Ellis Broderick (she/her) was born in New York and raised in Bennington, Vermont. She spent her early years dancing at Berkshire Dance Theatre before attending Boston Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Program. There she had the opportunity to perform in productions of Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht and Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker with Boston Ballet’s main company. She then furthered her training at Ballet Academy East in New York under Darla Hoover, performing in Bournonville’s Napoli and Balanchine’s Scherzo à la Russe.

Ellis joined Ballet Austin’s trainee program and was later promoted to apprentice with the company. While there she performed classical renditions of Swan Lake, The Firebird, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In 2022, Ellis joined New Ballet in San Jose, performing principal roles in both classical and contemporary work with choreography by Dalia Rawson.

While living in the Bay Area, she has also performed with eMotion Arts under the direction of Mariana Sobral. In addition to dancing Ellis is a dance teacher, certified through the ABT® National Training Curriculum in levels Pre-Primary through Level 3.

Lawrence Chen (he/him) grew up in Southern California, studying ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop from the age of thirteen under the care of Victor and Tatiana Kasatsky and their faculty. He went on to compete in the YAGP, placing in the Top 12 Pas De Deux in the New York Finals of 2014 as well as in the Top 3 soloist divisions at regional venues for several years. At Pomona College, Lawrence obtained a BA in chemistry with mathematics, took on collegiate ballroom, and performed as a principal dancer for the Inland Pacific Ballet under the watchful eye of Victoria Koenig. In addition to dancing with the Oakland Ballet Company, Lawrence teaches ballet at Berkeley Ballet Theater, Alameda Ballet Academy, and The Hills Swim and Tennis club. He also tutors high school STEM subjects. At OBC, he has performed as the deer in Graham Lustig’s Luna Mexicana, the titular role of The Nutcracker, and several other original works by Graham Lustig. Lawrence has also been featured in new works by choreographers Caili Quan, Megan and Shannon Kurashige, and Phil Chan, a co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface. Lawrence received an Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance by an Individual for his work in OBC’s 22-23 season and is a contributing choreographer to OBC’s Angel Island Project. This is his fourth full season with the Oakland Ballet.

Karina Eimon (she/her) is from the Bay Area and trained with Ayako School of Ballet. Under the tutelage of Ayako Takahashi, she placed in the top three of YAGP SF for five consecutive years. In 2014 during her senior year of high school, she was invited to compete in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, where she was offered a trainee contract with Ballet Memphis. From there, she joined Milwaukee Ballet II then danced with Colorado Ballet. Karina joined Oakland Ballet in 2019 and has performed the Princess in Phil Chan’s Ballet des Porcelaines, featured roles in Jangala, Luna Mexicana, and The Nutcracker, as well as works by Benjamin Briones, Seyong Kim, Alyah Baker, Sean Dorsey, and Bobby Briscoe. Passionate about sharing her love of dance and movement, Karina is a ballet teacher and certified GYROTONIC® instructor.

Alexander Griffith (he/him) welcomes his second season with Oakland Ballet. He began his training with the Charlotte Ballet in North Carolina before joining Rochester City Ballet in New York. There he danced the role of Quint in Salvatore Aiello’s Turn of the Screw as well as featured roles in their production of The Nutcracker. Since joining Oakland Ballet, Alex has been featured as Diego in Viva la Vida, Chocolate in Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker, and in the Dancing Moons Festival. He has appeared as a guest artist with San Jose Ballet, Ayako School of Ballet, and the Westlake School of Performing Arts. Alex finds teaching an enriching experience and has offered his expertise and training to adult and youth students in both private and group classes at various studios across the Bay Area.

