The Pre-Company
SEASON IV
SEASON IV
William Ladd has 14 years of experience in dance and fitness training, instructing, and performing in southern and western regions across the US. Additionally, Wil has been doing commercial work for Film and TV, Music Videos, Industrials and Commercials; and dancing for Nashville’s first Contemporary Dance Company “Found Movement Group”.
After spending time at the Prestigious American Dance Festival held at Duke University working with Netta Yershulamy, Nia Love, and Elizabeth Corbett, the process of artistry and individuality captured his attention.
While staying busy in professional dance he still found time for college, teaching, and choreography; during Wil’s college career his choreography was chosen to represent Austin Peay at ACDFA Upon graduation, he received the prestigious “Outstanding Senior Dancer” at APSU as well as “Outstanding Male Dancer”. Over the years he has proudly received numerous choreography awards from StarPower, Masquerade, Applause Talent, Kids Artistic Revue, and Nexstar mostly for his Contemporary choreography. Currently William is continuing to teach kids and adults throughout Orange County that it’s all about Peace, Love & Dance.
Cassidy Doan began her ballet training at the age of three at Southland Ballet Academy, under the guidance of Salwa Rizkalla and Hanna Karacic. She went on to train with notable professionals including Claudio Muñoz (Houston Ballet), Larissa Saveliev (YAGP Director), Christopher Powney (Royal Ballet School), and Lauren Anderson (Houston Ballet). Cassidy has performed extensively with Festival Ballet Theatre and Houston Ballet, dancing featured roles such as Clara in The Nutcracker and soloist variations in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, and Coppélia. In 2018, Cassidy earned second place in the classical ballet division at Youth America Grand Prix Los Angeles and was awarded a full-merit scholarship to Houston Ballet Academy’s year-round program. At fifteen, she moved to Houston independently to pursue her dreamsof becoming the first Vietnamese-American professional ballerina and was offered to dance at San Francisco Ballet at seventeen. Cassidy later graduated from the University of California, Irvine with dual degrees in Dance B.A. and Biological Sciences B.S., graduating with Latin honors and multiple scholarships. She is currently pursuing child cancer research at CHOC Hospital, working as a medical assistant in pulmonary and cardiology specialties, and preparing to begin medical school. She credits ballet for instilling the discipline and resilience that continue to guide her path in medicine, and she is passionate about sharing this perspective with young dancers who aspire to careers in both the arts and sciences. Today, Cassidy is proud to now be on Season IV faculty at N10 Dance studios, after previously serving as a ballet substitute teacher for Seasons I through III.
Raised immersed in the arts through a Los Angeles upbringing, Delaney Davis began her dance training under the instruction of Diane Collins at DC Dance LA. She honed her craft through a dedicated pursuit of training eventually leading her to enroll at Chapman University, where she received her BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Nutrition Studies. She has had the honor of working with influential artists such as Jacob Jonas, Kayla Kalbfleisch, Dwight Rhoden, Ido Tadmor, Steven Sofia, and Megan Doheny both onstage and in the studio, as well as extensively choreographing and performing in student works. Further following her passion for performance opportunity, she has had the privilege of being a dancer in shows including The Capezio ACE Awards, Mashup Contemporary Dance Company’s International Women’s Day Festival, The Journey Dance Awards, and Reconstruct Exhibition, as well as a variety of film projects. Stylistically, Delaney is fueled by the fusion of her very technical background with explorations of aesthetic influence in commercial dance forms. She is passionate about her identity as a teacher, choreographer and performing artist, and is excited to continue exploring the intersection of these roles in the future of her professional career.
Rony Jacques is a dancer, choreographer, instructor, and freestyler. He teaches and instructs classes all over the New England area as well as Southern California. He first started dancing while studying at Tufts University where he choreographed for their dance troupe Spirit of Color and led the all male step team Blackout. Once he graduated with a bachelors in Child Development, he became a member/choreographer of three professional dance teams; Iconic Movement, an all male step team, Static Noyze Dance Company, who were featured on season 5 of America’s Best Dance Crew, and Concept Artists, one of Boston’s premier hip hop teams. He has taught at Edge Performing Arts Center and currently teaches at PlaygroundLA. His students have worked with some of the top talents in the industry: Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Becky G, Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigo, Toni Braxton, Cher, and more. He has worked with various artists such as Diplo, Hopsin, Marc Nelson, Charles Jenkins and his dancing and work has been seen/featured on SYTYCD, Boston Kiss Concert, Billboard.com, Samsung, Cricket Wireless, Six Flags Magic Mountain, High School Nation Tour, Ghostbusters movie (2016), Netflix series: #blackAF, BratTV, and Monster High.
