Isabella Carneiro
Isabella Carneiro was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At age 10 she began her ballet studies at Maria Olenewa Dance School of the Municipal Theater Ballet of Rio de Janeiro, and she also appeared as an apprentice in Giselle and Nutcracker with the company. In 2008, she won third place in the Concelio Brasileiro de Dança, and in July 2008 she was a guest performer at the 25th Anniversary Gala for the Joinville Festival of Dance. In 2007 and 2008 she danced Um conto de Natal directed by Dalal Achcar.

Noel Dilworth
Noel Dilworth came to dance from competitive rhythmic gymnastics, where she competed on national and international levels for eight years. Her first ballet training was in her hometown of Walnut Creek, CA, and she has since studied at the Maryland Youth Ballet and as part of the Alvin Ailey/Fordham BFA program in New York City. Noel is excited to join NC Dance Theatre as an apprentice for the 2009-2010 season.

Ingrid Forino
Ingrid Forino, native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, began her classical ballet training at age 11 at Maria Olenewa School of Dance of Municipal Theater Ballet of Rio de Janeiro. She danced there for six years and performed in Coppelia, Giselle and Um conto de Natal with the company. This past summer she studied with the San Francisco Ballet.

Jessica Gadzinski
Jessica Gadzinski was born in Riverside, CA, and began dancing at age 3. At 10, she turned her focus to classical ballet, training under David Allan, Glenda Carhart and Kathleen Riker at California Riverside Ballet. In September 2006 she began studying under Marcia Del Weary at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. While dancing in the school, she performed feature roles in several ballets including George Balanchine’s Nutcracker and Walpurgisnacht Ballet. Jessica is excited to dance with North Carolina Dance Theatre’s apprentice program for the 2009-2010 season.

Katjana Godshalk
Originally from New Jersey, Katjana began dancing at age 4 and continued her training in the pre-professional division of the Atlanta Ballet. She has attended numerous summer dance programs including those with Atlanta Ballet, Chautauqua School of Dance and Pacific Northwest Ballet. In 2008-2009, as a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theater, Katjana performed in Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Nutcracker and Mark Diamond’s Carnival of the Animals. Some of her favorite ballets performed are Raymonda and George Balanchine’s Serenade and Union Jack. Katjana would like to thank her family and friends for always supporting her.

Marcia Hetrick
Marcia Hetrick, from Carmel, IN, began dance training at 13 at Performer's Edge Dance Theatre. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music as a double major in piano performance and Ballet. Last year, Marcia decided to concentrate on dance and was an honors student pursuing a BFA in Ballet. She has trained with Petrus Bosman, Deirdre Carberry, Shelli Cash, Yi-Qi Cheng, Suzann DeLay, John Magnus, Judy Rice, Jiang Qi and Michael Tevlin. Marcia has performed with Ballet Theatre Midwest, Central Indiana Dance Ensemble and Dayton Ballet, as well as performing in the tri-annual ballets at the University of Cincinnati.

Amanda Irwin
Amanda Irwin began her training at the Palm Beach Ballet Center in West Palm Beach, FL. She studied under the direction of Dean Ethan Stiefel at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Amanda has attended several summer programs including American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Met and Orlando Ballet. She also performed in the 2007 Youth American Grand Prix gala in Melbourne, FL.

Jayme Leach
Jayme began her training at the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and continued her training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. She has attended summer intensive programs at American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Austin, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and The School of American Ballet. Jayme has performed roles in several George Balanchine ballets, was a member of the contemporary company Ballet Blight in 2007 and performed new choreography created at the 2008 New York Choreographic Institute’s Summer Session.

Eliza Sherlock-Lewis
Eliza Sherlock-Lewis graduated as a ballet major from Walnut Hill School of the Arts, in Natick, MA. During her four years there, Eliza danced major roles, including Sugar Plum Fairy, solo parts in Serenade and an original ballet performed at Carnegie Hall. Last year, Eliza attended New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she placed on the Dean’s Honor List. While taking courses in psychology, surrealism and post-modern choreography, she studied dance at the Ailey School, privately with Fabrice Herrault, and at Steps on Broadway with Christopher d’Amboise. During the summers, Eliza has been a student at Boston Ballet, Complexions Choreographic Workshop, Miami City Ballet and School of American Ballet. Her choreography has been performed at Boston Children’s Opera productions, the Martha’s Vineyard Built on Stilts Dance Festival and Walnut Hill School. Eliza is excited to be dancing with North Carolina Dance Theatre this season.

