2020 Summer Season Company Dancers
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Tomasin Corrente 
Apprentice 

 Tomasin Corrente was born in Denver. She started dancing when she was four years old. For the past seven years, she has trained at Denver Ballet Theatre where she  had the opportunity to perform many demi-soloist and soloist roles in their full- length productions, including Clara and Sugar Plum in The Nutcracker, Swanhilda’s friends and Dawn in Coppélia, Kitri’s friends and the insert variation in Don Quixote, and Gamzatti in La Bayadere. She has also trained with Colorado Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and State Street Ballet. This is her first year as an Apprentice Company member with Zikr Dance Ensemble. 

 Brianna Crockett
Company Member

Brianna Crockett began her training at International Ballet School in Littleton, Colorado, at age 10. At 15, she was awarded the Florence Rustin Award as well as first place at the Denver Ballet Guild competition. Later that year, she was invited to attend the Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program in New York City, where she remained until graduating in 2016. In 2015 she performed in Danse Boheme at Lincoln Center during the Youth America Grand Prix Stars of Today Meet Stars of Tomorrow Gala. Brianna also attended a number of summer intensives on partial or full scholarships including Joffrey Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, Ellison Ballet, and the School at Jacob’s Pillow. Brianna joined Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company in 2016 where she performed various roles in the Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Balanchine’s Serenade. She also danced in Michael Pink’s Dracula and in Derek Deane’s Romeo and Juliet and In 2017, the deux in RedBeat  She has also guested for BRIAH Danse in Boulder, and in Atlantic City Ballet’s Swan Lake. Brianna is currently in her second year with the Minnesota Ballet.

Sam Crouch
Company Member

Sam Crouch is a Michigan Native currently residing in Chicago, Illinois. In 2016, he graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Western Michigan University. Through WMU he had the pleasure of performing Ohad Naharin’s Excerpts from Minus 16, Gerald Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi, Antony Tudor’s Continuo, and Lew Christensen’s Con Amore. He has also worked with renowned guest artists and choreographers such as Eddy Ocampo, James Gregg, as well as WMU faculty members. After making his move to Chicago, Sam has privilege to work with The Lyric Opera Of Chicago and Lyric Opera of Kansas CIty (Les pêcheurs de perles), Aerial Dance Chicago (Ghost Stories), Grit dance (Story Telling) and also Wellspring Cori Terry and Dancers based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. in Chicago he occupies his time by dancing with Hot Crowd where he not only dances but has had the opportunity to create work as well. Sam is very excited to be back working with Zikr Dance Ensemble again this year. 

Jessica de Jong
​Apprentice

Jessica de Jong is from Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Currently she studies as a Dance Pedagogy Major at Butler University, Indiana where she will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in May 2021. With Butler Ballet, Jessica went on a month-long tour in Europe where she was able to perform on European stages and study under well respected ballet masters. Additionally, in October 2019, she was selected from Butler Ballet to premier original choreography at a prestigious fundraising event showcasing the best that Butler has to offer. With Butler University, Jessica has performed in the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Le Corsaire and La Bayadère as well as in the premier of Marek Cholewa’s original work, Inception. Jessica is excited to return to the stage with Zikr Dance Ensemble for her second season.

Kyra Hughes
​Apprentice

Kyra Hughes began her training at Denver Academy of Ballet under the direction of Rob and Chandra Kuykendall until she graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 2018 as an AP Scholar and where she earned a varsity letter in Academics. Kyra spent the 2018-2019 in the Pre-Professional Division at Colorado Ballet under Erica Fishbach, where she worked with many choreographers including Jayne Persch and Robert Sher-Macherndl. She was promoted to Studio Company at the end of the season and has spent this year performing alongside the company in productions including Don Quixote and The Nutcracker. During her training she performed numerous roles including, Zulma in Giselle for Colorado Ballet Academy, and Swanhilda in Coppelia, Nikiyia in La Bayadere, and Clara in The Nutcracker for the Denver Academy of Ballet. Over the years she’s attended numerous Summer Intensive Programs including the Boston Ballet, Orlando Ballet, and Ballet Arizona. Kyra competed at the YAGP New York City finals in the Bayadere trio in 2019. She also placed in the Top 10 at Denver Ballet Guild in 2017 and 2018, receiving 5th place in 2018. This is her first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.
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Conner Horak
Company Member

 Conner Horak was born in Fort Collins, Colorado where he was introduced to dance through a synthesis of musical theater and martial arts training. He continued dancing at Butler University, where he graduated cum laude with a BFA in Dance Performance with departmental honors. Conner has had the privilege of performing in Paul Taylor’s Le Sacre Du Printemps (The Rehearsal), Gorgio Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi, and George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue. Conner also danced with Wonderbound for three years in Denver, Colorado, where he performed with the Flobots at Colorado’s Vail Dance Festival.  Conner also danced with James Sewell Ballet, where he worked with James Sewell, Darius Strong, and Gabrielle Lamb. He is extremely thrilled to be dancing with Zikr again for the fourth time!

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Madeleine Kuebler
Company Member

 Madeleine Kuebler was born in Denver and began her early ballet training at the age of 3. At the age of 14, she trained for two years at the HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida under the instruction of Victoria Schneider, Meelis Pakri, and Alexey Kulpin. She continued her training at summer intensives including the Paris Opera Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet, and Ellison Ballet. She returned to Colorado to complete her training in 2017 in Colorado Ballet’s Pre-Professional division, where she trained under the direction of Mrs. Erica Fishbach, and was given the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Jayne Persch and Robert Sher-Machherndl; performing soloist and principal roles before graduating in 2018. At that point she joined Colorado Ballet’s studio company, and just finished her second season there. This is Madeleine’s third season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.