Noelle Lee, the youngest of three ballet dancers in her family, embarked on her dance journey at the tender age of 2, exploring various styles from Ballet to Hip-Hop and Scottish Highland. Upon her family’s relocation to Orange County at 7, she turned her focus to classical ballet, ultimately committing to it at the age of 9.
During her formative years at the Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy (2010-2017), under the mentorship of Dmitiri and Jennifer Kulev, Noelle delved deep into ballet while also embracing jazz, tap, and contemporary dance forms. Her passion for competition blossomed at 9, garnering numerous awards, including 1st places in both Classical and Contemporary categories at competitions such as Youth America Grand Prix.
At 16, she embarked on a transformative journey at the Dutch National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam as a Trainee, followed by a year at the European School of Ballet under esteemed mentors Jean-Yves Esquerre, Christiane Marchant, and Olivier Wecxsteen.
Driven by a holistic approach to training, Noelle understands the significance of cross-training for both mind and body, having experienced firsthand the demands of ballet. Her pursuit of diverse movement disciplines has been underscored by scholarships and participation in renowned national and international summer intensives, such as American Ballet Theater, School of American Ballet, Dresden Semperoper Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and International Baller Masterclasses in Prague.
As the sister of two male professional ballet dancers, Noelle has developed a passion for supporting and uplifting young male dancers in their journey. Along with her brother, Bryce, she serves as a co-director to The Male Dance Connection, an online platform that serves to educate and empower aspiring male dancers through online classes and in-person workshops.
As a ballet teacher, Noelle infuses her teachings with a rich tapestry of experiences, guiding aspiring dancers not only in technique but also in the cultivation of a resilient and adaptable mindset essential for the rigors of ballet and beyond.
Lauren Clarke is a versatile and passionate dance artist based in Southern California, holding a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine. Trained extensively in ballet, modern, jazz, and hip hop, Lauren brings both technical excellence and expressive depth to her work as a performer and educator. Lauren’s performance credits include featured roles in UC Irvine’s Dance Visions concert series, where she danced in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Vitor Luiz’s Bitter Suite and Luna E’motions, and Molly Lynch’s Moonlight. She has also performed in original works by emerging choreographers at UC Irvine’s undergraduate and MFA concerts, including My Felicity and Fabric of Life by Ashley Cook. Her early training began at the Academy of Ballet Arts, where she performed in full-length ballets such as The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Coppélia as well as original works choreographed by Dana Nelson and Jose Chavez. She competed in the Youth America Grand Prix from 2014–2019 as a soloist and in ensembles. She furthered her ballet training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, performing as one of the three shades in La Bayadère. As a dance educator, Lauren has taught ballet at the Academy of Ballet Arts and N10 Dance Studios. She is a certified Progressing Ballet Technique (level 1) instructor and integrates this training into her classes to support student strength and alignment. She uses her knowledge of human anatomy and kinesiology in her teaching approach. She is committed to nurturing young dancers in an inclusive, supportive, and technically rigorous environment. Lauren is a two-time recipient of the William J. Gillespie Foundation Scholarship and continues to explore her artistry through both performance and teaching.
Myles Lavallee was born and raised in sunny Phoenix, AZ, where he trained at various dance studios. He grew up competing in dance competitions and won many awards including JUMP’s Teen National Title and NUVO’s Teen 1st Runner Up. In high school he attended Arizona School for the Art before moving away to NYC to study at the School of American Ballet. In 2011 Myles joined Ballet Arizona where he danced for four seasons. In 2014, he moved to Canada to join Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and in 2016, Myles joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for two seasons. Some of the choreographers he had the pleasure of working with and performing their works include, Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, and George Balanchine. He was commissioned twice to choreograph for Ballet Arizona’s Innovations program, and created pieces in both LGBC and HSDC choreographic workshops. Myles now lives in Los Angeles as a freelance artist and choreographer and travels frequently to teach and work with dancers around the country. He has recently been seen dancing with Body Traffic, Post Ballet, Ishida Dance, Heidi Duckler Dance, & Para Mar Dance as well as in several music videos and on Netflix and YouTube. He is extremely passionate about teaching, choreographing and sharing his love for dance! Myles was recently awarded the outstanding choreography award at YAGP’s Phoenix Semifinals.
