Audrey Borst was born in Berkeley, California and has been dancing since the age of three. She trained at the San Francisco Ballet for 10 years where she performed the lead role of “Clara” in the Nutcracker. Audrey immersed herself in the dance community, serving as a company member in Sarah Bush Dance Project, and Peninsula Ballet while also performing as a guest artist with Oakland Ballet School. It was at Alonzo King LINES Ballet that she began to explore multiple modern disciplines including Gaga, Horton, and contemporary ballet. She gained fluency in these styles, training at summer sessions around the country including Ballet San Jose, San Francisco City Ballet, and Dance Theater of Harlem. After transplanting to New York City, Audrey began her studies as a scholarship student at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2016. She lives in Brooklyn where she is a teaching artist and freelance dancer. Audrey is a part of Brooklyn Ballet and Jamal Jackson Dance Company. 

Aliesha Bryan (Pájaro negro) is a multidisciplinary performing artist and founder of Blackbird Dances, a space that advocates and offers movement-based healing approaches and content and has the overarching mission of countering limiting perspectives about the body, its capacity, potential and roles within societies. Since first encountering live Flamenco, Aliesha has learned from and worked with a diverse roster of artists, developing a rich tapestry of movement. Aliesha's performative work includes choreographic commissions and site-specific creations, most recently the conception and production of El Mensaje/The Message, which was presented during the BlaktinX Performance Series at BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance. Aliesha has also appeared on stages ranging from international festivals to more intimate venues, including The Hemispheric Institute in New York, the African American Museum in Philadelphia and the United Nations Headquarters. She is an advocate for social change through healing, and has notably been featured on the BBC Podcast, The Reset, in Dance Magazine, and in the curated Camille A. Brown series Social Dance for Social Change. Aliesha is a graduate of Barnard College and Sarah Lawrence College, with a BA in French and Francophone Studies and an MS in Dance/Movement Therapy.

Franklin ‘Gin’ Chen began dance at a relatively late age compared to most professional dancers. At 14, he discovered a “how-to-breakdance” guide on the internet. Reading a badly written, only-text lesson of how to do the most basic step in breakin’, Franklin quickly realized what it meant to have two left feet. After this failed attempt of dance, he started practicing after-school with a large group of friends in the High School’s cafeteria. Before long, the numbers quickly dwindled to a consistent two or three.This did not dissuade him, since all that mattered was this new found passion. 20 years later, Gin continues his passion through all avenues of dance. He is the founder of WondrousNYC, New York City’s first dance studio dedicated to the style and dance of Breakin’. He reps Brooklyn hard with the Brooklyn Nets’ TeamHype for the fifth season. He continues to strive to improve and explore creative avenues such as creating short films, teaching, battling/competing, choreographing, and organizing events for the dance community and general public.

Choreographer, Educator, and Dancer, Michael “Big Mike” Fields is a performing artist born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Specializing in hitting, animation, waving and isolations, he combines storytelling and comedic elements in his work. At 6'2" and 250 pounds, his movement can be raw and explosive and yet subtle. The New York Times says his work in the Brooklyn Nutcracker [makes] "musical sense of all the physical isolations of hip-hop." Crowned as "New York's best-kept secret", he has done work with Hip-Hop Connections, a group that brings educational performances to schools around the tri-state area, and with artists such as Chaka Khan and Busta Rhymes. In 2015, he was invited by the Singapore Tourism Board as part of the Singapore Invites initiative for a short video. He is active in the New York dance scene, holding his own practice at Brooklyn Ballet, and often subs classes at Broadway Dance Center and Peridance.

Tristan Grannum is originally from Brooklyn, New York. He began training in classical ballet at the age of 14 at Fiorello H. Laguardia High School for Performing Arts and Manhattan Youth Ballet. Over the years he has trained year-round at the School of Pennsylvania Ballet, and Dance Theater of Harlem where he was selected to dance in several outreach performances. 

