American Repertory Ballet

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Ethan Stiefel

Ethan Stiefel is an internationally recognized artist, educator and leader in the performing arts. He is currently Artistic Director for the American Repertory Ballet (ARB). Stiefel was the Principal Guest Instructor at American Ballet Theatre (ABT) from 2016-2021 and the Artistic Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) from 2011-2014. Just before being appointed the RNZB’s Artistic Director, he served as Dean of the School of Dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) from 2007-2011.

Stiefel began his professional career at age 16 with the New York City Ballet where he quickly rose to the rank of Principal Dancer. He was also a Principal Dancer with Ballett Zürich and joined American Ballet Theatre as a Principal Dancer in 1997. Stiefel gave his final performance with ABT in July 2012.

During his career, Stiefel performed leading roles in all of the full-length classics and danced in an extensive range of shorter works created by the industry’s foremost classical, modern and contemporary choreographers.

Guest appearances include The Royal Ballet, The Mariinsky Ballet, New York City Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Ballett Zürich, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Hamburg Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Teatro Colon, New National Theatre (Tokyo), Kings of the Dance and numerous tours in the United States, Japan, Russia and throughout Europe.

He starred in the feature film Center Stage and returned to play the role of Cooper Nielsen in Center Stage 2-Turn It Up and Center Stage: On Pointe. Stiefel’s television and video credits include The Dream, Le Corsaire, Die Fledermaus, Gossip Girl and the documentary, Born to be Wild.

As a Choreographer, Stiefel created a new staging of The Nutcracker for the UNCSA. He choreographed a one act comedic ballet, Bier Halle, and collaborated with Johan Kobborg on choreographing and producing a new production of Giselle for the RNZB. In 2013, Giselle was adapted into a feature film, directed by Toa Fraser, and was selected for screening in the NZ International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. Giselle was restaged and performed in 2015 at the Opera National Bucharest.

Additionally, Stiefel choreographed a new work for the top level of ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, Knightlife, which was performed at the Joyce Theater in New York in April 2016. He choreographed a collaborative work on the ABT Studio Company and the Royal Ballet School, See the Youth Advance!, which had its premiere at London’s Covent Garden, in May 2016. He created FRONTIER, a new ballet for The Washington Ballet which premiered at The Kennedy Center in May 2017. In the fall of 2018, Stiefel created Overture for the ABT Studio Company and subsequently he choreographed Wood Work for The Washington Ballet in April 2019.  In 2021 he choreographed Prine Time, a solo commissioned by the Guggenheim Works and Process Virtual Artists Series and Beneath the Surface, a short dance film for Northern Ballet Theatre (UK). Most recently, Stiefel’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for American Repertory Ballet had its premiere at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center in April 2022.

Stiefel was the Choreographer for Flesh and Bone, a 2015 limited edition television series for STARZ network.

He has been a guest teacher for many institutions including the Paris Opera Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, The Royal Ballet School, The Australian Ballet School, Norwegian National Ballet, Ballett Zürich, Ballet de Bordeaux, Opera National Bucharest, John Cranko Schule Stuttgart, Tanz Akademie Zürich, Berlin State Ballet School, Dance Theatre of Harlem, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and The School of American Ballet.

Stiefel was invited to serve on the jury for the Paris Opera Ballet’s 2014 annual promotion examination and was on the jury of the 2015 Prix de Lausanne.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Albert of Monaco presented Stiefel with the Statue Award of the Princess Grace Foundation, the Foundation’s highest honor, in October 1999. He received the prestigious Dance Magazine Award in December 2008.

Works Choreographed for American Repertory Ballet:
Giselle
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Delibes Duet
VARIANTS
Wood Work

Ja’ Malik

Ja’ Malik is a choreographer and the newly appointed Artistic Director of Madison Ballet. Noted as a “choreographer to watch“ by Roslyn Sulcas of The New York Times, Malik is an evolving choreographer from New York City. Having previously danced with North Carolina Dance Theater (now Charlotte Ballet), BalletX, Ballet Hispanico in addition to working with Camille A. Brown (For Colored Girls… at the Public Theater), Juel D. Lane and Collage Dance Collective among others. With a deep connection to music, Malik’s choreography draws on his own personal life experiences as well as the world around him to create physically emotional works that allows both dancers and audiences to experience a connection through the language of movement. Having created works on Charlotte Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence and Houston Contemporary Dance Company among others. Malik is honored to create his first work on American Repertory Ballet. More info about Ja’ Malik can be found at BalletBoyProductions.com.

Works choreographed for American Repertory Ballet:
Moving to Bach

Claire Davison

Claire Davison began her ballet training at the Boulder Ballet School and attended Boston Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, School of American Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet School summer programs. She was a finalist at the 2009 Youth America Grand Prix competition. Davison joined the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in 2010, was named an apprentice with the main Company in 2012, and appointed to the corps de ballet in June 2013. Her repertoire with ABT includes Berthe in Giselle, Good Fairy in Harlequinade, Madame in Manon, Nanny and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, the Queen Mother in Swan Lake, and a featured role in Deuce Coupe. Davison participated in ABT’s Innovation Initiative in 2014 and ABT Incubator in 2019. Her choreographic credits include One of Us (2019) for Boulder Ballet and Por Ti for Kaatsbaan Cultural Park’s 2021 Summer Festival. In 2021, Davison was a selected choreographer for New York Theatre Ballet’s Lift Lab. This year, she participated in ABT’s 2022 Incubator and created a one-woman show, Crash Test Dummy for which she received the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus’ “First of May” award.

