2023 Season Dancers

Anna Antongiorgi (she/her) is a poet, choreographer, and dancer from Redondo Beach, CA. She earned her BA in English with a certificate in Theatre, Dance, and Media at Harvard University, followed by an MFA in Creative Writing under the poetry emphasis at the New School. She has worked as a guest choreographer with the Wellesley College Dancers, the Harvard Ballet Company and NYU’s Ballet Collaborative. She is the author of the poetry chapbook refinding the rules of gravity (Finishing Line Press, July 2021), which was featured in Dance Magazine’s summer reading list for dancers and included in Flight Path Dance Project’s dance reading curriculum. She wrote and choreographed a choreopoem titled SUNDAY, which was presented via the Emerging Artists Theater’s New Works Series in October 2022 in New York City. She has danced professionally with VISIONS Contemporary Ballet, Gleich Dances, and the Kennedy Dancers. You can find her on Instagram: @annaantongiorgi

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.

Jonalyn Bradshaw is a Brooklyn based artist. She is a Dancer, Teacher and Choreographer. Jonalyn began her training at a young age in Brockton Massachusetts at The Gold School, formerly Sherry Gold Dance Studio. Studying Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary and Modern techniques including Horton and Limon under the Direction of Rennie Gold where her love for dance was sparked. In 2009 Jonalyn attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst under a Chancellor’s Talent award where she performed works by Camille A. Brown, David Dorfman and Pearl Primus' Strange Fruit before graduating with a BFA in Dance. In 2013 she became a member of Dayton Contemporary Dance's second company under the tutelage of Shonna Hickman-Matlock. Jonalyn moved west in 2014 to dance with The Cleo Parker Robinson 2nd company where she performed works among artists such as Edgar Page, Gary Abbott, Theo Jamison and Baba Chuck Davis, as well as leading in the company's annual holiday presentation of Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum (2015). In 2018 Jonalyn performed with Edgar L. Page: Feel the Movement as a founding Company member during their inaugural season. Jonalyn relocated East to New York City in 2019 where she continues to perform, teach and create dance.

New Jersey native Alexis Branagan trained at NJ School of Ballet and spent summers at The Juilliard School, Kaatsbaan, and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. She received her degree in English with a minor in dance from Princeton University, where she also founded Princeton University Ballet. She danced with New York Theatre Ballet from 2012-2022, performing works by Sir Richard Alston, Merce Cunningham, Agnes de Mille, José Límon, Jerome Robbins, Pam Tanowitz, and Antony Tudor. She has also performed with Armitage GONE! Dance, Susan Marshall and Dancers, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, and New Jersey Ballet, and in productions for Carnegie Hall, Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park, opera, and television. Off stage, Alexis works in communications for Princeton University Concerts, coordinates School of American Ballet's Ballet Connoisseurship seminar series, and teaches adult ballet at The School of NY Theatre Ballet. Alexis is thrilled to perform Antony Tudor's Fandango as a guest artist for Brooklyn Ballet's spring 2023 season.

Bret Coppa began his dance/ballet training at the age of 3 in San Pedro, California. He has participated in numerous summer intensives around the U.S. as well as internationally; some include Kirov Academy of Ballet, Ballet West, Miami City Ballet, Alonzo King Lines, Elmhurst School for Dance, and Jacob’s Pillow. He has been a participant of YAGP, Regionals and Finals, the following years 2012-2017 and 2022. As well as participating in the Prix de Lausanne twice, once in 2015 when he was a finalist and again in 2017.

He attended University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he finished high school. During his time there he performed many leading roles including Principal Man in Donizetti Variations, Waltz Boy in Serenade, Solor in La Bayadere, The Poet in Les Sylphides, and numerous roles from The Nutcracker. After graduating from UNCSA he attended Ballet Heritage in St. Petersburg, RU to receive a teaching certification in the Vaganova Method.

Starting his professional career as a member of Atlanta Ballet 2; having roles created on him such as Bruce Well’s Beauty and the Beast where he premiered the role of Gaston, later also performing as the Beast. The following time spent at Atlanta Ballet he danced in works by Ricardo Amarante, Yuri Possokhov, Mark Morris, Alexander Ekman, Johan Kobborg, Claudia Schreier, Lar Lubovitch, Alexander Ekman, Liam Scarlett, and Dwight Rhoden 2021-2022 he left the Atlanta Ballet to return to freelancing, something he had begun at the age of 13. During which time he danced with Terminus Modern Ballet Theater, and various other schools and companies dancing numerous principal and soloist roles.

