The
Dancers

Kurtis, originally from Ontario, Canada, began his ballet training at the age of 18 at the Oakville School of Classical Ballet. He later moved to New York City to complete his studies at Ballet Academy East under the direction of Darla Hoover. While in New York, he performed notable roles such as Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty (staged by Maina Gielgud) and was awarded the prestigious David Howard Foundation Scholarship.

In 2019, Kurtis joined Alberta Ballet. Since then, some of his favourite roles have included the Jester in Christopher Anderson’s Cinderella, the Sugar Plum Cavalier in Edmond Stripe’s The Nutcracker, James in La Sylphide, Blue Bird in The Sleeping Beauty, the Queen of Hearts’ Cavalier in A Thousand Tales, the Black Bird in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Botero, and performing in Jean Grand-Maître’s pop ballet PHI. This season marks his sixth with Alberta Ballet.

 Yaroslav is originally from Lviv, Ukraine. Upon arrival in Canada, he completed his training at Alberta Ballet School under the guidance of Murray Kilgour, Ashley McNeill, and Aram Manukyan. After completing the trainee program, Yaroslav was offered an apprentice contract at Alberta Ballet.

He has performed many roles with the Alberta Ballet , including Christian Spucks Le Grand Pas de Deux, Father in Lauchlan Priors Hansel and Gretel, Francesco Ventriglias Bolero, and Sugar-Plum Cavalier in Edmund Stripes The Nutcracker.

Outside of ballet, Yaroslav also enjoys dancing country swing at the local honky-tonk. He is also passionate about rock climbing and loves spending time outdoors.