Sarah Lane was born in San Francisco, and began her dance training in Memphis, Tennessee under the direction of Pat Gillispie at the Memphis Classical Ballet. When her family moved to Rochester, New York, she continued instruction with Timothy Draper and Jamey Leverett at the Draper Center for Dance Education. When Lane was 16, she received a full scholarship to the Boston Ballet’s Summer Program. In 2000 and 2001, she was awarded first place and the Capezio Class Excellence Award at the North American Ballet Festival. In 2002, Lane was a National Young Arts Foundation Winner in Dance/Ballet, and through Young Arts became a 2002 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Lane was the Silver Medalist, the highest medal in the Junior Division, at the Jackson International Ballet Competition (2002). During the competition, she traveled to Washington, D.C. to perform at the Kennedy Center as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. That same year, Lane also won the Bronze Medal at the Youth America Grand Prix Competition. Lane joined American Ballet Theatre’s studio company in 2002, joined the main company as an apprentice in August 2003, became a member of the Company’s corps de ballet in April 2004 and was appointed a Soloist in July 2007 and Principal Dancer in 2017. Lane was a recipient of the Princess Grace Award in 2007 and Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts in 2008. Lane was the dancing double for Natalie Portman in Fox Searchlight Pictures’ feature film Black Swan. She is an alumni of the Harvard Crossover into Business Program. Lane is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Lane is certified in Gyrokinesis and as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.
Archives: People
Emily Cordies-Maso
Emily started her training at her mother Rebeca Maso’s studio in Somerset, NJ at a young age. At age 12 she attended Ballet Hispanico under the direction of Dr. Ana Maria Correa and later with current director Michelle Manzanales. Emily was part of the Pre-Professional program for her last three years there under a full scholarship. During that time she was able to travel to Cordoba Mexico for the Festival de Danza and to Havana Cuba for the Ballet Nacional Festival International de Danza. In 2019 Emily started studying under the direction of Aydmara Cabrera at the Princeton Ballet school and was later a trainee with the ARB/PBS in 2021. In December 2020 Emily left to Switzerland to study as a stagiare at Ecole Rudra Bejart in Lausanne with a full scholarship, under the direction of Micheal Gascard and Julio Arrozarena where she got to perform at Vaison la Roman, France and Martingy, Switzerland.
Ana Varona
Ana Varona has been a movement/dance instructor and bodyworker for over 30 years. Ana had the good fortune of studying under Zena Rommett in NYC in the 1980’s and was a member of her first Floor Barre instructor certification class. She has taught at the Omega Institute, the NY Open Center, the San Francisco Dance Center, and on the faculty of Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, PR. Ms. Varona is a long-time licensed massage therapist and movement re-education specialist now practicing in the Princeton area. She holds a BS degree in kinesiology and an MA in wellness and health promotion.
Michael Crawford
Michael Crawford is from Takoma Park, Maryland. He began dancing with prestigious schools, including the Maryland Youth Ballet and Kirov Academy, with summer intensives at The Rock School and San Francisco Ballet on full scholarships. In his senior year, he was accepted into the Kennedy Center’s Master Class Series, where he trained and performed with top international companies. Mr. Crawford then moved on to the Washington Ballet where, in their top training program, he performed with the company under the direction of Septime Webre. Upon graduation, he went on to study and perform in the Professional Division of The Pacific Northwest Ballet under the direction of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell. After Pacific Northwest Ballet, he danced with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Jose Mateo Ballet, Ballet Memphis, American Repertory Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, and Oakland Ballet. At these companies, he performed several ballets as a principal artist. He has been privileged to work alongside top productions, such as “Guys and Dolls,” “West Side Story,” “Show Boat,” and other musical performances at The Kennedy Center, as well as touring many other international stages. He has also worked guestings with The Washington National Opera, Adam Miller Dance Project, Kinetic Dance Works, Brooklyn Ballet, and Ballet Neo.
While signed with New York Model Management, Mr. Crawford had the honor to
internationally known campaign. He has walked in several seasons of NYC Fashion Week. He also appeared in the feature film “Step Up” and can be seen on television in ABC’s production of “Forever.” Michael is also an award-winning teacher and choreographer. He has been teaching and choreographing nationally and internationally for over 10 years. He has coached many prize-winning students for competitions, such as Youth America Grand Prix. Some of his students have gone on to prestigious college programs, top dance companies, and leading Broadway performers. Michael is on faculty at many studios including Broadway Dance Center and STEPS on Broadway in NYC.
