Jacob Taylor
[av_textblock size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' font_color='' color='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-llx166uv' admin_preview_bg=''] [caption id="attachment_3435" align="alignright" width="262"] Jacob Taylor[/caption] Jacob Taylor is a graduate of the Ballet Performance Program at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where he was coached by Violette Verdy and Michael Vernon. His performance career includes dancing for such companies as Boulder Ballet, Christopher Caines Dance, Eglevsky Ballet, and FJK Dance. Mr. Taylor has taught at Peridance Capezio Center, Colorado Ballet Academy, Ridgefield School of Dance and 92NY. He has been commissioned to choreograph new works for
Kelsey Morgaine
[av_textblock size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' font_color='' color='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-llrbxrrj' admin_preview_bg=''] Kelsey Morgaine is from the San Francisco Bay Area. Mentored by ballerina Mariana Sobral, Kelsey competed with Dance Attack! Studios in ballet, contemporary, tap and jazz. In 2012, she joined the Santa Clara Ballet. At Santa Clara Ballet under Josefa Reyes’ direction, Kelsey had the honor of learning and performing ‘Alamat’; with choreography inspired by traditional Philippine dances: pangalay and pandanggo sa ilau. In 2016 Kelsey became the youngest founding company member of PERSpectives Dance Co., directed by
Victoria Manning
Victoria Manning grew up in Massachusetts and trained with Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre. She attended summer intensive programs across the country and trained with Philadelphia Ballet, Boston Ballet, Ballet Austin, Brookline Ballet, Orlando Ballet and Washington Ballet. After high school Manning attended Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and Kelley School of Business where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Ballet Performance and an Outside Field in Marketing. There she had the privilege of working with Kyra Nichols, Carla Korbes, Michael Vernon, Shawn Stevens, Sarah Wroth, and Sasha
Elijah Pressman
Elijah S. Pressman trained at Lauridsen Ballet Centre in Torrance. California. Elijah’s repertoire includes ballets by Robert Kelley, Laurence Blake, Jon Cristofori, Kenneth Walker, William Whitener, and Daniel Baudendistal. He has attended the summer intensives of Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre, Utah Regional Ballet, is a two-time full scholarship recipient to the Craft of Choreography Conference run by Regional Dance America and was selected to dance at the International Ballet Conference in Jackson, Mississippi. Elijah is a founding member of KWDP.
Emma Silagy
Emma Silagy began her dance career at two and a half years of age, having accumulated more than nineteen years of classical ballet training and nine years of modern/contemporary experience. Recently completing her education at California State University, Long Beach, Emma earned her Bachelor’s degree in Dance with a minor in Event Planning Management. While training at CSU Long Beach, Emma was afforded the privilege to work under many distinguished choreographers such as Lorin Johnson, Andrew Vaca, Rebecca Bryant, and Rebecca Lemme. In addition to her choreographic opportunities
Guest artists
[av_textblock size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' font_color='' color='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-lljwoxlj' admin_preview_bg=''] Skylar Burson is originally from Long Beach, CA. He began his formal ballet training at the Lauridsen Ballet Centre in Torrance, CA. Throughout his training, Skylar has participated in many summer dance programs across the country; most recently with River North Dance Chicago. He was also selected as a performer at the 2010 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS. Skylar has set original works on South Bay Ballet and Utah Regional Ballet II that were selected to perform at
Xochitl Velasquez
Xochitl Velazquez began dancing at the age of 6. At age 9, she began her ballet training at San Diego Civic Youth Ballet. She later went on to train in Tampa, Florida at Orlando Ballet School and Next Generation Ballet School under the direction of Peter Stark. In 2012, she received a scholarship at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. In that same year, Xochitl completed American Ballet Theater’s National Training Curriculum in New York with the highest score in her class. She danced at America’s Ballet
Laura Mauldin
Laura Smith Mauldin, born and raised in Thousand Oaks, California began figure skating at the age of four and dancing ballet at the age of six. During a thirteen-year competitive skating career which took Laura and her brother/partner all over the U.S. and to Europe for competitions, ballet became merely a side line for cross training and was eventually abandoned. But Laura returned to ballet at age eighteen, after retiring from her ice skating career, when she began attending Moorpark College, where her love of dance was
Tracy Jones
Tracy Jones trained under Colleen O’ Callahan, Alicia Head, and Diane Lauridsen at Lauridsen Ballet Centre. She has worked with such choreographers as Ron Cunningham, Robert Kelly, Daniel Baudendistel, Julie Shulman, Gina Patterson, and Stephen Mills. She has danced for South Bay Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, and in the trainee program of Ballet Austin. Tracy has worked as a guest artist for Riverside Ballet, San Pedro Ballet, and many others. She has been in numerous premieres for KWDP and continues to be thrilled working with the company. Catch the
