Rachael McSween (Dancer) is a California native and a graduate of the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University BFA Program. She apprenticed with Complexions Contemporary Ballet and later went on to dance with Ailey II, Ballet Hispanico, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Lula Washington Dance Theatre and in Dallas Theater Center’s production of The Wiz. Ms. McSween has had the opportunity to perform for the opening of the US Embassy in Berlin, Germany. In honor of Sylvia Waters, she danced in the 2008 Dance Magazine awards and has been featured in Dance Magazine’s April 2009 issue. In 2011, Ms. McSween was presented on the cover of the Dallas Morning News Arts Preview Guide.
Read More Most recently, she performed with Diane McIntyre in Time Is Time for the New York Live Arts tribute to James Baldwin in which she was featured on the front cover of the New York Times arts review section. Currently, Ms. McSween is on faculty as the contemporary jazz instructor for the Ailey Teen Extension Program and is a special education teacher for the New York City Department of Education. show less
William Roberson (Dancer) a native of Tennessee, began his dance training at Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he earned is Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. During that time, he worked and performed with notable artists and choreographers such as Hope Boykin of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ray Mercer of broadway’s The Lion King, Debbie Allen, Camille A. Brown, and others. After graduating in May of 2013, he apprenticed with Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, A Dance Company. Following the apprenticeship, he continues to work with other choreographers such as Dianne McIntyre, Kevin Iega Jeff, Mathew Rushing, and many others. He has performed in a number of notable venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Art Museum, and the Athenaeum Theater in Chicago, IL. Outside of performing, William is also a certified personal trainer.
Estelle Botella (Dancer) is from Paris, France and trained at Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts where she graduated in 2011. She spent summers training at Boston Ballet School, Colorado Ballet Academy, and the Royal Ballet School. She went on to dance as a trainee with American Repertory Ballet for two years. She joined Connecticut Ballet in 2013 where she was featured as Clara in their Nutcracker alongside Julie Kent and Alexander Hammoudi and spent a year with Manassas Ballet Theatre. In 2015, Estelle moved to Germany to dance with JSLN Dance Company where she pent two years touring Europe performing numerous works of classical and neoclassical ballet. Estelle has recently been performing with Connecticut Ballet, Thomas Ortiz Dance, Ballet for Young Audiences, and appeared with American Ballet Theatre in their production of Le Corsaire.
Jacob Taylor (Dancer) received his formative training at Boulder Ballet School and in the summer programs of American Ballet Theater, the School of American Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Kaatsbaan, and Perry Mansfield. Mr. Taylor is a graduate of the Ballet Performance Program at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. At IU his repertoire included ballets by George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins, Dwight Rohden, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp. His professional career includes working with such companies as American Ballet Theatre, Colorado Ballet, Christopher Caines Dance, FJK Dance, Thomas Ortiz Dance, and Boulder Ballet.
Elisabeth Jeffrey (Dancer) started her classical training under the tutelage of Carlos Stroia in Minnesota at the age of seven. She went on to train at the Joffrey Ballet School under a full merit scholarship, when she was fourteen. During her years there, she attended workshops with schools such as the American Ballet Theater, the Houston Ballet School, the Washington Ballet School, and the Royal Ballet School of Covent Garden. She also performed with Arts Umbrella Dance Company in Vancouver, Canada, and Peter Pucci Plus Dancers at City Center, in NYC. Upon graduation she began her freelance career, performing at theaters such as; The City Center, Lincoln Center, The Joyce; Soho, Symphony Space, Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Purchase College Performing Arts Center, and Dixon Place.
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Elisabeth is also a company member of Periapsis Music & Dance, while freelancing with Benjamin Briones Ballet, Emotions Physical Theatre, AS Arts NYC and CONNetic Dance. As well as independent choreographers Ursula Verduzco, Erin Dillon, Juan Michael Porter II, Leigh Schanfein and Annalee Traylor. She has performed roles in: The Nutcracker, Raymonda, Le Corsaire, Gisselle, Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Serenade- George Balenchine, Samsera- Margo Sappington, Birthday Variations- Gerald Arpino, Billboards Willing and Able- Peter Pucci, Kettentanz- Gerald Arpino, Capriccious- Trinette Singleton. Elisabeth is excited to begin working with Thomas Ortiz Dance! Check out her website: elisabethjeffrey.com
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Miguel Solano (Dancer) Originally from Medellin, Colombia. He started his dance training at the age of seventeen as a dance major in the Arts department at the District University of Bogotá, Colombia. At eighteen he started his ballet training at BalletStudio in Bogotá, Colombia, under the direction of Patricia Niño and a year later he moved to New York to continue his studies with a full scholarship at the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet. After two years, Miguel graduated from the professional training program and was invited to join the Company in 2015. Miguel danced with the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet for two years.
Ali Paige Block (Dancer) is a professional ballet and contemporary dancer, based in New York City. She trained at the former School of Cleveland Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, and Miami City Ballet School, with summers at the Chautauqua Institution, BalletX, the National Ballet School of Canada, and Jacob’s Pillow. She was featured as Clara in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes and was invited on National Tour. Ali danced in Balanchine’s Serenade at the Hollywood Bowl Opening Night Gala. Read More She is one of four dancers featured in Steve Childs’ documentary, And We Will Dance. Ali danced with Texas Ballet Theater and Eugene Ballet Company before moving to New York City in 2014. She currently dances with Eglevsky Ballet, where she danced the title role in the premiere of Maurice Brandon Curry’s Cinderella. In New York City, she has also danced with Claudia Schreier, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Edward Morgan Ballet, Exit12 Dance, and Brookoff Dance Repertory Company. With the Columbia Ballet Collaborative, she has worked with choreographers Emory LeCrone, Claudia Schreier, and Barry Kerollis. She has also danced with Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance, Sarasota Ballet, and as a guest artist with Verb Ballets. In addition to her dancing, Ali studies Psychology at Columbia University. show less
Danielle Shupe (Dancer) Danielle Shupetrained at the Woodbury Ballet and graduated from their concentrated program. After high school she was a full scholarship trainee at the Joffrey Ballet school in NYC under the direction of John Magnus and later George de la Pena. While there she performed works by Robert Joffrey, Gerald Arpino, Peter Pucci and Margo Sappington. She was also one of 8 trainees chosen to perform with Arts Umbrella in Vancouver,Canada. From there she joined New York Theatre Ballet for three seasons and performed works by Antony Tudor, Frederick Ashton and Agnes De Mille. She currently dances with Connecticut Ballet and Freelances in NYC.