Yinet Fernández was born in Havana, Cuba where she studied ballet at Alejo Carpentier National School of Ballet, training under and receiving mentorship from Marta Iris Fernandez, Romona de Saa, Caridad Martinez, and many other great teachers. After graduating in 2008, she danced with National Ballet of Cuba for six years, performing both in Cuba and on tour at the Royal Opera House in London, Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In 2015, she immigrated to the United States, performing with Connecticut Ballet in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Summer Dance Caravan for two seasons. In 2017, she joined Dance Theatre of Harlem where she has appeared in such ballets as Le Corsaire Pas de Deux (Petipa), Allegro Brillante (Balanchine), This Bitter Earth (Wheeldon), and Blake Works IV (McGregor).

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.

Valentina Fory Olaya is originally from Colombia, South America, born in Cali and raised in Jamundí Valle del Cauca. She began her ballet training at the age of 9 at Incolballet in Colombia and at the age of 13 she participated in intensive workshops with Frederick Earl Mosley at Incolballet, where she received a scholarship to Earl Mosley's Institute of the Arts (EMIA) Dance Summer Intensive. Valentina has danced with Brooklyn Ballet, Visions Contemporary Ballet, Albano Ballet and Danza Experimental de Bogotá. She has choreographed for Latin Grammy nominated Colombian singer Esteman, whose music video “On Top” has over 2 million views on YouTube. She has worked as a dancer for the British rapper Lancey Foux for the release of his album; for the beer brand, Corona, at their sunset festival in Santa Marta, Colombia; and in commercials for brands such as Huawei, Subway Colombia, and Bon Bon Bum.

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.

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.

Bobby “Anime” Major is a dancer from the Bedford-Stuyvesant/Bushwick section of Brooklyn who uses a mixture of popping and flexing to create a style that reflects various moods of the human condition. His first teacher, Vibez, taught him how to Bone Break. He was then inspired to learn popping from Mike “Big Mike” Fields. Under Mike’s tutelage he learned many fundamental aspects of popping which includes hitting, robotic dime-stopping, joint isolations, strobing, ticking, and stop motion/animation. He’s excited to join the cast of The Brooklyn Nutcracker for another year!

Kieran McBride started her early training at Nunnbetter Dance Theater in Northern New Jersey. She later went on to train at the Royal Danish Ballet School and Gelsey Kirkland’s Academy of Classical Ballet. In 2017 Kieran joined American Repertory Ballet where she was fortunate to work with faculty such as Kathleen Moore, Kirk Peterson and Aydmara Cabrera. Kieran later spent several seasons at Columbia City Ballet dancing a variety of both classical and contemporary. She is currently based in NYC dancing with New York Theatre Ballet.

Aoi Ohno from Kanagawa, Japan. She started dancing when she was 3 years old. She graduated from Tokyo Visual Arts vocational school and joined dance company RAKUDO. She then moved to NYC and trained in modern dance at The Ailey school as a scholarship student. During her time there, she worked with Ray Mercer and Darrel Moultrie. Since graduating from the Ailey School she has worked with Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Arch Ballet, Jon Lehrer Dance Company, Ballet Nepantla and Brooklyn Ballet. She currently teaches ballet at Brooklyn Ballet for their Adult ballet classes and conservatory program for students age 10 and older. Additionally she has worked as a Gyrotonic teacher at BodyEvolution in Manhattan and has choreographic experience for YAGP finalists in 2022.

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.

Akiko Tokuoka is a choreographer, and actress, from Kyoto, Japan, and currently based in New York City. She has more than 15 years of experience as an artist performing vogue, ballet, contemporary dance, kabuki dance, baton twirling, and, her specialty, freestyle dance. Her credits include performances at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, New Era, and commercials. She was hand selected by Madonna for an exclusive dance show on the icon's birthday in 2011, performed for Ciara in "Level Up" at the MNF Genesis Halftime Show in Seattle, and choreographed and performed in Lovari's “Paparazzi” music video, featured on MTV in October 2018.

She fell in love with the voguing and ballroom culture in New York when she saw Willi Ninja at a nightclub in NY in 2005 and worked her way up to becoming an official member of the “Legendary House of Ninja” with the crew name “KiT Ninja” in 2009, three years after Willi passed away. The Legendary House of Ninja is a voguing collective who have worked with artists including Madonna at the 2012 Super Bowl. In 2010, Akiko coordinated their tour through major cities in Japan including her hometown of Kyoto.

This year, Akiko joined members of The House of Ninja in bringing vogue to the 113th NAACP National Convention. She completed a 2-year advanced acting program with Maggie Flanigan Studio which led to her to produce the dance/theater performance “TANABATA 2021” thanks to the support of a New York City Artist Corps Grant in October 2021. Akiko’s performances embody power and beauty. She often breaks the fourth wall to more deeply connect with audience members, interacting with and sometimes bringing them onstage to participate, making each performance unique.