2024-2025 COMPANY ARTISTS
Madison Campbell
Madison Campbell started her career with Cleveland Ballet in 2016, where she originated roles in many of Cleveland Ballet’s repertoire. Some of her favorite roles with the ballet have included Iris in Margo Sappington’s "Alice," Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s "Serenade," and Titania in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." Madison grew up in Des Moines, Iowa where she first started her ballet training with Emery and Melissa Uyehara and performed in numerous productions with Iowa Dance Theatre. She supplemented her training at summer intensives such as Joffrey Midwest, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, School of American Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, and Nashville Ballet. After graduating early from high school, Madison studied with Miami City Ballet School, The School of Philadelphia Ballet, and Nashville Ballet where she performed in various company performances, toured locally and to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and participated in several community outreach events. In addition to being a dancer in the company, she enjoys teaching the students of the Academy of Cleveland Ballet and helping the next generation achieve their dreams.
Diego Garcia Castillo
Diego Garcia Castillo is originally from Colombia. He began his training at the age of eight at INCOLBALLET, the national ballet institution in Colombia. He got his first company contract at 17 years old in the National Company of Ballet in Colombia for two years where he was able to perform ballets such as Sinfonia Vivante, El Bolero de Rabel, The Nutcracker, Los Pasos Perdidos and Don Quixote all choreographed by Gonzalo Galguera. After that, he spent two years in the second company at Milwaukee Ballet where he performed ballets such as Diana & Acteon Pas de deux, Paquita Pas de trois, George Balanchine’s Serenade, Michael Pink’s Dracula, Swan Lake and others. In 2019, he was offered a company contract with Cleveland Ballet where he has been given the opportunity to perform a wide range of roles in a variety of ballets.
Gabriela Checo
Originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic where she started her training at 3 years old with Doris Infante. In 2012, she got third place at the first edition of 'Premios Eladia de Cuello’ Contest in Dominican Republic. Later in 2015, she joined the National School of Ballet. On the same year, she moved to Spain where she joined Youth Ballet de Cámara de Madrid, in which she has performed classical roles in Alicia Alonso’s production of Giselle as ‘Myrtha, Queen of Willis’ and ‘First Willie’, Coppelia as ‘Prayer’, Raymonda as ‘Raymonda’, Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen and Mirlitons in ‘The Nutcracker’, Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux, La Sylphide Pas de Deux, La Fille Mal Gardeé as ‘Lise’s Friends’, among others. During her time there, she graduated obtaining a Degree in Pedagogy of Classical Dance and won Academic Excellence Award in 2019 at Instituto Universitario de Danza Alicia Alonso, King Juan Carlos University. In 2019, she joined as company member for of Sibiu Ballet Theater in Romania where she has performed in productions such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Lady of the Camellias, ‘Romeo and Juliet, The Rock Story’, La Fille Mal Gardee, Anna Karenina, Walpugrisnatch, Grand Pas of Raymonda, Snow White, among others. She has also participated in international tours to Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherland, Belgium and Turkey, also nationals tour around Romania. In 2023, she joined Cleveland Ballet where she has performed in production as ‘Aurora’ in The Sleeping Beauty, ‘Raymonda Pas de Dix’, Arabian, Mirlitons, Snow and Flowers corps in ‘The Nutcracker’. Gabriela has been a guest artist at International Ballet Galas where she participated at the ‘XXIII International Dance Day Ballet Gala’ in San Sebastián, Spain, ‘XII Gala of Stars’ in Dominican Republic and ‘VI Edition Dance Campus and Contest San Francesco di Paola Gala’ in Romania.
