Katie Puder is the founder of Avant Chamber Ballet and serves as its Artistic Director and primary choreographer. She has created over 30 ballets with ACB and collaborated and choreographed with Rapides Symphony Orchestra, International Music Festival in San Antonio, American Baroque Opera Company, Orchestra of New Spain, Abilene Ballet Theater, Verdigris Ensemble and many more.

She started dance with Wichita Falls Ballet Theater and moved to Fort Worth to continue training where she studied with Maria Terezia Balogh and Paul Mejia. She was a member of Metropolitan Classical Ballet for six years and danced in classics such as Raymonda, La Bayadere, Paquita, Don Quixote, and Spartacus as well as a dozen Balanchine ballets including Agon, Four Temperaments and Bugaku. In 2007, she moved to Athens, Greece and studied ballet and contemporary dance at D.A.N.C.C.E.

In 2012 she founded Avant Chamber Ballet and has developed it into a professional company known for exciting new commissions and live music as well as the industry-leading Women’s Choreography Project. Under her leadership, ACB has garnered national attention as an example of a modern ballet company that reflects the future of the art form.

Paul Mejia, born in Lima, Peru, joined the School of American Ballet in 1958, where he first appeared as the "Little Prince" in the New York City Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. While a student, he was invited by George Balanchine to attend his seminars on teaching and on choreography and to study music with the acclaimed Russian piano teacher Kiriena Siloti. At age fourteen, Paul Mejia choreographed his first ballets, which were performed by dancers from the School of American Ballet. 

Mr. Mejia joined the New York City Ballet as a professional dancer in 1964. During the next five years, he danced principal roles in many Balanchine ballets, including A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Nutcracker, Agon and Symphony in C. In 1972, Paul Mejia joined Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the Twentieth Century where he danced many principal roles through Europe. He created two ballets for ballerina Suzanne Farrell and himself, which were presented in Belgium and in Monte Carlo. 

In 1977, Mr. Mejia staged a season of ballet in Guatemala, were he created four new ballets including Romeo and Juliet, the first of his Shakespearean ballet series. Additionally a ballet was created in Cuba for American Ballet Theater's ballerina Eleanor D'Antuono. During this time period, Mr. Mejia directed "Stars of the American Ballet" through its United States tour. 

Paul Mejia joined the Chicago City Ballet as co-artistic director with Maria Tallchief. During the next seven years, Mejia created fifteen new ballets, including his full-length Cinderella. First created for ballerina Suzanne Farrell, this audience favorite toured nationally and internationally in New York City, Japan and Taiwan to great acclaim. His ballet Eight by Adler, set to music by Richard Adler, was later filmed for PBS and won an Emmy Award for Suzanne Farrell. 

From 1987 to 1998, Paul Mejia was the artistic director of the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet. During these ten years, Mejia added thirty-two of his own works to the company's repertoire, including sixteen world premieres. The extensive repertoire also included thirty-five Balanchine ballets, with Mejia staging of Prodigal Son, Firebird, and Bugaku, making Fort Worth Dallas Ballet one of the world's premier Balanchine companies.

Dedicated to the artistic vision and philosophy of George Balanchine, Mejia has choreographed works in the neoclassical style, as well as dramatic story ballets such as Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Romeo and Juliet. Mejia's Webern Pieces, performed with ballerina Maria Terezia Balogh and Dallas Cowboy football star Herschel Walker, garnered national media attention. Under Mejia's direction, Fort Worth Dallas Ballet enjoyed the distinction of not only artistic excellence, but also financial excellence by producing on-budget and finishing with a yearly surplus. 

In addition to ballet, Paul Mejia has choreographed several operas for Chicago Lyric Opera, Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera and San Antonio Festival, as well as for musical, theater and fashion. In 1984, he was selected by Esquire Magazine as one of the "Outstanding Americans under 40".

Paul Mejia is currently a guest teacher and lecturer throughout the United States.

CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON, OBE (Director & Choreographer) trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1991. In 1993, he joined New York City Ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 1998. He was named NYCB’s first Resident Choreographer in July 2001. Since then, Mr. Wheeldon has created and staged productions for many of the world’s major ballet companies: San Francisco Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, The Mariinsky Ballet, The Paris Opera Ballet, and Hamburg Ballet among others.

