WHO'S WHO IN SARASOTA BALLET? Directors IAIN WEBB (Director) danced for 18 years with both the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet and The Royal Ballet. His leading roles included Ashton’s The Dream, The Two Pigeons, La Fille mal gardée, Cinderella; Bintley’s The Snow Queen; Fokine’s Les Sylphides, Petrushka; Balanchine’s Prodigal Son. Retiring from the stage in 1996, Webb took on the role of Rehearsal Director for Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and Cinderella, and later Assistant Director for Tetsuya Kumakawa’s K-Ballet. In 2007, Webb became Director of The Sarasota Ballet, introducing over 180 ballets into the Company’s repertoire, and following their 2014 Sir Frederick Ashton Festival, garnered national and international acclaim. MARGARET BARBIERI (Assistant Director) danced for 25 years with The Royal Ballet companies, performing most of the leading roles in the classical repertoire. She worked closely with Ashton, Cranko, de Valois, MacMillan, Hynd, Massine, Tudor, van Manen, and Wright. After retiring, she became Director of the Classical Graduate Program at London Studio Centre. In 2012, Barbieri joined The Sarasota Ballet as Assistant Director. Her stagings include Ashton’s The Two Pigeons, Façade, Birthday Offering, Les Patineurs, Les Rendezvous, La Fille mal gardée, and Jazz Calendar; de Valois’ The Rake’s Progress, Checkmate; Cranko’s Pineapple Poll; Wheeldon’s There Where She Loved, The American; Fokine’s Les Sylphides, Petrushka; and Wright’s Giselle, Summertide. JOSEPH VOLPE (Executive Director), spent 42 years working at The Metropolitan Opera rising from apprentice carpenter to General Manager. He conceived ‘Met Titles’, the multilingual operatic translations onto the backs of theatre seats and initiated the development of Tessitura—a customer relation management software, which is now licensed to more than 200 companies worldwide. Volpe is the author of The Toughest Show on Earth, My Rise and Reign at The Metropolitan Opera, consulted for Ron Howard’s 2019 documentary Pavarotti, and has lectured at numerous universities including Oxford. In 2016, he became Executive Director of The Sarasota Ballet.
Dancers
KAITLYN CASEY (Principal) was born in Staten Island, NY and trained at the School of American Ballet before joining Semperoper Ballet in 2015 and Boston Ballet in 2023. Casey joined The Sarasota Ballet for the start of the 2026 – 2027 Season as a Principal. Her leading roles in previous companies include Ashton’s Cinderella, The Dream; Balanchine’s Apollo, Symphony in C; David Dawson’s Giselle, Romeo and Juliet; Forsythe’s Herman Schmerman, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude; Macmillan’s Manon; Nissinen’s The Nutcracker; Nureyev’s Don Quixote; Peck’s Everywhere We Go, Heatscape.
MARIJANA DOMINIS (Principal) was born in Zagreb, Croatia and trained at Munich Ballet Academy before joining the Finnish National Ballet. Dominis joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2019 and was promoted to Soloist in 2021 and then to Principal in 2022. Her leading roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Dante Sonata, Jazz Calendar; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Mozartiana, Serenade; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Kobborg’s La Sylphide; Lang’s Lyric Pieces, Shades of Spring; MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations, Las Hermanas; Robbins’ In The Night; Tudor’s Lilac Garden. RICARDO GRAZIANO (Principal) was born in Brazil and trained with Akademie des Tanzes and Marcela Campos Escola de Bailados before joining the Tulsa Ballet. Graziano joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2010 as a Soloist and was then promoted to Principal in 2011. His leading roles include Ashton’s Enigma Variations, La Fille mal gardée, Illuminations, Marguerite and Armand, Romeo and Juliet; Bintley’s A Comedy of Errors, ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Darrell’s Othello; de Valois’ The Rake’s Progress; MacMillan’s Las Hermanas; Robbins’ In The Night; Taylor’s Brandenburgs, Wright’s Giselle. ANDRII ISHCHUK (Principal) was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine and trained at Ellison Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre. Ishchuk joined The Sarasota Ballet for the start of the 2026 – 2027 Season as a Principal. His leading roles in previous companies include Cranko’s Onegin; Kylián’s Petite Mort; MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet; McKenzie’s Swan Lake; Ratmansky’s Bernstein in a Bubble, Of Love and Rage, Serenade after Plato's Symposium, Songs of Bukovina, The Nutcracker; Tharp’s Deuce Coupe. RICARDO RHODES (Principal) was born in Boston, MA and trained at Boston Ballet before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2007. In 2010, he was promoted to Soloist and then to Principal in 2012. His leading roles include Ashton’s The Dream, La Fille mal gardée, Jazz Calendar, Monotones II, Les Rendezvous, Romeo and Juliet, Sinfonietta, Symphonic Variations, Scènes de ballet, The Two Pigeons; Balanchine’s Apollo, Bugaku, Jewels, Serenade; de Valois’ Checkmate; Liang’s The Art of War; Nijinsky’s L’Après-midi d’un Faune; Nureyev’s Raymonda Act III; Page’s Scorched Sky; Robbins’ In The Night; Wright’s Giselle, Summertide. SIERRA ABELARDO (Junior Principal) was born in San Ramon, CA and trained at Ellison Ballet before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2022. In 2024 she was promoted to First Soloist and then to Junior Principal in 2025. Her leading roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Les Patineurs, Sinfonietta, A Wedding Bouquet; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Rubies, Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s The Spider’s Feast; Bond’s Excursions; de Valois’ Checkmate; Lang’s Lyric Pieces, A Time of Beauty; MacMillan’s Danses Concertantes, Las Hermanas; Page’s Scorched Sky; Tharp’s In The Upper Room.