Eliza Tollett (Dancer) a native of Massachusetts, has been a dancer with Thomas/Ortiz Dance since October, 2015. Eliza is also currently a company member of Brooklyn Ballet, and she has had the opportunity to perform with several other ballet companies including New York Theatre Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Terpsicorps Theater of Dance, and as a character dancer in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty with American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Read More The contemporary dance companies she has worked with include Armitage Gone! Dance, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, Buggé Ballet, and Brooklyn Contemporary Ballet Collective. In January 2017, Eliza had the opportunity to perform as a featured dancer in Secondary Dominance, an original opera composed by Sarah Small for the 2017 Prototype Festival. Eliza holds a BFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a double major in French. She received her initial dance training from Walnut Hill School of the Arts, spending summers at School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Boston Ballet School on scholarship. While not performing, Eliza is an ABT® National Training Curriculum Certified Teacher in Pre-Primary through Level 5, and she is on the faculty at Ballet School of Stamford and Mini-Mix at Greenwich Academy. She is also an Assistant Teacher at Ballet Tech, and teaches private ballet lessons to students of all ages. show less
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Alejandro Ulloa (Dancer) A native of Nicaragua, international freelance artist Alejandro Ulloa began his dance training at the Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Nicaragua under the direction of maestro William Herrera, and launched his professional dance career with the Compañía Ballet de Nicaragua where he quickly became a principal dancer. He was later invited to be part of the contemporary company Danza Contemporánea Universitaria UNAN-Managua. In 2015, Alejandro and Maestro Herrera launched the first-ever ballet and neoclassical ensemble at the Nicaraguan University, where Alejandro became the Cultural Promoter for the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, as well as Director for the “Taller de Líneas Clásicas”.
Later that year, he also became co-producer, teacher, and choreographer for Compañía Ballet de Nicaragua, as well as a ballet and contemporary teacher at the Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Nicaragua. Alejandro’s vast repertoire has ranged from classical to contemporary works, as he has worked with a plethora of directors and choreographers. He has appeared as a guest artist for Gainesville Ballet’s production of Carmen, Danse Etoile’s Le Bayadere in Costa Rica, Island Moving Company, Neglia Ballet, and Ajkun Ballet Theatre.
He has also participated in many festivals, such as Jacob’s Pillow Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts, APAP Festival in New York City, Bitef Theater and Terazije Theater in Serbia, the International Ballet Gala in Nicaragua, the 50th anniversary of Universidad de Campeche-Mexico, the 20th Anniversary of Fundacion Ballet de El Salvador, and Great Friends Dance Festival in Newport, Rhode Island among others. In addition, Alejandro was an integral part of the Art and Science Unite as Psychological Treatment in Adults and Youth Workshop, developed by the Yale Hispanic Mental Health Clinic, and in 2016 he was awarded the “Artist of International Projection of the Year” by the Nicaraguan Artist Association. Alejandro is currently dancing with Connecticut Ballet, New England Ballet and Thomas Ortiz Dance Company, and a dance instructor for New Haven Ballet, Connecticut Theater Dance School, Nutmeg Performing Dance Center, New England Ballet, New England Dance Arts, and The Dance Connection. Most recently, Alejandro co-founded Connecticut Theater Dance Company in Westport, CT, where he is working to cultivate a compelling, dynamic, and socially relevant collection of contemporary repertoire as the resident choreographer and a principal dancer with the company.
Gabrielle Gilchrist (Dancer) South Salem NY. Received her early dance training at the New England Academy of Dance in New Canaan, CT. under the direction of Ginna Ortiz, Frances Ortiz, and Ted Thomas as well as attended Ballet Regent, American Academy of Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Gabrielle has since performed various lead roles in ballet such as the Nutcracker, Con Amore by Lew Christen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and George Balanchine’s Valse-Fantaisie under the direction of Bettie-Jane Sills. She went on to receive her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Arts Management at SUNY Purchase College. She is presently a teacher and rehearsal assistant at New England Academy of Dance and a member of Thomas/ Ortiz Dance.
Cortney Taylor Key (Dancer) is a native of Charlotte, NC. She studied under the instruction of Susan Thorsland and Kim Hotchner at The Northwest School of the Performing Arts middle and high school. Ms. Key graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, with an Arts with a Bachelors in Fine Arts in contemporary dance performance. While at UNCSA, Ms. Key has performed works by Antonio Brown of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Thang Dao Danse Theater, George Faison, Alfred Gallman, David Robertson, Juel D. Lane, and Arthur Mitchell. She’s had apprenticeships with both Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and The Francesca Harper Project. Read More Cortney has been with Brooklyn Ballet for two seasons and currently trains with Elena Kunikova, Karin Averty, and Mentored by Paunika Jones. Ms. Key is looking forward to what the future will bring. She spires to be an inspiration to young men and women of color. She thanks her loved ones and educators for their infinite support. show less