Introducing our 2021 Dancer Roster:
​

Jennie Begley 
Company Member 

Jennie Begley 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 third appearance with Zikr Dance Ensemble.


​

Zac Bigbee
​Company Member

Zac Bigbee was born in Taos, New Mexico where he exhibited oil paintings at several galleries, studied Wing Chung style Kung Fu, and competed in slam poetry. His ballet training began with Amber Vasques of New York City Ballet and Megan Yakovich of Colorado Ballet. He went on to study mathematics and Russian language and culture at the University of Arizona and continued his training on scholarship at LINES Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory, and Nederlands Dance Theater. He has also attended the Royal Danish Ballet’s Summer Course, and spent time in Israel researching Gaga at the Suzanne Dallal Center.  Zac is also a self-taught cyr wheel practitioner and has trained in aerial acrobatics in Russia under Viktoriya Zhukotzova of the Moscow State Circus. He has danced for Cocodāco in Chicago, Zikr Dance Ensemble in Denver, Canyon Concert Ballet, Colorado Ballet and Convergent Ballet in Phoenix and serves as guest faculty at Tarab Retreat International and Ballet Taos. At the Russian American Foundation, he provides translation services for the Bolshoi Ballet Academy's summer schools. As co-producer on the Inertia and Mechanical Nature: Movement VII projects with Ballet Taos he set original choreography, and contributed to marketing and visual effects while also performing. He also served as film director for project 20/20 - a series of benefit concerts for local arts. As an artist Zac is captivated by the continuously evolving mechanical and neurological perfection of classical ballet. His initial infatuation with classical dance, having now given way to a deeper, smoldering passion, has led him into a search for the essence of classicism. This search is informed by his western education in mathematics as well as visual art and, recently, by exposure to classical traditions, especially movement techniques, foundational to great civilizations from across time. There is something profoundly universal about the human experience that defies its specificity even as it creates it. This is what he seeks to better know and share in his work with students, collaborators, and viewers in hopes that we may all become more deeply human.

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 season by Harold Hobson* and Rachel Brown*

Marian Faustino
​Company Member

Marian Faustino began her career in the Philippines, training and performing with the country’s two premiere dance organizations: Ballet Manila and Ballet Philippines.  She has danced soloist & principal roles in full-length classics which include The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, Giselle, Swan Lake and Le Corsaire; and has been a part of the creative process for a number of original neo-ethnic Filipino works that have been showcased across the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Russia, and the United States. As a representative of the Philippines, Marian was also awarded semi-finalist and finalist certificates respectively from the Moscow and Nagoya International Ballet Competitions. After relocating to the United States in 2011, Marian danced for Dance Theater of Tennessee, Ballet Nouveau Colorado, and was a pioneering member of the collaborative contemporary ballet company, Wonderbound where she spent five seasons collaborating with Denver artists of all mediums, from the Colorado Symphony to Curious Theater Company.  Marian is a recipient of the Individual Artist Fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission, and was a finalist for the Denver Art Museum Creative-in-Residence Grant.  As a freelance artist she has danced with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Malashock Dance San Diego, The Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Owen Cox Dance Group, Briah Danse, and Zikr Dance Ensemble.  As a dance educator throughout the Denver area, Marian has more than her extensive professional experience as a resource.  She graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Science in Child Development, holds certification in Progressing Ballet Technique, Discover Dance Education, and has recently completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training.  

Katherine Grace-Shamburek
Company Member

Katherine Grace-Shamburek was born in Colorado, and completed much of her professional ballet training in Denver under the guidance of Elizabeth Shipiatsky, currently artistic director of Classical Ballet Academy. In 2012, Katherine was awarded first place in both the senior classical division of the YAGP Denver semifinals, and in the senior division of the Denver Ballet Guild Young Dancers Competition. In 2013, she moved to Saint Petersburg, Russia, to continue her training at the Vaganova Ballet Academy. Katherine trained with world-renowned teachers including Liudmila Kovaleva and Tatiana Udalenkova, and graduated in 2015. She attended the summer dance program of the Juilliard School in New York, NY, and in 2011 received a scholarship for summer study at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia. Katherine has danced with the Maureen Breeze Dance Theater, and spent one year as a trainee with Ballet Melange. In 2019, she joined the ballet company of the National Opera of Ukraine, located in Kyiv, as a member of the corps de ballet. Katherine’s repertoire with the National Opera of Ukraine includes a wide variety of roles from both ballets and operas, including Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, the Nutcracker, Master and Margarita, La Traviata, and others.