In 2007, Mr. Wheeldon founded Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company and was appointed an Associate Artist for Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. Mr. Wheeldon now serves as Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet. He has created many works for the company, including the full-length Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale, both of which were co-productions with The National Ballet of Canada.

In 2012, his ballet Cinderella premiered at Het Nationale Ballet and is making its way to audiences worldwide. For the Metropolitan Opera, he choreographed Dance of the Hour for Ponchielli’s La Gioconda (2006) and Richard Eyre’s production of Carmen (2012) as well as ballet sequences for the feature film Center Stage (2000) and the musical Sweet Smell ofSuccess on Broadway (2002).

Mr. Wheeldon created a special excerpt for the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, and in April 2016, he was the Artistic Director for the Fashion Forward exhibition in Paris at La Musee Arts et Decoratif.

In 2014, Mr. Wheeldon directed and choreographed the Broadway musical version of AnAmerican inParis, which had productions in Paris, New York, and London and has toured extensively through America, China, Japan and Australia. The Joffrey Ballet presented the world premiere in 2016 of The Nutcracker reimagined by Mr. Wheeldon and in 2017 he directed and choreographed Lerner & Loewe’s Brigadoon starring Kelli O’Hara and Patrick Wilson at New York City Center. 2019 saw the premiere of Corybantic Games at The Royal Ballet and a re-staged version of Cinderella for the English National Ballet at Royal Albert Hall. Like Water for Chocolate, a full-length ballet for The Royal Ballet had its premiere in June 2022 and its American premiere with American Ballet Theater in 2023.

Oscar© is his latest full-length ballet for The Australian Ballet which had its premiere in September 2024.

Most recently he directed and choreographed MJ The Musical which opened on Broadway in February 2022, winning four Tony Awards, including Best Choreography award for him. In 2024 MJThe Musical opened in London’s West End earning him the Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer.  It is also touring throughout America, in Hamburg, and began is Australian tour in Sydney in March 2025.

Among Mr. Wheeldon’s other awards are another Tony Award for Best Choreography for AnAmerica in Paris, 2 Tony Nominations for Best Director, an Outer Critics Award for Best Choreography and Direction for An American in Paris, the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center, the American Choreography Award, the Dance Magazine Award, South Bank Show Award, multiple London Critics’ Circle Awards, and the Léonide Massine Prize for new choreography. Mr. Wheeldon’s productions of Cinderella and The Winter’s Tale received the Benois de la Danse, and he is an Olivier Award winner for his ballet Aeternum for The Royal Ballet and Polyphonia for Morphoses.

In 2016, Mr. Wheeldon was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and was made an Honorary Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Christopher is a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom and resides in New York City with his husband, Ross Rayburn, and their dogs, Hattie and Theo.

Michele Gifford grew up in Dallas, Texas. She began her training with Ann Etgen and Bill Atkinson at the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet. At the age of sixteen she moved to New York City to attend the School of American Ballet on full scholarship. Two years later, she became a member of the New York City Ballet. In her twelve year career at New York City Ballet, Michele had the opportunity to perform many soloist and principal roles including: Balanchine’s “Apollo”,” Rubies”, “Agon”, “Symphony in Three Movements”,” A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Stars and Stripes” to name a few. Michele also originated many roles including Jerome Robbins’ “West Side Story Suite”, Peter Martins’” Echo”, Christopher Wheeldons’” Slavonic Dances”, and David Parsons’ Touch”. In 2000, Michele joined Texas Ballet Theater under Ben Stevenson. While at TBT, she performed several principal roles including Ben Stevenson’s “Copellia”, “Four Last Songs”,” Dracula”, and “Peer Gynt” along with Balanchine’s “Allegro Brilliante” and “The Four Temperaments”. Michele has also made several guest artist appearances including “Tchaikovsky pas de Deux”, “Who Cares”, “Barber Violin Concerto”,” Carmina Burana”, “Rubies” later joining Bruce Wood Dance Company where she was also Company Manager.