Kyle Ikuma (he/him) originally from northern New Jersey, began dancing at age 12 with Carolyn Santonicola and continued studying at Ballet Academy East with notable instructors including Darla Hoover, Peter Frame, Joseph Malbrough, Maxim Beloserkovsky, and Wendy Whelan. During his training, he attended summer intensives at Steps on Broadway, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Kaatsbaan, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Kyle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Princeton University. He also earned a minor in dance performance from Princeton’s Program in Dance, directed by Susan Marshall and Rebecca Lazier, where he studied and performed ballet, contemporary, and rhythm tap styles. In 2023, Kyle was recognized as a Scholar-In-Residence at the Vail Dance Festival. His repertoire includes featured roles in Sleeping Beauty, George Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie, Justin Peck’s Rodeo, Ariel Rose’s Elysium, and several works by Jenna Lavin, Rebecca Lazier, Michael J. Love, and Ronald K. Brown.

Vinnie Jones (she/her) is from Maine and began her training at Ballet Theater Workshop in Portsmouth, NH. She attended the University of Utah School of Dance on scholarship, earning a BFA. Professionally she has danced with San Diego Ballet, LaMov Compañia de Danza (Spain), and Ballet Tucson. Since moving to the Bay Area, she has performed with Menlowe Ballet, Oceanica Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theater, Trivial Motion, and worked with choreographer Marika Brussel. Vinnie has performed soloist and principal roles in Serenade, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Carmina Burana, The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, and Firebird. While with LaMov Compañia de Danza she performed principal roles in contemporary versions of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and El Trovador as well as works by Victor Jimenea, Francisco Lorenzo, and Itak Galili. In 2019 she co-founded em(body) dance project, where she choreographs, performs, and produces digital dance works. Her choreography has been presented in Utah, Arizona, California, Chicago, St. Louis, Mexico, and Spain, as well as in the Bay Area. She creates contemporary solos and group works for elite dance competitions including Youth America Grand Prix and the California Dance Classics. Her dance films have been presented at festivals in the Bay Area, Chicago, and St. Louis.

Mimi Lamar (she/her) was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Dallas Texas. She started her Dance training at the age of 9, training at various dance studios in North Texas before moving to Boca Raton Florida at the age of 15 to study at the Harid Conservatory. When the COVID pandemic was at its worst, Mimi moved back home and trained with Elite Classical Coaching. In 2021 She joined SF Ballet school as a trainee and in 2023 Mimi became an apprentice with San Francisco Ballet. She has worked with brilliant choreographers such as Aszure Barton, Val Caniparoli, Nicolas Leblanc, Victor Plotnikov, and many more.

Lucia Lorenzo (she/her) trained at Rochester City Ballet’s affiliate school and as a Trainee with Rochester City Ballet under Jamey Leverett. She has spent the past two seasons as a soloist with De La Dance Company in Cincinnati performing most notably as Swanilda in Coppelia and the Sylph in La Sylphide, in addition to soloist and principal roles in La Bayadere, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Raymonda, and Le Corsaire. At 16, she moved to study at San Francisco Ballet School under Patrick Armand, dancing works by Helgi Tomasson, Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, as a demi-soloist in Serenade, and in student pieces as both a choreographer and dancer. In 2018 she joined Ballet Austin performing Paquita, Giselle, Mikhail Fokine’s Les Sylphides, and as one of the Four Little Swans in Swan Lake. While in Austin, Lucia also had the opportunity to work with Jennifer Archibald, Jennifer Hart, Jimmy Orrante, Erica Gionfriddo, Alexa Capareda and Performa/Dance Company.

Logan Martin (they/them) started their professional career with Pennsylvania Ballet II. They then trained at Houston Ballet Academy before joining Ballet West II. Logan joined Ballet West’s main company in 2014, performing with the company for three seasons. In 2017 they stepped away from their ballet career to focus on their health, learn new skills, and have new experiences. In 2022 they started the rigorous training needed to step back into their ballet career. After appearing as a guest in ballet productions around Utah, Logan joined Oakland Ballet Company where they have had the honor to create roles in new works by renowned choreographers. Logan is thrilled and thankful to have had the opportunity to dance across the country for so many prestigious institutions. Throughout their career Logan has performed leading roles such as; Aladdin in Aladdin, The Land Prince in The Little Mermaid, both by Peggy Dolkas and Pamela Robinson Harris, Cavalier in Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker, the Calavera in Birthdays, as well as Phil Chan’s Amber Waves, Ballet des Porcelaines, and the duet, from Exquisite Corps. Soloist roles include Jessica Lang’s Lyric Pieces, George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Almost Tango and Rite of Spring, by Nicolo Fonte, and Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly.

