FEATURED DANCERS

Colleen Anthonisen is a sophomore at Indiana University and has been dancing ballet for 13 years. She grew up in Sacramento, CA where she trained at Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet, then at Crockett-Deane Ballet. She also danced in Sacramento Ballet’s The Nutcracker multiple years. Colleen attended Houston Ballet’s summer intensive in 2005 and 2006, and San Diego City Ballet’s intensive in 2003. Outside of ballet, this year, Colleen is learning how to play the guitar.

Samantha Benoit, from Fort Lauderdale, FL, began her training at Fort Lauderdale Ballet Classique at age 11, under Magda Auñon. Benoit has performed in South Eastern Regional Ballet’s Gala performance as the soloist in Paquita, where she received a cash award for her performance. She also received a merit award through the 2006 Arts Recognition and Talent Search Program, recognized nationally. Benoit has attended summer intensives, including American Ballet Theatre in New York, Houston Ballet, and Washington Ballet. While with Fort Lauderdale Ballet Classique, her repertoire included yearly performances of The Nutcracker, where she performed Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, and Arabian. She is a junior at IU, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Journalism. Her recent IUBT roles include Doll in Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker and Blue Girl in last year’s spring showing of Les Patineurs.

Vincent Brewer trained at the Cantarella School of Dance in Pittsfield, MA. He attended the Boston Ballet and Miami City Ballet summer programs on full scholarship. In 2005 and 2006, he was invited to dance the roles of Spanish and Chinese in the Albany Berkshire Ballet’s annual Nutcracker Tour. With IU Ballet Theater, he danced in Michael Vernon’s Brandenburg Concerto IV, Frederic Ashton’s Les Patineurs, and the parts of Spanish and Chinese in Vernon’s Nutcracker. Brewer is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside field in Religion and a minor in French. He is the recipient of the Dean of Music Scholarship and a Faculty Award.

Paul Dandridge was introduced to dance when his fourth grade class participated in Minds in Motion, a pilot program through Richmond Ballet modeled after Jacques d’Amboise’ National Dance Institute.  He later entered the School of Richmond Ballet on full scholarship and recently completed the Trainee program.  Dandridge is a freshman Dean’s Scholarship recipient pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Physical Therapy. 

Benjamin Delony, a native of Baton Rouge, LA, began his training with Marianne Hebert and Madalyn Montegudo before dancing with the Baton Rouge Ballet Theater.  He has attended summer ballet intensives at Ballet Austin and the Harid Conservatory and has had his original choreography performed at the Louisiana Alliance for Dance Festival.  A junior, Delony has performed soloist roles in Jacques Cesbron’s Screemin’ Meemies and Cinderella, as well as dancing in Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and numerous roles in IUBT’s Nutcracker.  He is pursuing an Outside Field in Business along side his ballet degree.

Anja Hoover is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance and Bachelor of Arts in International Studies with an outside field in Business. Hoover’s training began in Texas and continued in Atlanta as one of the first members of the pre-professional division of the Georgia Ballet under Iris Hensley and Gina Hyatt-Mazon. At 15, Hoover was invited to train with Indiana University Ballet Theater and received credit while in high school. She has received merit scholarships to summer intensives at Boston Ballet, New York City Ballet’s School of American Ballet, and the Harid Conservatory. She is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and is currently a Vice President of Delta Gamma women’s Fraternity.

Caitlin Kirschenbaum began her training in her hometown of Sparta, NJ with Nancy Volpe.  She trained at Walnut Hill School for a year and went on to study under partial scholarship for three years at American Ballet Theatre’s (ABT) Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.  Her performance highlights include a fairy in Sleeping Beauty at the Lincoln Center Institute and the première of Jessica Lang’s ballet Veiled Calling with ABT’s studio company.  Kirschenbaum has attended summer programs at Nutmeg Conservatory, American Academy of Ballet, The Harid Conservatory, Kaatsbaan, Orlando Ballet, and Boston Ballet.  A sophomore at Indiana University, Kirschenbaum is the recipient of merit scholarships from both the Jacobs School of Music and the Hutton Honors College, and is a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Academic Honor Society. She was also the winner of the 2008 regional National Society of Arts and Letters competition.obbins Festival and is currently staging ballets for Tharp all over the world.

Megan Liberty is a sophomore from Long Island pursuing a BSOF in Ballet and Biology. Prior to attending IU, she received the majority of her ballet training from Valia Seiskaya at the Seiskaya Ballet Academy and at The Washington School of Ballet under Rebecca Wright. She graduated high school from the North Carolina School of the Arts in 2007. Liberty’s summer study includes intensives at the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and the IBC Summer Workshop in Varna. She is the recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship, is a member of the Hutton Honors College, and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Societies.

Daniel Christopher Morales, a native of NJ, studied various styles of dance at Center Stage Dance and Theater School.  He has spent summers studying at Boston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.  In the winter of 2006, Morales studied and performed under the direction of Danny Catanach, director of the Urban Ballet Theater.  He is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with Outside Fields in Finance and Audio Technology.