Michele has taught throughout the country including Ballet West, Boston Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, Mejia International Ballet, and Indiana University to name a few. Besides teaching, Michele is a Repetiteur for the Balanchine Trust as well as renown choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon. Throughout her 29-year performing career she has taught and owned her own Gyrotonic studio, Studio G, passing on her knowledge of movement to people from all walks of life. Michele’s passion doesn’t stop in the ballet studio or Gyrotonic studio but continues at home with her two children, Ryan and Morgan.   

Born and raised in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, Anastasia Markina started playing piano at the age of four, and gave her first public performance at the age of 10, when she won her first piano competition. Her talent has been recognized at numerous international piano competitions, and she has received top prizes in Europe, Russia, and the United States, including 1st prize at the 1st Maria Yudina International Piano Competition, 1st prize in both solo and chamber music at the “Beach of Hope” International Music Competition in Dobrich-Albena, Bulgaria, 1st prize at the International Peter the Great Music Festival in Groningen, the Netherlands, 1st prize at the San Angelo Sorantin International Music Competition, 1st prize at the 1st Boesendorfer International Piano Competition, 1st and Grand prize at the Yound Texas Artist Music Competition, 2nd prize at the 1st, 2nd and 4th Jose Iturbi Music Competitions.

Ms. Markina has performed with the Jalisco Philharmonic under Joolz Gale in Guadalajara, Mexico; the San Angelo Symphony under Lawrence Golan. She has performed solo, orchestral, as well as chamber music works in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Russia, including performances in the Barge Music Series and Summit Music Festival in New York City, NY; ISB Convention in Rochester, NY; Sitka Festival in Anchorage, AL; concerts in Los Angeles and San Diego, CA; and Vetta Chamber Music Series in Canada. Other collaborations include, among others, recitals with Paul Rosenthal, Mark Peskanov, James Galway, Alexander Kerr, Emmanuel Borok, Bonita Boyd, and Joseph Alessi. In collaboration with the cellist Eugene Osadchy she recorded two CDs – “Russian Romances” and “Nacht und Traume”.

Anastasia received her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Artist Certificate Degrees in Piano Performance at University of North Texas, studying with Vladimir Viardo, as well as Bachelor’s Degree from Saint-Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music, where she studied with Mary Guseva. Her other teachers include Alexander Mndoyantz, Maria Mekler, and Tatiana Shrago.

Since 2010 Ms. Markina has been serving as an Executive Director of the Argyle Music Academy.

Currently based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Bree Ahern is a versatile performing artist committed to building community through performing, teaching, and collaborating across art forms. A passionate solo and chamber musician, she has dedicated herself to presenting innovative programs to diverse audiences and using music to serve and enrich her community.

Bree is a core member of KINETIC, an artist-led ensemble committed to showcasing diverse, underrepresented, and newly composed classical music, and Monarch Chamber Players, a chamber ensemble dedicated to bringing classical music out of the concert hall and into accessible community spaces. Additionally, she has performed with Loop38, Musiqa Houston, Aperio: Music of the Americas, and Hoppa Project, which have allowed her to present new works for audiences throughout Houston. She firmly believes that contemporary music is accessible to all and has committed herself to introducing new works by engaging with audiences on a personal level, collaborating with living composers, and performing in unconventional venues. Bree is also passionate about pursuing interdisciplinary work and curating unique concert experiences that bridge art forms, having collaborated with dancers, artists, folk musicians, scientists, and more. Highlights from recent seasons include collaborations between Hoppa Project and the Bowen McCauley Dance Company at the Kennedy Center and Musiqa Houston and Noble Motion Dance at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Arts.

Chamber music is central to Bree’s career and spans the expanse of standard to contemporary repertoire. She has studied under artists such as Norman Fischer, James Dunham, and Brian Connelly, and in masterclasses with the Takács, Cavani, Dover, and Artemis string quartets. She has performed alongside pianist Brian Connelly in his "Music in Context" series at Rice University and in the Mendelssohn-Haus in Leipzig, Germany, as part of an ongoing chamber music exchange between Rice University and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.” Outside of her studies, she has appeared at festivals such as the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Rossini Club in Nantucket, MA (featured on New Music USA), Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, Hot Springs Music Festival, and Round Top Festival Institute (featured on WQXR).