Andrea Cerda was born and raised in Orange County, California where she began her dance training at the age of 4. Andrea’s training started at local recreational centers, doing only ballet. By the age of 7, she started training in different styles such as jazz/jazz-funk, lyrical, contemporary, and eventually pointe. She grew up competing at Spotlight Dance Cup, Showstoppers, Rainbow, and Kar. Andrea has also performed at several events here in Orange County and really enjoys bringing dance to the community. She’s currently attending Santa Ana College where she continues to train in various styles and is going for her degree in Communication Studies. As an instructor and dancer, Andrea’s goal is to inspire young dancers and further their passion and commitment for dance.
Marjorie Himes has been a dance instructor in Orange County for the past 40 years. Marji graduated from UCI with a BA in Dance and an MFA in Musical Theatre, and also holds a MES in Exercise Science. Her extensive teaching career has expanded from Rancho Santiago College, Orange Coast College, and Saddleback College. She has performed for several years at Disneyland in parades and special events and toured with Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus’ Gold Unit in Japan. Locally, she was a dancer in Christine Baltes’ Jazz Spectrum Dance Company where she also was the company’s rehearsal mistress. It was during this time that she refined her classical Giordano Jazz Dance technique.
Her 16 years at South Coast Conservatory has landed her the position of Musical Theatre Director. She has directed their Festival Productions of Princes and the Frog, Aladdin, The Lion King, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. Marji has also choreographe local productions of Legally Blonde, Beauty and the Beast, Oklahoma, Something Rotten, Anything Goes among others.
Marji’s goal with every student that she works with is to leave some kind of professional impression within them. Whether it is to teach them dance class etiquette, how to audition, or just to leave them feeling more confident in their abilities than when they first walked into the classroom. For the past 30 years Marji has been on faculty at Saddleback College where she has taught Jazz Dance as well as instructed for the Community Outreach Emeritus Program.
Katie Nguyen began her training at Southland Ballet Academy when she was 10. She is trained in ballet, lyrical, contemporary, modern, tap, acrobatics, musical theater, hip-hop, and ballroom. As a competitive dancer, she has won national titles at various competitions and conventions with her solos, duets, trios, and group dances. She has learned from various renowned choreographers, exciting master classes, mock-auditions, commercialized improv, as well as career building exercises. Through the years, Katie has participated in fundraising for Dancers Against Cancer and raised awareness for the Lymphoma Leukemia Society through dance. Additionally, she has assisted her teachers with master classes, had hands-on interactions with students and learned the steps to becoming an educator. Katie has extensive experience as a substitute dance teacher. She has performed on the stages at Disneyland, travelled the states to compete at competitions and even presented pieces at the Irvine Barclay Theater. Katie graduated from Orange County School of the Arts and will be attending University of California, Irvine in the Fall. During her last year as a competitive dancer, Katie danced at Project 21 under choreographers including Molly Long, Madi Hicks, Paige Borowski, Timmy Blankenship, Billy Bell, Ethan Colangelo, Ricky Malouf, Danny Lawn, Azuki Umeda, and Ali Pfleger. At the same time, she also trained under Yorba Linda Academy of Ballet.
Sandrine Mattei was born on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, France. At just 12 years old, she left home to pursue her dream of becoming a professional ballerina, earning a full scholarship to the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Danse in Nice. After completing her studies and receiving a Baccalaureate in Art, Literature, and Language, Sandrine went on to win numerous ballet competitions under the National Federation of Dance in France and across Europe. At 16, she was mentored by former Béjart Ballet Lausanne principal dancer Rita Poelvoorde and was invited to train at the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Antwerp under Robert Denvers. She began her professional career with the Ballet National de l’Opéra de Bordeaux under the direction of Charles Jude, before freelancing throughout Europe. Her career took a thrilling turn when she “ran away with the circus”—joining Cirque du Soleil as a soloist and aerialist in their groundbreaking, Grammy Award-winning production The Beatles LOVE at The Mirage in Las Vegas. After seven years in LOVE, she transitioned to another iconic Cirque show, MYSTÈRE, performing the principal role of The Black Widow. In addition to her onstage roles, Sandrine served as Dance Captain and Artist Coach for Cirque du Soleil and was featured in Dance Spirit Magazine for “Leading the Cast of LOVE.” She has collaborated with world-renowned choreographers such as Sonya Tayeh, Mandy Moore, Daniel Ezralow, and NappyTabs. Sandrine has performed at high-profile events including the GRAMMYs MusiCares Tribute alongside Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the America’s Got Talent Finale, the NHL Awards, the Latin Grammy Awards, the GLAAD Media Awards, and in Cirque du Soleil’s 3D feature film Worlds Away directed by James Cameron. She also appeared in One Night for One Drop alongside Lindsey Stirling. Currently, Sandrine is on faculty at OCSA’s Commercial Dance Conservatory, where she teaches aspiring young artists. She is also the founder and director of a private coaching and mentoring program in partnership with the Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center, where she also proudly serves on the Advisory Board.
