2024 NCI DISCOVERY DANCERS
Iori Araya began her early training in Japan. Idemitsu scholarship prize at the Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition allowed her to complete her training at The Australian Ballet School. She danced with Singapore Dance Theatre (now Singapore Ballet) and New Jersey Ballet prior to joining Ballet Memphis in 2017. Her noted roles include Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Fate in Gho Choo San’s Romeo & Juliet, In Dreams by Trey McIntyre, Water of the Flowerymill, and Party of the Year by Matthew Neenan, Chant by Val Caniparoli, Age of Innocence by Edwaard Liang, and numerous works by George Balanchine.
Anwen Brown is from Pittsburgh, PA. She trained at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and San Francisco Ballet School. At age sixteen, she participated in the Prix de Lausanne. Anwen dances with Ballet Memphis, and is looking forward to her twelfth season. Anwen has performed Sugarplum and Clara in The Nutcracker, Second Violin in Concerto Barocco, Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, and Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. She has also enjoyed featured roles in Trey McIntyre’s In Dreams, Matthew Neenan’s Party of the Year, Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations, Mariana Oliveira’s Pagliacci, Mark Godden’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Gabrielle Lamb’s Elapse.
Colin Canavan is from Reading, MA and began his pre-professional training at Walnut Hill School for the Arts before graduating from Indiana University’s Jacob’s School of Music in 2022 with a BS in Ballet Performance, Arts Management, and Human Resource Management. At IU, he performed roles such as the principal in Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, and other Balanchine, Robbins, Wheeldon, Morris, and Bournonville works. Colin attended the 2021 Jacob's Pillow Contemporary Ballet Program under Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Joining Ballet Austin in 2022, he has performed works by Stephen Mills, Jessica Lang, and Amy Seiwart. His notable performances include Jessica Lang’s Garden Blue, Laertes in Stephen Mills’ Hamlet, and Imp of the Perverse in Mills’ Poe / A Tale of Madness. Colin also teaches at the Ballet Austin Academy while pursuing an MS in Human Resource Development
Robert Fulton started dancing in Pennsylvania with the Allegheny Ballet Company, trained at Houston Ballet, and then joined Ballet West as a trainee. Now, he performs with Nevada Ballet Theatre, taking on lead roles like Siegfried in Ben Stevenson’s Swan Lake and Scarecrow in Septime Webre’s Wizard of Oz. Besides dancing, Robert is studying business at Penn State World Campus. He used his love for ballet and business skills to create The Ballet Scout, a website helping dancers find auditions, training, and jobs easily.
Celeste Gaiera’s love for dance began as a young child in New Zealand where she grew up and trained in many different styles of dance. After arriving in the United States, she joined a pre-professional ballet training program in Oregon, after which she moved to San Francisco to further her dance training. She then was selected to join Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s graduate program on scholarship, where she enjoyed many opportunities performing with the company. Celeste attended Nederlands Dans Theater in 2016, where she performed works by Paul Lightfoot, Sol León, Mengahn Lou, and Crystal Pite. Celeste joined Texas Ballet Theater as a company member in 2017 and danced there for four years under Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. She then joined Richmond Ballet, where she is currently dancing and has been for the past three years, performing a variety of both classical and contemporary ballets. She attended NCI 2022 and is thrilled to be returning this year!
Brooke Gilliam is a company member with Atlanta Ballet where she has danced for six seasons. Originally from Boulder, CO, she began her training at the Colorado Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Julia Wilkinson Manley. At 16, after attending the summer intensive, she was offered a merit scholarship to the Conservatory Program at Atlanta Ballet. From there, Brooke was a part of Atlanta Ballet 2 for two seasons before her promotion to the main company in 2018. Since joining, some of her most noteworthy performances include Russian Girls in George Balanchine’s Serenade, The Shadow in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Coco Chanel, Life of a Fashion Icon, Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, demi-soloist in Yuri Possokhov’s Don Quixote, and Garrett Smith’s Corridors. She is thrilled to be a part of NCI 2024.
Joseph Hetzer started his classical training at South Bay Ballet in Torrance, CA before becoming a member of the inaugural class at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in 2015. While in school, Hetzer worked closely with William Forsythe on both his classical works and new creations, dove into different genres and movement styles, and performed on three continents. He joined Oklahoma City Ballet as a corps de ballet member in 2019 and was promoted to soloist in 2023. During his time in OKC, he has performed featured roles including: Mad Hatter/Lewis Carroll in Septime Webre's ALICE (in wonderland), Gaston/the Baron in Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, and Hilarion in Ryan Nye's Giselle. Hetzer has also performed works by Jerome Robbins's, Jessica Lang, Twyla Tharp, Sarah Tallman, Alexander Ekman, Penny Saunders, and George Balanchine. Outside of ballet, Hetzer is a Lululemon Ambassador, spin instructor at Cyclebar Classen Curve, and teacher at Kim Massay Dance Productions. He is very excited to be returning to NCI for his third year.
Amelia Grubb Hillman calls Iowa home and has been a company dancer with Ballet Des Moines for the past 8 seasons. Originally hailing from the Washington, D.C. area, she completed her training on scholarships at the Kirov Academy of Ballet and the Akhmedova Ballet Academy. In addition to her career with BDM, Amelia has performed with English National Ballet,The Washington Ballet, Richmond Ballet, and Columbia Classical Ballet. Some of her most cherished performances have been in the role of Cinderella, Ma Cong’s Screaming Silence, and performing Christopher Wheeldon’s Je Ne T’aime Pas with her husband, Logan Hillman.