Works choreographed for American Repertory Ballet:
Bewitched
Time Within a Time

Emily Cordies-Maso

Emily Cordies-Maso 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. Cordies-Maso 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 Cordies-Maso started studying under the direction of Aydmara Cabrera at Princeton Ballet school and was later a trainee in 2021 where she had the opportunity to perform Fandango Lead in Don Quixote, Spanish Lead and Dew Drop in The Nutcracker, Moyna in Giselle and Ethan Stiefel’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In December 2020, she studied as a stagiare at Ecole Rudra Bejart in Switzerland with a full scholarship, under the direction of Micheal Gascard and Julio Arrozarena where she performed Bejart Repertoire at Vaison la Roman, France and Martingy, Switzerland. Cordies-Maso has also attended various summer intensives including Sarasota Cuban Ballet School, Taina Morales and Jesus Corrales Summer Intensive in Montreal, Canada, and Leonel Morales & Friends Dance Course in Granada, Spain where she has performed Odalisque in Corsaire, Pas de Trois in Swan Lake, and numerous contemporary pieces. Her ARB credits include Arabian Lead in The Nutcracker, Da’Von Doane’s Kaleidoscope Mind, Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle, Arthur Mitchell’s Holberg Suite, and Stiefel’s VARIANTS.

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. Fredeen 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, Fredeen 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. Fredeen 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, Fredeen 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 Pototski began his training at the School of American Ballet in 2007, performing in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and The Magic Flute. In 2012, he joined the Academy of Dance and Creative Art, where he danced pas de deux ranging from Giselle, Cinderella, Blue Bird, and The Nutcracker, to lesser known modern pieces. In 2016, he received a full scholarship to the American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, were he was fortunate to work with Cynthia Harvey, Robert La Fosse, Ethan Stiefel, Karin Averty, Fabrice Herrault and Pertujska Broholm. After graduating in 2020, he continued his training with the Bolshoi Ballet’s Margarita Smirnova in Milan, Italy, before returning to the U.S., to join Princeton Ballet School as a trainee. During his time with PBS, he performed in its spring production of Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, and in Ethan Stiefel’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. His ARB credits include Hilarion in Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle, Caili Quan’s Circadia, Claire Davison’s Time Within A Time, Arthur Mitchell’s Holberg Suite, and Stiefel’s VARIANTS. This is his first season dancing as a company member.

Jasmine Jasper

Born in Munich, Germany to German and Italian parents, Jasmine Jasper began her training at the age of 5 in a nearby studio in her hometown. In 2008 she moved to Orlando, FL with her family where she started dancing at the Orlando Ballet School, training with Rebecca Martin and Theresa Crawford. She later joined the Central Florida Ballet in 2011, under the direction of Vasile Petrutiu, Vladimir Bykov, and Natalya Bashkatova. In 2015, she was accepted into ABT’s JKO School, where she performed in Jessica Lang’s The Gift, Alexei Ratmansky’s Rondo Capriccioso, Jerome Robbins’ Interplay, ABT’s Spring Preview as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and ABT’s Le Corsaire, and Harlequinade, all while under the training of Cynthia Harvey, Robert La Fosse, Ethan Stiefel, Karin Averty, Fabrice Herrault, Pertujska Broholm, and Harriet Clark. In 2020, she became a NYU/ABT Certified Teacher and joined Princeton Ballet School as a Trainee a year later. There she had the opportunity to dance the title role in Princeton Ballet School’s spring production of Giselle, and to be a part of Ethan Stiefel’s A Midsummers Night’s Dream, right before joining the school’s company as an ARB2 dancer in 2022 and then becoming an Apprentice soon after. She has taken part in productions such as Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle, The Nutcracker, Stiefel’s VARIANTS and Wood Work, Arthur Mitchell’s Holberg Suite and more.

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 (CPYB) in Carlisle, Pennsylvania under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary. While at CPYB, she had the honor to perform roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Juliet in Alan Hineline’s Romeo & Juliet and Lead Russian Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade. Krisko 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, she performed Snow and Flowers in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, 1st Regiment in Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, and Swan Corps in Corella’s Swan Lake. With American Repertory Ballet, she has danced in Ethan Stiefel’s Delibes Duet, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle, and Arthur Mitchell’s Holberg Suite.

Roland Jones

Roland Jones was born and raised in Poolesville, Maryland. He began training at Maryland Youth Ballet in 2012, before continuing his development as a trainee at Ballet West Academy under Jeff Rogers from 2017-2019. At Ballet West, he had the opportunity to perform as Oberon in George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and guest performed as Colas in the University of Utah’s production of La Fille Mal Gardée, before being promoted to Ballet West II. In 2021, Jones joined Richmond Ballet II under Igor Antonov and Malcolm Burn, performing in ballets Romeo and Juliet and Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante. Jones joined ARB as an apprentice in 2022, and performed in Da’Von Doane’s Kaleidoscope Mind, Caili Quan’s Circadia, Claire Davison’s Bewitched. Jones also had the opportunity to perform as the Snow King and Cavalier in ARB’s The Nutcracker.