Anna Cole
Anna Cole is from Marietta, Georgia; she began her ballet training in 2007 at Georgia Metro Dance Theatre under the instruction of Kathryn McBeth and Lisa Toups. There she performed roles such as Aurora, Odile, Sugar Plum, and the Bride of Dracula. In 2018, Anna joined The Washington School of Ballet’s Professional Training Program, later becoming a trainee where she had the pleasure studying under the tutelage of Xiomara Reyes, Rinat Imaev, and Artistic Director, Julie Kent. She has also trained at several summer intensives including American Ballet Theatre in New York and Pacific Northwest Ballet. With The Washington Ballet, Anna performed Julie Kent’s Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker, George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Theme and Variations, and Serenade. In 2021, she worked with the Italian Embassy and choreographer, Mimmo Miccolis, in the screendance film, Magnifica. Anna joined Cleveland Ballet in 2023, and in her first season, she performed Raymonda in Pas de Dix, Sugarplum in The Nutcracker, and the Lilac Fairy in Robert Weiss's The Sleeping Beauty. Also, Anna recently became certified in Progressing Ballet Technique to coincide with her degree in Kinesiology.
Katharine Cowan
Katharine Cowan was born in southern China and grew up in Olympia, Washington, after moving to the U.S. as a child. She began her dance training at Studio West Dance Academy under Stephanie Wood, performing roles such as Sugar Plum, Cinderella, and Giselle, while working with choreographers Laura and Jerome Tisserand, Dawn Fay, and Joseph Jeffries. During her time at the Joffrey Ballet’s trainee program under Raymond Rodriguez, she performed in the Winning Works Program, dancing pieces by Claudia Schreier, Edgar Zendejas, Brendan Fernandes, and Marissa Osato. Since joining Cleveland Ballet in 2019, she has performed roles including Caroline in The Nutcracker, Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty, Russian Girls in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Fate in Ilya Jivoy’s Symphony of Life, and danced in Cleveland ballet’s productions of Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Carmen, and Margot Sappington’s Alice in Wonderland.
Erinn Crittenden
Erinn attributes much of her personality, confidence and ability to take on different styles on stage to the time she spent growing up as an ice skater and competition jazz dancer. After starting serious ballet training with Maple Conservatory under Charles Maple, she spent summers with scholarships at Atlanta Ballet, Ballet West, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and Charlotte Ballet. She spent two years in Pittsburgh Ballet’s graduate program and two years with Charlotte Ballet as an apprentice before joining Cleveland Ballet in 2019. Some of her favorite roles and ballets to perform throughout her career have been Mercedes in Don Quixote, Tweedle Dee in Margo Sappington’s Alice in Wonderland, Peter Chu’s Rite of Spring, and Balanchine’s Serenade. She spends her time outside of the company teaching for the Academy of Cleveland Ballet, thrifting, and looking for frogs! She is grateful to her God and her family for being by her side as she goes into her sixth season with Cleveland Ballet!
Chelsea Endris
Originally from Indiana, Chelsea Endris began her love of dance at her mother’s studio, Southern Indiana School for the Arts. She continued to pursue her passion at Point Park University where she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance degree with a concentration in Ballet. While on scholarship at the university, Chelsea was able to dance a soloist role in Septime Weber’s Fluctuating Hemlines, Kitri in Susan Stowe’s Don Quixote and the lead female soloist in Antony Tudor’s Continuo. Before joining Cleveland Ballet, Chelsea danced as a guest with the Montgomery Ballet and as a company dancer with Manassas Ballet Theatre. At Manassas Ballet Theatre, she performed many soloist roles including Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Myrta in Giselle, Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote, Waltz Variation from Les Sylphide, Lucy in Dracula and The Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. She joined Cleveland Ballet in 2022.