Jennifer Kuhn
Company Member

 Jennifer Kuhn is from the North Bay area of San Francisco. She is an original company member of Zikr Dance Ensemble from its inception over a decade ago.  Ms. Kuhn is currently a principal dancer with Ballet Ariel in Denver as well as an independent guest artist.  She was a principal dancer for many years with the Dawson/Wallace Dance Project, formerly David Taylor Dance Theatre, where she also served as a Rehearsal Director and Répétiteur.  She began her formal training with the Marin Ballet, and studied with the Joffrey Ballet in New York, Richmond Ballet, Ballet West, and Alonzo King’s Lines Contemporary Ballet. Jennifer attended the University of Utah on scholarship, receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and Master of Fine Arts degree with a teaching and choreography emphasis.   She has performed with Utah Ballet, Montgomery Ballet, Boulder Ballet, 7 Dancers, Briah Danse, Winifred R. Harris’s Between Lines Productions, and Amy Anderson’s SHOES.  With Ballet Ariel, Ms. Kuhn performs many lead classical roles as well as original works.  Some of her favorite roles include Cinderella, Lise in La Fille Mal Gardee, Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in The Nutcracker, the wife in Appalachian Spring, and Simone in Ballerinas by  Degas.  Some of her favorite roles in working with David Taylor include the Invocation pas de duex, In Your Eyes first pas de deux, and Vespers.

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Marcelina Lancaster
Company Member​

Marcelina Lancaster is originally from Miami. She began her training at the early age of four at South Florida Ballet. From there she moved on to Miami City Ballet where she trained for a year before moving to Colorado. In Colorado she continued her training at Colorado Ballet for five years. 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 a company dancer the following year. She has performed many leadings roles with Ballet Ariel including the Neapolitan soloist in Swan Lake, the cat in Peter and the Wolf s and Spanish and Chinese in The Nutcracker. This is Marcelina’s first season with Zikr Dance Ensemble.

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Ava Lofas
​Apprentice

Ava Lofas started training in classical ballet at the age of 13. She trained in Littleton at International Ballet School under Mark and Sandra Carlson and Slava Mesropov for several years and then at age 15, she moved to Philadelphia, to attend the Rock School for Dance Education where she trained under Bo and Stephanie Spassoff, Justin Allen, Jodi Anderson, and Natasha Zeiger. For the 2018-2019 school year she trained at Colorado Ballet in their pre-professional program under Erica Fischbach, Maria Mosina, Tracy Jones, Francisco Estevez, Domenico Luciano, Robert-Sher Machherndl, and others. Ava participated in her first YAGP competition in 2015 and in 2016 and 2017 she was invited to compete in the NY finals. In 2016, she received top 10 in the Denver Ballet Guild’s Young Dancers Competition. She has numerous attended summer intensives including Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, and San Francisco Ballet. Currently, Ava is a trainee with The Sacramento Ballet where she is working under the guidance of Cynthia Drayer, Andre Reyes, Amy Seiwert, Rick Porter, and Jill Krutzkamp. This is Ava’s second year with Zikr Dance Ensemble. 

Emma Michaux
Company Member

Emma Michaux is a Colorado native who has been dancing since the age of four. She trained with Colorado Ballet Society in Colorado Springs since the age of eleven and has also trained in various summer programs including San Francisco Ballet, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, and Texas Ballet Theatre. Emma has had the opportunity to perform many wonderful roles onstage including Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, the Pas de Trois from Swan Lake, and Dewdrop Fairy from The Nutcracker. 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 joined Boulder Ballet as an Apprentice in 2019.

Hunter Solomon
Company Member

Hunter Solomon, originally from Brunswick, Georgia, began his training at Steps of Faith and Studio South Performing Arts Center. At 16, he also trained at the Madeleine Walker Coastal Ballet with Gaye Baxley. After graduation, he joined Atlanta Ballet’s Conservatory program under the direction of John McFall and Sharon Story where he studied for two years. The following summer he attended Milwaukee Ballet’s intensive where he was offered and accepted a position in the second company under Rolando Yanes. He performed in ballets choreographed and directed by Michael Pink such as The Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast, and Dracula, as well as Bruce Well’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hunter’s favorite role is “Waltz Boy” in George Balanchine’s Serenade which he performed with Milwaukee Ballet II. Hunter joined Boulder Ballet as a company member in 2019.
 

Philip Perez
Company Member

Philip Perez was born in Colombia and adopted in New York City. At the age of seven he began attending classes at the JKO School at American Ballet Theatre studying under Franco De Vita and Raymond Lukens. 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. In 2015 Philip continued his training at Boston Ballet School under Peter Stark and Margaret Tracey. Philip then joined Nashville Ballet II dancing in Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Four Seasons, Four Temperaments, and Divertimento #15. In 2017, Philip became a member of Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company and performed in Dracula, The Nutcracker, and Romeo & Juliet. At the 2019 Miami International Ballet Competition, he was awarded the second place silver medal. Philip joined Boulder Ballet as a company member in 2018.  
 

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