Artist Bios
Juan Arango
Medellin, Colombia
Juan Guillermo Arango Villa was born in Medellin, Colombia, where he first started his ballet training at the age of 8 at Andrea Wolff Ballet under the direction of Andrea Wolff. By 9 years old, he took part in a local summer intensive at his home studio, learning the Miami City Ballet School curriculum with an international teacher and faculty member Kim Sonderegger.
Juan was offered a full scholarship for the Miami City Ballet Summer Intensive program in 2010, where he went continuously for the next several years. During his time in Miami, he had the opportunity to work with many internationally acclaimed dancers and directors such as Edward Vilella, Lourdes Lopez, and Arantxa Ochoa. He was ecstatic when he became an honorary full scholarship recipient to join the pre-professional division in 2016 and graduated in 2020.
Juan has had the opportunity to perform multiple Corps de Ballet, Soloist, and Principal Roles in major productions such as The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, La Bayadere, Le Corsaire, The Sleeping Beauty, Iuvenalis, Carnival of the Animals, Balabille, Coppelia, Divertimento N-15, Faena Arts Dance with Me, Le Petite Dance, Napoli, Serenade, Stars and Stripes, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Jewels.
Elizaveta Artikova
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Elizaveta Artikova was born on November 16, 1998, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She began dancing at the age of five and was accepted into the Tashkent Choreographic School at the age of ten. With nearly 17 years of experience in dance, she has developed a strong foundation in classical ballet, as well as contemporary and neoclassical styles.
After graduating, Elizaveta joined the National Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi, where she danced for six years. During her time there, she performed both corps and soloist roles and toured internationally with the company to Germany, China, Azerbaijan, Dubai, Greece, Spain, Moscow, and Turkey. She appeared in the acclaimed modern ballet Lazgi, performed on some of the world’s most renowned stages.
Elizaveta also spent a year in St. Petersburg, Russia, performing with a ballet company at the Hermitage Theatre. Her repertoire includes Four Little Swans, Pas de Trois, and the Neapolitan Solo in Swan Lake; Canary Fairy, Little Red Riding Hood, Fairy of Tenderness, and The Tale of the Cat and the Kitty in The Sleeping Beauty; Chinese Doll, Colombina, and Masha in The Nutcracker (choreographed by Maxim Petrov); Friends of Giselle and the Peasant Pas de Deux in Giselle; the Adagio Quartet in Le Corsaire; the Adagio in La Fille mal gardée; and the role of Rayada in Tomiris with the National Ballet.
Elizaveta is passionate about connecting with audiences through performance and is inspired by the opportunity to bring emotion and artistry to each role. Joining a new company is always a thrilling step, and while it comes with nerves, she views it as an exciting and enriching experience. Having dreamed of living in the United States since childhood, Elizaveta never imagined she would have the chance to dance in an American theater — a dream she now lives with gratitude and creative passion.
Hannah Holtsclaw Breen
Andover, Connecticut USA
Hannah Holtsclaw Breen is from Andover, Connecticut where she began training at Connecticut Concert Ballet. Holtsclaw is entering her eighth season as a Principal Dancer with Ballet Pensacola, where she has performed the roles of Kitri in Don Quixote, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Titania in Midsummer Night’s Dream, Christine in Phantom of the Opera, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Lucy in Dracula, Clara & SugarPlum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Snow White, and Paquita.
In addition to dancing with the professional company, Holtsclaw is Pre-Primary Division Manager and teaches modern, character, and beginner pointe for Ballet Pensacola’s Academy. Holtsclaw received In-weekly’s Best Of The Coast “Best Local Celebrity 2023” after she was featured in Emerald Coast Magazine’s article, On Pointe in April/May 2022.
Holtsclaw holds a B.F.A. in dance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where she studied under the direction of Qi Jiang and performed the principal role of Nikiya in La Bayadere. While at CCM, Holtsclaw collaborated with conductor Mark Gibson, Director of Orchestral Studies to choreograph and stage CCM’s rendition of Ravel’s Boléro for the conservatory’s 150th anniversary celebration and concurrently choreographed and staged an original piece, Letters from Reims, for the StudentChoreographer’s Showcase.