Alia Federico
Alia Federico was born in Boynton Beach, Florida. After moving to Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, she began her dance training at the Swarthmore Ballet Theatre with Lori Ardis and Amber Flynn. She went on to train at the School of Pennsylvania Ballet where she furthered her dance education under the direction of Arantxa Ochoa and William DeGregory. In 2015, Federico started her degree at Indiana University Bloomington’s Jacobs School of Music. While a member of the IU Ballet Theater, Federico had the honor of performing many notable works such as George Balanchine’s Divertimento No. 15, Valse Fantasie, and La Source, Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare, and Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels. Federico spent three years completing her Bachelor of Science degree in ballet with an urban studies outside field in addition to co-founding the Bloomington Ballet Ensemble and teaching for the Pre-College Ballet Program. Federico was invited by Nick Mullikin to join Nashville Ballet II. Upon completing Nashville Ballet II’s two-year program in 2020, she was invited to join Cleveland Ballet. This will be Federico’s fifth season with the Cleveland Ballet. Federico’s repertoire with Cleveland Ballet includes Swan Lake (Pas de Trois and Big Swans), The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Margo Sappington’s Alice, Robert Weiss’s The Sleeping Beauty, and George Balanchine’s Serenade (Dark Angel). Federico also showcased her choreography in Cleveland Ballet’s first ChoreoLab with her contemporary piece, Futile Devices.
Albina Ghazaryan
Albina Ghazaryan is an internationally acclaimed Principal Ballerina with over 16 years of professional dance experience across prestigious ballet companies worldwide. Trained in the Vaganova method at the renowned Yerevan State Choreographic College, Albina studied under celebrated ballet instructors Anna Marikyan and Maksim Martirosyan, the former director of the Moscow Choreographic School. Throughout her career, Albina has performed leading roles in some of the most iconic ballets and collaborated with world-renowned choreographers, including Yury Grigorovich of the Bolshoi Theater, Itzik Galili, Valentina Kozlova, Nino Ananiashvili, Margo Sappington, Kiril Simonov, and Edward Villella. Her performances are known for their technical precision, artistry, and emotional depth. In addition to her extensive performance career, she has over 10 years of teaching and coaching experience. Her students have achieved tremendous success, winning gold and silver medals in prestigious competitions, securing scholarships to world-class ballet schools, and joining professional ballet companies and schools worldwide.
Alexander Guzmán
Alexander Guzman was born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Mr. Guzman is currently a Company Artist at Cleveland Ballet and a Costume/Fashion designer under the name Alessander Lee. At the age 15, he started dancing with Ballet Señorial, studying and performing a variety of dance styles including ballet, jazz, contemporary, acro, aerial dance, hip hop, folklore and salsa. At age 20, he became a company member with Kentucky Ballet Theater, where started his professional career as a performing artist. He also developed his Choreography skills and has been performed at Kentucky Ballet Theater (KBT) and KBT’s Academy, Cleveland Ballet and Ballet Señorial. Alexander has performed a wide range of dance repertory including Dracula, Raymonda Pas de Dies, La Ventana Pas de Trois, Friends of Giselle, The Nutcracker, Robert Weiss's Sleeping Beauty, Beethoven, Swan Lake Pas de Trois, Laurencia, The Little Mermaid, La Peri Pas de Deux, Carmen, Beauty and the Beast and many other classical and contemporary works. Dance Spotlights: Disney Performing Arts, taking workshops at the Epcot Center and Universal Studios. Competitions Highlights: Dance Open America wining 1st place in pas de deux and 1st place for Choreography. World Ballet Competition, & the International Dance Competition.
Sydney Henson
Sydney Henson was born and raised in Saugerties, New York, where at age 11, she began her ballet training with Victoria Rinaldi. In 2020, she moved to Hungary to train at The Hungarian Dance Academy with additional coaching by Ildiko Pongor. The following year Sydney continued her training at the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia. Sydney has been a competitor at Youth America Grand Prix and Valentina Kozlova’s International Ballet Competition. She was awarded 1st place in classical at the 2022 Philadelphia YAGP semi-finals; in the same year, she was awarded 3rd place in the senior category at the VKIBC finals where she was invited to join Cleveland Ballet. Sydney joined Cleveland Ballet in 2022 and has since performed Waltz Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Lilac Fairy in Robert Weiss’s Sleeping Beauty, Dew Drop and Sugar Plum Queen in the Nutcracker, Lucy in Dracula, and many more!