Claire Mazza
Claire Mazza, a native New Yorker, began her training at the School of American Ballet. After immersing herself in the Balanchine style, she attended Studio Maestro to focus on classical French technique under the direction of François Perron. She has performed with Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program, Dances Patrelle, New York City Ballet and has danced professionally with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and Manhattan Youth Ballet Studio Company in both corps and principal roles. Her repertoire spans from classics by Petipa and Nureyev to the contemporary works of Brice Mousset, with many neo-classical Balanchine ballets bridging the two. Claire has been featured in Dance Magazine,The Dancer’s Book of Ballet Crafts and the Italian magazine Donna. She has been seen dancing in television productions such as Kings and Royal Pains. This will be her first season as an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theatre.

Carlie Mills
Carlie Mills, 17, is from Pawley’s Island, SC, where she studied Royal Academy of Dance curriculum and modern with Ilka Doubek at Litchfield Dance Arts Academy for nine years. She also regularly competed in Youth America Grand Prix, winning regional and national awards. She performed with Doubek’s Student Ensemble regionally, nationally and in Germany for the American Servicemen on Thanksgiving Day, 2006. Carlie became a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre at 15, and continued her training as an apprentice last season. She especially enjoyed performing with the company in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Romeo and Juliet and Dwight Rhoden’s Othello. She has attended summer programs with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Chautauqua School of Dance, North Carolina Dance Theatre and Pacific Northwest Ballet School, all on scholarship. She is glad to be returning to Dance Theatre this season.

Caili Quan
Caili Quan is a native of Guam. She began dancing at BodyArts, a dance studio on the island, under John Grensback and Bettina Sanzotta. She moved to New York City at 17 to study at Ballet Academy East under the direction of Darla Hoover. For the past two years she has been a trainee with the Richmond Ballet and has had the opportunity to perform with the company in works such as George Balanchine's The Four Temperaments, Malcolm Burn's Cinderella and Stoner Winslett's Nutcracker. In her spare time she has been working on her bachelor's degree and has attended Hunter College and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Melissa Reed
Originally from Amherst, NH, Melissa Reed began her early training at Bedford Dance Center and continued at Southern New Hampshire Dance Theater. In 2007 she was invited to attend the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, FL on a full-tuition scholarship, where she studied with Svetlana Osiyeva, Oliver Pardina and Victoria Schneider. She performed several roles including the principal role in George Balanchine's Allegro Brillante. Melissa has attended summer programs at Ajkun Ballet Theatre, Briansky Saratoga Ballet Center, The Harid Conservatory and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Amy Saunder
Amy Saunder, originally from Zimbabwe, moved to the United States at age 11.  She trained in the University of North Carolina School of the Arts high school ballet program on scholarship. Under the tutelage of Nigel Burley, Warren Conover, Christine Spizzo and Ethan Steifel, Amy performed the roles of the Harp in Fanfare, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in Nutcracker, the Soloist in ''Rubies'' and Odettein Swan Lake Act II. Amy has attended summer intensives at Chautauqua School of Dance, Harid Conservatory and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Kelsey Ilona Scanlon
Kelsey Ilona, originally from Richmond, VA, started her dance training at Regency Dance Academy and received formal training on scholarship with Richmond Ballet as a student and trainee. She continued her college level studies at Magyar Táncművészeti Főiskola (Hungarian Dance Academy) in Budapest, Hungary, where she trained with György Szakály and Nóra Szőnyi. While in Budapest she was a finalist in the New Generation Competition and danced in the Opera House as one of the Shades in La Bayadere with the Hungarian National Ballet. She spent her summers at Hungarian Dance Acadamy, Miami City Ballet and Richmond Ballet. Kelsey Ilona would like to thank her family and her Hungarian kutya for always believing in her. In her spare time she enjoys reading, doing Pilates, speaking Hungarian and being outdoors.

Kira Townend
Kira Townend began dancing at the age of 4 at Dussich Dance Studio in Merritt Island, FL, She has attended summer programs at American Ballet Theatre, Harid Conservatory and North Carolina Dance Theatre. In 2007 she began training at Harid Conservatory with a full tuition scholarship under the instruction of Svetlana Osiyeva. She graduated from Harid after attending the year-round program for two years.

