Eliasen, Robert Denvers, Laura Alonso, Lloyd Riggins, Nicolaj Hubbe, and David Howard, among others.

In 2001, Lapetra joined the European Ballet as a principal dancer to perform the role of Franz in Coppelia. He then went on to join the Norwegian National Ballet for the 2001/02 season where he performed pieces by Jiri Kylian, Paul Lightfoot, Michael Pink, and George Balanchine. In 2003, he joined the English National Ballet where he remained for 19 years performing principal and soloist roles in ballets such as Nureyev’s Romeo & Juliet, Macmillan’s Sleeping Beauty, Skeaping’s Giselle, Eagling’s The Nutcracker, Dean’s Alice in Wonderland, Dean’s Swan Lake, Macmillan’s Manon, and Pina Bauch’s Le Sacre du Printemps. He has also worked with major choreographers like John Neumeire, Russell Maliphant, Akram Khan, Christopher Wheeldon, and Tamara Rojo and performed on prestigious stages like Palais Garnier in Paris, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan, and Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. Lapetra appeared in several international ballet galas, including the Genzano Flower Festival in Italy, and performed pas de deux from Don Quixote, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Flames of Paris, Le Corsaire, Coppelia, Satanella, Diana & Acteon, and La Sylphide.

Since Lapetra completed his Diploma of Dance Teaching from The Royal Ballet School in 2018, he has been a guest teacher with the English National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet II, Rambert School of Dance, English National Ballet School, Escuela de Francisca Tomas (Palma de Mallorca), and Los Angeles Ballet Academy. Most recently, in 2022, Lapetra was Assistant of Choreography for Tamara Rojo’s Cinderella at Royal Swedish Ballet.

Catey Ott Thompson, director of Catey Ott Dance Collective (CODC) since 2005, has a BFA and MFA in dance from UWM under the direction of Ed Burgess, Marcia Parsons, Janet Lilly, and Simone Ferro. Catey now resides in Milwaukee after dancing in NYC for 14 years for Soundance, Heidi Latsky, Allyson Green, Sean Curran, Bill Young, Li Chiao-Ping, Eun Jung Choi, Aviva Geismar, Chris Ferris, Shannon Hummel, Carrie Ahern, and many others. She toured to Slovakia and Budapest with Allyson Green and to France with Carrie Ahern. Catey studied ballet with Christine Wright for 12 years at Gibney Dance Center in NYC. In Milwaukee, she danced for Danceworks Performance Company, Wild Space, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, and others. Her company, CODC, has performed at a variety of prestigious venues in NYC and also throughout Wisconsin. She has been a personal trainer (AFAA), yogi, and Pilates (Kane School of Core Integration) instructor since 2000, and worked for Park Slope Yoga Center/Devi, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, and Brouk Moves in NYC for many years. Since 2012, Catey has been teaching contemporary modern, adult ballet, dance history, composition and choreography, improvisation, and repertory at Marquette University, Milwaukee Ballet, and Danceworks, while also directing MKE Dance Theatre Network.

Jayne Regan Pink (born 4 March 1968) is a British dancer, choreographer, repetiteur, dialect coach and artistic associate. She studied at the Royal Ballet School and spent much of her professional career as a principal dancer with Northern Ballet Theatre. She created leading roles in most of the company's repertoire between 1986 and 1998 alongside collaborators including director Christopher Gable, director-choreographer Michael Pink, composer Philip Feeney and designer Lez Brotherston. She has been referred to as "one of the jewels in the crown of English dance" and "one of the finest dramatic dancers of today, ranking alongside Lynn Seymour, Marcia Haydee, Anna Laguna and Elain McDonald." Since retiring from dance, she has moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her husband, Artisitic Director of Milwaukee Ballet Michael Pink. She has served as a choreographer, movement director, dialect coach and repetiteur in Milwaukee and internationally. She currently serves as Artistic Associate with Renaissance Theaterworks.