SAMUEL GEST (First Soloist) was born in Kazakhstan and trained at The Royal Ballet School before joining the National Theatre of Belgrade. Gest joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2021 and was promoted to Soloist in 2025 and then to First Soloist in 2026. His leading roles include Ashton’s Romeo and Juliet, Sinfonietta; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Mozartiana; Kobborg’s La Sylphide; Lang’s Shades of Spring; MacMillan’s Danses Concertantes; Morris’ The Letter V; Tudor’s Lilac Garden; Wright’s Giselle, Summertide. SUMIKA FUJIWARA (First Soloist) was born in Aichi, Japan and trained at The Royal Ballet School before joining Tulsa Ballet. Fujiwara joined The Sarasota Ballet for the start of the 2026 – 2027 Season as a First Soloist. Her leading roles in previous companies include Cong’s Flight of Fancy; Deane’s Strictly Gershwin; Ekman’s Cacti; Lopez Ochoa’s Vendetta: A Mafia Story; Prossokov’s Classical Symphony; Stevenson’s Dracula. GUS PAYNE (First Soloist) was born in England and trained at The Royal Ballet School before joining the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2017 and later joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2025. His leading roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Jazz Calendar, Valse nobles et sentimentales; Balanchine’s Mozartiana, Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Bond’s The Waiting Room; Page’s Scorched Sky; Tuckett’s Changing Light; Wright’s Summertide. ZE ELLIS (Coryphée) was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia and trained with The Sarasota Ballet’s Margaret Barbieri Conservatory and Studio Company. Ellis joined The Sarasota Ballet Company in 2022 and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2023, and then to Coryphée in 2025. His featured roles include Ashton’s Les Patineurs, Sinfonietta; Balanchine’s Rubies, Who Cares?; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Bond’s Panoramic Score, The Waiting Room; Kobborg’s Salute; Page’s Scorched Sky; Taylor’s Company B. KENNEDY FALYN CASSADA (Coryphée) was born in Jacksonville, FL and trained with The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company. Cassada joined The Sarasota Ballet Company in 2020 and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2022 and then to Coryphée in 2024. Her featured roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, La Chatte, Les Patineurs; Balanchine's Emeralds; Lang's Lyric Pieces; MacMillan’s Las Hermanas; Taylor’s Brandenburgs; Tharp's In the Upper Room; Wheeldon’s The American. WILLA FRANTZ (Coryphée) was born in Montgomery, AL and trained with The Sarasota Ballet’s Margaret Barbieri Conservatory and Studio Company. Frantz joined The Sarasota Ballet Company in 2022 as Corps de Ballet and was promoted to Coryphée in 2023. Her featured roles include Ashton’s Dante Sonata, Les Patineurs, A Wedding Bouquet; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Rubies, Serenade; Bond’s The Beginning, Excursions; Robbins’ In The Night; Taylor’s Company B, Brandenburgs; Tudor’s Lilac Garden; Wheeldon’s The American; Wright’s Giselle.
DOMINIQUE JENKINS (Coryphée) was born in La Jolla, CA and trained with The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company. Jenkins joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2019 and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2020 and then to Coryphée in 2022. Her featured roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Les Patineurs; Balanchine’s Western Symphony; Bintley’s A Comedy of Errors; Lang’s A Time of Beauty, Lyric Pieces; MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations; Morris’s The Letter V; Taylor’s Brandenburgs, Company B; Tharp’s In The Upper Room. IKU OKURA (Coryphée) was born in Tokyo, Japan and trained at Hungarian Dance University before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2025 as a Coryphée. Her featured roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Jazz Calendar, Valses nobles et sentimentales; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Fokine’s Les Sylphides; Morris’ The Letter V; Page’s Scorched Sky; Tuckett’s Changing Light; Tudor’s Lilac Garden; Wright’s Summertide. PAIGE YOUNG (Coryphée) was born in West Chester, PA and trained at The School of Philadelphia Ballet before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2018. Young was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2019 and to Coryphée in 2023. Her featured roles include Ashton’s Apparitions, Birthday Offering, Façade, Rhapsody; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Serenade, The Four Temperaments; Bintley’s 'Still Life' at the Penguin Café, The Spider’s Feast; Graham’s Appalachian Spring; Liang’s The Art of War; Wright’s Giselle. JONAH GLICKMAN (Corps de Ballet) was born in Manchester and trained at English National Ballet before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2024. His roles include Ashton’s Romeo and Juliet, Valses nobles et sentimentales, A Wedding Bouquet; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Graziano’s Valsinhas; Kobborg’s Napoli Act III; Lang’s A Time of Beauty, The Lorenz Butterfly; Morris’ The Letter V; Page’s Scorched Sky; Wright’s Giselle, Summertide. ANDREA MARCELLETTI (Corps de Ballet) was born in Italy and trained at English National Ballet School before joining English National Ballet. Marcelletti joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2019 as an Apprentice and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2022. His roles include Ashton’s Les Rendezvous, Varii Capricci; Bintley’s A Comedy of Errors, Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Bond’s The Waiting Room; Lang’s A Time of Beauty; Taylor’s Company B; de Valois’ The Rake’s Progress; Wright’s Giselle, Summertide.
