Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Issue 7 - Aida

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 32 SAM CROUCH DANCER Previously at Lyric: Jen ˚ufa (2023/24) and The Pearl Fishers (2017/18). Crouch received his BFA fromWestern Michigan University in 2016, where he performed in works by Lew Christensen, Antony Tudor, Gerald Arpino, and many other choreographers. Since moving to Chicago, he has danced with The Queens Ball: A Bridgerton Experience , Dance in the Parks, South Chicago Dance Theater, Hot Crowd, Aerial Dance Chicago, and Same Planet Performance Project. He has also worked with Zikr Dance Ensemble in Colorado as company dancer and rehearsal director, The Queens Ball: A Bridgerton Experience in Minnesota, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Quixotic Fusion in Missouri, andWellspring Cori Terry and Dancers in Michigan. He has recently done choreography work for Dance in the Parks, Momenta, and Hot Crowd. CARL PONCE CUBERO DANCER Previously at Lyric: Fiddler on the Roof (2022/23). Currently based in New York City, Cubero (they/them/siya) received a BFA in Dance Performance with a minor in Anthropology from the University of California, Irvine. They performed domestically and internationally with Ailey II from 2018 to 2020. The Filipinx American dancer was also a guest artist with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Spring 2022. Cubero has danced works by Donald McKayle, Alvin Ailey, Aszure Barton, Lar Lubovitch, Andrea Miller, Rena Butler, and David Parsons. MARIAN FAUSTINO DANCER Previously at Lyric: The Pearl Fishers (2017/18). Faustino began her career in the Philippines, with the country’s two premiere dance organizations, Ballet Manila and Ballet Philippines. While there, she danced principal roles in Don Quixote (Kitri), La Bayadere (Gamzatti), and The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy), among others. She was also Philippine representative to major ballet competitions in Moscow and Nagoya, where she earned semi- finalist and finalist certificates, respectively. In 2011, Faustino became a founding member of the contemporary ballet company, Wonderbound, in Denver, where she danced for five seasons. Other highlights include performances with San Francisco Opera ( Orfeo and Eurydice , 2022), Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Dance Aspen, Owen Cox Dance Group, and Boulder Ballet. LESTER GONZALEZ DANCER Lyric debut Gonzalez graduated from the National Ballet School of Havana, Cuba. In 2011, he joined Ballet Laura Alonso as a company dancer, and later emigrated to the United States. He has performed diverse roles from the classical and contemporary repertoire, including lead roles in Septime Webre’s The Great Gatsby and Fluctuating Hemlines . With Ballet San Antonio, he performed as Romeo in Edwaard Liang’s Romeo and Juliet . He has been featured in productions with the San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, and Los Angeles Opera. A former company dancer with the Dayton Ballet, in 2023 he made his musical theater debut in the North American tour of Anastasia , and was recently one of 16 dancers to be selected for the National Choreographers Initiative program. VERNON GOODEN DANCER Previously at Lyric: The Daughter of the Regiment (2023/24) and Carmen (2022/23). The Chicago-based choreographer, performer, and teacher is a graduate of the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and in 2001 was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Gooden later trained at The Juilliard School, and has performed with the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre, Joel Hall Dancers, Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre, Winifred Haun & Dancers, and Chicago Repertory Ballet. He has performed works by Paul Taylor, Katherine Dunham, Donald McKayle, Bill T. Jones, Milton Myers, Cleo Parker Robinson, Nai-Ni Chen, Adam Houghland, Jessica Lang, Christopher Huggins, Kevin Iega Jeff, Winifred Haun, and Wade Schaaf, among others. MARCUS HARDY DANCER Previously at Lyric: Four productions since 2021/22, most recently Champion and The Daughter of the Regiment (both 2023/24). After receiving his BFA in Dance Performance from East Carolina University, Hardy joined the Inaside Chicago Dance company, where he spent five years. He has performed as a guest artist with SueMo Dance Company, Waterstreet Dance Company, and Chicago Dance Crash, and appeared at Lyric in Fiddler on the Roof (2022/23) and Fire Shut Up in My Bones (2021/22). ANDREW HARPER DANCER Previously at Lyric: La traviata (2018/19). The dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, visual artist, and video creator is based in Atlanta. His choreographic work for stage and camera has appeared at the American Dance Festival’s Movies by Movers , Lincoln Center, and Austin Opera. He has had work commissioned by Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Exit 12 Dance Company, and the UNC School of the Arts, and has been awarded fellowships at Jacob’s Pillow, UNCSA Choreographic Institute, and Lincoln Center Education. He has performed with the Washington National Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Theatre du Capitole, Opera National de Bordeaux, the Merce Cunningham Trust, The Ashley Bouder Project, Ben Munisteri Dance Projects, and many others.