​Katherine is kindly sponsored for the 2021 season
​by Lisa Peterson*

Madeleine Kuebler
Company Member

Madeleine Kuebler is from Denver, Colorado. She started her early training at the Colorado Ballet Academy, and in 2015 left to join the HARID Conservatory where she studied under Victoria Schneider and Meelis Pakri. In 2017 she returned to Colorado Ballet where she spent one year as a pre-professional under the direction of Erica Fishbach, performing numerous principal roles with the school and dancing alongside the company. Upon her graduation performance as Odile in Swan Lake, she was offered a contract to join Colorado Ballet as a professional. Since that time she has danced in ballets including Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Carmina Burana, The Nutcracker, and George Balanchine’s Serenade. This is Madeleine’s third season with Zikr Dance Ensemble. ​

.

Marcelina Lancaster-Gaudini
Company Member​

Marcelina Lancaster-Gaudini is originally from Miami, Florida where she began her training at the early age of four at South Florida Ballet. She continued her training at Miami City Ballet School and Colorado Ballet Academy. Marcelina has also spent summers at Miami City Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Upon graduation, she joined Ballet Ariel as an apprentice and was promoted to company dancer the following year. She has performed many leading roles at Ballet Ariel including the Neapolitan soloist in Swan Lake and the Ballerina Doll in The Nutcracker. Marcelina is also a company dancer with Reformation Dance Company. ​

Gabriele Lukasik
​Company Member

Gabriele Lukasik started dancing at the age of 3. At the age of nine, she began competing and has been recognized through numerous awards, most notable of which include the Youth America Grand Prix Award at YAGP 2017, the Bronze Medal at the World Ballet Competition Finals in 2017, and first place and the Outstanding Young Artist Award at Denver Ballet Guild in 2016. She has also been able to hone her dance skills in summer intensive programs including American Ballet Theatre, HARID Conservatory, San Francisco Ballet School, and Royal Ballet School. Gabi spent the last three seasons with Colorado Ballet, most recently as a studio company member. She has performed roles such as Snow, Flowers, and Clara’s Friend in ​The Nutcracker;​ corps de ballet in ​Serenade at the Vail Dance Festival; Dryads, Seguidilla, and Bridesmaids in ​Don Quixote;​ and more. Gabi is very excited to be joining Zikr Dance Ensemble this season and looks forward to the opportunity to be back in rehearsals and onstage. 
 ​

Emma Michaux
Company Member

Emma Michaux is a 20 year old dancer native to Colorado. She is currently a company member with Boulder Ballet and trained with Colorado Ballet Society since the age of eleven. She also received training from various summer intensive programs including San Francisco Ballet, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, and Texas Ballet Theatre. Emma has had the opportunity to perform many wonderful works and roles onstage including Christopher Wheeldon's 5 Movements 3 Repeats, Paul Taylor's Airs, the Arabian and Marzipan variations in Boulder Ballet's The Nutcracker, and the role of Titania in Colorado Ballet Society's A Midsummer Night's Dream. She has also had the privilege of being awarded multiple scholarships from both the Denver Ballet Guild Young Dancers Competition and the Esther Geoffrey Scholarship Competition.
Emma is kindly sponsored for the 2021 season by Marianne Wells **

 Matthew Perko
Company Member

Matthew Perko, originally from West Chester, Pa.,grew up training at The Rock School West and Rock School for Dance Education. He studied various forms, including ballet, contemporary, jazz, musical theater and tap. Matthew supplemented his training with Alexandra Damiani, who was crucial in exposing him to concert dance practices and the choreographic voices of Hofesh Schecter, Crystal Pite, Marco Goecke and Ohad Naharin. His curiosity to know more about concert dance and its intersectionality to other disciplines laid the groundwork for Matthew to attend the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Under Jodie Gates and William Forsythe, he delved deeper into classical, contemporary and vernacular aesthetics, and participated in numerous creative processes. Furthermore, Matthew took part in workshops and training with Nederlands Dans Theater, Jacob's Pillow, Orsolina 28 and Ballet X. Upon graduating, Matthew desires to join a contemporary ballet company to continue cultivating his artistry and technical capabilities. However, as his career progresses, he is interested in exploring other realms such as commercial dance and dance theater. Beyond stage performance, Matthew believes his training experiences enable him to give back to the emerging generations of dance artists through teaching and advisement. He crafted the Perko Dance Initiative as a resource for artists making the transition between high school and their next steps. The initiative serves to understand an individual student’s needs and aspirations while granting them unbiased information on the available pathways to bring them to their career goals. This form of mentorship provides guidance and in-depth knowledge of institutional offerings while ultimately giving the student a sense of agency over their future.