Dawn Springer is a choreographer who has worked throughout the country and abroad. Her choreography has been described as “mesmerizing” (Spin Magazine), “terrific” (Shepherd Express), “surging and lush” (Philadelphia Inquirer), “subtle yet striking” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), a “stand out” (Durham Indy Weekly) and “beautiful composition” (Milwaukee Magazine). Throughout her training and performance career, she was fortunate to perform with many wonderful choreographers including Helen Simoneau Danse, Camille A. Brown (Tony Award winner), Sara Hook, Jeff Slayton (Merce Cunningham Dance), Sarah Skaggs, Dahlia Nayar, and Aynsley Vandenbroucke Movement Group, among others. Her performances have included Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Venice Biennale Danza, New York Live Arts, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center. Her choreography for the Collection of Colonies of Bees was performed as the opener for Grammy Award winning and nominated artists Bon Iver and Sylvan Esso. She toured the United States as an adjudicator for the American Dance Festival and was an artist in residence for two consecutive seasons with Alverno Presents and for two years at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.

She has choreographed, taught and lectured at The Ailey School, The University of the Arts, The Banff Center, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dickinson College, Beloit College, Lawrence University, Cardinal Stritch University, The American College Dance Festival Association, and at The Congress on Research and Dance and The Society of Dance History Scholars. Her writing is published in the Perspectives on American Dance Anthology by the University Press of Florida. She is a senior lecturer in the Peck School of the Arts.

Lahna Vanderbush was born in Nagoya, Japan, and raised in Eugene, Oregon. She began her training at the Eugene Ballet Academy, later finishing at the San Francisco Ballet School under the direction of Gloria Govrin and Lola de Ávila. She began her career in 2007 at Alberta Ballet, where she performed many works by director Jean Grand-Maître, including The Fiddle and the Drum, Dangerous Liaisons, Mozart Requiem, and Carmen, as well as works by George Balanchine, Kirk Peterson, Christopher Wheeldon, and Mikko Nissinen. 

In 2009, she was a guest artist with Norwegian National Ballet and Eugene Ballet Company, later joining Ballet San Jose (now Silicon Valley Ballet). There she had the opportunity to dance many classics, including Swan Lake, Coppélia, Paquita, Don Quixote, Cinderella, and Giselle (including the American premiere of Alicia Alonso’s rendition), as well as works by Léonide Massine, George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton, Jerome Robbins, Jorma Elo, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Igal Perry. Vanderbush was also featured in Silicon Valley Ballet’s presentations of Roland Petit’s Carmen, Paul Taylor’s Piazzolla Caldera, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, and Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16. She has toured Canada, the United States, China, and Spain with Alberta Ballet and Silicon Valley Ballet. 

Since joining Milwaukee Ballet in 2016, she has been featured as Claudia in Michael Pink’s Mirror Mirror, Fanny (Belle’s sister) in the world premiere of Beauty and the Beast, Odile in Swan Lake, Marie in The Nutcracker, Titania in Bruce Wells’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Swanhilda in Coppélia, Esmeralda in Hunchback of Notre Dame, Michael Darling in Peter Pan, Mina in Dracula, Cinderella in Cinderella, and Bellino in Kenneth Tindall's Casanova, Miettes in Sleeping Beauty, and Micaëla in Mark Godden's Carmen.

New Orleans, Louisiana 

Natalie began her dance training at the age of 3. After studying multiple styles of dance, she found her love for ballet and joined the New Orleans School of Ballet at the age of 12. At the age of 14, she joined the Kansas City Ballet School’s daytime program, after being invited through their summer intensive. In the school, she had the opportunity to perform in productions such as Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker and Septime Weber’s The Wizard of Oz. Throughout her time in the program, Natalie also attended summer and fall intensives at The Royal Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre, Philadelphia Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Austin Ballet. In 2022, she joined Kansas City Ballet’s Second Company as a trainee, where she would perform and train for two seasons. During her time with Kansas City Ballet, Natalie performed corps roles in several of Devon Carney’s ballets, such as Giselle, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Peter Pan. She also had the opportunity to perform in the North American premiere of Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll and Hyde, and George Balanchine’s Jewels, along with understudying for Alexander Ekman’s Cacti and Mark Morris’s Sandpaper. Following her time with Kansas City Ballet, Natalie is thrilled to begin her first season with Milwaukee Ballet II this September.  

