Dancers

CHRISTINA JOHNSON (REHEARSAL DIRECTOR) JOINED ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE AS REHEARSAL DIRECTOR IN 2010. BORN IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA, CHRISTINA BEGAN HER DANCE EDUCATION AT THE AGE OF SEVEN. SHE TRAINED AT THE BOSTON SCHOOL OF BALLET, THE SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BALLET AND THE DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM. SHE BEGAN HER CAREER AT THE BOSTON BALLET BEFORE JOINING THE DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM, WHERE SHE ROSE TO BECOME A PRINCIPAL DANCER DURING HER THIRTEEN-YEAR TENURE. SHE DANCED LEADING ROLES IN MUCH OF THE COMPANY'S REPERTOIRE, INCLUDING SWAN LAKE, GISELLE, FIREBIRD, PRODIGAL SON, AND THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS. CHRISTINA HAS WORKED WITH DISTINGUISHED CHOREOGRAPHERS AND COACHES, AMONG THEM, JEROME ROBBINS, FREDERIC FRANKLIN, SUZANNE FARRELL, AND SIR ANTHONY DOWELL. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE SWISS COMPANIES, LE BALLET DU GRAND THÉÂTRE DE GENÈVE AND BALLET BASEL, WHERE HER REPERTOIRE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE WORKS BY WILLIAM FORSYTH, JIRI KYLIAN, JAMES KUDELKA, OHAD NAHARIN, JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAILLOT, TWYLA THARP, AMANDA MILLER AND DAVID PARSONS, TO NAME A FEW. CHRISTINA HAS BEEN A FEATURED GUEST ARTIST WITH VARIOUS COMPANIES WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING THE RENOWNED ROYAL BALLET OF LONDON. SHE IS ALSO A FOUNDING MEMBER OF COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET AND MADE HER BROADWAY DEBUT IN THE RED SHOES.

AFTER HER PERFORMANCE CAREER, CHRISTINA HAS BEEN SOUGHT AFTER AS A TEACHER, COACH AND BALLET MASTER, AND HAS WORKED WITH COMPANIES SUCH AS THE WASHINGTON BALLET, PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATER, JOFFERY BALLET, ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER, DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM, COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET, NORTH CAROLINA DANCE THEATER, CEDAR LAKE CONTEMPORARY BALLET, GOTESBORG BALLET, BALLET BASEL, LES BALLETS TROCKADERO DE MONTE CARLO. FROM 2005 TO 2006, CHRISTINA HELD THE POSITION OF REHEARSAL DIRECTOR FOR CEDAR LAKE CONTEMPORARY BALLET. IN ADDITION TO HER POSITION AS REHEARSAL DIRECTOR WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE, SHE IS CURRENTLY ON THE GUEST FACULTY AT THE PRINCETON DANCE AND THEATER STUDIO, AND AT GREENWICH BALLET ACADEMY.

SARA BEERY WAS BORN IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AND BEGAN HER DANCE TRAINING AT SPECTRUM DANCE THEATRE AND LATER AT THE CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS PREPARATORY DANCE PROGRAM. AFTER SHE GRADUATED EARLY FROM HIGH SCHOOL SARA MOVED TO ATLANTA, GEORGIA, WHERE SHE RECEIVED A FULL SCHOLARSHIP TO THE ATLANTA BALLET CENTRE FOR DANCE EDUCATION. SHE DANCED WITH THE SCHOOL FOR A YEAR AND WAS THEN OFFERED A FELLOWSHIP WITH THE ATLANTA BALLET UNDER THE DIRECTION OF JOHN MCFALL. DURING HER TWO YEARS WITH THE COMPANY SHE PERFORMED WORKS BY LAURI STALLINGS, VICTOR QUIHADA, JAMES KUDELKE, GEORGE BALANCHINE, MARK GODDEN, AND MICHAEL PINK, AMONG OTHERS. SHE HAS SPENT SUMMERS STUDYING AT THE ALONZO KING LINES BALLET AND THE JACOBS PILLOW SUMMER DANCE PROGRAM, WHERE SHE PERFORMED A WORLD PREMIER BY KAROLE ARMITAGE. THIS IS SARA'S SECOND SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE.