Jazmine Quezada (she/her) is from Ventura County, California where she began her ballet training at age 11 with Ventura County Ballet and was the first to receive the Ron Noblin Full Scholarship Award. Jazmine attended American Ballet Theater’s New York summer intensive in 2011 followed by the Joffrey Chicago International summer dance intensive on full scholarship. In 2016 she moved to San Francisco to continue her training on scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet School. There she performed with the San Francisco Ballet in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and in the leading role of Grace in Helgi Tomasson’s Meisten Mozart. Since joining the Oakland Ballet in 2018, she has performed the role of Luna in Luna Mexicana, the Sugar Plum Fairy in Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker, Frida Kahlo in Viva la Vida, Elaine Kudo’s Duet and Phil Chan’s Quartet from Exquisite Corpse, created roles in works by Caili Quan, and Megan and Shannon Kurashige, and appeared in the dance films Brief Encounter, In Plain Sight, and What I See. When not dancing at Oakland Ballet, you can find Jazmine at her ballet school, Tutu School Union City, twirling with her dancers.

Lucas Sverdlen (he/him) holds a BA in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College. Growing up in New Jersey, he started his training with the New Jersey Ballet. Lucas has attended intensives with American Ballet Theatre, the Bolshoi Ballet, and the Martha Graham Dance Company. He has danced with Dances Patrelle, and sung at Brandy’s Piano Bar, The Duplex, and The Stonewall Inn. He is super excited to be returning to Oakland Ballet.

Ashley Thopiah (they/she/he) holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Butler University. Their dance training began at the Christine Rich Dance Academy and was further honed through summer programs at State Street Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. At Butler, Ashley took on various roles including corps, soloist, and principal in productions such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, La Bayadere, Cinderella, and George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments. As a choreographer, Ashley has created two significant works for Butler University’s dance department: Jyoti and Ekta. These pieces intertwine modern dance with Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form, reflecting the dual aspects of their identity. In the summer of 2018, Ekta was performed at the National Opera House in Warsaw, Poland, and traveled to Prague, Krakow, Poznan, and Bratislava. Since joining Oakland Ballet in 2019, Ashley has made notable contributions, including creating the role of Coffee in Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker and performing in works such as Caili Quan’s Layer Upon Layer, Alyah Baker’s 4 Parts Jazz, Graham Lustig’s Dialogues, and Seyong Kim’s Duet from Exquisite Corpse. They are also a contributing choreographer for OBC’s Angel Island Project, collaborating with distinguished artists Natasha Adore, Ye Feng, Elaine Kudo, Phil Chan, and Lawrence Chen.

Alyssa Viray (she/her) began her training at Westlake School for the Performing Arts where she performed the Sugar Plum Fairy, Princess Flora, and the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, as well as Odile in Swan Lake. She received her BFA in Dance from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Program at Dominican University of California. During her time there she performed works by Gregory Dawson, Dexandro Montalvo, Kara Davis, Liv Schaffer, and Jay Carlon. She furthered her training at Orsolina’28 Nunes/Flock Intensive, BalletX Winter Intensive, and Modus Operandi Summer Intensive. Most recently, Alyssa danced with DawsonDanceSF, under the direction of Gregory Dawson where she performed the world premiere of The Joy Protocol in collaboration with Richard Howell and The Middle Period for the Tannery Winter Dance Festival and Black Choreographer’s Festival. This is her first season with Oakland Ballet.