Aviva Gelfer-Mundl began her ballet training at age 10 in Southern California. At 12, she won the gold medal in the Women’s Junior division at the Youth America Grand Prix New York City Finals, which afforded her an opportunity to study on full scholarship at Canada’s National Ballet School. In 2018, Gelfer-Mundl was the only American to win a prize at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne competition, enabling her to study on full scholarship at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Later that year, she won the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards and received 2nd Prize at the VII Vaganova Prix International Ballet Competition. While at the Academy, Gelfer-Mundl performed soloist roles on tours within Russia as well as Greece and Japan. In 2020, she graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy under professor Ludmila Kovaleva. She joined Boston Ballet II later that year. In 2021, Gelfer-Mundl danced the role of Sugarplum Fairy during BBII’s Stowe, Vermont Tour and in 2022 represented Boston Ballet as a guest artist for the ADC International Ballet Competition St. Petersburg, Florida Finals Gala. Her repertoire includes George Balanchine’s Chanconne, Allegro Brillant, and Serenade, Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, James Kudelka’s The Nutcracker, Sergei Legat’s and Konstantin Sergeev’s Fairy Doll, Arthur Saint-Léon’s The Little Humpback Horse:Underwater Kingdom, Sir Frederick Ashton’s Giselle, and Joseph Mazilier’s Le Corsaire and Paquita, and Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote, La Bayadère, La Gioconda, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty.
Anna Hirko is a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and began her classical ballet training at Dance Elite under Maxim Ponomarenko (Kiev State Ballet School, Ukraine) and Nadia Pavlenka (Vaganova Ballet Academy, Russia). She spent summers training at Ballet Magnificat! and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Moscow. She has danced as a trainee with Joffrey Ballet School, NYC and spent 5 years performing with Paradosi Ballet Company before pursuing a career as a freelance dancer in the greater Seattle area. She performed with Ballet Bellevue, Katy Hagelin Dance Project, the Collective under the direction of Megan Becker and participated in the Seattle International Dance Festival 2018. Most recently Anna has been dancing with Dance Theatre Seattle under the direction of Joshua Grant as well as Bennyroyce Dance under the direction of Bennyroyce Royon. In 2021 and 2022 Anna had the opportunity to perform and create for ‘Reconstruct Exhibition’ a choreographic showcase founded by Sarah Burney in Los Angeles and has been a part of Reconstruct Initiative master faculty ever since. In addition Anna has had the opportunity to travel and perform all over the world using dance as a way to communicate through language barriers. She has recently discovered a love for choreographing and is driven to bring awareness to difficult issues such as human trafficking, suicide and homelessness through the art of dance. She currently has alumni studying at The Juilliard School, dancing professionally at SeaWorld, and competing at Prix De Lausanne. She has enjoyed her last ten years in Seattle with her husband and son but is so excited about teaching the next generation of dancers in Southern California.
Megan Guise is a multi-faceted artist currently residing in Southern California. Her creative practices range from photographer, performer, choreographer, and movement educator. Her early dance training started in Santa Ana, California, at Orange County School of the Arts where she studied Commercial Dance and eventually led to her B.F.A in Dance from California State University, Long Beach. She has had the privilege of appearing in works created by Alex Ketley, Rebecca Lemme, Andy Vaca, Lorin Johnson, Christian Burns, Keith Johnson, Sophia Monat, amongst others. She has also participated in workshops with BodyTraffic, Szalt, Ate9 Dance Company, and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance.