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Kanning is originally from Seattle, WA. She trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet School and the second company of Oregon Ballet Theater. Elizabeth is a soloist with Ballet Idaho, and she has also danced professionally with Ballet Austin and Ballet Tucson. Over the years she has had the joy of performing soloist roles in Christopher Wheeldon’s Five Movements, Three Repeats; George Balanchine’s Serenade, Walpurgisnacht, Valse Fantasie, Concerto Barocco, and Divertimento No. 15; and Thang Dao’s Quiet Imprint. Other highlights include Lar Lubovitch’s Concerto 622, Danielle Rowe’s Chaminade, Joseph Hernandez’s I lost my love, and Alejando Cerrudo’s Extremely Close. Elizabeth is excited to return to NCI this summer!
Daniel Kubr was born and raised in Switzerland. He started his professional ballet training at the Theater Basel in Switzerland. In 2015, he moved to Carlisle, PA, to train at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary. In 2018, Daniel joined the Cincinnati Ballet as a second company member. And starting in 2019, he was a company trainee with Texas Ballet Theater before joining Sacramento Ballet as an apprentice in 2021. He was promoted to the main company in 2023. Some of his favorite ballets he has performed in include State of Matter by Ihsan Rustem, Carry Me Anew by Ma Cong, Ghost Light by Penny Saunders, George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, and Gregory Dawson’s Strange Love.
Ahna Lipchik trained and performed with the Milwaukee Ballet School and later attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. While in school, she competed at Youth America Grand Prix and World Ballet Competition, earning high marks, winning best choreography at both, and an invitation to perform in the World Ballet Competition’s final gala performance. Ahna has since performed with San Diego Ballet, State Street Ballet, and as a guest artist with schools and companies around the country. She has enjoyed dancing featured roles in works by Kevin Jenkins, Kassandra Taylor Newberry, Robert Sund, and Autumn Eckman, as well as principal roles in ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, and August Bournonville. She is currently a soloist with Indianapolis Ballet. Ahna has found great fulfillment through teaching, choreographing, and through her inter-arts collaborations.
Wyatt Pendleton, originally from Tucson, AZ, is going into his third season with Ballet Memphis. After getting his BFA in Ballet from the University of Utah, he spent two years in Milwaukee Ballet 2 and then four seasons dancing with Rochester City Ballet before joining Ballet Memphis. During his time with these companies, he has performed in a myriad of classical and contemporary works. Some of his career highlights include Trey Mcintyre's In Dreams, Renfield in Steve McMahon's Dracula, and Terminus by Kate Skarpetowska. He is excited to be back at NCI for a third time!
Sean Sessions, currently a dancer with Saint Louis Ballet, is originally from Baltimore, MD. He has performed feature roles in Christopher Wheeldon’s Within The Golden Hour as well as The Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland, and The Nutcracker. Alongside the classics, he has originated numerous roles in contemporary work such as Emery LaCrone’s Agile Episodes. Before dancing with Saint Louis Ballet, he danced with Suzanne Farrell Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet’s Second company.
Hunter Solomon, originally from Brunswick, GA, began dancing at age 7, training at various dance schools. After graduation, he continued training at Atlanta Ballet’s conservatory program under Sharon Story. The following summer, he attended Milwaukee Ballet's intensive and joined the second company under Rolando Yanes. Hunter joined Boulder Ballet in 2019, dancing Paul Taylor's Airs as well as working with choreographers such as Amy Hall Gardner, Sidra Bell, Gregory Dawson. In 2022, he joined Ballet Spartanburg for one season. This past season, he joined Ballet Tucson, dancing in works by Andrea Schermoly, Kiyon Ross, Paul Gibson. As well as dancing He has danced in George Balanchine's Serenade and Divertimento No. 15 and Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain pas de deux.
Emily Speed grew up in Argyle, TX, and received her classical training from Hugh Nini, Marina Almayeva, and Henry Danton. Throughout her career, she danced for Ballet Tucson, Alabama Ballet, Colorado Ballet as a demi-soloist, and most recently, Ballet Idaho as a leading artist. Her favorite leading roles include Danielle in Danielle Rowe’s Dreamland, Russian Girl in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort, Antony Tudor’s The Leaves are Fading, Lilac Garden, and Pillar of Fire, Clara, Dew Drop and Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker, Pink Couple in Clark Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, Red Couple in Twyla Tharp’s A Brief Fling and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, among numerous others. Emily performed at Vail Dance Fest in 2015, 2017, and 2019 and at Battery Dance Festival in New York City in 2021. Emily appears as a principal guest artist across the country.
Nathan Young is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. He began his training at the age of 13 at the Arkansas Academy of Dance and attended summer training programs such as Ballet West, Joffrey Ballet, and Long Beach Ballet. In 2013, Nathan graduated from the University of Oklahoma, where he received a BFA in Ballet Performance. Nathan then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, dancing for the Nashville Ballet for four seasons. He has performed in notable works by Christopher Wheeldon, Jirí Kylián, Jennifer Archibald, Trey McIntyre, Val Caniparoli, Danielle Rowe, and Yuri Possokhov. He has been dancing with Grand Rapids Ballet since 2018.
