American Repertory Ballet

Archives: People

Anthony Pototski

Anthony Pototski (Sponsored by Jane Leslie Burgin) 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, where 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.

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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.

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Lily Krisko

Lily Krisko (Sponsored by Ken Fredeen and Jane Silverman) 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, as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, in Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle, as Changeling in Ethan Stiefel’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Arthur Mitchell’s Holberg Suite, as the Sylph in Ethan Stiefel’s Spirit of the Highlands following La Sylphide, and in George Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux.

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.

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Savannah Quiner

Savannah Quiner was born and raised in Northern New Jersey and began her formal ballet training at the age of five at her local ballet studio. 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. In 2019, she attended the American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive before joining the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School for three years. During that time, Savannah trained under the direction of Cynthia Harvey, Petruskja Broholm, and Caridad Martinez. 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 Nutcracker in 2021. She performed with ABT at Lincoln Center in Swan Lake (2019, 2022, and 2023) and in Manon (2019). In 2021, she received second runner-up at The Dance Awards in Orlando for Senior Best Dancer. Savannah joined American Repertory Ballet in 2022 as an apprentice and was promoted to company the following year. At ARB, she has performed in The Nutcracker as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Odette in Swan Lake, Myrtha in Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle, Paquita, Kitri in Don Quixote, Amy Seiwert’s Sight Line, Stephanie Martinez’s The Time That Runs Away, and Lar Lubovitch’s Something About Night. In 2025, she appeared in Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino’s TV series Étoile as a background dancer.

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Alexandra Jans

Alexandra “Ali” Jans has been training in ballet and other dance forms for over twenty years. She grew up a military kid, stationed across the U.S. as well as abroad, which presented opportunities to work with many world-renowned instructors and choreographers. She trained under various acclaimed instructors including Stefan Grebeldinger, Franca Desinia, Paula Weber, David Justin, Gary Abbott, DeeAnna Hiett, Ronald Tice, and Mishic and Valentine Liberatore. Jans trained for three years in Italy at the feeder school to Teatro alla Scala in Milan. While in Europe she performed The Nutcracker with the Croatian National Ballet and Don Quixote with the State Ballet of Georgia (Europe). She also attended an invitation-only summer intensive in Novi Sad, Serbia. Jans spent two years pursuing a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she worked with a variety of choreographers including Nilas Martins and Cleo Parker Robinson. She is currently earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. As a freelance professional dancer, she performed in various ballets including Don Quixote, Swan Lake as Odette in Swan Lake with Fredrick Davis and the title role in Paquita with Michael Crawford. For two seasons, she was the the Assistant Artistic Director for two seasons at Central New Jersey Ballet and the Junior Company Ballet Mistress for one year. Jans is a certified teacher of the Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) strengthening program for dancers.

Maura Ryan

Maura Ryan’s primary training was under the instruction of Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz. She attended SUNY Purchase College’s Conservatory of Dance on scholarship where she received a BFA in Dance Performance and Composition. She performed many lead roles with the Purchase Dance Corps and graduated cum laude with extensive training in Ballet, Modern and Ballet Composition. Upon graduation, she completed the ABT® National Training Curriculum in levels Primary through Level 5. Ryan has had the privilege of working with hundreds of children and families throughout New Jersey. She was a guest teacher at Rutgers University, as well as an adjunct professor for The College of New Jersey. She enjoys teaching outreach programs within the community and provides a disciplined yet nurturing environment to connect with students in order for them to trust their training process.

Katrina Jans

Katrina Jans has been training in classical ballet since she began dancing at two years old. She studied tap for over eight years and now teaches tap and ballet at Princeton Ballet School. Participating in numerous intensives and workshops, she also broadened her study of dance through contemporary, modern, jazz, and several other dance forms. She trained for three years in Italy at the feeder school to Teatro alla Scala in Milan. While in Europe she performed in The Nutcracker with the Croatian National Ballet and attended an invitation-only summer intensive in Novi Sad, Serbia. Ms. Jans has performed in many productions such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Snow White, and more, including pas de deux, soloist, and principal roles: White Swan in Central New Jersey Ballet Theatre’s White Swan Pas de Deux with internationally renowned dancer Fredrick Davis; Dorothy in the Vacaville Ballet Company’s Wizard of Oz; and The Fairy of Grace with the Contra Costa Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty. She trained with numerous distinguished instructors including Stefan Grebeldinger, Franca Desinia, Katarina Wester, Charles Anderson, Mishic and Valentine Liberatore, Emily Borthwick, and Shannon Bresnahan. Ms. Jans placed 3rd and top 24 in YAGP Pre-Competitive Division and Junior Division respectively. She has performed in ARB’s The Nutcracker as Marzipan; Wilis corps in Giselle; and a soloist role in Raymonda. Ms. Jans is excited to pass on her love for dance with the students of PBS.                    

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 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. 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. Her American Repertory Ballet credits include The Nutcracker, Da’Von Doane’s Kaleidoscope Mind, Ethan Stiefel and Johan Kobborg’s Giselle, Arthur Mitchell’s Holberg Suite, and Stiefel’s VARIANTS.

Cheryl Whitney

Cheryl Whitney (Ballet, PBW Ballet Master and Coordinator) received an M.S. in Ballet from Indiana University and a B.A. in English Literature and Music from St. Lawrence University.  She was trained and performed professionally in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area. For more than 30 years, she has been involved with Princeton Ballet School and American Repertory Ballet, serving as a faculty member, rehearsal director for both the ARB productions of The Nutcracker and the Princeton Ballet School shows, and Coordinator for Princeton Ballet Workshop. Ms. Whitney is the 2008 recipient of the Audrée Estey Award for Excellence in Dance Education. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the dance programs at Rider University. 

Guest teaching credits include Brandywine Ballet, Peabody Conservatory and NJ Governor’s School. Her teaching in academic settings includes Princeton University, Howard University, Indiana University, The Lawrenceville School, Foxcroft School and Latin School of Chicago. and has received grants from the New York and New Jersey State Councils on the Arts. She is Artistic Director of Reverence Dance Company.