Breanna Faith Justus
Breanna Faith Justus was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and has dreamed of dancing professionally since the age of three. She trained at the Kentucky Ballet Theatre Academy under Ms. Rafaela Cento Muñoz, performing with their professional company until 2021. She then trained in Orlando Ballet's and Atlanta Ballet’s Second Companies before joining Cleveland Ballet’s Main Company in 2023. Ms. Justus attended multiple summer intensives, including the Kentucky Governor’s School of the Arts and the NSLI-Y program at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia. Highlights of her career include working under Ms. Aurora Bosch, one of the four “Cuban Jewels”, covering Jessica Lang’s Lyric Pieces, dancing in Orlando Opera’s La Traviata, performing Bluebird Pas de Deux, and being a Willis in Giselle.
Kaela Ku
Kaela Ku grew up in Tokyo, Japan, and Weston, Florida. She began dancing at seven in Florida and trained at various ballet studios in Tokyo. After attending a summer intensive in New York City, she was invited to study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, where she spent two years. She also participated in summer programs at Dortmund Ballet in Germany, Boston Ballet, and Joffrey Ballet. Kaela joined Cleveland Ballet as an apprentice in 2018 and became a full company member in 2019. Her repertoire includes the Muse in Symphony of Life by Ilya Jivoy, the Russian girls in Serenade by George Balanchine, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Caroline in The Nutcracker, the Canary Fairy in Sleeping Beauty by Robert Weiss, the Dormouse in Alice in Wonderland by Margo Sappington, and a bridesmaid in Don Quixote, among others.
Johan Mancebo
Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. On 2006, he started his dance training as he became part of the first generation of male dancers graduated from the National School of Ballet of Dominican Republic on 2015. During his training on 2013-2015 he got an apprentice position at Dominican National Ballet, on November 2014 he was invited by CODA21 in Puerto Rico to perform Septime Weber's Alice in Wonderland and from January 2015 he became part of The Washington Ballet Studio Company under the direction of Septime Weber performing classical productions with the company such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Septime Weber's Alice in Wonderland and worldwide premiere of Septime Weber's Sleepy Hollow. Later on that year, he moved to Spain where he joined Ballet de Cámara de Madrid and obtained a Degree in Pedagogy of Classical Dance: Cuban Method and won the Interpretation Award of his generation at Instituto Universitario de Danza Alicia Alonso, King Juan Carlos University, Spain. On 2019, he joined Sibiu Ballet Theater in Romania as a company member. His repertoire includes classical roles of the renowned productions of Alicia Alonso's Giselle as ‘Albrecht’, Coppelia as ‘Franz’, La Fille Mal Gardee as ‘Colas’, The Nutcracker as ‘Sugar Plum Cavalier’, ‘Black and White Swan Pas de Deux’ from Swan Lake, Don Quixote Pas de Deux, ‘James’ in August Bournonville's La Sylphide, Raymonda as ‘Jean de Brienne’, ‘Tybalt’ in Marcello Algeri's Romeo and Juliet, ‘Bachus’ in Walpugrisnatch, ‘Von Rothbart’ in Swan Lake, ‘Rat King’, ‘Spanish Dance’ and ‘Arabian Dance’ in The Nutcracker, Spring Water Pas de Deux, Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux, Bayadere Act III Pas de Deux and Mehmet Blakan's Lady of the Camellias. On 2023, he joined Cleveland Ballet in which he has performed roles such as ‘Jean de Brienne’ in Raymonda, ‘Don Jose’ in Carmen, ‘Cavalier’ in The Nutcracker and ‘Blue Bird’ and ‘Raven’ in Robert Weiss’s Sleeping Beauty. He danced as a guest artist at galas around Spain: ‘Closing Gala Contest Castellon 2016’, ‘Beca Hormigon-Torrado Closing Gala 2016’ Riojaforum, Spain; ‘XXI Internacional Dance Day, San Sebastián’ in 2017; ‘Internacional Dance Day Colmenar III and V edition’, ‘Segovia en Danza 2016-2019’; ‘XII Gala of Stars 2021’ in Dominican Republic and ‘Gala Internazionale Sulle Ali Della Danza’ on 2023 in Livorno, Italy.