He has also attended many notable ballet summer programs on full scholarship which include the Harid Conservatory, San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, and Charlotte Ballet. In June 2017 he was invited to and participated in an international dance competition (Royal Dance Grand Prix) held in Beijing, China, under the direction of Nadege Hottier (Premiere Division). There he won first place in the Contemporary ballet category. 

His professional performance credits include dancing with Brooklyn Ballet, Ballet Austin, Dayton Ballet, and the Black Iris Project. He has performed works by George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Septime Webre, Stephen Mills, Marianna Oliviera, and Tan Dao. Tristan has taught at several ballet/dance institutions across the country. He is a certified dance teacher through the Mark Morris Teacher Artist Training Program and the American Ballet Theater National Training Curriculum (Primary-Level 3) . He is on faculty at Brooklyn Ballet and Mark Morris Dance Group. In 2021, Tristan was chosen as an emerging dance leader for the Dance/USA DILT program under Peter Boal’s mentorship (PNB). He also was chosen as a School of American Ballet National Visiting Fellow for the 2021-2022 Cohort. Formerly, Tristan was the Associate Artistic Director for the Brooklyn Center for the Arts, an arts organization which specializes in providing access to classical art forms for underprivileged individuals across New York City. There Tristan established over 15 dance programs throughout the Department of Education. Currently Tristan Grannum is Director Of Community Engagement and Rehearsal Director for Brooklyn Ballet. 

Danielle Guirma is originally from New Paltz, NY. where she began her dance training at the age of three. Danielle performed in the children’s corps with the New York City Ballet in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Coppélia during their summer residencies in Saratoga Springs, NY. From 2015-2017 she attended Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and was a recipient of the Future Artists Initiative Scholarship in 2016 and 2017. Danielle continued her studies at the Dance Theatre of Harlem School where she had the opportunity to perform with the company in Geoffrey Holder’s Dougla during their 50th Anniversary celebration in 2019. She danced for two seasons as a company member with First State Ballet Theatre in Wilmington Delaware performing in various classics including The Nutcracker, Giselle, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote, as well as original works The Fire In Which We Burn by Blake Krapels, and Sélo by Zachary Kapeluck. Danielle is currently a freelance artist residing in Brooklyn NY.

Alexandra Jean-Joseph is a New York based educator, choreographer, culture bearer, and performing artist of Haitian heritage. She studied Psychology and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies at New York University. She has been invited to speak on Haitian spiritual tradition and its intersections in cultural and dance practice at Columbia University’s Union Theological Seminary, NYU’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Fordham University, and the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University. As an artist, she has studied under and performed with notable master teachers of Haitian dance Mikerline Pierre, Julio Jean, Nadia Dieudonné, Jessica St. Vil Ulysse, and Adia Whitaker. In 2018 Alexandra co-found Imamou Lele Dance and Drum Ensemble, a company that uses traditional Haitian dance, song, and percussion to preserve and to share the stories of Haiti and its diaspora. Her choreographic work has been presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has also choreographed for the Kofago Dance Ensemble, under the direction of Kevin McEwen. Alexandra strives to use ancestral ways of knowing and creating as paths to community health and healing. She has presented her embodied dance ritual technique at Mojuba! Dance Collective’s Festival of Dance and Culture and at Temate Institute’s Annual Black Dance and Culture Conference. Alexandra continues to share her dance practice as an experience where spirit and art meet. She is a 3rd year member of Eva Yaa Asantewaa’s Black Diaspora, an initiative that supports up-and-coming Black and Latinx identifying dance artists from various cultural backgrounds and aesthetic traditions.