Megan’s choreography has been well-recognized at the Youth America Grand Prix and the Southern California dance community at large. Her choreography stems from emotion and intuition guiding her to explore the depths of the human condition and the unknown. Megan finds joy in sharing her love of dance through teaching forms including contemporary, improvisation, modern and dance composition. In her personal movement practice, she finds inspiration in yoga and GYROTONIC®. Currently, Megan is on faculty at Orange County School of the Arts, Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy and N10 Dance Studios.
Originally from the Chicagoland area, Nathan Lopez is a passionate teacher and choreographer who radiates confidence in his work. Nathan received his BFA in Dance from AMDA College & Conservatory of the Performing Arts in 2021, where he worked with many driving-forces in the industry. Soon after graduating, he became choreographer to grammy-nominated music artist, K. Flay. Nathan has been very grateful to experience many live stage/film opportunities. Some of his other credits include Asya Saavedra, SYTYCD and more. Nathan is a very passionate about setting students up for success in the dance industry while maintaining a healthy relationship with their craft. He is a resident teacher at the prestigious Orange County School of the Arts and The House Dance Complex.
Hannah Campanelli grew up dancing in Upstate New York where she trained at Draper Center for Dance Education and Pittsford Dance Studio. After high school, she moved to New York City where she graduated with a BFA Commercial Dance degree from Pace University. Here she studied ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, modern, and choreography from professionals in the industry such as Suzi Taylor, Jess Hendricks, Mandy Moore, Jacki Ford, Kat Wildish, Alexandra Damiani, and Jen Hamilton. In NYC, she performed choreography by Talia Favia, Lauren Gaul, Scott Jovovich, Dee Caspary, Rhonda Miller, and Karla Garcia as well as with the Hamilton National Tours cast. She also presented work in the Young Choreographer’s festival in NYC as well as multiple works in Ryan Daniel Beck’s On One Condition showcase. Hannah recently moved to LA to pursue dance professionally and is currently represented by Go2Talent. She was a member of Royal Flux II with Jaci Royal and has performed in multiple concept videos here in California.
Kyle started her dancing training at the age of 3 at the Orange County Ballet Company where her mom was on faculty as a dance instructor. She studied classical ballet, tap and jazz but primarily ballet studies under Madame Tamara Elganova of the “Ballet Russe”. During her time studying ballet she also competed on SCATS “Southern California Acro Team” under the direction of Bud Marquette and Scott Crouse. A bad gymnastic injury made Kyle’s favorite and #1 activity dance! After studying ballet for most of her young life she begged her mom to drive her to a competitive commercial dance studio 45 minutes away! Kyle danced on the competition teams for Joan Golden’s dance studio in La Habra. At the age of 16 Kyle had the honor of dancing in the Joan Golden Jazz Dance Company till she graduated from H.S. After graduation Kyle danced professionally for Disney and Disney Cable television before going on to graduate from the University of Arizona with a Marketing Degree in 1990.
Kyle has been teaching for the past 34 years and has received many top honors with her students to include YAGP Regional solo & ensemble winners, qualification to YAGP NY Finals, numerous overalls for her solos, duets, trios and group choreographies, Choreography & Teacher awards, Industry dance awards nominations, critics choice awards, and showcase winner at numerous National Dance competitions.
She is very proud of many of her past students who have gone on to prestigious college dance programs such as UCI, Chapman University, Julliard, NYU Tisch as well as USC Kauffman. Many have gone on to professional dance careers in Cirque du Soleil, Broadway shows, prestigious ballet and contemporary dance companies, state and national pageant titles as well as professional NFL cheerleaders.
Kyle currently enjoys teaching her students at N10 and teaching various Acrobatic and Technique Master classes all over the OC as well as out of state. Kyle has been on the faculty at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) where she enjoyed getting commercial students to love ballet! Fast forward to November 2022 Kyle opened a dance studio where she is part owner and Artistic Director. Kyle is also on the dance faculty at Mater Dei High School for the upcoming 2024-25 School year.
Kyle also enjoys philanthropy and giving back. A charity close to her heart is Dancers against Cancer (DAC). For the past 8 years she has held an annual event to raise money and awareness of cancer. In 2024, N10 raised $11,000 at the annual dance showcase and silent auction.
Kyle’s passion for basic technique skills stemming from her years of ballet study make her a special niche in the dance community. While many teachers focus on combos, Kyle has a love of the technical aspects of the performance of those combos. A favorite saying of hers is “It’s not what you are doing but HOW you are doing it”.