Emmanuel Martirosyan
Emmanuel Martirosyan is from Yerevan, Armenia. He trained at the Yerevan State National Choreographic College in Armenia. At the age of 16, he was awarded an apprenticeship at the National Ballet Theatre of Armenia. In 2015, Emmanuel received a full scholarship from Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, which brought him to the United States. From 2016 to 2020, he was a company member with the New Jersey Ballet Company where he danced under famous choreographers such as Margo Sappington, Paul Sutherland and Edward Villella. Emmanuel has succeeded in many international ballet competitions in different countries throughout his dance career. He joined Cleveland Ballet in 2021.
Narek Martirosyan
Narek Martirosyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, in 1988. He graduated from the Armenian State Choreographic College, where he trained under Armen Grigoryan, who imparted the knowledge he had received from the legendary Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin was a teacher to many ballet icons, including Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Upon graduation, at the age of 15, Mr. Martirosyan was hired as a company dancer at the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, where he was quickly promoted to Principal Dancer. In 2011, he moved to Israel and joined the Israel Ballet Company in Tel Aviv, also as a Principal Dancer. In 2013, he relocated to the Republic of Karelia, continuing his career with the Musical Theatre of the Republic of Karelia. In 2014, Mr. Martirosyan moved to the United States, where he danced with the New Jersey Ballet Company until 2020. His final destination was Cleveland, Ohio, where he is currently performing. Over the course of his career, Mr. Martirosyan has worked with numerous world-renowned artists, including Maya Plisetskaya, Valentina Kozlova, Edward Villella, and Yury Grigorovich.Notably, Mr. Grigorovich cast Mr. Martirosyan as Crassus in his legendary ballet “Spartacus”, for which Mr. Martirosyan received an award from the President of Armenia, recognizing his significant contributions to Armenian ballet. Mr. Martirosyan has performed a number of leading roles, including Basilio in “Don Quixote”, Albrecht in “Giselle”, Crassus in “Spartacus”, Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet”, Macbeth in “Lord Macbeth”, and many others. He has traveled and performed in France, the Netherlands, the UAE, Egypt, Russia, Italy and Syria.
Levian Mondville
Levian began dancing at the age of 9 at Fairport Dance Academy. There they discovered a love for movement and its many styles including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and contemporary. Upon deciding to make a career out of performing ballet, they started high school at Cleveland School of the Arts spending their summers at the Ballet Intensives at University of Buffalo, Cincinnati Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Houston Ballet Academy. After receiving an invitation to train year-round with the Houston Ballet Academy in 2018 they learned from Claudio Muñoz, Kelly Myernik, and Melissa Bowman. They then trained virtually with Texas Ballet Theater’s Studio Training Company under Ben Stevenson, Kathy Warakomsky, and Leticia Oliveira. Most recently Levian has been dancing with the Cleveland Ballet and performing with local ballet schools. Their recent performances have included Lead Male in Cleveland Ballet’s Symphony of Life, Dragon's Left Hand in Cleveland Ballet's Sleeping Beauty, and Aladdin in Fairport Dance Academy’s Yearly Recital.