Anna Fredeen
Anna Fredeen (B.A. Dance Science, Rider University) has danced with multiple dance studios in Connecticut and New Jersey where she trained in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, musical theater, choreography, modern, and leaps and turns. Before attending Rider University, she studied at Texas Christian University for two years in the School of Classical and Contemporary Dance. Anna has attended residential dance intensives in New York City and performed with dance companies at venues such as The Joyce Theater, Peridance, Disney World, and The Orange Bowl, where she had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Tyler Gilstrap, Sidra Bell, and Chris Judd. In the most recent years, Anna participated in American Dance Festival and the National Choreography Intensive, and has become a satellite member of the modern dance company Luminarium, based out of Boston, MA. She has received awards from various institutions, including Rider University and the National Choreography Intensive, for her choreography and involvement in the dance community. Anna currently teaches dance at local studios and works with many studios over the summer as a guest artist. As a committed dancer, teacher, and choreographer, Anna strives to pass down her knowledge and experience to students, using Dance Science to bring awareness to the physicality required of dancers to ensure a safe environment for all.
Anthony Pototski
Anthony was born to Russian parents in Brooklyn, NY to a family of dancers. He began his training at the School of American Ballet in 2007, performing in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and the Magic Flute. In 2012 he joined the Academy of Dance and Creative Art, where he would go on to dance Pas De Deuxs ranging from Giselle, Cinderella, Blue Bird, and Nutcracker Prince, to lesser known modern pieces. In 2016 he received a full scholarship to the ABT, JKO School, were he was fortunate enough to work with Cynthia Harvey, Robert Lafosse, Ethan Steifel, Karin Averty, Fabrice Herrault and Pertujska Broholm. After Graduating in 2020, he continued his training with Bolshoi’s Margarita Smirnova in Milan Italy, before returning to the US, to join the Princeton Ballet School as a Trainee on scholarship. During his time there he got to perform the lead roles in their Spring production of Giselle and Sleeping Beauty while asked to work with Ethan Steifel in his new production of “A Midsummers Nights Dream” for PBS’s American Repertory Ballet’s Company, where he will be joining as a ARB2 member.
Jasmine Jasper
Born and raised in Munich Germany, to her Italian mother and German father. Jasmine fell in love with performing at a very young age. She began her studies of dance at the age of 5 in her little home town studio, before moving with her family to the USA in 2008. While living in Orlando, FL, she joined the Orlando Ballet School and later joined the Central Florida Ballet, under the direction of Vasile Petrutiu and Vladimir Bykov and Formal Principal dancer of the Bolshoi Theater, Natalya Bashkatova. In 2015 she was accepted into ABT’s JKO school in NYC, where she was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to dance in Jessica Lang’s “The Gift”, Alexei Ratmansky’s “Rondo Capriccioso, ”Interplay“, by Jerome Robbins, ABT’s Spring Preview at the Kaye Playhouse as Aurora in the “Sleeping Beauty” Pas de Deux, and ABT’s Le Corsaire, & Harlequinade, all while under the training of Cynthia Harvey, Robert Lafosse, Ethan Steifel, Karin Averty, Fabrice Herrault and Pertujska Broholm. In 2020 she became a NYU/ABT Certified Teacher right before Covid started, and was thrilled when she was asked to join the Princeton Ballet School as a trainee a year later. She took part of PBS’s The Nutcracker, and the role of Giselle in their Spring Production, while at the same time getting asked to work with Ethan Steifels new staging of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummers Nights Dream” for PBS’s American Repertory Ballet’s Company, where she is very excited to be joining for her first season in their ARB2.
Lily Krisko
Lily Krisko was raised in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and began her formal ballet training at the age of 10. Growing up, she trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary. While at CPYB, she had the honor to perform roles such as Sugar Plum in George Balanchine’s Nutcracker, Juliet in Alan Hineline’s Romeo & Juliet and Lead Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade. Lily attended many summers at Miami City Ballet as well as Ballet Academy East, CPYB and Philadelphia Ballet. She was then invited by Angel Corella to become a trainee with Philadelphia Ballet on full scholarship. While at Philadelphia Ballet, Lily performed Snow and Flowers in George Balanchine’s Nutcracker, 1st Regiment in George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes and Swan Corps in Angel Corella’s Swan Lake. This is Lily’s first season with American Repertory Ballet.
Roland Jones
Roland Jones was born and raised in Poolesville, Maryland. In 2014, he began training at Maryland Youth Ballet, then continuing his development as a trainee at Ballet West Academy from 2017-2019. Last year, Roland was a member of Richmond Ballet II, performing in pieces such as Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante and Romeo and Juliet. This is Roland’s first season with American Repertory Ballet.
Savannah Quiner
Savannah Quiner was born and raised in Northern New Jersey and began her formal ballet training at the North Jersey School of Dance Arts at the age of 5 under the direction of Christine Taylor and Luba Gulyaeva. In 2017, she placed first in classical at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Semifinals in Boston and was a scholarship recipient at the YAGP Finals. She has danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy for various studios in New Jersey from 2018-2020 and in New York Theatre Ballet’s The Nutcracker in 2021. Prior to joining ARB, she danced at American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School for 3 years. She performed with the Company at Lincoln Center in Swan Lake and Manon in 2019 and in Swan Lake in 2022. This is her first season as an apprentice.