        Bree is actively engaged as an advocate for inclusivity and accessibility in the arts and believes that sharing music can create opportunities for impactful social change. From 2019-2022, she served as a fellow in Da Camera of Houston’s Young Artist Program, which uses music to enrich the lives of underserved communities in Houston, Texas. As a Teaching Artist for their Music Encounters program, she presented arts-integrated lessons in classrooms that explored skills such as collaboration, emotional awareness, and self expression. She has also led interactive performances for audiences in elementary schools, LGBTQ homeless youth at Montrose Grace Center, incarcerated youth in Harris County’s Juvenile Detention Center, and residents at Texas Children’s Hospital, MD Anderson, and Houston Methodist Hospital. As a member of Monarch Chamber Players, she uses music to build relationships between communities by performing concerts in accessible spaces such as parks, libraries, farm, front porches, and more.

          A dedicated pedagogue, Bree has served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Cello at Oklahoma State University and on faculty at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX. She has given solo and chamber music masterclasses at Sam Houston State University, Oklahoma State University, and the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, in addition to extensive clinic experience in Klein ISD, Houston ISD, Kinder HSPVA, and Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, to name a few. She has coached chamber music for AFA’s Chamber Music Academy & Summer Festival and Opus 1 Chamber Music School in Houston, TX, and served as the Faculty Chair and Chamber Music Coordinator for Fort Worth Youth Orchestras’ Chamber Music Program. From 2017-2019 she served as a Brown Foundation Teaching Fellow for the Young Children’s Division in the Shepherd School of Music’s Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Program, where she taught group classes based on Dalcroze eurhythmics and developed educational programming for elementary school audiences. Bree is Suzuki-certified in Books 1-8 and completed her training under renowned pedagogue Tanya Carey. She is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas and North Texas Suzuki Association. Her precollege students have experienced success at the local, regional, and national level, earning entry to opportunities such as NYO, NYO2, TMEA All-State Orchestras, Houston Youth Symphony, Fort Worth Youth Orchestras, Meadowmount School of Music, Stringwood Music Camp, and more.

         Bree is a graduate of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she studied with Norman Fischer on full scholarship as a Brown Foundation Teaching Fellow. Previously, she studied with Meredith Blecha-Wells at Oklahoma State University, where she graduated summa cum laude on a full scholarship. When not practicing, performing, or teaching, Bree enjoys making art, practicing yoga, exploring the craft coffee scene in Dallas-Fort Worth, and spending time with her two orange cats.

A native of Spain, Lucas Aleman has performed across the United States and Europe to critical claim. Often praised for his luscious sound and charisma with the audience, Aleman has a true understanding of the different period composers, and has enjoyed a versatile career playing solo and chamber music.

As a soloist, Aleman has appeared with the Castilla y Leon Symphony Orchestra, the Real Filharmonia de Galicia, the Orquesta Sinfonica de Las Palmas and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra working with conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Leopold Hager, Neal Gittleman and Christoph Poppen.

In 1998, Aleman was appointed to the position of Concertmaster of the Real Filharmonia de Galicia at the age of 22, making him, at the time, the youngest Concertmaster in Spain. He left his post in 2000 and became the Concertmaster of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2006, he has been a member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s first violin section.

Aleman is a passionate and experienced chamber musician, collaborating with such esteemed musicians that have included the members of the Concertgebouw and the Rotterdam Orchestra. He has appeared in numerous festivals in Europe and North America, including the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam and Musica por Doquier in New York City.

Aleman holds degrees from the Hogeschool van Kunsten Utrecht. His principal teachers and mentors were Alexander Kerr, Keiko Wataya, Thomas Zehetmair, and Ruggiero Ricci.

Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Caroline Atwell received much of her formal training at Charlotte Ballet under the direction of Patricia McBride, Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, Mark Diamond, and Kathryn Moriarty, and attended various Summer Intensives at the Chautauqua Institution, San Francisco Ballet, and Houston Ballet. Continuing her training as a Ballet Major at Indiana University in 2014, she had the opportunity to train under Violette Verdy, Michael Vernon, and Shawn Stevens. While at Indiana she performed in numerous ballets including George Balanchine's Serenade, Raymonda Variations (5thVariation), Swan Lake & Emeralds, the world premiere of Saudade by Sasha Janes, and as ‘The Harp’ in Jerome Robbins’ Fanfare among others. Caroline graduated with distinction in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet and Business and a Minor in Spanish. In May of 2017, she spent a Summer Season as a Company Artist with American Contemporary Ballet under the direction of Lincoln Jones. That fall, Caroline joined Nevada Ballet Theatre while finishing her University studies from afar. In her time at NBT, Caroline had the pleasure of performing in various ballets including Balanchine’s Serenade, Western Symphony, and Raymonda Variations, Lew Christensen’s Beauty and the Beast, and Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel. A few of her favorite roles include ‘Big Swans’ in Ben Stevenson’s Swan Lake, the Pas De Trois in Ben Stevenson’s Dracula, and ‘Phlegmatic’ in George Balanchine’s Four Temperaments. In the Fall of 2018 Caroline debuted her choreography at the Mystére Theatre for NBT’s annual collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. She premiered another work for the collaboration in the Fall of 2019.

This is Caroline’s third season with Avant Chamber Ballet.

Mackenzie Bartlett, originally from Detroit, Michigan began her ballet training at Valentina’s School of Ballet under the direction of Valentina Barsukova. Along with her daily classes, she built her solid classical background and technique through her participation in several summer programs: The Kirov Academy (Washington DC), Bolshoi Ballet (NYC), A&A Ballet (Chicago), and Ballet West (Salt Lake City).

Following Ballet West’s 2017 SI, she joined the Company as a trainee for 3 seasons.  Mackenzie was hired into Ballet West II in 2020. Highlights of her professional career include performing as the 4th  Movement Principal in Balanchine’s Western Symphony, 1 st  Variation Soloist in Swan Lake Pas de Trois, Spring Fairy and Fairy Godmother in Pam Robinson’s Cinderella.  She also performed with Ballet West in several full-length productions, including Michael Smuin’s Romeo and Juliet, Adam Sklute’s Giselle, William Christensen’s The Nutcracker, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, and Jerome Robins’; Glass Pieces. She is pleased and proud to join Avant Chamber Ballet for the 2022-2023 season as an apprentice.

Born on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Madeline Colesano began her dance training at Atlantic Coast Academy of Dance under the direction of Tanya and Coby Vincent. Madeline performed featured roles such as Swanhilda in Coppelia and Alice in Alice in Wonderland, as well as earning recognition from ballet competitions such as YAGP, Connecticut Classic, and the National Ballet Competition. She continued on her training at Ballet Rhode Island, formerly Festival Ballet Providence as a trainee under Kathleen Breen Combes and Yury Yanowsky. Madeline studied ballet at the University of Utah where she had the opportunity to perform roles such as Princess Florine in Sleeping Beauty as well as contemporary works by Susan Haag and Bashaun Williams. She joined Avant Chamber Ballet this past season as a trainee and is excited to join the company for the upcoming season as an apprentice!

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Sophia Irene Davis began her training with The Rock School of Dance Education before joining Pennsylvania Ballet (now Philadelphia Ballet) in the reopening of their school in 2012 under the direction of Roy Kaiser and Kyra Nichols. While at Pennsylvania ballet Sophia attended summer intensives including The School of American Ballet and Miami City Ballet. In 2016, Ms. Davis joined the Pre-Professional II division with Miami City Ballet under the direction of Lourdes Lopez and Arantxa Ochoa in 2015 -2019 and performed George Balanchine's Raymonda Variations (5th variation) and Serenade in the school productions.  Continuing her training and education, Ms. Davis earned a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance and Outside Field in Kinesiology from Indiana University (IU), Jacobs School of Music. While at IU, Ms. Davis received training from Sarah Wroth, Kyra Nichols, Sasha Janes, Michael Vernon, and Christian Claessens. During her time with IU Ballet Theater, she had the opportunity to perform in several pieces including George Balanchine ballets: Valse Fantaisie,Serenade, and Donizetti Variations. Ms. Davis also had the privilege to perform in three World Premiere ballets including Jupiter Number 5 by Gianna Reisen, 19 by Sasha Janes, and Autumnsongs by Christian Claessens. Some of her favorite memories on stage include Justin Peck's Heatscape and Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s Swan Lake.  