Bruno Palheta Oliviera
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bruno Palheta began his dance training at Centro de Dança Rio where he graduated with a Dance Associate’s Degree. His versatile repertoire spans ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz, and musical theater. Bruno has garnered recognition in prestigious ballet competitions, including the Youth America Grand Prix and the Valentina Kozlova International Competition. In 2017, after training with CityDance Conservatory in Bethesda, he earned a full scholarship to train at The School of Washington Ballet, where he performed alongside the main company in acclaimed works such as John Cranko’s 'Romeo and Juliet' and Septime Weber’s 'The Nutcracker.' Joining Orlando Ballet's second company in the subsequent year, Bruno showcased his talent in various productions, including Arcadian Broad’s 'Wonderland: Mad Tales of the Hatter' and Victoria Morgan’s 'Cinderella.' In 2022, Bruno was awarded a full scholarship to the Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Ballet Program under the direction of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. There, he had the opportunity to perform in works by Ochoa and Jennifer Archibald. Since joining Cleveland Ballet in 2020, Bruno has taken on numerous leading roles, including Cavalier and Prince in 'The Nutcracker,' Puck in 'Midsummer Night’s Dream,' and White Rabbit in 'Alice in Wonderland.' His repertoire also includes performing works by esteemed choreographers such as George Balanchine, Ilya Jivoy, and Margo Sappington.
Nashializ Gomez Orengo
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nashializ Gomez Orengo started her training at the Escuela Especializada en Ballet Julián E. Blanco where she studied ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary and dance history. There, she performed in Coppélia, The Four Seasons by Vivaldi, The Nutcracker and La Bayadere. At the same time, Nashializ was training at Mauro Youth Ballet Company where she danced in Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia and other pieces by Marena Perez. She later joined Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico where she danced in The Nutcracker, Coppélia, La Vivandiere and Napoli pas de six. She came to Cleveland in the summer of 2017 where she danced as a trainee for a year before being promoted to company artist. With Cleveland Ballet, Nashializ has had the privilege of performing The Nutcracker, Alice, Coppélia, Le Corsaire pas de six, Carmen, Kitri in Don Quixote, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Swan Lake, one of the Russian Girls in Balanchine’s Serenade, Ilya Jivoy’s Symphony of Life, Carabosse in Robert Weiss’s Sleeping Beauty, and the role of Vakchanka in Timour Bourtasenkov’s Walpugisnacht.
Covington Pearson
Covington Pearson, a Colorado native, began dancing when he was 15 at the School of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. He then went on and studied at Boston Ballet School under the direction of Peter Stark. Covington later joined BalletMet as a trainee for two years. He joined Cleveland Ballet in 2019, where he performed principal roles in George Balanchine’s Serenade and more.
Tiera Peters
Tiera Peters began her dance journey recreationally at the age of 10 in her hometown of Rockland County, New York. At age 13 she joined the Pre-Professional Training Program at Ballet Rockland in Haverstraw, NY under the tutelage of Rebecca Tew, where she trained until her high school graduation. She also attended the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s 2020 Intensive Summer Program. In her time as a student of Ballet Rockland, Tiera has had the incredibly opportunity to perform with both professional and nonprofessional companies including; Hudson Valley Ballet, Hudson Lyric Opera, Capezio Dance Center Showcase in NYC, Garner Arts Center, Fischer Ballet Company, and Rockland Theater Company. Her repertoire features Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Anastasia, Die Fledermaus, Hansel and Gretal, and more. In 2021, she accepted a position in Cleveland Ballet’s Trainee Program, where she was honored to perform in Cleveland Ballet company productions: Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Swan Lake, and George Balanchine’s Serenade. As an apprentice with Cleveland Ballet, she has performed in Carmen, The Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty. Tiera looks forward to continuing to learn and grow as an artist with the Cleveland Ballet.
