North Carolina Dance Theatre

Subscriptions Matinee Magic Helpful Details

Innovative Works Nutcracker Sleeping Beauty Dangerous Liaisons Touring

News Center for Dance

Meet the Artists Board Leadership Staff Company History Performance History Careers/Auditions Community Links

Rentals

Donate Now Individual Giving Corporate & Foundations Planned Giving Get Involved/Volunteer

Opening Night Insiders Corps de Ballet Docents Parent Guild

Trainees & Apprentices

The Trainee & Apprentice Program offers talented students the opportunity to train in the highest level of the school as part of the Conservatory Program and work with the North Carolina Dance Theatre dancers and directors. The Conservatory Program is an all day study program that offers students the opportunity to integrate their academic studies with their dance training.

Click here to learn more about the Trainee, Apprentice and Conservatory Programs.

Apprentices

	Larissa Balestrero Larissa Balestrero, originally from Saõ Paolo, Brazil, started dancing at the age of 7. At the age of 11 she began training at the Maria Olenewa School of Dance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She continued her training with the Brazilian Ballet Company in Rio. Larissa participated in several competitions including the Joinville Festival and the Conselho Brasileiro de Dança in Brazil, attended programs such as the Brasilia International Dance Seminar and the Briansky Saratoga Ballet Center Summer Program. Larissa has performed in many productions such as Paquita, Giselle, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Nutcracker. This is Larissa’s second season as an apprentice.
	Bailey Bergmann Bailey Bergmann began her training in Greenville, SC at Greenville Ballet under the direction of Andrew and Merry Kaharsky. After moving to Sewickley, PA, she continued her training at The Sewickley School of Performing Arts and Wexford Dance Academy where she studied in the pre-professional program under Elizabeth Mackin Karas, Beth Robertshaw, Megan Trambley, and Lindy Mandradjieff. She has also attended summer programs at Saratoga Springs Summer Dance Intensive, Boston Ballet, and The Chautauqua Institute. Her favorite roles include Clara, Marzipan, Tea, and Arabian in The Nutcracker, Ten Girls in Who Cares, Garden Fairy from Sleeping Beauty, Peasant Pas de Deux from Giselle and roles in Donnizetti Variations and Noble Sentiments. This is her first season with North Carolina Dance Theatre as an apprentice.
	Andrea Chickness Andrea Chickness, originally from Pennsylvania, began her intensive training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre where she gained valuable instruction from acclaimed dancers such as Janet Popeleski, Marianna Tcherkassky and Terrence Orr. While at PBT, Andrea also received numerous performance opportunities, including roles in La Sylphide, Coppelia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Nutcracker, La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, Etudes and Cinderella. During this time, she furthered her training under the guidance of Kwang Suk Choi, Mansur Kamaletdinov and Bob Vickrey. She spent her summers studying with such prestigious schools as the San Francisco Ballet, The Chautauqua Institute, Boston Ballet and Vaganova Summer School, extending her technical repertoire to include Balanchine, Vaganova and Christenson styles. Additionally, she has worked with numerous established artists and choreographers including Luis Fuente, Anna-Marie Holmes, Yuri Possokhov, Robert Sund, Lynn Charles, Lauri Stallings and Parrish Maynard. Before coming to North Carolina Dance Theatre, Andrea spent a year on scholarship as a Trainee with the Joffrey Ballet Chicago under the instruction of Anna Reznik and Alexei Kremnev. This is her second year as an apprentice.
	Ryan Clawson Born in Okinawa, Japan, Ryan spent most of his life in Charleston, SC where he trained and competed in gymnastics from ages 9 to 14. Ryan began his intensive ballet training at North Carolina Dance Theatre’s 2010 summer intensive with the hopes of making his ballet technique stronger. Over that summer, Ryan was accepted into the North Carolina Dance Theatre’s Conservatory program for the 2010-2011 School year. After also attending NCDT’s 2011 Summer Intensive, Ryan was offered an apprentice position with the School. Ryan is currently covering pieces for Dance Theatre’s second company, NCDT2, and will be guesting for Foothills Conservatory of Dance’s The Nutcracker in Seneca, SC. This is Ryan’s first year as an apprentice under Patricia McBride and John-Pierre Bonnefoux for the North Carolina Dance Theater.
