The Story

Born in Lewisberry, PA, USA, Heather began her ballet training at Pennsylvania Regional Ballet and later moved to Toronto to complete her education at Canada’s National Ballet School. Before joining Alberta Ballet in 2013, Heather had the opportunity to work with Cincinnati Ballet and BalletMet. Now in her 11th season, some of her favourite roles have included Lang in Jean Grande-Maitre’s All of Us, and Cinderella in Christopher Anderson’s Cinderella.

Jennifer is from Toronto, ON originally, but has always called Calgary home. She trained at the Alberta Ballet School for 12 years before joining Alberta Ballet in 2009. Now in her fifteenth season with the company, she has had the opportunity to perform many notable roles including Cinderella in Christopher Anderson’s Cinderella, Helen Pickett’s Petal, and the role of Odette and Odile in Christopher Anderson’s Swan Lake.

Mariko is originally from Hiroshima, Japan, and received her ballet training at the International Ballet Academy in Japan and Canada’s National Ballet School. Before joining Alberta Ballet, she had the opportunity to dance in Germany with Leipzig Ballet as well as with Opera Atelier in Toronto. Now in her Seventeeth season with us, Mariko has brought many wonderful roles to life on stage over the years, including Cio-Cio San in Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly, and Giselle in Giselle.

Lang is from Harbin, China, and began his classical ballet training at The School of Liaoning Ballet. He continued his training at both the Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver and the Washington School of Ballet before joining Columbia Classical Ballet Company in Washington, DC. During his eight years with Alberta Ballet, Lang has danced many wonderful roles, including Prince Desire in Christopher Anderson’s The Sleeping Beauty, and Puck in Bruce Wells’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Luna is originally from Kanagawa, Japan, and is starting her 11th season with Alberta Ballet. Luna began her ballet training at local ballet schools in Japan. At the age of 16, she trained at Houston Ballet Academy, then completed her time at Boston Ballet School as a trainee before joining Alberta Ballet in 2013. Some of Luna’s favourite roles include the title role of Giselle, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet and Suzuki in Madame Butterfly.

Originally from Portland, OR Aaron moved to Fredericksburg, VA at a young age where he began his ballet training. He continued on to complete his schooling at Indiana University and later went on to work with Philadelphia Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. He has had the opportunity to perform many roles throughout his career including Basilio in Angel Corella’s Don Quixote, and Tybalt in Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo & Juliet.

Alexandra is originally from Glens Falls, NY, USA. She trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts as well as the School of American Ballet and worked with Philadelphia Ballet as a soloist prior to joining Alberta Ballet. She has performed many notable roles throughout her career including the Principal in George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, William Forsythe’s Artifact Suite, and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy-Free.

Born in Toronto, ON, Alexandra is an alumnus of the Alberta Ballet School and has been a dancer with Alberta Ballet for 15 years. Some of her most memorable roles with the company include Helen Pickett’s Petal, Myrtha in Flavia Vallone’s Giselle, and the Fairy Godmother in Christopher Anderson’s Cinderella, amongst many others.

Caleb received his ballet training from the National College of Dance in his home city Newcastle, Australia. In 2014, he moved to Texas to join Houston Ballet II. In 2015, he joined Houston Ballet where he danced for seven years performing in many of the great classical ballets, his favourites being La Bayadère, Don Quixote and Romeo and Juliet. Caleb has also completed his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Canberra.

Eli is from Santa Fe, NM, USA, and trained and worked at the National Dance Institute of New Mexico, Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle, and Cincinnati Ballet before joining Alberta Ballet in 2012. During his twelve years with Alberta Ballet, some of his most memorable roles include Pink Couple in Jiří Kylián’s Forgotten Land, and Demetrius in Bruce Wells’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Originally from Huntington Beach, California, USA, Melissa trained at the Huntington Academy of Dance and furthered her education at the Alberta Ballet School. She began her professional career as a member of Alberta Ballet II before joining the full company in 2016. Now in her eighth season with Alberta Ballet, her favorite performances include Helen Pickett’s Petal, and Jean Grand-Maitre’s Love Lies Bleeding.

Seira is now in her ninth season with Alberta Ballet. Originally from Fukuoka, Japan, she began her dance training at the Fukuoka City Kawazoe Ballet Academy, later moving on to study at the Alberta Ballet School and the Dutch National Ballet Academy. Since joining us in 2015, Seira has shared many wonderful performances with our audiences, including the Fairy of Virtue in Christopher Anderson’s The Sleeping Beauty, and the Boterosutra couple in Annabel Lopez Ochoa’s Botero.

Hailing from Leesburg, Virginia, USA, Allison trained at both The Loudoun School of Ballet and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, before beginning her professional career as a member of BalletMet’s second company. Now in her sixth season with Alberta Ballet, her performances in Cathy Marston’s Moving, Still and Christopher Anderson’s Giselle stand out as particularly memorable.

Scotto was born in Akron, OH, USA, and trained primarily at the Houston Ballet Academy. After graduating he had the opportunity to dance with Houston Ballet II before joining Alberta Ballet. Some of the ballets he has particularly enjoyed performing since joining the company include Jean Grand-Maître’s The Fiddle and the Drum, and George Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante.

Kira is from Allendale, NJ, and is currently in her sixth season with Alberta Ballet. She received her ballet training at multiple institutions across the United States including the Kozlov Dance Academy and Manhattan Youth Ballet. After completing her schooling, she joined BalletMet 2 for a season before moving to Canada to join Alberta Ballet. Her performances in Helen Pickett’s Petal and as a Fairy in Bruce Wells’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream have been particularly memorable.