Elliot O’Glasser trained for four years with Nancy Davis of Pacific Artists Dance Center in his native Portland, OR, and performed with the youth company Pacific Artists Ballet Theatre.  He has attended summer programs in Oregon and trained privately with Calvin Kitten of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago.  A sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Business and a minor in Spanish, O’Glasser has performed in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Brandenburg IV.

Tom Penman graduated from the ballet department of Walnut Hill School in 2005.  His summer intensives include Alvin Ailey, Harid Conservatory, San Francisco Ballet, and Juilliard, with additional training at Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School and the Harid Conservatory.  Penman has been featured as a soloist in Napoli Divertissements and Fire of Life, as well as performing Cavalier in 2007’s The Nutcracker and the Dragonfly in Cinderella.  Penman is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Human Resources.

Grace Reeves began her training under the direction of Terry-Ellen Shields in Summerville, SC. For her sophomore year of high school, she was accepted into the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she graduated in three years. She has attended summer intensives at Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy, as well as The Rock School for Dance Education. She made her IUBT debut dancing the “Lullaby” solo in Isadora Dances in October 2007. Reeves is a sophomore currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in History and is a member of the Hutton Honor’s College.

Pablo Sanchez is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Communications and Culture, and a minor in French. Born in Puebla, Mexico, he began studying ballet at the age of 11 after his family settled in Libertyville, IL. He trained with Amy Rose at the Dance Academy of Libertyville and furthered his training by attending Boston Ballet’s Summer Dance Program in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and Ballet Chicago’s Advanced Intensive in 2008. In May 2008, Sanchez toured China with Rocky Mountain Ballet Theater as a principal guest dancer, representing the United States in preparation for the Beijing Summer Olympics. Sanchez is a recipient of the Dean of Music Scholarship and Faculty Award and is also a Hudson Holland Scholar.  While in IUBT, Sanchez has performed in Michael Vernon’s Brandenburg IV, has danced the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy’s Cavalier in Vernon’s The Nutcracker, a soloist in Violette Verdy’s Inoui Rossini, and as a Brown Boy in Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs.

Demetria Schioldager grew up in Los Angeles, CA, where she received Royal Academy of Dance training with Patricia Caballero and completed her Graded Examinations with distinctions through Advanced 1.  She also studied with Westside Ballet in Santa Monica.  She attended three RAD Summer Programs in Los Angeles, receiving awards each summer. Additionally, she received scholarships for summer intensives with ABT, Pacific Northwest Ballet, SAB, and San Francisco Ballet.  She is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Communications and Culture.

Jennifer Sherry a native of Leawood, KS, began her dance training at the Kansas City Ballet School and continued on scholarship for additional training at North Carolina School of The Art,s graduating in 2006.  Summer intensives have included scholarships to Kansas City Ballet School, Wahington Ballet School, Chautauqua Apprentice ‘06 and Festival ‘04, Miami City Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, and The Jillana School.  Sherry is a third-year senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Communications and Culture and is the recipient of a Music Faculty Merit Scholarship, Jacobs Undergraduate Grant, IU Foundation H. Fieber Scholarship, and is a member of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Delta Gamma Women’s Fraternity.  An instructor for the IU Pre-College Ballet Program, she is also pursuing her Pilates Certification. She has performed in numerous IUBT productions, recently featured as Doll in The Nutcracker and Red Girl in Les Patineurs.

Lacy Simpson is a Ballet major also pursuing a Gender Studies outside field and an Art History minor.  She is a junior with a faculty merit scholarship and is a member of the Hutton Honors College, National Scholars Honor Society, and Phi Eta Sigma Honors Fraternity.  A graduate of the Virginia School of the Arts, Simpson has attended summer programs on scholarship with BalletMet, Ballet Austin, Boston Ballet, and Houston Ballet.  Prior to her acceptance into IUBT, she has danced with Boston Ballet and the Chautauqua Ballet Company.

Maximillian Tortoriello, a junior Ballet major, began training at the Judith Svalander School of Ballet when he was seven years old. Tortoriello comes to IU after training with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s graduate program for two years. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance with an Outside Field in Fine Arts.

Benjamin Warner is a sophomore who graduated from the Walnut Hill School in Natick, MA.  He has been dancing for three years and has attended the summer program of San Francisco Ballet on full scholarship.  Warner is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance and made his IUBT première in Brandenburg IV. He has also been featured as the Snow King and Lead Waltz Male in 2007’s The Nutcracker and as the lead in Walpurgisnacht.

Kimberly Williams began dancing at the age of six at the Dancer’s Studio Backstage in Alpharetta, GA. She was classically trained there by director Jonnie Kelley and performed with the studio’s pre-professional company Atlanta Dance Theatre, a Southeastern Regional Ballet Association company. Throughout high school, Williams was given opportunities to train with summer programs such as American Ballet Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, Houston Ballet, and North Carolina Dance Theatre. Currently, She is a teacher of the Creative Movement dance classes and the Introduction to Ballet class for the Jacobs School of Music Pre-College program. She is a senior pursuing a Ballet degree with an Outside Field in Business through the School of Music as well as a Marketing degree through the Kelley School of Business.