Sponsored by Jeff & Kelly Fitzsimmons 

Atlanta, GA 

Cate trained at Atlanta Dance Theatre for her entire dance education, building a strong sense of ballet, contemporary and other styles of dance. Over the years, she has attended multiple summer intensives such as, ABT New York, International Ballet Academy, International CIty School of Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet. She participated in the competitions YAGP and ADCIBC and attended the finals. Cate was fortunate enough to attend several Regional Dance America festivals and was honored to be selected as an outstanding classical soloist. Each step has helped her shape her dedication and passion for dance. 

Sponsored by Suzanne Martens 

San Pedro, California 

Annika began training with her home studio, Ballet California, at six years old. She has traveled as far as Europe to attend summer intensives. She has gone to American Ballet Theatre’s New York intensives twice and English National Ballet’s intensives twice, in which she got the opportunity to perform solo roles. She has never competed before, but she has won a choreography award and has been chosen three times to attend the Ballet Alliance’s Honor Repertoire and Classical Ballet classes. At Ballet California, she has performed roles such as Cinderella, Wendy in Peter Pan, Clara and Sugarplum in The Nutcracker, and several other lead roles in contemporary/neoclassical pieces.  

Sponsored by Tim & Sue Frautschi 

Naperville, Illinois 

Jada began dancing at the age of three, training in a variety of styles before choosing to pursue pre-professional ballet training at thirteen. From ages 13 to 17, she studied at Chicago Ballet Conservatory, Chicago Academy for the Arts, and A&A Ballet, where she performed featured roles in The Nutcracker, Paquita, Don Quixote, Chopiniana, Firebird, Coppélia, Night at the Museum, and Carnival of the Animals. While at A&A Ballet, Jada toured internationally in Guatemala with Alexei Kremnev’s production of Firebird. 

Sponsored by Laurie J. Kirsch & Rodney J. Gasch 

Carson, California 

Acaju has trained at Ballet California for the last 10 years, started his dance career at the age of 8. He has attended Summer Intensives at English National Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Louisville Ballet. In recent years he has performed in El Paso, TX and Spokane, WA during the Ballet Alliance. He performed on stage as the Cavalry Prince for The Nutcracker twice and the lead in Coppelia and Peter Pan. He has had the opportunity to perform numerous parts as a soloist and a corps member for Ballet California over the last several years.  

Sponsored by Lois & Richard Pauls 

Cedarburg, WI 

Ella started her classical ballet training at the age of 6 years old with the Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy. During her time there, cshe got to perform the role of Alice in Rolando Yanes’ Alice in Wonderland. After completing the final level of the academy, Ella furthered her training in the Milwaukee Ballet Pre-Professional Program for 2 years. She has attended several summer intensives, including Ellison Ballet’s New York Intensive and Milwaukee Ballet’s Summer Intensive. Ella has competed in the Youth American Grand Prix semi-finals and placed Top 12 in the Senior Classical category in 2023 and Top 12 in both the Senior Classical and Contemporary categories in 2024. She is thrilled to join the Milwaukee Ballet’s Second Company for the 2024/25 Season! 

Sponsored by Jean Baumgartner McGrath 

Michigan 

 Jillian began her training at a young age at the Academy of Performing Arts under the direction of the late Kathleen Francis. While at Academy of Performing Arts Jillian was a part of the Francis Performing Arts Company for six years where she danced in various community outreach events. In her time at APA her favorite role was Tinkerbell in Kathleen’s staging of Peter Pan. She went on to study for a year under Attila Mosolygo at Grand Rapids Ballet School before joining Milwaukee Ballet's Pre-Professional Training Program under the direction of Tatiana Jouravel-Malinkine. In her two years in PPP, she performed in Tatiana Jouravel-Malinkine’s stagings of Le Corsaire, Swan Lake, Paquita, and Don Quixote. Her favorite roles were performing Paquita Act II Lead Variation and Kitri Act I Variation. She is excited and grateful for the opportunity to join Milwaukee Ballet II in the upcoming season. 

Sponsored by The Mengo Family 

Roselawn, Indiana 

Fayeth trained at Indiana Ballet Theatre from when she was 3 until she moved to Wisconsin to train in Milwaukee Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program at 17. She has spent the last two years with this program. At IBT, Fayeth was able to dance roles such as Princess Aurora, Clara, Sugar Plum, Sapphire and Autumn Fairies, Dew Drop, and Cygnet. She was a top 12 Finalist at the Youth American Grand Prix; won the Senior Ballet Division at the ICON Chicago regional in 2022; a 2022 F.A.M.E. Finalist (in dance); and Northwest Indiana’s Regional Arts Council’s Youth Arts Award winner in 2022. She has attended Summer Intensives at Joffrey Chicago, A&A Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet. Fayeth is thrilled to continue the next step of her journey with MBII.  