JORDAN MICALLEF (Corps de Ballet) was born in Australia and trained at the English National Ballet School before joining the National Ballet of Canada, and later joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2023. His roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Sinfonietta, Varii Capricci; Balanchine’s Rubies; Bond’s The Waiting Room; Graziano’s Sonatina; Kobborg’s Napoli Act III; Lang’s Lyric Pieces, A Time of Beauty; Paroni’s Rococo Variations; Taylor’s Brandenburgs; Tuckett’s Changing Light. NATHAN SMITH (Corps de Ballet) was born in Buffalo, NY and trained with the American Academy of Ballet and Miami City Ballet School before joining the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and later The Sarasota Ballet in 2025. His roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Jazz Calendar; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; de Valois’ Checkmate; Lang’s The Lorenz Butterfly; Morris’ The Letter V; Page’s Scorched Sky; Tuckett’s Changing Light; Tudor’s Lilac Garden; Wright’s Summertide. PASHA LEVY (Corps de Ballet) was born in Queens, NY and trained at Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program and Eva Janiszewski Ballet, before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2025. Her roles include Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Jazz Calendar, Valses nobles et sentimentales; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Bond’s The Waiting Room; Fokine’s Les Sylphides; Morris’ The Letter V; Page’s Scorched Sky; Tuckett’s Changing Light; Wright’s Summertide. ALESSANDRA NOVA (Corps de Ballet) was born in Italy and trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet before joining The Sarasota Ballet as an Apprentice in 2022 and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2023. Her roles include Ashton’s Les Patineurs; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Emeralds, The Four Temperaments, Rubies, Serenade; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Bond’s Excursions, The Beginning; Morris’ The Letter V; Page’s Scorched Sky. ELLA LAU (Corps de Ballet) was born in Tulsa, OK and trained with The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2024 as an Apprentice and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in 2025. Her roles include Ashton’s A Wedding Bouquet, Birthday Offering, Jazz Calendar; Balanchine's Emeralds, Rubies, Who Cares?; Bintley’s The Spider’s Feast; Bond’s The Beginning, The Waiting Room; Wright’s Giselle. BROOKE WILSON (Corps de Ballet) was born in Dover, NH and trained at the Miami City Ballet School before joining the Boston Ballet, and later joined The Sarasota Ballet in 2024. Her roles include Ashton’s Les Patineurs, A Wedding Bouquet; Balanchine’s Mozartiana, Serenade; Bintley’s The Spider’s Feast; Bond’s The Beginning; de Valois’ Checkmate; Fokine’s Les Sylphides; Page’s Scorched Sky; Paroni’s Rococo Variations; Tudor’s Lilac Garden; Wright’s Summertide.
SIMON PLANTE (Apprentice) was born in Champaign, IL and trained at Ballet West Academy and Berrend Dance Centre before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2024. His roles include: Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Jazz Calendar; Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; Bond’s The Waiting Room; de Valois’ Checkmate; Tuckett’s Changing Light; Tudor’s Lilac Garden; Wright’s Summertide. ELLA TUITE (Apprentice) was born in West Pointe, NY and trained at Ballet Nova and The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company before joining The Sarasota Ballet in 2025. Her roles include: Ashton’s Jazz Calendar; Balanchine’s Divertimento No.15, Mozartiana, Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; de Valois’ Checkmate; Fokine’s Les Sylphides; Tudor’s Lilac Garden; Wright’s Summertide. TREVIN RALPHS (Apprentice) was born in Plano, TX and trained at The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company before joining The Sarasota Ballet Company in 2025. His roles include: Ashton’s Birthday Offering, Jazz Calendar; Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes; Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café; de Valois’ Checkmate; Tuckett’s Changing Light; Tudor’s Lilac Garden; Wright’s Summertide. MCKIBBEN NEEDHAM (Apprentice) was born in Krasnoyarsk, Russia and trained at The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company before joining The Sarasota Ballet Company in 2026. His roles include: Ashton’s Birthday Offering; Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes; de Valois’ Checkmate; Tudor’s Lilac Garden.