Zachary Boresow began his training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, under the renowned Marcia Dale Weary. Following CPYB, he completed his training at the San Francisco Ballet School. Zachary joined Joffrey Ballet as a Studio Company member in 2017 before joining the Kansas City Ballet in 2019. Some accredited roles Zachary has been featured in include the pas de trois in George Balanchine’s Emeralds and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Tulips and Lobster.

Kurt hails from London, ON, and received his ballet training at Ballet Academy East in New York City before accepting a contract to join Alberta Ballet as an apprentice dancer in 2019. Since joining the company, he has enjoyed performing Waltz of the Flowers and Russian in Edmund Stripe’s The Nutcracker, as well as dancing in Jean Grand-Maître’s Frankenstein.

Mya hails from Vancouver, BC and received her dance training from the Vancouver Junior Professional Division, the Harid Conservatory in Florida, and Master Ballet Academy in Arizona. Before joining Alberta Ballet, she danced with Atlanta Ballet II. Her favourite performances thus far with Alberta Ballet have included Klara in Edmund Stripe’s The Nutcracker and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Botero.

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Michael began his training at Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School. He went on to train overseas in Switzerland and the Netherlands. Michael joined the Alberta Ballet in 2022, as a supplemental dancer for Cinderella. His most memorable performance so far was Away We Go.

Originally from Perth, Australia, Matthew began his ballet training with Samantha Leeman and Annette Roselli Dance Academy. In 2020 he graduated from the Australian Ballet School, then went on to join Queensland Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program. Matthew first joined Alberta Ballet in the Spring of 2023 as a Supplementary Artist. During his career, he has had several standout roles including Bluebird in Greg Horsman's Sleeping Beauty Act III and White Bird in BOTERO.

Alyssa is joining us for her third season with the company as a Corps de Ballet member. Originally from Kitchener Waterloo, ON, Alyssa moved to Calgary to complete her training at Alberta Ballet School’s Post Graduate Program. During her schooling, she enjoyed performing the ‘Cupid' variation in Don Quixote, and the role of ‘Young Elizabeth’ in Jean Grand-Maître’s Frankenstein.

Originally from Ukraine, Yaroslav moved to Calgary at age 11. He received all of his ballet training at the Alberta Ballet School, and after working alongside the company in multiple productions as a student, officially joined Alberta Ballet in 2020. Having the opportunity to dance Gopakvariation as well as perform as ‘Colas’ in La Fille Mal Gardée in his final years at the School were particularly memorable roles.

Rhys is originally from Houston, Texas, and trained at Vitacca Dance Project before joining the Boston Ballet in 2017 for three seasons. He then joined BalletMet and Ballet Austin. Rhys has trained at some of the most prestigious ballet schools including Finnish National Ballet School, The Royal Ballet School, European School of Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and many more.

Originally from Mexico City, Emmanuel began his training at the Escuela Nacional de Danza Clásica y Contemporánea in Mexico. He then completed his training at the English National Ballet School in England. Before joining Alberta Ballet for the 2023/24 season, he danced with Atlanta Ballet’s Second Company. Some of the roles he has found particularly memorable include Pas de Paysant in Giselle, Lez Rondevouz and Raymonda pas de quatre.

Leona is originally from Tokyo, Japan where he first started his dance training with Beppu Hikoe at La Prima in Tokyo when he was three years old. He later trained at Ballet du Ciel under Kanako Sakamoto before moving to New York City to study at Ellison Ballet, coached by Edward Ellison and Bat Udval. After graduating in 2022, Leona joined Boston Ballet’s Post Graduate Program and was coached by Joan Boada and Kathleen Mitchell. Leona’s most memorable role is Creature in Boston Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty.

Victoria was born in Calgary, AB, where she began her ballet training. To further her training, she joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Victoria then completed her training at Alberta Ballet School’s Post-Graduate Program. Victoria’s most memorable roles so far have been John Darling in Jorden Morris' production of Peter Pan with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company and a Wili in Christopher Anderson’s Giselle in Alberta Ballet’s 2022/23 Season.

Chizuru first began training in her hometown Aichi, Japan. She then continued her training at the European School of Ballet and Joffrey Ballet School. Before joining Alberta Ballet as an Apprentice, Chizuru trained at Alberta Ballet School for two years in the Post-Graduate Program. One of her more memorable performances was the Cupid Variation in Don Quixote at Alberta Ballet School’s Year End Performance.

Rikuto is originally from Japan, where he first began his training at Ballet Studios DUO. He then continued his training with The Australian Ballet School and The European School of Ballet before joining Alberta Ballet as an apprentice. One of Rikuto’s most memorable productions was Napoli, which he performed in Japan.

Hotaru is originally from Japan. She began her training in Tokyo and Okinawa before studying at Staatlich Ballettschule Berlin. After graduation, Hotaru joined Alberta Ballet School’s Post-Graduate program where she danced for two years before graduating in Spring 2023. Her most memorable role so far was dancing a Kitri Variation from Don Quixote performed at Alberta Ballet School’s Year End Performance.

Born and raised in Calgary, AB, Isabel received her initial ballet training from the Edge School. She then furthered her training at Elmhurst Ballet School in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet. Her most memorable productions include Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, George Balanchine’s Who Cares? and Studio Wayne McGregor’s Atomos.