	Kiera Connors Kiera began dancing at the age of 4 in her hometown of Philadelphia. In 2005, Kiera joined the Rebecca Davis Dance Company’s (RDDC) Pre-professional program and was the first student accepted to receive a scholarship. While at RDDC, she danced in two premieres; Antigone and Helen Keller. In 2007, after participating in the summer intensive, she was awarded a full tuition scholarship to the Harid Conservatory where she studied with Svetlana Osiyeva, Olivier Pardina and Victoria Schneider. She graduated from Harid in 2011. Kiera has danced in productions of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake as well as excerpts from classics such as Paquita, Le Corsaire, Sleeping Beauty and The Fairy Doll. Kiera attended the 2011 summer program at Jacobs Pillow under the direction of Ann Marie Holmes, Dennis Marshall, Stanton Welch and Ashley Wheaton. Here she performed at the opening gala with Philip Glass and at the Marcia & Seymour Simon Performance Space, an outdoor stage in the Berkshires Hills, which is affectionately known as the "Inside/Out.” Other summer programs attended include The Harid Conservatory, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Philadelphia Ballet School, RDDC and North Carolina Dance Theatre under scholarship. This is her first season with North Carolina Dance Theatre as a company apprentice.
	Ryan Corbett Ryan was born in Snellville, GA and began dancing at the age of 8. He began his training at Susan Chambers School of Theatre Dance. He studied jazz, tap, hip hop and ballet, along with acting and voice. His junior year, he went to the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham to focus on ballet training. His senior year, he moved back to Georgia and went to Gwinnett Ballet Theatre in Snellville. This is his first year with North Carolina Dance Theatre as an apprentice.
	Elise Filo Elise began her ballet studies at Ballet Hysell Academy in New Orleans where she studied until the age of 14. In 2007, Elise joined Western Ballet under the artistic direction of Alexi Zubiria to continue her ballet training. Elise’s artistic endeavors were greatly influenced by the coaching of Zubiria in the many classical and neo-classical roles she performed. At Western Ballet Elise trained extensively with Eric Bourman, Kim Gardner, Linda Rickert and Kai Davis. She had the opportunity to perform many classical leading roles including the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake, Sugarplum pas de deux from the Nutcracker, Nikiya’s Spirit in Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadere, and Kitri in Act III of Don Quixote. Her roles at Western Ballet have also included neoclassical works by Alexi Zubiria, Holberg Suite and Bello Renaissance; as well as works by Todd Courage and Yanis Pikieris. She has also studied multiple summers with the Houston Ballet. This is Elise’s first year as an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Kelsey Jo Harrison Originally from Syracuse, NY, Kelsey Harrison began dancing when she was 3 years old. She attended summer intensives at the NYSSSA School of Ballet, the Chautauqua Institute, The Rock School and American Ballet Theatre before joining the pre-professional division of Boston Ballet School. As a graduate student with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for the past two years, Kelsey enjoyed performing and touring with the company in Terrence Orr’s The Nutcracker and as a bride in Ben Stevenson’s Dracula. This is her first season as a North Carolina Dance Theatre apprentice.
	Tori Jahn Victoria Jahn, native of Freehold, NJ, began her ballet training at American Repertory Ballet's Princeton Ballet School, where she performed in many productions such as Don Quixote, Graham Lustig's The Nutcraker, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. She has participated in summer intensive programs with Princeton Ballet, Boston Ballet and Richmond Ballet. She came to North Carolina Dance Theatre in 2009 as a trainee and has performed in Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux's Nutcracker and Cinderella as well as Mark Diamond's Little Mermaid, Trick or Treat and Once Upon A Time. This is her third year with NCDT and first year as an apprentice.
	Brantley Wilson Brantley is originally from Alabama. At age 12, she received a full scholarship to train at the Alabama Ballet Center for Dance under Roger van Fleteran and Wes Chapman. At 14, she began training with American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive in New York City. There, Brantley was awarded the National Training Scholarship from 2005-2006, continuing her training through summer 2007. In 2006, Brantley joined the Alabama Ballet company as an apprentice where she performed different roles including Sugar Plum Fairy in George Balanchine's, The Nutcracker and Prayer solo in Coppelia. Brantley left the Alabama Ballet to attend college in 2008 at Troy University on a dance scholarship. Here she was able to broaden as well as strengthen her skills in contemporary, hip hop, jazz, musical theater and choreography. In 2011, Brantley performed with Elie Lazar's Montgomery Ballet as a guest artist. This is Brantley's first year as an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theatre.

