About AC Ballet Dancers

Tiziano was born in Italy and studied at ASD Scuola di Danza Nijinsky and Scuola del Balletto di Toscana. He has performed for the English National Ballet, Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Accademia danza di Berlino and Ecole Superieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower.

Federica started studying in Roseto Degli Abruzzi, Italy, with Dorina Di Marco at Isadora Duncan. She graduated from the National Academy of Dance in Rome and came to the US as a trainee at the Princeton Ballet School. She has appeared as Clara, Flowers, and Snow in Nutcracker. She also appeared in Don Quixote before coming to AC Ballet in 2016.

Caitlin received her early training at Lowe Dance Studio and moved to Boca Raton, Florida to train at The Harid Conservatory at the age of 16. Caitlyn spent two years in the Graduate Program at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, having the opportunity to perform in the North American premiere of Derek Deane's Alice in Wonderland.

Claudio is from Cerignola, Italy and received his early training in Bari, Puglia, at Unika, and then at the Scuola del Teatro dall’Opera in Rome. He was accepted as a trainee with the Ajkun Ballet in NY and later performed with the America Repertory Ballet in Princeton, where he appeared as the Nephew/Prince in “Nutcracker,” and Espada in “Don Quixote.”

Jari Pignataro is from Italy and studied classical dance at the Opera Theater of Rome and the National Dance Academy. In 2014 he was chosen by the Director of the Tanz Akademie in Zurich, Oliver Matz, for an internship. He has appeared in numerous productions, including The Nutcracker with Carla Fracci, Carmen with Andrea Bocelli, Don Chisciotte and Pulcinella.

Promise Smith did her training at The Rock School for Dance Education, American Ballet Theatre, Orlando Ballet, Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, and Chautauqua. She received multiple awards at the Youth America Grand Prix and was a top 20 finalist at YAGP New York. From 2014-2016 at 18 years old, Promise joined the Joffrey Ballet’s studio company and performed with the main company in various productions, including Christopher Wheeldon's Swan Lake and Robert Joffrey’s The Nutcracker. In 2016 she joined Charlottesville Ballet and performed many lead roles before joining Atlantic City Ballet in 2021.

Kirra Matthews began her ballet training at the ACBT Performing Arts Academy under direction of Artistic Director Phyllis Papa. Kirra then attended high school at the Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, DC and graduated as Valedictorian with a certificate for four years of Vaganova training. Upon graduation Kirra was invited to join the corps de ballet of the Universal Ballet Company in Seoul, South Korea.

Ionut graduated from the Ballet Height School in Bucharest, Romania. He danced with the National Theatre from Bucharest and Oleg Danovski Theatre.

Andrea started training at age five under Phyllis Papa at the ACBT Performing Arts Academy. At 15, she was invited to be a trainee for ACB, where she had the opportunity to dance alongside the company in numerous performances. At 16, she attended the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia for their pre-professional program. At 17, she became an apprentice with the Atlantic City Ballet. Jari Pignataro is from Italy and studied classical dance at the Opera Theater of Rome and the National Dance Academy. In 2014 he was chosen by the Director of the Tanz Akademie in Zurich, Oliver Matz, for an internship. He has appeared in numerous productions, including The Nutcracker with Carla Fracci, Carmen with Andrea Bocelli, Don Chisciotte and Pulcinella.

BIO Coming Soon

BIO coming soon.

BIO Coming Soon.

