Auditorium Theatre 2018-19 Issue 1 Deeply Rooted

6 | DEEPLY ROOTED DANCE THEATER/VISCERAL DANCE CHICAGO/ATE9 DANCE COMPANY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018 VISCERAL DANCE CHICAGO Paige Fraser is from the Bronx, NY, and began her training at Ballet Atlantic Academy, and later attended Professional Performing Arts High School/The Ailey School. She was a scholarship student at American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Complexions, Jacob’s Pillow, and Juilliard summer intensives. Fraser is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, where she graduated cum laude in 2012. Fraser was a member of Ailey II for the 2011-2013 seasons under the artistic direction of Sylvia Waters and Troy Powell. She has performed as a guest artist with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and Ruth Page Civic Ballet. She has done commercial work with Beyoncé, Chanel Iman, and Jussie Smollett, and has been featured in international campaigns with INTEL, ESPN Latin America, and ELLE Magazine. Fraser is a founding dancer of Visceral Dance Chicago and is now in her sixth season with the company. She is honored to be a recipient of a 2016 Dance Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2017. Fraser is the founder and president of The Paige Fraser Foundation, which advocates for dancers living with or without disabilities. Meredith Harrill is from Orlando, FL, and began her dance training at Central Florida Ballet Academy. She continued her training on scholarship at the Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, D.C. Harrill was a trainee with The Joffrey Ballet and BalletMet Columbus and was given the opportunity to perform with both companies in several productions. She joined State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara in 2013 and was a soloist in several pieces, including works by Autumn Eckman, Edgar Zendejas, William Soleau, and Gina Patterson. Harrill has received awards from both Youth America Grand Prix and World Ballet Competition and has attended summer programs at Lines Ballet, The Juilliard School, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Harrill is extremely excited to be heading into her second season with Visceral Dance Chicago and to continue to develop as an artist. Noelle Kayser , originally from Atlanta, GA, completed her early dance training at the Decatur School of Ballet before joining Atlanta Ballet’s pre-professional program. Kayser continued her dance training after high school, spending one year at both SUNY Purchase and the Lou Conte Dance Center. In 2011, Kayser joined Luna Negra Dance Theater as an apprentice under the direction of Gustavo Ramirez Sansano. Kayser returned to Atlanta in 2013 to join glo, a collaborative performance platform, founded by Lauri Stallings. Other Atlanta credits include the Proia Dance Project, Erik Thurmond’s Ripple , Gathering Wild Dance Company, and Scrap Theater Group’s one woman play Leda . In addition to her dancing, Kayser has narrated 16 audiobooks for Listen Up Productions/ audible.com and appeared in industrials for Grey Television and Kitchenaid. Since relocating to Chicago, Kayser has had the opportunity to act as a choreographic assistant to both Stephanie Martinez and Wilfredo Rivera. Kayser has set her own choreography on Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater, Moonwater Dance Project, and Atlanta’s Kit Modus. Kayser is currently in her fourth season with Visceral Dance Chicago under the direction of Nick Pupillo. Prince Lyons is from St. Louis, MO, and began his dance training at Best Dance and Talent Center under the direction of Judy Best-Person. After high school, Lyons attended Webster University in St. Louis and trained under Michael Uthoff, Alicia Graf Mack, Maggie Dueker, John Gardner, and Amanda McKerrow. He attended the summer programs of Nashville Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Body Traffic, Arts Umbrella/Ballet BC, and Springboard Danse Montréal, receiving full scholarships, second company, and apprenticeship offers. During these programs, he has performed the works of Dwight Rhoden, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Patrica McBride, Hofesh Shechter, Cystal Pite, Robin Mineko-Williams, William Forsyth, Matts Ek, and Ji ř í Kylián. While at Webster University, Lyons performed the works of José Limon, Michael Uthoff, RAWDanceSF, and Antony Tudor, while also dancing with choreographers Kameron N. Saunders, Diane McIntyre, Matthew Rushing, Anthony “REDD” Williams, and Antonio and Kirven Douthit-Boyd. Lyons graduated cum laude from Webster University in 2017 with a BFA in dance, with an emphasis on ballet. Ricky Ruiz received his initial dance training in Miami, FL, and attended the University of South Florida, where he graduated cum laude with a BFA in dance performance. While in college, he was an apprentice at Ann Reinking’s Broadway Theatre Project for two consecutive summers. In 2007, Ruiz moved to Chicago to begin dancing with River North Dance Chicago, where he performed for five seasons. With River North, he performed works by Robert Battle, Lauri Stallings, Sidra Bell, Harrison McEldowny, Frank Chavez and others. Since moving on from the company, he has danced with Elements Contemporary Ballet and Level Dance Chicago, performed for Thodos’ Annual New Dances, and performed for and with numerous Chicago-based choreographers on various projects and performances. Ruiz is on faculty at the Lou Conte Dance Center, and directs a youth dance company in Downers Grove, IL, at the Academy of Dance Arts. This is Ruiz’s first season guesting with Visceral Dance Chicago. Cole Vernon, originally from Sonoma County, CA, has had the pleasure of performing internationally as well as throughout the US. with companies such as DanceWorks Chicago, River North Dance Chicago, and Ballet Hispanico in New York City. Cole received his BFA in dance from the University of Arizona in 2013, having worked with the University’s incredible faculty members as well as inspiring artists from the Balanchine Trust, Larry Keigwin + Company, Ann Reinking, and Gary Chryst, among others. After graduating summa cum laude and participating in Springboard Danse Montréal, he made Chicago his home. In addition to performing, Vernon also enjoys providing dance education and choreographing for the artists of the future.