Catie Kirch is from Athens, Georgia, where she studied dance at Studio Dance Academy. She also trained in ballet and other dance forms in numerous summer intensives, including American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey South, Atlanta Ballet, Festival Dance, and the Fox Theatre’s Rising Stars. In 2016, Catie joined Joffrey Ballet School’s trainee program in New York City, and enjoyed performing in principal and corps roles. Her principal roles have included Arabian Princess, The Nutcracker, Meetings Along the Edge (Africa Guzman), Prelude Variation, Les Sylphides, and Gypsy solo, Don Quixote. Catie is excited to be performing in the Brooklyn Nutcracker this season.

Barbara Lins is a distinguished professional ballet dancer with a breadth of experience as both a dancer and instructor. Barbara began dancing when she was six years old, with her first training at Ballet Eliana Cavalcanti in Maceio, Brazil where she ended up dancing as the Principal Dancer for five years. She has received training from distinguished Bolshoi teachers including Denis Nevydommy, Galina Kozlova (Ex Prima Ballerina of Bolshoi), Boris Storojkovo, Olga Dolganova, and others. Barbara has completed the Trainee Programs at Ballet Chicago and Joffrey Ballet School (NYC). She has also completed the Certificate Program at Peridance Capezio Center in NYC. Since moving to NYC, Barbara has danced with numerous companies including Connecticut Ballet Company, Arch Contemporary, Homo Veritas Dance Theatre, Albano Ballet of America, American Swiss Ballet Company and was a guest at Metropolitan Ballet & Academy. Her performance experience includes Don Quixote, Le Corsaire, Paquita, The Flames of Paris, Nutcracker, Coppelia, La Esmeralda, La Sylphide, Diana y Action, Serenade, Concerto Barroco, and many others. Barbara won the Award for Artistic Excellence and Leadership in Dance in her hometown of Maceio, Brazil by the Government and had the unique opportunity to direct a performance about Black Lives Matter in Brazil (2021). Barbara is excited to be a part of Brooklyn Ballet Company this year.

Sira Melikian is a NYC born and raised Middle Eastern Belly Dance performer and choreographer. Sira’s love of Near and Middle Eastern dance is rooted in her Armenian heritage. She was first exposed to belly dance at a young age, sparking a lifelong love for the dance. Since then, her professional training has led to an active career belly dancing throughout New York, the tri-state area and internationally for theatrical shows, private parties as well as high-profile events. In addition to regular event performances, she loves taking the art of belly dance to the theater stage. She has worked with Brooklyn Ballet since 2015 performing "Danse Arabe" for the Brooklyn Nutcracker, the Metropolitan Opera, as well as several Off-Broadway productions. Film/TV experience includes Sex and the City 2, The Colbert Report, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and MTV. The New York Times said her work is "not an imitation piece of eastern culture..but a real example of belly dancing.” As the dance genre continues to evolve over time, Sira relishes every opportunity to continue elevating the art of Raqs Sharqi/Belly Dance. She is honored to work with Brooklyn Ballet again for this year’s Brooklyn Nutcracker.

Imani Nzingha, raised in New Haven, CT, has always had a love for the arts but only decided to pursue her dance career in 2009.  Since then she has had opportunities to work with artists such as Abdel Salaam, Matthew Rushing, Nathan Trice, Young Paris, Frederick Earl Mosley, Asé Dance Collective, Ismael Kouyate, Urban Bush Women, Ronald K. Brown, and many more. The Long Island University grad is now a freelance artist and continues to broaden her artistry by working with a wide range of artists in New York City and beyond.

Red Dance Studio (aka Eva Dance Studio) is a new dance troupe established in New York in 2017. Their training and practice is based on classical ballet and mainly focuses on Chinese classical dance and folk dance. Many of their dancers are working professionals and all strive for excellence in performance. This year their dancers include performers who are successful in other professions as well, including a medical doctor (who has been working nonstop on the front lines since the pandemic started), a film producer, an accountant from a healthcare organization, a real estate broker, an IT director, and professionals with doctorates and masters degrees from top universities, including Columbia University. Red Dance Studio (Eva Dance Stuido) has participated in the largest dance festival in the northeast, performed in Chinese New Year galas, in colleges, and at Lincoln Center. They also have performed in New York public libraries and senior centers. Through the pandemic Red Dance Studio (Eva Dance Studio) kept practicing Chinese dance via Zoom, participated in the World TaoLi Dance Competition (online), performed multiple times online for all audiences via YouTube Live, and provided free dance lessons online for all ages worldwide. Their mission is to present Chinese heritage and culture through dance performance.