Sponsored by Mark & Anne Weitenbeck 

Avon, Connecticut 

Christina trained at the Hartt School Dance Department in Connecticut, where she was honored with the Francine Goldfarb Scholarship Award in 2015, and more recently at the Washington School of Ballet (TWSB) and Indiana University Ballet Theater. She was invited by Xiomara Reyes and Rinat Imaev to attend the IBstage Summer Program in Barcelona on scholarship for two consecutive summers, and has attended summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, and the Chautauqua Institution. In 2018, Christina won 2nd place in the senior classical category at the Youth America Grand Prix in Boston and was awarded a gold medal at the Connecticut Classic Ballet Scholarship Competition. In 2020, she decided to attend Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and graduated early with high distinction in May 2023, earning a Bachelor of Science in Music (Ballet Emphasis) and an Outside Field in Business Studies. Christina joined Grand Rapids Ballet as an Apprentice for the 2023/24 season and is excited to be joining Milwaukee Ballet II for the 2024/25 season. 

During her time at TWSB, Christina performed Snow and Flowers with the Washington Ballet in Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker. Her repertoire at Indiana University Ballet Theater includes principal roles in George Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations and Serenade, which she performed under the direction of Kyra Nichols and Christian Claessens, as well as the Sugarplum Fairy in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker and Odette in an excerpt of Swan Lake, coached by Carla Körbes. With Grand Rapids Ballet, she performed in George Balanchine’s Who Cares and as a Russian Demi Soloist in Serenade. Her performance credits last season also include Aurora’s Friends, Lilac Fairy Attendant, and Garland Waltz in Sleeping Beauty, and Snow, Flowers, and Marzipan in The Nutcracker. 

Sponsored by Xiaoting Hao & Daniel Neely 

Fallston, Maryland 

Kiegan trained for about 7 years at a small studio in Maryland and then moved to The Rock School when he was 14 and stayed there for 3 years. After The Rock School he went to Sarasota Ballet as a trainee. While he was there, he competed in YAGP and won second place for contemporary, top six for classical, and first place for a pas de deux at semi-finals. At YAGP Finals, he was awarded top 12 for his grand pas classique pas de deux. He has also attended Washington Ballet, UNCSA, The Haird Conservatory, and Bolshoi Ballet summer intensives.  

Sponsored by Kathy & Dave Averbeck 

Murfreesboro, Tennesse  

Emily started dancing when she was 3 years old, but started taking it more seriously when she was 10. She did well in competitions like VKIVC, where she was a finalist. She has attended Summer Intensives at American Ballet Theater, National Ballet of Canada, and Boston Ballet. Emily moved away from home when she was 14 years old for Boston Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program where she was awarded the Laura Young Scholarship during her four years at the school. She then attended The Rock School for Dance Education as a postgraduate before she received a trainee contract with Grand Rapids Ballet. Emily is thrilled to be joining the Milwaukee Ballet community for the 2024/25 Season! 

Sponsored by Sally Jarrar Baumgartner 

Vancouver, Canada 

 Natalie Martin began her professional training with Waldorf Ballet in Sechelt, B.C. At 15, she was accepted on scholarship to The Rock School for Dance Education where she received an invitation to compete in the 2023 YAGP Finals in Tampa Bay. In the fall of 2023, Natalie joined Miami City Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Division and was selected as one of only a few students to perform alongside Miami City Ballet’s Company in numerous productions over the next two years. Highlights include George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Firebird, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Valse and Walpurgisnacht. Most recently, Natalie was cast in Alexei Ratmansky’s Swan Lake where she performed as a White Swan, Black Swan, and Neapolitan. She finished the 2024/25 season touring this MCB Company production to Orange County, California. Natalie has attended summer programs at Alberta Ballet, Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and most recently on scholarship in 2024 to Pacific Northwest Ballet. Natalie is thrilled to be attending Milwaukee Ballet ll for the 2025/26 season! 

