Introducing our 2022/23 Dancer Roster:
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Jennie Begley Teller
Company Member 

Jennie Begley Teller began her training at Metropolitan Academy of Dance in Denver. She later trained with American Ballet Theatre in New York City and San Francisco Conservatory. Ms Begley began dancing professionally at the age of 16 with David Taylor Dance Theatre and at 18 with Ballet Ariel. She later joined Dawson/Wallace Dance Project under the direction of Gregory Dawson of Alonzo King Lines Ballet and James Wallace of Company C Contemporary Ballet. In 2013 Jennie moved to New York City and danced with Complexions Contemporary Ballet under the direction of Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, where she danced on many stages around the world. There, she premiered a pas de deux (Apart Meant Two) in Riga, Latvia and was part of the original cast of The Great Gatsby, a collaboration between Complexions and the Mariinsky Ballet in Russia. Jennie was an international guest artist for the Western Province Dance Teachers Association Showcase of Dance in Cape Town, South Africa. Her commercial works include music videos for top recording artists Nile Rodgers and Jill Scott. She worked with Robert Redford’s wife, Sibylle Szaggars Redford , at the Sundance Film Festival (2015) on the production of The Way of the Rain. Jennie was also a featured dancer on the hit American television series So You Think You Can Dance Season 10.  This is Ms. Begley’s fourth appearance with Zikr Dance Ensemble.
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Vincent Chavez
Company Member

Vincent Chavez was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he grew up competing on the local Rodeo circuit.  Once he chose ballet over broncos, he received his formal dance education and training from the Dance Theater Southwest (Albuquerque), Ballet Hispanico (New York), Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre (Las Vegas) and Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program (San Francisco).  As a result of his strict training and creative educational experiences, Vincent was chosen to perform with leading dance companies including Robert Moses’ Kin, Oakland Ballet Company, ZiRu Dance, Nevada Ballet Theatre and New Mexico Ballet Company to name a few.  His artistry has earned him the opportunity to work with several renowned choreographers; Robert Moses, Graham Lustig, Michael Lowe, James Canfield, Garrett+Moulton, Gregory Dawson, Christopher Huggins, Molissa Fenley, Val Caniparoli and Amy Seiwert included.  In addition to his notable dance career, Vincent works independently as a San Francisco Bay Area Dance Artist, teaching, choreographing, collaborating, and performing throughout the United States. In recent years, he has been commissioned to choreograph works highlighting his strong sense of family for Oakland Ballet Company, ZiRu/Silicon Valley Dance Festival and Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers. 

Nicole Ciapponi
​​Company Member

Nicole Ciapponi trained at Goh Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. She has spent the last five years dancing with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and prior to that, with the San Francisco Ballet. Her extensive experience includes dancing Principal and Soloist roles with both companies in works by Helgi Tomasson, George Balanchine, Robert Joffrey and Geralds Arpino, Jiri Kylian, Frederick Ashton, Christopher Wheeldon, William Forsythe, Wayne MacGregor, Justin Peck and Jerome Robbins, to name a few. Nicole has been a Youth America Grand Prix New York finalist, a Silver Medalist at the Genee International Ballet Competition, a grant recipient with the British Columbia Arts Council, a recipient of the Solo Seal at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD’s highest award), and a Vancouver Ballet Society Scholarship Recipient. This is her first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.
 

Marco Clemente
​Company Member

Marco Clemente graduated from Chicago’s Ruth Page School of Dance in 2008. Since then he has danced professionally with the Dayton Ballet, the Minnesota Ballet, Ballet Nebraska, South Chicago Dance Theatre, Ardent Dance Company and with Chicago Repertory Ballet. This is Marco’s first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.

Sam Crouch
Company Member

Sam Crouch is a Michigan Native residing in Chicago, Illinois. In 2016, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Western Michigan University.
Through WMU he had the opportunity to perform Ohad Naharin’s Excerpts from Minus 16, Gerald Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi, Antony Tudor’s Continuo, and Lew Christensen’s Con Amore.
In Chicago, Sam was privileged to work with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dance In the Parks, Aerial Dance Chicago, Hot Crowd and Grit Dance.
He has also travelled to work with, The Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Quixotic Fusion, and Wellspring Cori Terry and Dancers.
​He is very excited to be returning for his third season with the Zikr Dance Ensemble. 
Sam is kindly sponsored* for the 2021 Fall season by Rachel Brown. 

