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2022 Choreographers and Dancers |
 Emily Adams
is originally from Newtown ,PA, she trained at the School of American
Ballet before joining Ballet West II in 2005 and the main company in 2007.
She was promoted to Principal Artist in 2015. Career highlights include
Odette/Odile in Swan Lake; Aurora, Lilac Fairy and Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty;
Cinderella and Fairy Godmother in Ashton’s Cinderella; Juliet and Lady Capulet in
Smuin’s Romeo and Juliet; Diamonds Pas de Deux in George Balanchine’s Jewels;
and featured roles in ballets by William Forsyth, Jiri Kylian, Val Caniparoli,
Nicolo Fonte, Matthew Neenan, Edwaard Liang, and Helen Pickett, among others.
Emily began choreographing as a student, participating in the New York Choreographic
Institute’s Spring Session 2004. She has created six ballets for Ballet West.
Her most recent work, The Thing with Feathers, features an original score by Sundance
Institute Fellow, Katy Jarzebowski. Emily was awarded the Utah Arts Festival’s
Choreographic Commission in 2017. Her creation, Laden, is now included in Ballet West
II’s repertoire. In August 2019, she collaborated with The Way of the Rain, Sibylle
Szaggers Redford, and composer Tim Janis to create Earth Movements: A Symphony for Ballet.
The ballet was performed by Ballet West and presented at the UN 68th International NGO Conference. |
 Leiland
Charles is from Columbia, Maryland. Leiland first stepped into a dance studio at
the age of three with The Howard County Ballet in Ellicott City,
Maryland under the direction of Kathi Ferguson. Leiland furthered his
artistic training at The Juilliard School under the direction of
Lawrence Rhodes where he received his BFA in the spring of 2014. While
at Juilliard, he performed works by Nacho Duato, William Forsythe, Twyla
Tharp, Alexander Ekman and many others. Upon graduation, Mr. Charles
joined Alberta Ballet in Calgary, Canada, where he worked for three
seasons dancing many roles including Benvolio in Jean Grand-Maïtre’s
“Romeo and Juliet” and Red Couple in Jiri Kylían’s “Forgotten
Land.” Leiland joined BalletMet as a Company Artist for the 2017-2018
season. Some of his favorite roles/ballets with the company include “In
Creases” by Justin Peck and “Cacti” by Alexander Ekman. Leiland is also
an up-and-coming choreographer and has created works including
“Passages” for Alberta Ballet and most recently “Figurines” for
BalletMet and “Togetherness” for BalletMet2. Leiland is in his 5th
season with BalletMet. |
 Jennifer Hart, whose work is hailed as“not only inventive but heart-rending,” has choreographed for Ballet Austin, Ballet Austin ll, Ballet Nouveau Colorado, James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theater, The Walker Art Center’s Momentum Series, The McKnight Fellowship for Dancers, Metropolitan Ballet Project, University of Kansas, University of Massachusetts (including selection for the National College Dance Festival), Lawrence Ballet Theatre, Halcyon Dance Project, Merrick Strategies for its production of Leonard Bernstein's “Mass” and “Icons of Broadway Holiday Spectacular,” and Mobile Dance Film Festival. She has been awarded a New York City Ballet Fellowship and won third place at the Saint-Sauveur International Choreography Competition. She received second place at Ballet Nouveau Colorado’s choreography competition, and was one of three winners of the University of Kansas’ competitive choreography competition. She was chosen three times to present work at Ballet Builders, New Choreographer’s on Point in NYC. In 2014, she formed Performa/Dance with Ballet Austin dancer Edward Carr. Her work for Performa/Dance was awarded four Austin Critic’s Table awards for Best Short Work, Best Choreographer, and Best Dance Concert. |
 Gina
Patterson is a 2021 Bogliasco Fellow, and has won such honors as the
Choo San Goh Award, a nomination for an Isadora Duncan Award, the
Hubbard Street 2 National Choreographic Competition, New Choreographers
on Pointe, and the National Choreographers Initiative. Her dances appear
in the repertoire of companies across the US and have been presented
internationally in Italy, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Mexico, Puerto
Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Spain. Dance Magazine says
“Patterson has a voice, that ever-elusive thing, and whatever the future
of ballet may be, choreographers like her will always have a place in
it.” She danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Ballet Austin, Ballet
Florida, and as a guest artist in North America and Europe. She educates
through creativity workshops and multi-disciplinary collaboration with
young artists, working with University of North Carolina School of the
Arts, Arts Umbrella in Vancouver, Interlochen Arts Academy, and
Mercyhurst University.Advocating for empathy and compassion as a
creative artist, she searches to uncover the authentic and vulnerable –
the voice within. She uses her art to examine our humanity and
interconnection, believing in the art form’s power — to heal; and
through the creative process, build unity and community. |
| Lighting Designer | ||
Monique L’Heureux is an award winning lighting designer who has been
working in the field of dance for over two decades. This year, she is celebrating her
fifteenth collaboration with artistic director, Molly Lynch.Past designs include: Ma Cong’s French Twist for Smuin Ballet; Molly Lynch’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Anjani Ambegaokar’s Made in Mumbaii at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center; The Motion Picture and Television Fund event featuring Chita Rivera, Dick van Dyke, Shirley MacLaine, Hugh Jackman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Hudson, and others; Charles Moulton’s Ball Passing piece in Fall for Dance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center; Robert Sund’s Alice in Wonderland; the National and Pacific Festivals of Regional Dance America; the summer season at the Hollywood Bowl; and associate design work on the Universal Studios’ Magical Starlight Parade in Osaka, Japan. She attended Pepperdine University and received her MFA from the University of California, Irvine, after which she apprenticed at the Los Angeles Music Center’s Mark Taper Forum. She has taught for the dance departments at Loyola Marymount University and Moorpark College and the theatre department at El Camino College.She is the recipient of four Lester Horton Dance Awards. She is an accomplished artist and photographer whose work has been shown in galleries including the Long Beach Public Library’s Art on Display, the Carl Broderick Gallery, VIVA Gallery, Long Beach Arts Center, City of Brea Gallery, and The Stage Gallery, as well as a permanent installation in the Glendale Adventist Medical Center. She is a member of United Scenic Artists. www.artanddesigns.net |
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| Costume Coordinator | ||
Kaylynn Sutton is a costume, hair/wig, and makeup
designer. She is delighted to be working with artistic director
Molly Lynch and the talented dancers and choreographers of the
National Choreographer's Initiative for the third time.Recent credits include designing costumes for the New Slate (2019, 2021) and Physical Graffiti (2022) dance concerts and The Impresario (2022) at the University of California, Irvine. She graduated from the University of California State Fullerton's Theatre Design and Production program with an MFA in Costume Design in 2019. Kaylynn also teaches and designs hair/makeup and costumes for Fullerton College and Santa Ana College respectively. www.kaylynnsutton.com |
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| 2022 NCI Dancers | ||
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Women: Anwen Brown - Ballet Memphis Ava Chatterson - Sacramento Ballet Celeste Gaiera - Richmond Ballet Michelle Katcher - Sacramento Ballet Taylor Lim - Olympic Ballet Theatre Anna Mains - Charlotte Ballet Heather Nichols - Kansas City Ballet Sophie Williams - Texas Ballet Theater Men: |
 2022 NCI dancers |
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All photos by Robert Salas and David Friedman |
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