About AC Ballet Dancers

Tullio's dancing career began at the age of 12 in a small studio in Rome, Italy. From there, he studied at the Academia Nazioniale De Danza. In 2011 he joined the American Repertory Ballet Trainee Program in Princeton, NJ, before coming to AC Ballet. 

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.”

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.

Nagisa was born in Yokohama, Japan where she began ballet lessons at the age of 5. In 2007 she moved to Canada to continue her training at the Quinte Ballet School of Canada. And in 2001 moved to the UK where she studied at London Studio Centre and the Northern Ballet School in Manchester. 

Rina began dancing when she was 4 years old at the Sasa Chieko ballet school. She has trained at various schools including; Soubi Ballet Academy, Japan; Goh Ballet Academy, Canada and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre where she completed the Graduate Program.

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

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.

Gustavo Cunha was born in Suzano, Brazil and began his studies in 2013, in classical ballet and contemporary dance. He participated in major national and international festivals such as the Youth American Grand Prix in New York and participated in several years of courses in Brazil

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.

Yuuki started training at Hikarigaoka Dance Academy in Tokyo, Japan at age 7. In 2006 he received a scholarship to train at Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver Canada and in 2008 started working at the Tokyo Ballet Company in Japan. He has toured internationally and performed at the Paris Opera and Theatre de Beaulieu. In 2010 Yuuki started working with Star Dancers Ballet in Tokyo and in 2014 joined Japan’s best-known and largest theatre companies Shiki Theater Company. There he performed many Broadway musical roles appearing in over 1000 performances.

David started dancing at Totnes School of Dance in Devon at age 4. At 16, he moved to London to train at Central School of Ballet, receiving a BA Hons Degree in Professional dance and performing arts. Immediately after graduating, David received a contract with the National Ballet Theatre of Romania ‘Oleg Danovski’, and in January 2022, he joined the Moscow City Ballet.

To Be Announced

Rebecca began training with Wendy Allsopp in Winchester and was a senior associate at the Royal Ballet School. She has danced with London Children's Ballet on the West End, National Youth Ballet, Hampshire Youth Dance Company, and the English Youth Ballet. Rebecca obtained the Trinity National Diploma in Dance at Tring Park School, which she has converted into a BA honors degree in professional practice through Middlesex University.

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. 

Alejandra received her early training at Zolushka Ballet School in Bogotá, Colombia. She attended the Joffrey Ballet Pre-Professional Program under the artistic direction of Era Jouravlev and moved to New York City in 2018 when she was accepted in the Joffrey Ballet Trainee Program. 

Akari Wada was trained and graduated from the Central School of Ballet in London. She has worked with Wayne McGregor, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Sophie Laplane, Jenna Lee, and Christopher Marney. She has won numerous awards, including first place in the contemporary division, third place in the professional senior division of Ballet Competition 21 (2018, Japan), and second place in the senior division of the Japan Mie Ballet Competition.

Ella began training at three at the Sandy Gray School of Dance in Lincolnshire, UK. At 16, she successfully auditioned for vocational training at Central School of Ballet in London and with a BA Hons degree in Professional dance and performance. After graduating from the Central School of Ballet, she received her first professional contract with The National Ballet Theatre of Romania ‘Oleg Danovski’.