Michael Hill
Michael Hill grew up dancing, leaving home at 15 to pursue it professionally. He was trained at the Next Generation Ballet, Canada's National Ballet School, Orlando Ballet School and Ballet West Academy Professional Training Division, as well as with masters such as Bruce Marks, Dinna Bjorn and Alonzo King. He has performed several corps roles with Ballet West, principal and soloist roles with Ballet West II, the Ballet Repertory Theater of New Mexico, Queen City Ballet, New West Ballet, and has also competed in the National High School
Olivia Hamilton
Olivia Hamilton originally from east Tennessee, earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Belhaven University in Jackson, MS (Cum Laude)and currently dances with professional contemporary company FUSE Modern Dance of Orange County. Olivia was a part of the Steps of Faith Dance Company in Cartersville, Georgia from 2008-2010 . Olivia has trained extensively in classical Vaganova ballet and Graham modern as well as tap, improvisation, aerial, and contemporary. She has trained under Leann Alduenda and , Oliver Steele of SteeleDance in NYC, Desmond Richardson and Dwight
Morgan Davison
Morgan Davison started her dance training at Riverside Ballet Arts under the direction of Glenda Carhart and then furthered her studies at Ballet Pacifica. Morgan began her professional career with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. She continued her education on scholarship at the University of Utah, dancing with the Department of Ballet’s resident student company, Utah Ballet. She was then invited to join Nashville Ballet’s second company. While in Nashville, she became more interested in exploring modern and contemporary dance by working with Banning Bouldin and Gina Patterson.
Gia Calhoun
Gia Calhoun trained with Roberto Almaguer and Julia Ortega and also at California Dance Theatre under the direction of Kim Maselli, Stanley Holden, and Charles Maple. She attended summer programs at the Joffrey Ballet School, on scholarship, North Carolina School of the Arts, American Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Ostrava Workshop in the Czech Republic. Gia attended UC Irvine where she earned a B.A. in dance, and she completed a Pilates teacher training program with Diane Diefenderfer at Studio du Corps in Costa Mesa. She danced with Columbia
Ilaria Guerra and Lorris Eichinger
[av_textblock size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' font_color='' color='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-llfhxh1j' admin_preview_bg=''] [caption id="attachment_3390" align="alignright" width="300"] Ilaria Guerra[/caption] Ilaria Guerra was born in Torino, Italy. At the age of five, she moved to Palos Verdes Estates, California where she trained in classical ballet at Lauridsen Ballet Center, performing with their pre-professional company, South Bay Ballet. Ilaria graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a minor in Arts Management in 2013. She joined dawsondancesf
Emma Giselle Mertens
[av_textblock size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' font_color='' color='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-llbhodij' admin_preview_bg=''] [caption id="attachment_3372" align="alignright" width="216"] Emma Giselle Mertens[/caption] Emma Giselle Mertens was born and raised in Torrance, California. At the age of three her parents enrolled in her first ballet class and she fell in love with the joy of movement. She began training at Peninsula School of Performing Arts (PSPA) during middle school, under the tutelage of Vera Ninkovic, Roberto Almaguer, Hasmik Amirian, Tita Boulger and Marina Kalinina. During her time at PSPA, Mertens performed many lead roles
Jeff Raschiatore
[av_textblock size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' font_color='' color='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-llbh2rip' admin_preview_bg=''] [caption id="attachment_3373" align="alignright" width="178"] Jeff Raschiatore[/caption] Jeffrey Raschiatore, is a Southern California choreographer, dancer, and educator; he began his movement training prior to his classical dance training as a martial artist in the style of Shaolin Kempo Karate in 1987 under the tutelage of 10th Degree Grand Master, Robert Bombalier; and after 3 years of classical dance training, Jeffrey began his classical dance career dancing with Architexture Dance Company, Nickerson-Rossi Dance, Keith Glassman and Dancers, Regina Klenjoski Dance Company, The Maple
Jana Taylor
[av_textblock size='' av-medium-font-size='' av-small-font-size='' av-mini-font-size='' font_color='' color='' id='' custom_class='' av_uid='av-llbgu6re' admin_preview_bg=''] [caption id="attachment_3374" align="alignright" width="300"] Jana Taylor[/caption] Jana Taylor is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, and the artistic director of her company Jana Taylor + Dancers. Jana’s choreography has been featured at Los Angeles Dance Festival, Highways Performance Space, MashUp's International Women’s Day Festival at Bootleg Theater, SoCal Dance Invitational, Dance in the Desert Las Vegas, RAW Artists OC, NDEO National Conference, Concordia University, and beyond. As a choreographer, Jana was a recipient of Dance Resource Center LA’s HomeGrown choreography