MEGUMI EDA, BORN IN NAGANO, JAPAN, HAD HER PROFESSIONAL DEBUT WITH THE MATSUYAMA BALLET COMPANY IN TOKYO WHERE SHE APPEARED IN MANY OF THE BALLET CLASSICS IN REPERTOIRE. IN 1992 SHE WAS INVITED TO JOIN THE HAMBURG BALLET SCHOOL, AND SOON AFTER SHE JOINED THE COMPANY, SHE WORKED WITH MATS EK AND CHOREOGRAPHER/DIRECTOR JOHN NEUMEIER. IN 1997, MS. EDA JOINED THE DUTCH NATIONAL BALLET WHERE SHE WORKED WITH TWYLA THARP, HANS VAN MANEN, RUDI VAN DANTZIG, WILLIAM FORSYTHE AND REDHA. IN 2001, MS. EDA MOVED TO LONDON TO DANCE WITH THE RAMBERT DANCE COMPANY. THERE SHE WORKED WITH CHRISTOPHER BRUCE, JIRI KYLIAN, LINDSEY KEMP AND ALSO STARTED EXPLORING HER OWN CHOREOGRAPHY, CREATING TWO PIECES FOR THE RAMBERT COMPANY. IN 2002, MS. EDA WAS AWARDED "BEST NEW ARTIST" BY JAPANESE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER, SHINANO MAINICHI SHIMBUN. SHE NOW LIVES IN NEW YORK CITY, WHERE SHE WON A BESSIE AWARD IN 2004 FOR HER PERFORMANCE IN ARMITAGE'S PIECE TIME IS THE ECHO OF AN AXE WITHIN THE WOOD. SHE RECENTLY WORKED WITH YASUKO YOKOSHI AND FILM DIRECTOR ABE ABRAHAM. THIS IS MEGUMI'S NINTH SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE. Meet Megumi!

SEAN HILTON HAS RECENTLY LEFT RIVER NORTH CHICAGO DANCE COMPANY AFTER THREE SEASONS. WHILE WITH THE COMPANY HE PERFORMED WORKS BY LAURI STALLINGS, KEVIN IAEGA JEFF, HARRISON MACELDOWNEY AND LYNNE TAYLOR-CORBETT, AMONG OTHERS. PRIOR TO RIVER NORTH HE DANCED WITH THE BAY AREA HOUSTON BALLET UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GEORGE DE LA PENA, AND THE COLUMBIA CLASSICAL BALLET UNDER THE DIRECTION OF RADENKO PAVLOVICH. IN ADDITION TO HIS COMPANY WORK SEAN TEACHES AND CHOREOGRAPHS EXTENSIVELY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND HAS BEEN ON FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, THE NORTHWEST FLORIDA BALLET, BALLET TENNESSEE, THODOS DANCE CHICAGO, RIVER NORTH CHICAGO DANCE COMPANY AND THE LOU CONTE DANCE SCHOOL. HE IS ALSO A GUEST ARTIST WITH LAURI STALLINGS GLOATL. THIS IS SEAN'S SECOND SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE.

ABBEY ROESNER , BORN IN BALTIMORE MARYLAND, BEGAN HER DANCE TRAINING THE BALTIMORE SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS (BSA). SHE ATTENDED THE SCHOOL'S T.W.I.G.S. (TO WORK IN GAINING SKILLS) PROGRAM THEN ATTENDED BSA AS A FULL TIME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, FOR GRADES 9-12. AFTER GRADUATING SECOND IN HER CLASS, ABBEY CONTINUED HER STUDIES AT THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL WHERE SHE RECEIVED HER BFA IN 2006. ABBEY STARTED HER PROFESSIONAL CAREER FREELANCING IN NEW YORK CITY, DANCING FOR COMPANIES AND CHOREOGRAPHERS INCLUDING THE METROPOLITAN OPERA BALLET AND THE CHAMBER DANCE PROJECT, WALLY CARDONA AND DAVIS ROBERTSON. IN 2007 SHE LEFT THE UNITED STATES TO JOIN LES GRANDS BALLETS CANADIENS DE MONTREAL. THERE, SHE DANCED WORKS BY OHAD NAHARIN, STIJN CELIS, GEORGE BALANCHINE, AND FERNAND NAULT WHILE TOURING THROUGHOUT CANADA AND EUROPE. SHE JOINED ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE IN JUNE OF 2008 AND CONTINUES TO BE INSPIRED BY HER FELLOW COMPANY MEMBERS AND THEIR WORK. IN ADDITION TO HER WORK WITH AGD! ABBEY ASSISTS WITH TEACHING AND RECRUITMENT FOR ELLIOT FELD'S BALLET TECH SCHOOL, AND SHE HAS A PASSION FOR KNITTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY. THIS IS ABBEY'S FOURTH SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE.