Ruiko Jacobs, an Eastern North Carolina native, received her early classical ballet training at the Greenville Civic Ballet under the direction of Kim Saad. She also trained privately with the late Kennet Oberly in the Bournonville school. She left home her senior year to attend the high school program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Upon graduation, she continued on to their college program, where she pursued her B.F.A. in Ballet on the Susan Jaffe Endowed Scholarship and graduated in three years in May 2023. Ruiko’s performance highlights at UNCSA included the Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Swan Lake Pas de Trois, a soloist in Napoli Act III, and Kitri in Don Quixote Act I. She also originated the role of Dewdrop in Ilya Kozadayev’s new production of The Nutcracker. In 2021, Ruiko represented UNCSA in the YAGP competition, where she placed Top 12 in the Senior Division and advanced to the Finals held in Tampa, FL.

Following graduation from UNCSA, Ruiko danced with Ballet Tucson as an Apprentice for one season. In Tucson, she performed in Eternal Love, a world premiere by Chieko Imada, and made her professional choreographic debut with Chamber Concerto in the Footprints at the Fox Choreographic Concert. She is excited to dance with Avant Chamber Ballet as an Apprentice this season.

Olivia Mann was born and raised in Dallas, Texas where she grew up dancing at Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, Dallas Ballet Center, as well as her high school, Booker T. Washington for the Performing and Visual Arts. While in Dallas, Olivia trained under the direction of Ann and Bill Atkinson, Judy and Brent Klophenstein, Catherine Lewellen, and Emily Hunter. From the age of thirteen, Olivia has attended various summer intensives including Miami City Ballet, The School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s “Company Experience”, and Grand Rapids Ballet. Olivia recently graduated from Point Park University, where she received a BFA Dance Major, with a concentration in ballet, and a Business Management Minor. While at Point Park she performed in numerous ballets including Christopher Wheeldon’s, The American, Edwaard Liang’s Art of War, and Adam Hougland’s Cold Virtues. Olivia spent this past summer dancing professionally with the Sierra Nevada Ballet in their performance of Giselle. This is Olivia's second season with ACB.

Sydney May, originally from Dallas, Texas, is very excited to be dancing with Avant Chamber Ballet. Prior to this season, she was dancing with BalletNext in New York City as well as at the University of Utah in the School of Dance. She has performed a variety of roles in both contemporary and classical ballet, and recently performed the principal role of Giselle last fall. She has trained with prominent institutions such as American Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Boston Ballet, and San Francisco Conservatory. She also attended Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts while growing up in Dallas, where she was able to further her dance training before attending the University of Utah for a BFA in Ballet Performance. Some of her favorite roles have been the leading duet in Stephen Petronio's MiddleSex Gorge, Fannie in La Vivandiere, and Giselle in Giselle. This is Sydney's second season with ACB.

Melissa is from Vestal, New York, where she has been dancing since age 4. At 14, she began training with Rafael Grigorian at the Rafael Grigorian School of Classical Ballet. She has attended summer programs at the NYSSSA School of Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the Chautauqua Institution and Balletmet. In 2014, Melissa graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet, an Outside Field in Applied Health Science, and a Minor in Psychology. While at IU, Melissa had the opportunity to train under Michael Vernon and Violette Verdy, and danced soloist and principal roles in works by Marius Petipa, Michael Vernon, Peter Martins, Martha Graham, Augustus Bournonville, Nicolo Fonte, and George Balanchine. After graduation, Melissa danced with the Colorado Ballet Studio Company for two seasons, under the direction of Gil Boggs. She has performed with the main company in works by Christopher Wheeldon, Martin Fredmann, Augustus Bournonville, and Septime Webre. Since joining Avant Chamber Ballet, Melissa has originated principal roles in ballets by Katie Puder, Fernanda Oliviera, and Madi Hicks. Melissa has also had the opportunity to dance in featured roles in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, and Raymonda Variations, and Paul Mejia’s The Nutcracker and Serenade in A. This will be Melissa's seventh year with Avant Chamber Ballet.

