The
Dancers

Zara was born in Melbourne, Australia and began her full-time ballet training at The Victorian College of The Arts Secondary School. She was then accepted into The School of The Hamburg Ballet - John Neumeier, where she had the opportunity to perform with The Hamburg Ballet Company.

After completing her studies, she joined The Junior Company François Mauduit in Toulouse, France and toured alongside the company, before joining Alberta Ballet as a Corps de Ballet Artist in 2024.

Paloma is originally from Asunción, Paraguay, where she began her ballet training at a young age with Patricia Manavella. She also trained with Miguel Bonnin, and in 2021 at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Mariemma in Madrid, Spain.

Before joining Alberta Ballet, Paloma had the opportunity to dance in France with Opera National du Capitole in Toulouse, as well as Balletto di Milano in Italy.

She has performed as a guest artist with Ballet Clásico y Moderno Municipal de Asunción, with featured roles such as Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, Kitri in Don Quixote, and Odette and Odile in Swan Lake. She has also performed in productions of Le Corsaire, La Fille mal Gardee, La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, Na Floresta by Nacho Duato and many others.

Zachary began dancing at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, under the renowned Marcia Dale Weary. Following CPYB, he completed his training at the San Francisco Ballet School, performing in numerous pieces with the company. Zachary joined the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago as a Studio Company member in 2017 before joining the Kansas City Ballet in 2019. Zachary has been featured in accredited roles such as the pas de trois in George Balanchine’s Emeralds, Wunderland by Edwaard Liang, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Tulips and Lobster. Since joining Alberta Ballet, some highlight performances have been performing Jesse in Helen Pickett’s Petal, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Botero and Hansel and Gretel by Loughlan Prior.

Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Tess began her dance training in various styles at Dance Collective. Her initial dream was to join Cirque du Soleil, but her passion soon shifted toward the world of ballet. When training with her mom Kelly Douglas, Tess received many scholarships and awards while competing in competitions both locally and internationally. In 2020, she earned her Solo Seal Award from the Royal Academy of Dance and went on to study at the San Francisco Ballet School. During her time in San Francisco, Tess had the privilege of performing in Helgi Tomasson's Swan Lake and Nutcracker, Yuri Possokhov's Don Quixote, and George Balanchine's Symphony in C. Tess is thrilled to begin her professional ballet career with Alberta Ballet.

Kurtis originally hails from Ontario, Canada. He began his ballet training at the age of 18 at the Oakville School of Classical Ballet before moving to New York City to complete his ballet training at Ballet Academy East under the direction of Darla Hoover. During his time in New York, Kurtis had the opportunity to perform roles like Prince Desire in Sleeping Beauty (staged by Maina Guilgud) and was the recipient of the David Howard Foundation scholarship before joining Alberta Ballet in 2019. 

Since joining Alberta Ballet, some of Kurt’s favourite roles he has performed are Jester in Christopher Anderson’s Cinderella, Sugar Plum Cavalier in Edmond Stripes, The Nutcracker, the Black Bird in Annabelle Lopez’s Botero and performing in Jean Grand Maitres pop ballet PHI. This will be Kurt’s fifth season with the Alberta Ballet.

Originally from Naples, Italy, Alfonso began his ballet training at home in 2016, at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli (just a few steps from Torre Annunziata, his city).

In 2020 Alfonso relocated to Milan, when he trained for several years at La scala Ballet academy. He has had the opportunity to perform many beautiful roles including all styles from classical to contemporary, including New Sleep duet by William Forsythe, Largo neoclassic solo by Matteo Levaggi, performed in Tokyo at New National theatre Tokyo (2023) and in Dubai at Dubai Opera House (2024). He also had the opportunity to study Allegro Brilliant by Mr. George Balanchine.

Alfonso performed many soloist roles like Fritz and Russian dance in The Nutcracker by Frederic Oliveri and appeared on TV in programs such as Rai television filming Venice Carnival (2023) and Viva La Danza with Roberto Bolle (2024).

In 2024 he graduated from La Scala ballet academy, with a graduate diploma in classical and contemporary ballet.

Rhys is originally from Houston, Texas, and trained at Vitacca Dance Project before joining the Boston Ballet in 2017 for three seasons under the direction of Peter Stark. He then joined BalletMet as part of their second company for two seasons under the direction of Edwaard Liang, and Ballet Austin as an apprentice for one season under the direction of Stephen Mills. Rhys performed in various company productions while at Boston Ballet, including Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker, Ashton’s Cinderella, Balanchine’s Coppélia, Petipa’s Giselle, and Boston Ballet School’s Next Generation performances. At BalletMet, Rhys performed in productions including BalletMet’s Unlocked, Gerard Charles’s Nutcracker, Liang’s Cinderella, Giselle, and Liang’s newest creation Seasons. During Rhys’ time with Ballet Austin, Rhys performed in Stephen Mills’ Taming of the Shrew, Nutcracker, Light / The Holocaust Humanity Project, Cinderella, and Alexander Anderson’s Desert Rose. Over the summers, Rhys has trained at some of the most prestigious ballet schools including Finnish National Ballet School, The Royal Ballet School, European School of Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and many more.

Seira is now in her tenth season with Alberta Ballet. Originally from Fukuoka, Japan, she began her dance training at home at the Fukuoka City Kawazoe Ballet Academy, later moving on to study at the Alberta Ballet School in Calgary and the Dutch National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam. Since joining us in 2015, Seira has shared many wonderful performances with our audiences, some of which include the role of Yoomi in Helen Pickett’s Petal, the Fairy of Bravery in Christopher Anderson’s The Sleeping Beauty, and the Boterosutra couple in Annabel Lopez Ochoa’s Botero.

Originally from Ukraine, Yaroslav moved to Calgary at age 11. He received all of his ballet training at the Alberta Ballet School. After working alongside the company in multiple productions as a student, he officially joined Alberta Ballet as an apprentice dancer in 2020. Yaroslav returned as a Corps de Ballet member for the 2023/24 season. Dalis and Sentinels in Jean Grand-Maître's PHI, his first soloist role in Alysa Pires' Skyward, and Boterosutra, Tango, and Soldiers in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's BOTERO were particularly memorable roles for Yaroslav.