BENNYROYCE ROYON, BORN IN THE PHILIPPINES, STARTED PROFESSIONAL DANCE TRAINING AT SIXTEEN, UNDER THE TUTELAGE OF WADE WALTHALL, AT THE EVERGREEN CITY BALLET ACADEMY IN AUBURN, WASHINGTON. IN 2006, BENNYROYCE RECEIVED HIS BFA FROM THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL WHERE HE DANCED NOTABLE WORKS BY JOSE LIMON, PAUL TAYLOR, MARK MORRIS AND WORLD PREMIERES BY JESSICA LANG, JACQULYN BUGLISI, RON BROWN, ELIOT FELD, ALAN HINELINE, AND JILL JOHNSON. HE HAS FREELANCED WITH NUMEROUS COMPANIES IN NEW YORK CITY SUCH AS THE CAROLYN DORFMAN DANCE COMPANY, THE METROPOLITAN OPERA BALLET, SIDRA BELL DANCE NY, AND COLLECTIVE BODY DANCE LAB. BENNYROYCE IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF RASTA THOMAS' ALL MALE DANCE COMPANY, BAD BOYS OF DANCE. HE HAS ALSO TOURED CANADA AND EUROPE WITH CAS PUBLIC, A MONTRÉAL-BASED CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY. BENNYROYCE HAS TAUGHT BALLET & CONTEMPORARY CLASSES IN SEATTLE, NEW YORK CITY, MONTRÉAL, AND JACOB'S PILLOW. HE HAS RECEIVED CHOREOGRAPHIC COMMISSIONS FROM THE EVERGREEN CITY BALLET, BAD BOYS OF DANCE, THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL, AND MOST RECENTLY FROM ATLANTA BALLET. BENNYROYCE PRODUCES DANCE PROJECTS UNDER HIS COLLABORATIVE GROUP BENNYROYCE DANCE PRODUCTIONS, WHICH HE FOUNDED IN 2006. THIS IS BENNYROYCE'S FOURTH SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE.

MARLON TAYLOR-WILES WAS BORN IN HOUSTON, TEXAS, WHERE HE TRAINED WITH THE MARGO MARSHALL SCHOOL OF BALLET UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MARGO MARSHALL AND MARY ELIZABETH ARRINGTON. HE GRADUATED FROM HOUSTON'S HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS AND IN 2007 RECEIVED HIS BFA FROM THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY. WHILE ATTENDING THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY ON FULL SCHOLARSHIP, HE PERFORMED WORKS BY SUCH NOTABLE CHOREOGRAPHERS AS JOSÉ LIMON, PAUL TAYLOR, AND LUIS FUENTE. FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS TAYLOR-WILES HAS DEDICATED HIMSELF TO TONY WILLIAMS' URBAN NUTCRACKER; A SHOW PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND DANCE WITHIN THE INNER CITY COMMUNITY, WHILE MIXING DUKE ELLINGTON'S NUTCRACKER SUITE WITH TCHAIKOVSKY'S. IN 2009 HE HAD THE PLEASURE OF PERFORMING AT THE AFRICA AND INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS INAUGURAL BALL IN NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND, HONORING THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. OVER THE LAST YEAR, MARLON HAS HAD THE PLEASURE OF DANCING WITH BEYONCÉ AS WELL AS BEING FEATURED AS A MODEL IN BOTH A TEN PAGE ELLE ITALIA SPREAD WITH CHANEL IMAN AND AN I-D MAGAZINE SHOOT WITH DREE HEMINGWAY. THIS IS TAYLOR-WILES' THIRD SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE.