Erik Debono
​Company Member

Erik Debono graduated with a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University and studied abroad at the London Contemporary Dance School. His training has also included Zaccho Dance under Gregory Dawson, and the American Ballet Theatre, Marina Ballet, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, and the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensives. Erik has danced professionally with A.V.A. Ballet Theatre, the Oakland Ballet, Continuum Contemporary Ballet, the Parsons Dance Company, AXIS Dance Company and Ballet22. He has performed works by Lar Lubovitch, Frank Augustyn, Alonzo King and Ohad Naharin. This is Erik’s firsat season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.
 

Brandon Penn
​Company Member

Brandon Penn was born and raised in Richmond, VA. At the age of 10 he began his dance training at the Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center where he studied with Annette Holt, Rodney Williams and Willie Hinton, learning a variety of styles. He later enrolled into the School of Richmond Ballet where he studied under Igor Antanov and Malcolm Burn. After spending three years at the Richmond Ballet, Brandon was accepted as a trainee of the company whilst completing his senior year. After graduating, he spent one year at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase College Conservatory for Dance, studying under Larry Clark, Taryn Russell, and Ted Kivitt among others. After a year at SUNY, Brandon Penn was offered a position with Atlanta Ballet 2. After two years there, Brandon was offered a company position with the Columbia City Ballet. Later, after much experience and repertory under his belt, Brandon accepted a principal contract with the Fort Wayne Ballet where he just finished his second season. He would like to immensely thank his family for all of their love, support and words of wisdom. This is Brandon’s first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble. 

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Fabiana Santiago
​Company Member

Fabiana Santiago was a trainee at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and went on to receive a Dance Performance Scholarship and then graduated from the Butler University Department of Dance. She has also trained at the Boston Ballet Summer Intensive and with Alonzo King’s Summer Program. Her professional career includes dancing with the Menlowe Ballet, Ziru Dance, Em(body) Dance Project and with choreographers Alyssa Mitchel and Marika Brussel. This is Fabiana’s first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.

Erina Tanaka
Company Member 

Erina Tanaka began her training at age 8 in New York, with Logrea Dance Academy and Westchester Ballet Company. At the age of 15, she was accepted into SLK Ballet School, under the direction of Sara Knight. During her training, Erina was selected for an exchange program with the English National Ballet School in London in the spring of both 2015 and 2016. She has also spent summers training at ABT, Bolshoi Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet. Upon graduating SLK Ballet, Erina spent two years as an apprentice with Eugene Ballet. There, she had the opportunity to perform the Spanish and the Arabian pas de deux in Toni Pimble’s The Nutcracker as well as Cygnets in Swan Lake. She was also featured in Val Caniparoli’s Tutto Eccetto Il Lavendino, Stephen Mills’ Hamlet, and Gerald Arpino’s Italian Suite. After spending two years at Eugene Ballet, Erina moved to Canada to join Canada’s Ballet Jorgen, as a company dancer. At Canada Ballet Jorgen, Erina danced featured roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Josie Pye in Bengt Jorgen’s production of Anne of Green Gables- The Ballet. Erina is very excited for her first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble. 
 

Paulina Teran
Company Member 

Paulina Teran (she/her) was born in Laguna Hills, California, where she started taking dance classes as a toddler. Later, when she moved to Colorado, she started training more seriously at International Ballet School with Mark and Sandra Carlson and Slava Mesropov. While training there, she performed many principal and soloist roles with the school. In 2017, Paulina moved to Paris and trained at L’Atelier d’Art Chorégraphique with Clairemarie Osta and Nicolas Le Riche. Soon after, Paulina received her first contract with the Estonian National Ballet, where she performed full-length classical ballets including Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Giselle. In 2018, Paulina moved to Germany to dance with Leipziger Ballett. In her time there, she was able to expand her knowledge and experience in contemporary dance. She performed in many classical and contemporary works including Uwe Scholz’s Symphony No. 7; Stanton Welch’s Tu Tu; Mario Schroder’s Magnificat, Schwanensee, Geshöpfe, Sacre; Jean-Philippe Dury’s Der Nussknacker; and Martin Harriague’s America. She also participated in Intershop, where she performed pieces choreographed by fellow company members at Leipziger Ballett. This is Paulina’s first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.

Anaka Weiss-Jones
Company Member

Anaka Weiss-Jones is a graduate of the Ballet Melange Trainee Program and received the Special Judges’ Award at the Grand Prix Kyiv International Ballet Competition in 2020. Her training includes the Classical Ballet Academy under the direction of Elizabeth Shipiatsky, Complexions Contemporary Ballet,  Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet Summer Intensive, the Cleo Parker Robinson Summer Dance Institute and the Colorado Ballet Academy Summer Intensive. Anaka has performed with the Klaipeda Valstybinis Muzikinis Teatras in Lithuania, the Maureen Breeze Dance Company, Ballet Melange and BRIAH Danse. This is her first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.