Lorenzo Mattia Pontiggia
Lorenzo Pontiggia is originally from Milan, Italy and began his dance training at L’Omino Danzante. He continued his training in Aosta at Institut de Danse du Val d’Aoste and at ForDance Institute. Lorenzo also studied at Accademia Teatro alla Scala and Professione Danza Parma. In October 2015, he received a scholarship for Orlando Ballet School where he was a trainee for a year before being promoted to the second company where he danced for two years. In 2018, he was awarded second place in the classical division and third place in the contemporary division at the Youth America Grand Prix in Boston. Lorenzo was selected by international star Roberto Bolle to be part of OnDance in 2018 where he was awarded by the Étoile the Encouragement Prize during the Roberto Bolle and Friends Gala. In June 2021, he was one of 60 dancers from around the world selected to compete at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition, known as one of the most prestigious and historical dance competitions in the world. Lorenzo originally joined Cleveland Ballet in 2019. Some of his favorite roles with the company were “Prince Tamino”, “Prince Desire” and “Sugar Plum Cavalier”. This past year, he participated at Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition where he got the bronze medal. Additionally, he was invited to dance as “Basilio” in Seattle and “Prince Charming” in Atlanta. Lorenzo is very excited to continue his journey with Cleveland Ballet, as he enters his sixth season with the company.
Vadim Slatvitskii
Vadim Slatvitskii is originally from Novosibirsk, Russia. A 2010 graduate of Russia’s Novosibirsk State Choreographic College’s Vaganova training program, Vadim had the honor of dancing with Novosibirsk’s professional company under the direction of the renowned Igor Zelensky. He has performed a number of complex soloist and corps de ballet roles in many well-known ballets such as Spartacus, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Giselle, Le Corsaire and Cinderella. He was honored to work with Nacho Duato, Edward Klug, Igor Zelensky, Mikhail Messerer, Genrikh Mayorov, Nikolay Tsiskaridze, Oleg Vinogradov, Zhanna Ayupova, Denis Matvienko, Ivan Vasiliev, Natalia Osipova, Leonid Sarafanov and Sergey Polunin. In 2018, Vadim joined Israel Ballet as a soloist. During this time, he worked with Teatro alla Scala’s Loretta Alexandrescu Stein, performing groundbreaking works such as Nova Carmen created by Batsheva Ballet’s Sharon Eyal. He also performed many classical pieces including George Balanchine’s Serenade and Giselle. In 2020, Vadim was pleased to be invited to the United States as a soloist and Vaganova expert with Manassas Ballet Theatre. He joined Cleveland Ballet in 2022.
Lauren Stenroos
Lauren Stenroos, a Bath, Ohio native, joined Cleveland Ballet as a founding member in the inaugural season (2015) and is celebrating her 10th season with the company. She began her training at Nan Klinger’s Excellence in Dance / Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet under Nan and Mia Klinger. She attended summer intensives at Chautauqua Institution, Richmond Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, University of Akron Dance Institute, and Cleveland San Jose Ballet. In 2009, Lauren graduated from Mercyhurst University with a B.A. in Dance with a Music Composition Minor, studying with Tauna Hunter, Michael Gleason and Lesley Bories-Scalise. Prior to joining Cleveland Ballet, Lauren danced professionally with Dayton Ballet (2011-2015), James Sewell Ballet (2014), Texture Contemporary Ballet (2013, 2012), Ballet Montana (2012), Nashville Ballet II (2009-2011), and Lake Erie Ballet (2006-2009). During those years, she enjoyed performing works by George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Septime Webre, Amy Seiwert, Gina Patterson, Stuart Sebastian, Jon Rodriguez, James Sewell, Sallyann Mulcahy, Lesley Bories-Scalise, Paul Vasterling, and Alan Obuzor. Over the years as a professional, she has continued her training, studying with Lesley Bories-Scalise, Sallyann Mulcahy, Melissa Mitchell, and Pamela Pribisco. At Cleveland Ballet, she has originated many principal and soloist roles in the repertoire and has danced in nearly every ballet in the history of the company’s repertoire. Some of her favorite roles are Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Woodland Glade Fairy in Robert Weiss’s Sleeping Beauty, Sugarplum Fairy and Dewdrop in The Nutcracker, Swanilda in Ramon Oller’s Coppelia, Hipployta in Ramon Oller’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Queen of Hearts in Margo Sappington’s Alice, and Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote. She also enjoyed performing in Ilya Jivoy’s Symphony of Life, and many other smaller neoclassical works. She has toured with the company to Pittsburgh, PA, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Naples Florida. Lauren is a certified Pilates Instructor on the mat and reformer, and recently completed her Pilates Chair certification with ballet applications through Master Pilates and GYROKINESIS® Trainer, Alicia Head. In 2023, she assisted Alicia Head and Kendall Alway DPT with a presentation on turnout at the IADMS conference in Columbus, Ohio. Lauren also teaches ballet, composes music, and has created original compositions for dance.