Sponsored by Gregory & Susan Milleville 

Japan 

Rinka began her dance career at age 4 in her hometown and was taught by Yuriko Tanoue until the age of 15. During this time, she was awarded a full year scholarship after participating in the summer school at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in 2015. She also participated in the short-term program at Princess Grace Academy, John Cranko Ballet School, and Cannes Rosella Hightower Academy. She received scholarships to study at Dutch National Ballet Academy, Joffrey Ballet Academy, and others, awarded by the YAGP competition in Japan in 2016. Later that year, at age 15, Rinka moved to Munich, Germany to study at Bavarian Ballet Academy with Alen Bottaini and Lisa-Marre Cullum. I graduated there at the top of the class. From age 18 to 21, she went to Junior Ballet Antwerp in Belgium directed by Alain Honorez and Altea Nunez, to gain performance experience. Rinka worked there with numerous world-renowned choreographers and teachers such as David Dawson, Monique Loudieres, and Veronique Jean. She danced the main role in Cinderella by Alain Honorez and Altea Nunez, soloist part in Metamorphosis by David Dawson, duet from Concerto con Brio by Yannick Boquin, and more.  

Sponsored by Chris Leadley & Ellen Hing 

Redlands, California.  

 Esther grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Redlands, California.  She started learning ballet when she was three years old.  At seven years old she received a Youth Scholarship to attend the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, where she trained for two years. Since 2019, she has been studying classical ballet at the School of International Ballet (Redlands) under Cecilia Hering. There she has performed roles such as Sugarplum in The Nutcracker, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and several other lead roles. She has received additional training through summer intensives at Inland Pacific Ballet, Anaheim Ballet, Ballet 5:8, and Houston Ballet Academy. In 2024 and 2025, Esther placed in the top 12 for Classical Ballet in the YAGP Semi-finals in Las Vegas and received a merit scholarship for the Houston Ballet Academy Summer Intensive. 

Sponsored by Heidi & Kevin Sjostrom 

Osaka Japan 
 

Kanon Nomura started ballet when she was 3 at local dance studio in Osaka. She went to Victoria Academy of Ballet in Canada for 3 years under the direction of Bleiddyn Bellis and after She completed the program, she joined Orlando Ballet 2. With Orlando Ballet she performed along side the company in numerous productions with her most memorable roles being, Red Riding Hood in the Sleeping Beauty and The Maple Leaf Rag by Martha Graham. She also has been fortunate enough to win 1st place in numerous competitions a few including, Victoria Dance Works in Canada, the Namue Ballet Competition, and MIPAF.  

Sponsored by Jason & Wanetta Fricke 

Hinsdale, Illinois 

Emery began her training at Hinsdale Dance Academy, under the direction of Jennifer Grapes Croughan, a former Principal of Milwaukee Ballet. At HDA, she performed the lead roles in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Midsummer Night’s Dream. She competed and placed in the Top 12 and was a Finalist at several competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix, ADC/IBC, and World Ballet Competition. She continued her training at BalletMet as a trainee, under the guidance of Maria Torija and Carrie West-Suslov. While at BalletMet, Emery worked with the company and performed roles such as Snow and Flower corps, Swan corps, Flamingo in Edwaard Liang’s Alice, and Ball & Street Women in Edwaard Liang’s Romeo and Juliet. Also within the trainee program, she had the opportunity to perform roles such as Gulnare in Le Corsaire, Dulcinea in Don Quixote, Demi Soloist in Balanchine’s Walpurgis Nacht, Corps in Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco. Emery has attended multiple summer intensives including English National Ballet School, The Royal Ballet School, and BalletMet.  

Sponsored by James L. McFarland & Jaime Sebastian Andres 

San Antonio, TX 

Andrew began his dance journey at the age of 7 and delved into ballet at the age of 10, training at various schools in San Antonio. Notably, he honed his skill at Decruz Ballet under the guidance of Directors Lindsi Dec and Karel Cruz before venturing to his first summer intensive out of town in 2021 at the esteemed San Francisco Ballet School, led by Director Patrick Armand. He then continued his education at San Francisco Ballet School until his recent graduation in 2024.  