Trainees

	Kelsey Collard Originally from Attleboro, Mass., Kelsey began her early training at April, May & June’s School of Dance. She continued her training for six years at Festival Ballet Providence where she danced as a junior company member in her final year. Kelsey then trained for two years at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts with Eleanor D’antuono, Kirk Peterson, Victoria Mazzarelli, Tim Melady and Joan Kunsch. She performed several roles including the Dew Drop fairy in The Nutcracker, a lead Willis in Giselle, and a “moonbeam” in a piece borrowed from Momix. Kelsey has attended summer programs at the North Carolina Dance Theatre, Orlando Ballet School, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts and Festival Ballet Providence. This is her first season as a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Grayson Driver Originally from Apex, NC, Grayson began dancing at the age of 5 at Cary Ballet Conservatory where she trained with Rossana Machi. In 2007 she continued her training at University of North Carolina School of the Arts where she studied with Ethan Stiefel, Warren Conover and Susan McCullough. During her 3 years at UNCSA she performed in The Nutcracker, Fanfare and Les Patineurs, among others. She then studied at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in the Graduate Program with Dennis Marshall, Marjorie Grundvig and Janet Popeleski. Grayson has attended summer intensives at Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and North Carolina Dance Theatre. This is her first year with North Carolina Dance Theatre as a trainee.
	Ellie Frith Ellie Frith is originally from Charlotte and began taking ballet classes at the age of 4. At the age of 6 she began training at the North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance. Ellie has attended summer programs at North Carolina Dance Theater, the Chautauqua Institution, the School of American Ballet and Houston Ballet. Ellie has participated in North Carolina Dance Theatre's productions of the Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Snow White. She is now a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Alexa Goldberg Originally from Columbus, OH, Alexa began dancing at age 4. At age 11, she began training at BalletMet Columbus and then Columbus City Ballet School. She participated in many BalletMet company performances. Some of her favorite roles are the lead from the ballet Carmen and the solo role in Who Cares?. She has attended summer programs at Miami City Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet School and North Carolina Dance Theater. This is her second season as a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Kira Greer-Rice Originally from Spartanburg, SC, Kira started her training at the age of 3 at Ballet Spartanburg. At 12 Kira was invited to join the North Carolina Dance Theatre School of Dance. Kira has attended summer programs with the Atlanta Ballet and American Ballet Theatre Detroit. She also attended three summers at the Chautauqua Dance Institute where she preformed works by Mark Diamond and Michael Vernon. Her favorite roles include Clara from The Nutcracker and Pus n' Boots from Sleeping Beauty. This is Kira's first year as a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Rebecca Kelley Rebecca began her training at Northeast School of Ballet in Melrose, Mass. under the direction of Denise Cecere and Caitlin O’Connor Pesche. She is currently a sophomore in high school at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, NC. She has attended prestigious summer intensives programs with the Chautauqua Institute and North Carolina Dance Theatre. Rebecca has performed in The Nutcracker with Northeast Youth Ballet and aspires to become a professional dancer in a company. This is her first year as a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Allie Parsons Allie is 15-years-old and from Elkin, NC. Allie began dancing at age 2 with Pamela Myers Wurdeman at The Academy of Dance Arts and Performance in Elkin. In 2004 Allie was a featured performer on the Television show America’s Most Talented Kid. Allie has trained on scholarship in many wonderful schools including The Hungarian National Ballet in Budapest Hungary, School of American Ballet, Chautauqua Institute School of Dance, Ellison Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre. Allie has won several awards and medals including the gold medal in the World Ballet Competition (2007), The Youth America Grand Prix’s Hope Award (2007; 2008), a gold medal at the Youth America Grand Prix finals (2008), Capezio’s Future Star award (2009) and has recently been selected by Gaynor Minden as an Ascending Artist. She has also been featured in Dance Spirit Magazine and Dancer Magazine as an upcoming young dancer to watch. Allie has had the opportunity to work with renowned teachers such as Rinat Imaev, Xiomara Reyes, Guyla Pandi, Kat Wildish, Edward Ellison, Darla Hoover, Anna Marie Holmes, Valentina Kozlova and Patricia McBride. In her spare time Allie loves to choreograph, and she aspires to be a true