Pennsylvania Ballet Welcomes New Talent and Announces 2020/2021 Promotions

Pennsylvania Ballet's Artistic Director Angel Corella announced today the addition of six dancers to the company, including two newcomers and four former Pennsylvania Ballet II (PBII) dancers. The company also welcomed new PBII dancers and announced a batch of promotions in preparation for the upcoming season.

"We are dedicated to preserving and extending the legacy of our celebrated organization by adding incredible talent to the fold and promoting those who have shown great promise over the years," says Angel Corella. "We've been met with several challenges this year, but with the addition of our incredibly rich roster of dancers, we're eager to get back on stage and deliver an unforgettable performance next season."

Fernanda Oliveira has been named a member of Pennsylvania Ballet's corps de ballet for the 2020-2021 season, while Mine Kusano, Paloma Berjano Torrado, Emily Wilson, Isaac Hollis and Jeremy Power are appointed as apprentices with the Company.

Fernanda Oliveira joins Pennsylvania Ballet from Colorado Ballet where she danced with the company from 2014-2020. Oliveira began dancing at Cia Jovem de Ballet in Rio de Janeiro and later transitioned into her role as a Studio Company dancer with The Washington Ballet. Oliveira performed works by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Twyla Tharp, Val Caniparoli, Septime Webre, Clark Tippet, Michael Pink and Trey McIntyre, among others. In addition to presenting her own choreography with the Colorado Ballet, she was commissioned to choreograph performances, including Avant Chamber Ballet's Women's Choreography Project Homebound earlier this year.

Mine Kusano joined PBII for the 2018-2019 season and won first place in the Senior Division Classical and Contemporary categories at The Youth America Grand Prix in January 2018. Equipped with a full scholarship at The Rock School for Dance Education, Kusano began training at Hitomi Takeuchi Ballet in Japan at the age of five, and appeared in various shows including The Nutcracker and Don Quixote, among others.

Paloma Berjano Torrado trained as a PBII dancer for the 2018-2019 season and was a finalist in the grand finals of the Youth America Grand Prix dancing in 2018. Torrado began her training at the Royal Academy of Dance in Spain and studied at the Carmina Ocaña Ballet School and Mariemma Royal Professional Dance Conservatory in Madrid.

Emily Wilson joined PBII for the 2018-2019 season where she performed leading roles including Angel Corella's Bourbon Street along with company roles in Angel Corella's Giselle, Don Quixote and La Bayadere, and George Balanchine's The Nutcracker. Wilson has previously performed with American Ballet Theatre.

Isaac Hollis, a Fort Wayne, IN native, joins Pennsylvania Ballet from Sarasota Ballet where he performed Ashton's Les Patineurs, Enigma Variations, Les Rendezvous and Balanchine's Diamonds, among others. Hollis began his dance training from Fort Wayne Ballet and attended several summer intensives, including The Royal Ballet School's summer program.

Jeremy Power, a former PBII dancer, attended the Ballet West Summer Intensive in 2017 and performed with the company in many productions, with some highlights being Adam Sklute's Swan Lake and John Kranko's Onegin. Power began training in Yuma, Arizona and later trained with California Ballet from 2014-2016.

Pennsylvania Ballet II will welcome alumni from the School of Pennsylvania Ballet, Corinne Mulcahy and Isabella DiEmedio, in addition to Charles Clinton and Ben Schwarz for the upcoming season.

In conjunction with the new dancer appointments, Pennsylvania Ballet also promoted a line-up of company dancers, including Jack Thomas who has been promoted to the rank of first soloist; Thays Golz who has advanced to soloist; Lucia Erickson and Jack Sprance who have risen to demi soloists; Denis Maciel and Sophie Savas-Carstens who have been promoted to corps de ballet.

Company dancers continue to maintain technique for a reimagined season amidst COVID-19. Additional details about Pennsylvania Ballet's 2020-2021 season are forthcoming.

For more information about incoming and current dancers at Pennsylvania Ballet, please visit Paballet.org.