Diego Miranda-Monsman began his ballet training at Dallas Ballet Center under the direction of Brent and Judy Klopfenstein. In 2021, Diego graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BFA in Ballet Performance. While at OU, he performed in numerous works such as Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker, Gerald Arpino’s Reflections, and Paul Taylor’s Cloven Kingdom. In addition to this training, Diego has also attended summer courses at The School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and American Ballet Theatre NY. This is Diego's second season with ACB.

Sean Rollofson is from Redmond, Washington. He began attending Pacific Northwest Ballet School at age seven. He attended summer courses at the National Ballet School (Toronto) and on scholarship at the School of American Ballet. Mr. Rollofson joined Pacific Northwest Ballet at age 18 as an apprentice in 2008 and was promoted to corps de ballet in 2009.

With PNB he originated leading roles in Marco Goecke’s To Place a Chill, as well as dancing leading and featured roles in George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom) and Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette (Acolyte) Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake (Neapolitan, Principle Czardas) George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Ronald Hynd’s The Sleeping Beauty (Puss in Boots), Jiri Kylian’s Sechs Tänze (Six Dances), Kent Stowell’s Nutcracker, and Twyla Tharp’s Waterbaby Bagatelles.

Since joining BalletMet in 2017, Mr. Rollofson has created featured roles in Edwaard Liang’s Giselle (Peasant Pas de Deux) and Silence Between (Second Pas de Deux). Along with dancing leading and featured roles in Ma Cong’s Eshster Vals, Jerome Robins Interplay (Green Boy), Justin Peck’s In Creases (Pas de Quatre Man), and Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain (2 nd Pas de Deux Couple)

Prior to joining Balletmet, Mr. Rollofson danced with City Ballet of San Diego for a season as their Principal Male. While there Mr. Rollofson danced leading roles in Balanchine’s La Source (Principal Couple) and Peter Martin’s Hallelujah Junction (Pas de Deux Couple). Mr. Rollofson also created leading roles in Elizabeth Wistrich’s Bowed Piano and Geoff Gonzales’s Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Fall).

Mr. Rollofson is featured in the Starz mini drama series “Flesh and Bone” as a season regular, Find Your Fifth DVD, Phantom of the Opera on Broadway as the Slave Master/Soloist dancer, Asolo Rep’s Westside Story as Diesel (Riff understudy). He guested at The Kennedy Center, dancing Don Quixote Grand Pas de deux and Romeo and Juliet’s Balcony Pas de Deux, both with former NYCB soloist Kathryn Morgan for “Bloch’s Evening with Kathryn Morgan”.

Mr. Rollofson danced in the BBC’;s 1999 film version of PNB’s production of George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, filmed at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.

Kaylee Skelton is from Littleton, Colorado, where she started her serious ballet training at Belliston Academy of Ballet, under the direction of Jeannine Belliston. Ms. Skelton attended summer courses at Pacific Northwest Ballet, School of American Ballet, and Boston Ballet. She then continued her training on scholarship in the Professional Division with Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she had the opportunity to perform in ballets with the company, such as Kent Stowell’s "The Nutcracker", "Swan Lake", and "Cinderella", as well as world premiere pieces set by PNB’s company members. She also danced as a company member with Nevada Ballet Theatre in Las Vegas, collaborating with Cirque du Soleil and performing roles such as “Big Swans” and “Spring Fairy” in James Canfield’s "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker". Kaylee then joined City Ballet of San Diego, where she danced in the company for 3 years. There she had the opportunity to dance many roles, including ballets by George Balanchine, such as “Tall Girl” in Rubies, “Choleric” in The Four Temperaments, and “Solo Girl” in La Source. Before joining Avant Chamber Ballet this season, she spent last year as a Principal Dancer with Reformation Dance Company under the direction of Kathleen Vreeland. This is her fifth season with Avant Chamber Ballet.