Nicole VonEnck
Nicole VonEnck started formally training at age 9 with the Royal School of Ballet under the instruction of Joanne Morscher. She studied there for eight years while attending summer programs at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Chautauqua Institute.  Nicole competed in the Youth America Grand Prix, where she placed second in regionals. For the 2008-09 year Nicole danced as an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theatre while completing her senior year of high school. This past summer she attended Richmond Ballet’s summer intensive on scholarship and is returning for another year at North Carolina Dance Theatre. One of her favorite roles includes George Balanchine’s Who Cares?

Rebecca Faith Warthen
Rebecca Faith Warthen, originally from Columbia, SC, began her dance training under Susan Anderson at the University of South Carolina’s Conservatory Program and privately under Gabrielle Celeste.  Soon after her first year she was accepted to the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities to study with Stanislav Issaev and Irina Ushakova.  She spent two years and many summers with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under Marcia Dale Weary and has most recently been studying with teachers Stacey Calvert, Kyra Strasburg and Thaddeus Davis. She is thrilled to dance this season as an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theatre.

Mackenzie Zarecki
MacKenzie Zarecki began her dance training at The International Performance Center in Michigan and continued her training in Ohio at The Toledo Ballet Academy as a member of their company for three years. MacKenzie attended Harid Conservatory's year-round program on scholarship. She has also trained at various summer intensives including Kirov Academy and Nutmeg Conservatory. She has danced roles as Pirate in Mark Godden's Capsize; Clara, Mirlitons soloist and  Waltz of the Flowers soloist in Nutcracker and Swan in Swan Lake.

Kelsey Cortez
Kelsey Cortez, a native of Atlanta, GA, began her ballet training at age 3 with the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre. At 16 she trained with the Atlanta Ballet for two years. After graduating high school Kelsey was an apprentice with the Alabama Ballet.  During the summers she trained with Ballet Austin, Glenda Brown Choreography Project, Lines Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre and South Carolina Governor's School. She has also worked with Lauri Stalling's gloATL project.

Allyn Davenport
Allyn Davenport, originally from Roswell, GA,  began her formal ballet training at the Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education, where she studied under Dora Manela, Rosemary Miles and Sharon Story. During the summers, she studied at Chautauqua Institute, Pacific Northwest Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. She has performed in Atlanta Ballet's productions of The Great Gatsby, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.

Lauren Heebner
Lauren Heebner, originally from Virginia, began dancing at age 5. Throughout high school, she trained with The Russell School of Ballet. She also performed with The Fairfax Ballet under the direction of Thomas and Ilona Russell and, while here, performed several roles in Nutcracker as well as the lead role of Gretel in its original story book ballet, Hansel and Gretel.  She has attended summer programs at BalletMet Columbus, Boston Ballet DanceLab, North Carolina Dance Theatre and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

Victoria Jahn
Victoria Jahn, native of Freehold, NJ, began her ballet training at American Repertory Ballet's Princeton Ballet School, where she studied for nine years. She has participated in Boston Ballet's  and Princeton Ballet's summer intensive programs. Victoria has performed in many productions such as Don Quixote, Gram Lustig's The Nutcraker, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.

Shaina Kaim
Shaina Kaim is from Fort Lauderdale, FL, and she started training in ballet at 14 at the International Ballet Academy. Upon graduating she was accepted to New World School of the Arts where she attended one year of college. In 2008 she came to North Carolina Dance Theatre  as a trainee. She has attended summer programs at Austin Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and Orlando Ballet.

Sarala Mahlin Korn 
Sarala Mahlin Korn, 16, began training with North Carolina Dance Theatre at age 8. She has been to various summer programs including Joffrey Midwest, North Carolina Dance Theatre for two summers and Pacific Northwest Ballet for two summers. A junior in high school, she is now a trainee with NC Dance Theatre and attends Northwest School of the Arts in a new professional program allowing her to attend high school while training at NC Dance Theatre.  

Rebecca Thode
Rebecca Thode, 16, is from Chesterton, IN, where she began dancing at age 3. At 8, she began her training at Ballet Chicago, and her favorite performances included Concerto Barocco, Rubies, Serenade and Who Cares?. Rebecca has also performed in the Joffrey Ballet children’s cast for Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. During summers, she trained at the Chautauqua Institute, The Rock School of Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. At 15 she was invited to be a trainee with North Carolina Dance Theatre.