Philadelphia Ballet Has Announced A Larger Company With New Dancers For Next Season

Philadelphia Ballet has announced the expansion of the company with the addition of 12 dancers, including five newcomers and seven former Philadelphia Ballet II (PBII) dancers. The company has also announced three new PBII dancers as well as several dancer promotions looking ahead to the upcoming 2022/2023 performance season.

"As we prepare for our next season here in Philadelphia, I am thrilled to add these new and extremely talented dancers to our world-class company roster," said Angel Corella, The Ruth & A. Morris Williams, Jr. Artistic Director. "It is also a joy to recognize a number of our current outstanding dancers with new promotions. I look forward to continuing our work together, and I know there is no limit to what they can accomplish on our stages."

Javier Rivet, Anna Serratosa and Scarlett Güémez, who are new to Philadelphia Ballet, and Mayfield Myers, from PBII, have been named members of Philadelphia Ballet's Corps de Ballet for the 2022/2023 season. Gabriele Lukasik and Giovanna Assis, who are new to Philadelphia Ballet, and Charlie Clinton, Yuval Cohen, Isabella DiEmedio, Ashley Lewis, Vinícius Ferreira Freire and Juan Montobbio Maestre, from PBII, have been appointed as Apprentices with the Company.

In conjunction with the new dancer appointments, Philadelphia Ballet also announced the promotions of nine company dancers. Austin Eyler, Alexandra Heier and Pau Pujol have been promoted to the rank of Soloist; Isaac Hollis, Gabriela Mesa and Nick Patterson have been promoted to Demi Soloist; and Cory Ogdahl, Paloma Berjano Torrado and Emily Wilson have been promoted from Apprentice to Corps de Ballet.

Philadelphia Ballet II will welcome Roman Aldrete, Jose Pechene Hernandez and Jorge Garcia Alonso for the upcoming season.

About the new additions to the Company of Philadelphia Ballet

Giovanna Assis began her training in a small ballet academy in the city of Petrolina, Brazil. When she was 8 years old her teacher introduced the Royal Academy of Dance methodology to her school and she studied this methodology for 2 years. In 2011, she participated in the Ballace (Festival/Dance Competition) and was nominated for other competitions such as the "Passos de Arte" in Indaiatuba and the National YAGP selective in Santos. In 2015 she joined the Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil and graduated in 2019. Her first experience as a professional dancer was at Youth Company Bolshoi Brazil from 2020-2021.

Charlie Clinton started his ballet training at the age of 14 at South Shore Ballet Theater in Hanover, MA. At the age of 15, he was awarded 3rd place in the Senior Men's Division at the 2016 YAGP regionals in Boston and invited to the NYC finals. Later that year, he accepted a full scholarship to train with Edward Ellison at the Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program, where he graduated in 2019. During the fall of 2020, he trained at The Rock School for Dance Education in preparation for his first season with PBII, which he joined for the 2020/2021 season. He has attended summer intensives at Ellison Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and San Francisco Ballet on full scholarships in addition to attending the Boys Ballet Summer Intensive in Cary, NC. Charlie appeared as a guest artist with Greenwich Ballet Academy in 2017 and 2018, and with Fadeyev Ballet Academy in 2018.

Yuval Cohen joined PBII for the 2021/2022 season. He began dancing at age six, when he joined the Mehola Dance Company, specializing in folk and modern dance. Between 2013 and 2018, Yuval studied ballet, under Ms. Nadya Timofeyeva. After winning an excellence scholarship in 2017 from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, he joined the Jerusalem Ballet School under the artistic direction of Mrs. Nadya Timofeyeva. In 2018, Yuval won first place in Russia's famous "The Nutcracker" competition. That year, he accepted a position at The Vaganova Ballet Academy, Saint Petersburg, Russia. During his time there, Yuval danced roles including Blue Bird Variation in Sleeping Beauty and the Prince in The Nutcracker. After graduating from the academy in 2021, Yuval joined The Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia.

Isabella DiEmedio began her ballet training at School of Philadelphia Ballet when she was seven years old, eventually joining the trainee program under full scholarship. As a trainee, Isabella performed with the company in ballets including Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker®, Angel Corella's Giselle, Don Quixote, and La Bayadère. Isabella attended summer programs such as American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and School of Philadelphia Ballet, as well as its Company Experience program. Isabella joined PBII for the 2020/2021.

Vinícius Ferreira Freire is a classic and contemporary ballet dancer, beginning his dance career at age twelve, before joining the Fernanda D'angelo Ballet in Recife the following year. In 2014, Vinícius was awarded a full scholarship to the Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil, placed into the 3rd year of an 8 year program. His performances include Gypsy Dance from Don Quixote (2017), The Talisman Male Variation (2018), Pas de Deux in Blue Bird (2019), Pas de Deux in Flames of Paris (2019) and The Rat King in The Nutcracker (2019). Vinícius participated in pre-selection of the Prix de Lausanne in Goiânia (Brazil) in 2018. He was hired by the Junior Company at the Bolshoi Theater School in 2021, performing in virtual shows including Pas d'Esclave from Le Corsaire, Pas de Deux in Diana y Acteón, and choreographies from Swan Lake. Vinícius joined PB II for the 2021/2022 season.

