Promotions for 2022-23 Season and Roster Changes

[Helene]

From Ballet West:

SALT LAKE CITY – For the 2022-2023 season, Ballet West has announced thirteen dancer promotions, one new addition to Ballet West, and seven new Ballet West II members. Adam Sklute, Ballet West Artistic Director, has bolstered the Company by primarily promoting from within the ranks.

“When I began at Ballet West in 2007, few dancers had come out of Ballet West II and we had no dancers in the company who were products of our Academy.” Said Sklute, “Over the years I have worked hard to change that.  Now, 75 percent of the company’s roster come out of BWII. A third are graduates of the Ballet West Academy, and most of BWII were trained at the Academy, some even starting at the ground up as children.” Sklute adds, “It is wonderful to see so many of these artists ready to take on greater responsibility as the future of our company.”

Amy Potter and Jordan Veit have both been promoted to Principal Artist. Potter, former member of BWII, was promoted to the BW corps in 2015. She left to become Principal Ballerina with Oklahoma City Ballet from 2014-2018, returning to BW as a Soloist last season. Of Potter, Sklute says, “Amy is a unique and special creature who combines a delicate presence with a pure and rock-solid technique. She brings a wealth of experience and artistry from her years away combined with wonderful training that she had early on with BWII.”

Sklute first discovered Veit at the age of 15 in Seattle, WA. Veit joined BWII in 2012 and the main company in 2013. He has risen steadily through the ranks ever since. “Jordan is a tireless worker and an elegant performer,” says Sklute. “He has really grown to become a true prince.” Potter and Veit join the spectacular and diverse rank of BW Principals that include Emily Adams, Katlyn Addison, Hadriel Diniz, Adrian Fry, and Jenna Rae Herrera.

Soloist Chelsea Keefer, a member of Ballet West since 2014, will be promoted to the rank of First Soloist, and David Huffmire, who joined BWII in 2016 and the main company in 2018, will be promoted to Soloist.

Joining the Company as a Soloist is new member Brian Waldrep, formerly of Houston Ballet and National Ballet of Uruguay.

Dominic Ballard, Olivia Gusti, Kazlyn Nielsen, Jake Preece, and Kristina Weimer have all been promoted from Corps Artists to Demi Soloists. Jacob Hancock and Rylee Rogers were promoted from Ballet West II to Main Company New Artists, and Tatiana Stevenson and Loren Walton were promoted to Apprentice 1 from Ballet West II.

New Additions to Ballet West II 

Joining Ballet West II, Ballet West’s pre-professional company, are Micheal Bushman, formerly of Pacific Northwest Ballet School; Luca Freudenberg, formerly of Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago; Victor Galeana, a former Ballet West Academy Trainee who was discovered in BW's I Can Do program and holds the distinction of being the first student from Ballet West Academy to be accepted into the Prix de Lausanne; Schuyler Lian, formerly of School of American Ballet top women's division; Lexi McCloud, who placed Top 12 at the 2021 Prix de Lausanne, formerly of Utah's MOGA Academy under the direction of Misa Oga-Hansen; Julia Outmesquine, formerly of Westside School of Dance in Southern California and Royal Ballet School of England; and Kaeli Ware, former Ballet West Academy Trainee who appeared on So You Think You Can Dance?

Departing Dancers 

At the conclusion of its 2021-22 season, Ballet West bids a fond farewell to Principal Artists Beckanne Sisk, Chase O'Connell, and Rex Tilton; First Soloist Allison DeBona; Corps Artist Joshua Shutkind; Apprentice 2 Severina Wong; and Ballet West II artists Alladson Barreto, Mackenzie Bartlett, and Ella Schultze.