Svetlana Svinko
Svetlana Svinko is originally from Krasnoyarsk, Russia. In 2009 she graduated from the Krasnoyarsk State Choreographic College, class of the teacher Mikhieva S.P. During her studies she took part in international and all-Russian contests, in 2009 she was awarded a scholarship of People's Artist of Russia N.L. Semizorova. In 2009 she joined the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater under the direction of Igor Zelensky, People's Artist of the Russian Federation. Passed the creative way from the corps de ballet to the principal ballerina. Has taken part in all the theater's productions and premieres. Has worked with teachers Ya. Serebryakova, V. Ryazhenova and Olga Kostritskaya. From 2016 - 2023 she worked as a principal ballerina at the Leonid Yakobson St. Petersburg Ballet Theater. She danced on the best stages in Russia at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Since 2018 she started her teaching career, working as a teacher at the Leonid Yakobson Ballet Theater. In 2021 she graduated from the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A. Vaganova - Bachelor of Education in Ballet Pedagogy. Since 2023 she has been working at Cleveland Ballet. She has performed principal roles in the ballets The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty.
Gabrielle Toppetta
Gabrielle Toppetta was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she started her ballet training in a local studio, West Point Ballet, at the age of 14. She is also a graduate of Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School where she gained additional training in other genres including tap, jazz, and modern and musical theater. After her years of training with the studio and graduating from the Arts School, she joined Cleveland Ballet for their 2019-2020 season as a trainee. She was then promoted to apprentice in their 2020-2021 season and has since had the opportunities to both perform at Playhouse Square and tour around Ohio as the company brings exciting performances to beautiful places.
2024-2025 APPRENTICE
Alexandra Veronese Milin
Alexandra started dancing at the age of the 5 and trained at San Francisco Ballet under the direction of Patrick Armand and Tina LeBlanc. While still in the school she performed in company productions such as Helgi Tomasson’s Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliette, Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Don Quixote. In 2016 she joined the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow and, under the direction of Marina Leonova and Irina Pyatkina, graduated with honors in classical dance and ballet pedagogy. She then accepted a position with Oklahoma City Ballet and performed roles in The Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, The Nutcracker, Firebird, Giselle, La Sylphide, and other contemporary works. In 2021-22 she was invited to join English National Ballet as a Trainee and worked under the direction of Viviana Durante and Zenaida Yanowsky. Her repertoire includes expert from La Bayadere, Corsaire, Paquita, Dracula, Petrushka, Concerto Con Brio and Empyrean Dances by Edward Stierle, contemporary works by Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye, Myles Thatcher, and Mario de Candia. Alexandra has attended summer intensives under full scholarships at The Paris Opera Ballet School, Cannes Rosella Hightower Academy, Kirov Ballet Academy, Bolshoi Ballet Academy, and IBstage. She competed and was a finalist at Youth America Grand Prix, World Ballet Competition, International Ballet Competition, and Varna International Ballet Competition. Outside her dance experience, she has attended Harvard Extension University and graduated with a double major in Environmental Science and Geography from the University of California, Los Angeles.
2024-2025 TRAINEES
Beckham Barehand, Heidi Hollopeter, Rileigh Phillips, Annabella Purses, Lizzie Rasmussen, Katherine Steele, Beatrice Wooster