EMILY WAGNER, TRAINED UNDER SCHOLARSHIPS AT THE FLINT YOUTH BALLET, VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, AND THE AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE SCHOOL. HER MOST INFLUENTIAL TRAINING CAME FROM SABRINA PILLARS, FRIEND AND MENTOR FROM THE NEW YORK CITY BALLET. WAGNER HAS PERFORMED NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY WITH COMPANIES INCLUDING: BALLET AUSTIN, EGLEVSKY BALLET, BALLET NOIR, TERRA FIRMA DANCE THEATER, INTERNATIONAL BALLET THEATER, AND BALLETX IN PHILADELPHIA. IN 2005 SHE PERFORMED PETER BREUER'S BOLERO IN SALZBURG, AUSTRIA WITH THE SALZBURG BALLETT AND FROM 2005 TO 2007 SHE DANCED AS A SOLOIST WITH THE MOVEMENT NETWORK OF AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS. WHILE IN EUROPE, SHE ALSO RECEIVED AN INTERNATIONAL PILATES CERTIFICATION WITH BODY ARTS AND SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL. IN ADDITION TO REGULARLY FREELANCING IN NEW YORK CITY, WAGNER DANCES AS A TANGO ARTIST WITH THE NEW GENERATION DANCE COMPANY AND IS A GUEST ARTIST WITH THE PENNSYLVANIA BALLET. WAGNER HAS ALSO MODELED FOR SANSHA AND KD DANCE AND IS VERY HAPPY TO BE DANCING WITH THE COMPANY. THIS IS EMILY'S THIRD SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE.

MEI-HUA WANG, IS ORIGINALLY FROM TAIWAN. SHE TRAINED AT THE NATIONAL TAIWAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND RECEIVED HER MFA FROM THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTS. IN HER HOME CITY, SHE PERFORMED AS A PRINCIPAL DANCER WITH CAPITAL BALLET TAIPEI AND TAIPEI BALLET COMPANY. SHE WAS ALSO A GUEST ARTIST WITH KOREA UNIVERSAL BALLET COMPANY, PEKING CENTRAL OPERA BALLET AND BALLET MODERNO Y FOLKLORICO DE GUATEMALA. MS. WANG MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY IN 1999, AND HAS PERFORMED AND WORKED WITH IGAL PERRY/ PERIDANCE ENSEMBLE, REBECCA KELLY BALLET, STEPHEN PETRONIO, EARL MOSELY, SUE BERNHARD DANCEWORKS, SILVER-BROWN DANCE AND WILLIAMSWORKS, AMONG OTHERS. HER FIRST CHOREOGRAPHIC COMMISSION PREMIERED IN MAY 2006 FOR THE CAPITAL BALLET TAIPEI. THIS IS MEI-HUA'S SIXTH SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE. Meet Mei-Hua!

JACOB MICHAEL WARREN, RECENTLY EARNED HIS BFA IN DANCE FROM MARYMOUNT MANHATTAN COLLEGE, WHERE HE PERFORMED WORKS BY CHRISTOPHER D'AMBOISE, EDGAR ZENDEJAS, AND DAVID PARSONS. SINCE GRADUATION, JAKE HAS WORKED WITH TAKEDANCE, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF TAKEHIRO UEYAMA AND JILL ECHO. HE HAS ALSO DANCED WITH THE CONNECTICUT BALLET, BENJAMIN BRIONES BALLET, AND THE STEPS ON BROADWAY REPERTORY ENSEMBLE. HE IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF MISSING EYE PHYSICAL THEATRE, A MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION COMPANY. ASIDE FROM DANCING, HE IS A DEDICATED HARMONICA AND SAXOPHONE PLAYER, AND PLAYS WITH A NYC-BASED BLUES BAND. THIS IS JACOB'S FIRST SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE.

MASAYO YAMAGUCHI, WAS BORN IN NAGANO, JAPAN. SHE STARTED BALLET TRAINING WITH MS. TAMAE TSUKADA. SHE PERFORMED IN AUSTRIA, HUNGARY, SLOVAKIA AND JAPAN. IN 1998, SHE PERFORMED A "PAS DE TRIOS" IN SWAN LAKE AS A PART OF LENINGRAD BALLET'S TOUR IN NAGANO, JAPAN. SHE STUDIED AND GRADUATED WITH A BFA IN DANCE EDUCATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA. SHE WAS A MEMBER OF KALEIDOSCOPE DANCERS COMPANY AND RECEIVED THE KALEIDOSCOPE DANCE AWARD AT UCO IN 2003. SHE MOVED TO NEW YORK CITY IN 2003 AS A MEMBER OF THE FAUNE DANCE TROUPE. SHE PERFORMED WITH ARMITAGE GONE! DANCE AS A GUEST DANCER AT THE DUKE ON 42ND STREET THEATER IN 2005, AT THE JOYCE THEATER IN 2007 AND MOST RECENTLY AT LINCOLN CENTER OUT OF DOORS IN AUGUST 2008. THIS IS MASAYO'S FOURTH SEASON WITH ARMITAGE GONE DANCE.