Philip Perez
Company Member

Philip G. Perez was born in Medellín, Colombia and adopted to New York City. At the age of seven he began attending ballet classes at the JKO School of American Ballet Theatre. He continued training there for nine years under Franco De Vita and Raymond Lukens. While in New York, he danced in numerous ABT productions at The Metropolitan Opera House. In 2010, Alexei Ratmansky cast Philip as the Young Prince in the company’s new production of The Nutcracker; a role he reprised for three years dancing opposite ABT principals. Performances were in NYC and DC’s Kennedy Center. In 2015, he continued his training at Boston Ballet School under Peter Stark and Margaret Tracey. The following season, he joined Nashville Ballet II, where he danced Russian and Grandfather in Nashville’s Nutcracker, Swan Lake PDT, & the Balanchine works “Who Cares?” Four Seasons, Four Temperaments, and Divertimento #15. In 2017, he became a member of Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company, where he performed in Michael Pink’s Dracula, The Nutcracker, and Derek Deane’s Romeo & Juliet, as well as learned corps roles in Twyla Tharp’s Brief Fling and Antony Tudor’s Pillar of Fire. In 2018, Philip joined Boulder Ballet. In 2019, he was awarded the 2nd place, silver medal at Miami IBC. In 2020, he had the opportunity to perform Paul Taylor’s Airs, and Five Movements, Three Repeats by Christopher Wheeldon.

Philip is kindly sponsored for the 2021 season by an Anonymous group*** and an Anonymous donor*.

Alexandra Policaro
​Company Member

Alexandra Policaro was born in northern Virginia, moving to New York City at the age of 16 to train at The Ailey School. She received a full scholarship to attend the institution’s Junior Division program while receiving her high school education at the Professional Performing Arts School. Under the Artistic Direction of Tiffany Barnes and Guillermo Asca, she performed works by Adrienne Hurd, Matthew Rushing, Earl Mosley, Pedro Ruiz, Martin Lofsnes, Christian von Howard and Winston Dynamite Brown. Alexandra is a 2017 National Young Arts Foundation winner in modern dance and was presented the Excellence in Dance award at the Professional Performing Arts School. Through an outreach program, known as Kaufman Connections, Alexandra has taught dance to elementary school students at the 32nd Street/USC Performing Arts Magnet School. Along with her passion to teach and inspire her goal is to perform, collaborate and create in a creation-based repertory company, specializing in a contemporary field. She seeks to extrapolate her dance knowledge through a historical and interpersonal lens to help guide her career as a dance artist and educator. As an active Gyrotonic trainee, Alexandra will apply her interests in health, fitness, wellness, nutrition and mindfulness to create an accessible practice of diversified clientele. As a dancer she has performed works by numerous noted choreographers including Dwight Rhoden, Jerome Robbins, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian and Crystal Pite.

Alexandra is kindly sponsored for the 2021 season by Mary Policaro *.

Hunter Solomon
Company Member

Hunter Solomon, originally from Brunswick, Georgia, began his training at Steps of Faith 
dance studio and Studio South Performing Arts Center. He started serious ballet training at 16 at Madeleine Walker Coastal Ballet under the direction of Gaye Baxley and Ann Inglis. After graduation, he joined Atlanta Ballet's conservatory program under the direction of Sharon Story where he studied for two years. The following summer he attended Milwaukee Ballet's summer intensive where he accepted a position in the second company under Rolando Yanes for two years.  There he had the opportunity to perform in ballets choreographed and directed by Michael Pink such as The Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast, Dracula, as well as Bruce Well's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  In 2019 he joined Boulder Ballet where he has enjoyed performing such as Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker and in Paul Taylor's Airs.  
He is now in his second season with Boulder Ballet.

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.

Paulina is kindly sponsored for the 2021 season by Amalia Teran***, Katherina Konopka* and an Anonymous donor***

Mariano Zamora Gonzalez
​Company Member

Mariano Zamora Gonzalez is a Costa Rican artist residing in Vienna, Austria. He began dance training at Academia Jazzgoba and later continued at CityDance Conservatory in Washington DC. He went on to attend intensives on scholarship at the Juilliard School, the School at Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Program, the Orsolina28 Forsythe – Pite intensive in Moncalvo, Italy and is currently graduating on scholarship with a BFA in Dance through the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles. He has also trained with William Forsythe, Jodie Gates, Stanislav Issaev, Milton Myers, Ohad Naharin, Sir Matthew Borne, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, Donald Byrd and Septime Weber and has appeared as a soloist and guest artist all over the United States, performing in works by William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Crystal Pite, George Balanchine, Dwight Rhoden, Matthew Neenan among many others. Mariano strongly values family and aspires to be part of a dance company that is run as such; as his passion to move emanates from human connection and physical contact. Being an aesthetically driven person, he enjoys visuals such as drawings, photography, and film and is interested in gaining inspiration through other’s specific visions. He aspires to continue traveling the world to engage with different cultures to better understand his creative mission. He is acquiring a minor in Architecture to combine his visual and kinesthetic talents with functionality of form and space. He is devoted to the improvement of arts education in Costa Rica to bring awareness of the advantageous benefits of stimulating creativity, by leading a project to encourage youths to follow artistic avenues against predominant Latin American stereotypes, later in his career. Mariano is eager to explore various platforms, on concert stages, commercially, and through media entertainment, as his artistic career takes off around the world. ​

***Gold Level Sponsor
**Silver Level Sponsor
*Bronze Level Sponsor