Auditorium Theatre 2018-19 Issue 3 Alvin Ailey

performance from the University of South Florida, where he received scholarships for excellence in performance and choreography. Mr. Terry was a scholarship student at The Ailey School and a member of Ailey II, and he has performed with Buglisi Dance Theatre, Arch Dance, Dance Iquail, and Philadanco, and as a guest artist on the television show So You Think You Can Dance. In 2013, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from USF for outstanding service to the arts. He has made costumes for the Company, Ailey II, Philadanco, Jessica Lang Dance, and The Black Iris Project, to name a few. His evening wear has been in Essence online as well as shot by the late Bill Cunningham for the style section of The New York Times. Mr. Terry joined the Company in 2010. Please followMr. Terry on Instagram@Jerms83. FANA TESFAGIORGIS (Madison, WI) is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance with a minor in journalism. She began training at Ballet Madison under the direction of Charmaine Ristow and attended InterlochenArtsAcademy High School. Ms. Tesfagiorgis also trained at summer and winter intensives at Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. Professionally she has danced with Ailey II, Brian Harlan Brooks’ Continuum, Alenka Cizmesja’s Art DeConstructed, Dance Iquail, Freddie Moore’s Footprints, and Samuel Pott’s Nimbus Dance Works. Ms. Tesfagiorgis has been a rehearsal assistant for Hope Boykin, Earl Mosley, Pedro Ruiz, Matthew Rushing, and Sylvia Waters. She joined the Company in 2013. CHRISTOPHER R. WILSON (Augusta, GA) is a graduate of John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School and most recently graduated cum laude from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in Dance. He has studied at Colton Ballet School, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and The School at Jacob’s Pillow. He began his professional career with BHdos, the second company of Ballet Hispánico, and has performed at The World Monument Fund's Hadrian Gala honoring Queen Sofía of Spain as well as the 2017 Essence Festival in New Orleans. He has performed works by choreographers Matthew Rushing, Kyle Abraham, Emily Molnar, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Eduardo Vilaro, to name a few. He has performed as a guest artist with The Black Iris Project and was a member of Ailey II. Mr. Wilson joined the Company in 2018. Follow his tour and dance adventures @christopher.r.wilson on Instagram. The Ailey dancers are supported, in part, by The Judith McDonough Kaminski Dancer Endowment Fund. DeGeneres Show, The Mo'Nique Show, LIVE with Kelly and Michael, and The Today Show . Ms. Sims has appeared at the White House Series, Youth America Grand Prix, Vail International Dance Festival, and galas in Budapest and Vienna, and originated featured roles by Judith Jamison, Donald Byrd, Alonso King, Dwight Rhoden, Ronald K. Brown, Mauro Bigonzetti, Jennifer Muller, Karole Armitage, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Rennie Harris, Christopher L. Huggins, andAszure Barton. She teaches master classes worldwide and is a certified Zena Rommett Floor-Barre instructor. Ms. Sims joined the Company in 1996 and is currently the assistant to the rehearsal director. COURTNEY CELESTE SPEARS (Baltimore, MD) is of Bahamian descent and began formal training at the Baltimore School for the Arts under the direction of Norma Pera. She is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, where she graduated summa cum laude with degrees in dance and communications. Ms. Spears has attended summer intensives at The Juilliard School, Cedar Lake, andAmericanBallet Theatre, where shewas named theNational Training Scholar for two consecutive years. She has performed works by Ray Mercer, Jae Man Joo, Marcus Willis, Bridget Moore, and Dwight Rhoden. She was recognized on the cover of Howard Magazine as a “Rising Young Star” and received The Denise Jefferson Memorial Scholarship. Ms. Spears is the recipient of a 2015 Dance Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and is the founder and director of ArtSea Dance, an outreach program and dance management company based in the Bahamas. She was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2018. Find Ms. Spears on Instagram@bahamaballerina. CONSTANCE STAMATIOU (Charlotte, NC) began her dance training at Pat Hall’s Dance Unlimited and North Carolina Dance Theatre. She graduated from NorthWest School of the Arts and studied at SUNY Purchase before becoming a fellowship student at The Ailey School. In 2009, Ms. Stamatiou received the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the performing and visual arts. She performed at the White House Dance Series and has been a guest performer on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, Logo’s Trailblazer Honors, and The Today Show . Ms. Stamatiou has also danced in the films Shake Rattle & Roll and in Dan Pritzker’s Bolden . Ms. Stamatiou was a member of Ailey ll and a guest artist for Dance Grand Moultrie and Caroline Calouche & Co. She is a certified Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis instructor and a mother of two. Ms. Stamatiou first joined the Company in 2007 and rejoined in 2016. Follow her on Instagram@constancestamatiou. JERMAINE TERRY (Washington, DC) began his dance training in Kissimmee, Florida, at James Dance Center. He graduated cum laude with a BFA in dance WHO'S WHO IN THE COMPANY