Thales began his career with classical dance studies in 2006 at the Oficina da Arte dance school. In 2012, he moved to Rio de Janeiro to join the Brazilian Dance Conservatory. Thales joined Companhia Brasileira de Ballet in 2013 as a soloist. In 2017, he joined the Ballet del Parque del Conocimiento, Misiones Ballet, in Posadas, Argentina. where he was promoted to Soloist, and in 2020, he was promoted to Principal Dancer. In 2022, he was invited to join Moravske Divadlo as a Corps dancer in the city of Olom

Haruna began dancing at four years old at Ballet Studio de Fées in Okazaki, Japan. After attending the summer program at the  Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin, she was offered a spot to train in their year-round program for the 2019-2020 season. She attended the Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program in 2021 and graduated in 2023. In 2022 she participated in YAGP Tampa and placed Top 12 Pas de Deux, YAGP New York and placed in the Classical Top 12, Contemporary 2nd place and Pas de Deux 1st place. She also appeared in the Cancun Ballet Festival Gala Performance.

Sami began dancing at the age of three, and started training under Phyllis Papa at the age of eight. She danced competitively throughout the state of New Jersey from ages eight to eighteen winning many titles and awards in styles such as lyrical, tap, musical theater, and jazz. She has also trained in Los Angeles, New York, Indiana, and Pennsylvania at well known intensives including the Joffrey Ballet School. 

Mai began her ballet training at the age of eight at Coco Okamura Hiromi Ballet School in Osaka, Japan.She also learned theatre dance under direction of Artistic Director Stephen Reed and studied ballet in more depth under Artistic Director Hideo Fukagawa.

In 2013, Mai attended the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive program in New York and was a top 10 finalist at Seoul International Dance Competition in 2014 in South Korea.

She received many awards in Japan, including 1st and 2nd place in The National Ballet Competition in Nagoya in 2015 and 2014, 3rd place in The Kitakyushu & Asia Whole Country Dance Concours in 2015, and 3rd place in The Ballet Competition 21 in 2014.

In recent years, Mai has appeared as the Spanish, Arabian and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker with Toronto International Ballet Theatre under the artistic direction of Tatiana Stepanova in Canada.

Carolina Lisboa is a Brazilian ballerina who began her dance training in Academia de Ballet Elisa, where she developed a strong classical ballet foundation. Her talent and hard work led to the opportunity to perform alongside the principal dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet. Carolina has also competed in various international ballet competitions, where she received multiple awards. One of these competitions earned her a scholarship to the prestigious Sanctuary of the Arts in Miami, a professional training program that immerses dancers in a diverse range of styles including ballet, jazz, modern, and contemporary. This unique training has been integral in shaping her versatile career and bringing her to the professional stage today. 

Atsuha began dancing at the age of four.

In 2019, she performed in the Japan tour of Balletto di Siena (Italy), and in 2020, she was accepted into the Novosibirsk State Choreographic School (Russia).

She has received several awards in various competitions, including being named among the Top 12 at the World Ballet Art Competition (WBAC).

In 2024, she joined the international trainee program at Atlantic City Ballet (ITAP) and later became an apprentice. 

Ellody was born in Sydney Australia where she began her early classical training at Tanya Pearson Academy. At the age of 15, she was accepted as a ballet trainee at the Joffrey Ballet School New York, where she was under the guidance of Era Jouravlev. Ellody then furthered her training at Princeton Ballet School, graduating in 2024. She has appeared in various ballets including the Nutcracker and Ethan Stiefel’s ‘Classic Beauty’ with the American Repertory Ballet. 

Taylor Garcez began his dance journey through a social outreach program, where he quickly stood out and was awarded scholarships to prestigious private ballet schools in his region. His performance and dedication also earned him a scholarship to attend the renowned Summer Program at the American Academy of Ballet (AAB) in New York in 2017.

Bio to be supplied

Isabela Huyer started dancing at the age of three, trained at Ballet Vera Bublitz, under Carlla Bublitz and later joined the Joffrey Ballet School trainee program, training under Era Jouravlev and Stacy Caddell. She has participated in competitions such as YAGP finals, VKIBC finals and MAB NYC finals and joined intensives in American Ballet Theatre, Opus Ballet and Paris Marais Dance School. Isabela has performed with Connecticut Ballet in Nutcracker and with Grand Kyiv Ballet in Swan Lake.

BIO Coming Soon.