Ingrid Silva, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, started dancing at 8 years old at Dançando Para Não Dançar, a social project in the Mangueira slum, and later joined the Escola de Dança Maria Olenewa and Centro de Movimento Deborah Colker in Rio de Janeiro on a full scholarship. 

In 2007, while pursuing her degree in Dance at Centro Universitário da Cidade, Silva moved to New York City to attend Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Summer Program and was invited to join Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Professional Training Program and Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble. In 2013, Silva joined Dance Theatre of Harlem and is currently in her tenth season with the company.

As a member of Dance Theatre of Harlem, Silva has danced principal roles choreographed by George Balanchine, Robert Garland, Ulysses Dove, John Alleyne, Annabelle Lopez, Ochoa Balamouk, Nacho Duato, Glen Tetley, Douglas Bride, and Geofrey Holder.

Silva’s notable roles include work by Marius Petipa, Alvin Ailey, Arthur Mitchell, Donald Byrd, John Alleyne, Francesca Harper, Darrel Grand Moultrie, Dianne McIntyre, Robert Garland, David Fernandez, Carol Armitage, Deborah Colker, and Rodrigo Pederneiras.

As a guest artist, Silva has performed with Dançando Para Não Dançar Company (Brazil), Armitage Gone! Dance (USA), and The Francesca Harper Project (USA). 

In 2014, Silva served as a cultural ambassador for the United States in Jamaica, Honduras, and Israel, and performed at the Brazil Foundation Gala at Lincoln Center. In 2017, Silva became the first African Brazilian to be featured on the cover of Pointe Magazine and collaborated with Alicia Keys in Keys’ She Is A King campaign. In 2020, Silva was featured on the cover of the November issue of Vogue Brazil while pregnant with her daughter, Laura. 

Film: Maré, Nossa História de Amor by Lucia Murat and Activia’s Journey To Your Dream (Cannes Silver Lion for Film Craft award)

Commercial: Nike, Facebook, AT&T, Dior Vibe Ambassador, Dove, Activia, Animale Brasil

Print: The New York Times, Vogue, People, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Allure, Huffington Post, Forbes Brazil 20 Successful Women in Brazil in 2020, Essence, BET, ESPN Women, Health Magazine, and Dance Magazine

In addition to performing, Silva has spoken at the United Nations’ Social Good Summit with Padma Lakshmi and Achim Steiner and Harvard University’s Latina Empowerment & Development Conference.

Silva is the Founder of podHER, a podcast creating a safe environment for women to share their history through encouraging and empathetic dialogue, and the Co-Founder of Blacks in Ballet, a platform highlighting Black ballet dancers of diverse backgrounds.

Silva is also the bestselling author of The Pointe Shoes That Changed My World and is currently attending Harvard University’s Crossover Business program.

Ladell “Mr. Ocean” Thomas is a dancer specializing in Popping and waving. He’s learned other dance styles such as dancehall and hip hop. Some of his mentors include Big Mike, Future Ninja and Chris “Shaik” Mathis. Ladell has danced with Iluminate from "America’s Got Talent” and “It’s Showtime NYC.” He has also had the pleasure of performing for Bill T. Jones’ Deep Blue Ocean, PBS’ Barefeet with Mikaela Mallozzi, NY Philharmonics Bandwagon, Lincoln Centers Restart Stages, Lincoln Centers Centrifugal Force with Buddha Stretch, It’s Time For Hip Hop in NYC Concerts.