artist. She also advocates for Hope Dances, a nonprofit organization which helps to instill hope through dance in the special needs community. For the past year Allie has been able to share her journey through a blog and photos on the Gaynor Minden Facebook page. Allie also models for tutu.com and Brian Mengini Photography. During her training at North Carolina Dance Theatre Allie has had the opportunity to dance the role of Clara in Nutcracker and has danced in Le Corsaire, Who Cares? and Union Jack. Allie has also been Clara in Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular in New York City in 2007 and 2008. Allie is honored to be a trainee this year with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Amber Runyan Amber Runyan began her training with the Gainesville School of Ballet and was a member of Gainesville Ballet Company before she went to train at Pacific Northwest Ballet School (PNB). While at PNB, she performed in The Nutcracker as well as the world premiere of Pinocchio. She later went on to study at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in the Graduate Program. She has attended summer intensives with Pacific Northwest Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Alabama Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre. This is her second year as a trainee.
	Jordan Samuels Jordan began his training at age 3 at Footnotes School for Classical Dance in Columbia, SC under the direction of Debbie Spivey. At age 8, he began training at Columbia City Ballet on scholarship under Serge Lavoie and William Starrett. Here he performed several children’s roles and a principal role at age 10 in the world premiere ballet Lion King of Mali. Jordan has been awarded scholarships with American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Schooland Steps on Broadway. He has attended summer intensive programs at American Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, Chautauqua Institution and North Carolina Dance Theatre. Jordan’s other accomplishments include awards at the Youth American Grand Prix ballet competition, among others in all genres of dance. He is also an accomplished actor and has been on Broadway and in numerous films, TV shows and commercials. This is Jordan’s first season as a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Carmen Schoenster Carmen Schoenster, age 18, is in her first year as a Trainee with NCDT. She started dancing at local dance studios in Smithfield, VA at the age of 7. Carmen began her more classical training in ninth grade when she was accepted into the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, VA. For three years Carmen trained with the Governor’s School and, in her fourth year, became a trainee of the Todd Rosenlieb Modern Dance Company while she continued to dance with the Governor’s School. Carmen also trained at summer intensives such as Point Park University, BalletMet, The Richmond Ballet and most recently North Carolina Dance Theatre. Carmen has done excerpts from Swan Lake, Raymonda, La Sylphide, Giselle, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Coppelia as well as many original works. She was also in the Richmond Ballet’s Nutcracker.
	Rachel Seeholzer Originally from Los Angeles, Rachel began dancing at the Performing Arts Center Annex at age 9 under Louise Mandel. At the age of 14, Rachel began attending summer programs and intensives at the School of Ballet Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Alonzo King LINES Summer Intensive. In January 2009, Rachel joined the School of Ballet Chicago Studio Company where she trained with Daniel Duell, Patricia Blair, Sheila Rozann, Sandra Jennings and Ted Seymour. While at Ballet Chicago, Rachel had the opportunity to learn and perform Balanchine ballets such as Jewels- Rubies, Divertimento #15, Serenade, Square Dance, Walpurgisnacht and Who Cares?. Rachel’s favorite roles to perform include the Soloist in Rubies, My One and Only solo in Who Cares?, Dark Angel from Serenade and Daniel Duell’s Arabian solo from Ballet Chicago’s The Nutcracker. Rachel was fortunate to work with and be choreographed on by Daniel Duell in Instruments of Revelation as the High Priestess as well as by Ted Seymour as a soloist in A Pulse Stolen and trio for Duets for My Valentine. Reviews and articles of Rachel can be seen in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-times, Time-Out Chicago and The Chicago Classic. This is Rachel’s first year as a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre.
	Nicole Shank Nicole Shank, originally from Greenville, NC, began her training at The Greenville Civic Ballet at the age of 6. She later became a senior company member of the Dance Collective with Greenville Civic Ballet. Nicole has attended festivals and competitions for SERBA, North Carolina School of the Arts and Youth American Grand Prix. She has attended summer programs at The Rock School for Dance, American Ballet Theatre Detroit, American Ballet Theatre New York, Atlanta Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theatre. This is her first year at NCDT as a trainee.