Scarlett Güémez began training at the Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza de Monterrey in 2005, continuing there until 2012. During this time she attended Summer Intensives at American Ballet Theatre and Miami City Ballet. She then trained at the Escuela Nacional de Artes in Havana, Cuba from 2012-2014. Scarlett joined the Compania Nacional de Danza de Mexico in 2014 and was promoted to the rank of Coryphee in 2020.

Ashley Lewis trained at Lowe Dance Studio in Voorhees, New Jersey, spanning various genres until age fifteen when she joined School of Philadelphia Ballet. She has attended summer intensives at the School of Philadelphia Ballet and at the Kirov Academy. Among her many accolades, Ashley is the recipient of the Ballet in the City African American Scholarship, and she has performed in the 2019 Ashley Boulder Project with Ballet in the City. Ashley joined PBII for the 2021/2022 season.

Gabriele Lukasik joins Philadelphia Ballet after dancing with Boulder Ballet. Lukasik began her dance training at Avant-Garde School of Ballet before moving to Classic Dance Academy. Lukasik has been recognized with awards such as the Youth America Grand Prix award at the Salt Lake City regionals, the bronze medal at the World Ballet Competition Finals, and first place and the Outstanding Young Artist award at the Denver Ballet Guild. She has attended numerous summer intensive programs, including American Ballet Theatre, HARID Conservatory, San Francisco Ballet School and Royal Ballet School, and has performed as a guest artist with Denver Ballet Theatre, Summit Dance Academy, and Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre.

Juan Montobbio Maestre began his ballet training at a local school in Barcelona before attending the Corella Academy from 2014-2021 under the direction of Carmen Corella, a former dancer at Philadelphia Ballet, and Dayron Vera. In 2018, Juan received a scholarship for the Summer Intensive at the Vagánova Ballet Academy and in 2019 received a scholarship for the Summer Intensive at the Dutch National Ballet Academy. Juan joined PBII for the 2021/2022 season.

Mayfield Myers began her dance training at age nine in East Hampton, New York with Sara Jo Strickland. At age ten, she was invited on scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet where she studied for four years. Mayfield has also studied at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Miami City Ballet School. She attended summer programs at the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Miami City Ballet School, and Ellison Ballet. In February 2021, Mayfield competed in the Prix de Lausanne, where she danced the Gamzatti variation from La Bayadère and a variation from Le Sacre du Printemps. Additionally, she was a finalist in the Youth America Grand Prix's International Virtual Finals 2021. Mayfield joined PBII for the 2021/2022 season.

Javier Rivet joins Philadelphia Ballet from American Ballet Theatre Studio Company where he danced with the company since 2016, first as an apprentice and then as a member of the corps de ballet. Rivet began his ballet training at La Escuela de Ballet Miriam Sicilia at the age of six. In 2010, he was accepted into the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Mariemma in Madrid, receiving the "Extraordinary End of Career" prize upon his graduation in 2016. In addition, he attended summer programs at English National Ballet, Victor Ullate School, Curso de Danza Menorca and IBStage. During his training, Rivet danced soloist and principal roles in Paquita, La Bayadère, Don Quixote, La fille Mal Gardée and Raymonda. In 2016, he won first place in the Castellón Dance Competition.

Anna Serratosa, born in Barcelona, developed all of her training in Corella Barcelona, ​​under the direction of Carmen Corella and Dayron Vera. During her training, she studied classical repertoire and participated in short terms with the Royal Ballet School of London and The National Ballet School of Cuba. In 2021, Serratosa won second prize at the Youth American Grand Prix Barcelona, ​​where she received numerous scholarships. A few months later, she was awarded first prize at Certamen Internacional de danza clásica y contemporánea (CIDCCA).

Philadelphia Ballet's 2022/2023 season opens in October and runs through May. This season's lineup includes Cinderella, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker®, New Works, The Sleeping Beauty, a trio of works by George Balanchine, and Coppélia.

For more information about incoming and current dancers at Philadelphia Ballet and Philadelphia Ballet's 2022/2023 season, please visit philadelphiaballet.org.

About Philadelphia Ballet
Founded in 1963 by Barbara Weisberger, a protégé of George Balanchine, Philadelphia Ballet is one of the nation's premier ballet companies and a true cultural treasure of Philadelphia. Furthering a nearly sixty-year artistic lineage in Philadelphia, The Ruth & A. Morris Williams, Jr. Artistic Director Angel Corella leads an ensemble of 45 dancers from around the world and an ever-evolving repertoire of classic and contemporary works. The Dr. Carolyn Newsom Executive Director Shelly Power spearheads development and strategic plans to strengthen and expand the company's presence and impact locally, nationally, and internationally. Recognized as one of the top ten ballet companies in the United States, Philadelphia Ballet's 30-member Board of Trustees is led by local business leader and philanthropist David F. Hoffman. In addition to its performances on the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus, Philadelphia Ballet serves more than 30,000 individuals across the region every year with hands-on arts education and engagement activities brought to children and adults alike regardless of ability or socioeconomic background. The School of Philadelphia Ballet offers the highest caliber dance education of any program in the Greater Philadelphia area. For more, visit philadelphiaballet.org or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Philadelphia Ballet is supported in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community & Economic Development and receives support from The Philadelphia Cultural Fund and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.