Middleton, WI 

Genevieve began her training with Madison Ballet at 3 and became a trainee with them at 13. She then joined Milwaukee Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program where she trained vigorously for four years and recently performed Odette in their graduation show. She attended many summer intensives since the age of 9, examples being School of American Ballet, Ellison Ballet, and BalletMet’s Partnering week. She is excited to further her career with MBII! 

Sponsored by Anonymous 

Madison, Wisconsin  

  Stella most recently danced in the Professional Division on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet under the direction of Peter Boal. Previously, she trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Her summer intensives include Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet and Arts Umbrella. Alongside PNB’s company, Stella performed as Lilac Fairy Attendant, Nymph and Courtier in PNB’s world premiere of The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Corps in Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake and Marzipan, Flowers, Snow and Hot Chocolate in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. With PNB School, Stella performed featured roles in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and new works by Lily Wills and Amanda Morgan. She also performed in George Balanchine’s Square Dance. Stella is thrilled to be joining Milwaukee Ballet II for the 25/26 season! 

Sponsored by Lori Erickson & John Bell 

Frankfort, Illinois 

 Originally from Frankfort, Illinois, Peri began her training at the Ruth Page School of Dance in Chicago under the direction of Victor Alexander and Dolores Long. During her time at Ruth Page, she was selected to join a group of dancers touring internationally, performing in Cuba, Italy, and Spain, and training at La Escuela Nacional de Ballet in Havana. Peri also had the opportunity to perform many featured roles, including Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Dawn in Coppelia, Swan Lake Pas de Trois, and the title role in Giselle, as well as variations from Napoli, Les Sylphides, and La Fille Mal Gardee. Throughout these years, she attended summer intensives at The Royal Ballet, Houston Ballet, Ellison Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet, and received scholarships to attend Cincinnati Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, and Sacramento Ballet. After attending their summer intensive, Peri joined the Milwaukee Ballet Pre-Professional Program under the direction of Tatiana Jouravel-Malinkine where she trained for two years. She looks forward to joining the Milwaukee Ballet Second Company for the 2025/26 season.  

Sponsored by Rev. David E. Cooper 

Bogota, Colombia 

Sergio Suarez began dancing at age 12 in Bogota, Colombia and after 3 years of training, came to the states to live with his new “family” and work on perfecting his dancing and technique. While training at St. Lucie Ballet, Sergio joined the Pre-Professional Program and started competing in competitions like YAGP, UBC, and ADC IBC. Sergio was recognized with top placements, including a 1st place in the Senior Division which led him to continue training at Cary Ballet Conservatory. There he continued to compete and perform, including roles in The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Alice in Wonderland, and Who Cares? In 2023, he received top 10 in the Senior Men’s Division and in 2024 he received 2nd place in the Senior Men’s Division at ADC IBC Finals. In addition, Sergio was invited to YAGP finals in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.  

Sponsored by Justin & Elizabeth Drew 

Kanagawa, Japan 
 Akari Tagawa began her ballet training at age 5 and moved to the United States at 16 to study at The Rock School in Philadelphia, where she performed her first principal role as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. She later joined The Washington School of Ballet, dancing the role of Clara in The Nutcracker. In the summer of 2023, Akari attended The School of Ballet Arizona’s Summer Intensive and went on to dance with Ballet Arizona’s Studio Company from 2023 to 2025. Her repertoire includes Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments (Sanguinic), La Valse, Western Symphony, and Ib Andersen’s Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Eroica, among others. She has performed numerous principal roles in the Studio Company Showcase and is eager to bring her diverse stage experience to future performances. 

Sponsored by Alicia Vogel 

Osaka, Japan 

 Akihiro began ballet training at the age of five at L’union Ballet, a studio founded and directed by his mother in Osaka, Japan. In 2018, he attended the Hungarian Dance Academy Summer Intensive. From 2020 to 2022, Akihiro trained at San Francisco Ballet School as a Trainee, completing the program at the highest level. He was fortunate to win 1st place in the Senior category at the 2020 YAGP Japan semi-finals as the youngest participant, and also received 1st place at the 2020 WBCA Competition. He competed at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition in 2022 and the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson in 2023. 

In 2021, He performed as the Gnome in The Seasons with San Francisco Ballet. 

He has also had the opportunity to dance in works by world-renowned choreographers such as Toru Shimazaki and in the final work of the late Keiko Yagami.