Holtsclaw reset both original works on Ballet Pensacola’s professional company during the 2024-2025 season. Holtsclaw has worked with world-renowned choreographer, Peter Chu at Regional Dance America (RDA) and was conferred the 2019 Choreography Connection Award for her original work staged at the 2019 National Choreography Intensive. Holtsclaw choreographed an original contemporary piece, Absolute, for Collin County Ballet Theatre’s Ballet Fete 2020 in Dallas, Texas and debuted her original rendition of The Nutcracker, choreographing on Ballet Pensacola’s professional company and academy in December 2020.
Prior to attending CCM, Holtsclaw trained in the Vaganova method at Bossov Ballet Theatre at Maine Central Institute under the tutelage of Artistic Director, Natalya Nikolaevna Getman, where she danced the roles of Pas D’Esclave, Blue Bird Pas De Deux, Four Swans, Swan Lake Pas De Trois, and principal roles in Don Quixote, Giselle, The Ugly Duckling and The Nutcracker.
Amanda Eve Carrick
Southfield, Michigan USA
Born and raised in Southfield, Michigan, Amanda Eve began her training in the Cecchetti method of ballet and varied modern dance techniques at The Link School of the Arts (Troy, MI). She graduated from the University of Oklahoma - School of Dance (2016) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a minor in Nonprofit Management. While at university, she was honored to tour to Eisenstadt, Austria, to perform in the “Haydentage” Festival (2014).
Following graduation, Amanda Eve danced with the Louisville Ballet for their 2016-2018 seasons, performing works by notable choreographers George Balanchine and Val Caniparoli. She then joined Fort Wayne Ballet from 2018-2022. Amanda Eve was honored to have represented Fort Wayne Ballet on the tour to Taizhou, China, with Sister Cities International (2018), and to have performed her first principal role in Fort Wayne Ballet’s production of Cinderella (2019). She has since performed works by notable choreographers Robert Joffrey, Gerald Arpino, and Edward Stierle.
Amanda Eve joined Ballet Pensacola for their 2022/2023 season and has since performed in principal roles such as the “Sugar Plum Fairy,” “Titania” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and “Aurora” from The Sleeping Beauty. In addition to performance, Amanda Eve has continued to create dance works on the Student Company and Company Dancers of Ballet Pensacola.
Savannah Crabtree
Destin, Florida USA
Savannah Crabtree was born in Destin, Florida. She grew up dancing and training at Northwest Florida Ballet, where she spent 10 years of her early training. In 2015, she joined their NFB pre-professional program, where she performed roles such as Peasant Pas de Deux in Giselle, Dewdrop in The Nutcracker, Tinker Bell in Peter Pan, and graduated from their program in spring 2019.
She joined Pittsburgh Ballet Theater in the fall of 2019 and had the opportunity to perform in their graduate program. She danced ballets like George Balanchine’s Serenade and other original creations. During this time, she was selected to perform with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s main company in productions like The Nutcracker and Beauty and The Beast. In spring 2021, Savannah graduated from their program.
Savannah joined Ballet Pensacola in the Corps de Ballet in September 2021 and became a soloist in May 2022. Her repertoire includes Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Clara and the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.
Lucy Hamilton
Lucy began her formal training in Wilmington, Delaware, with the school of First State Ballet Theatre. There, she performed with the corps of FSBT’s professional company, dancing most of the major classical ballets. At 16, Lucy moved to Florida to train at the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School in their pre-professional division. While at SCBS, Lucy performed roles such as Sugar Plum, Peasant Pas de Deux, Paquita Grand Pas Deux and Pas de Trois, Flora in The Awakening of Flora, Mercedes in Don Quixote, and contemporary works by Tania Vergara Pérez. In 2015, Lucy won silver in the Encuentro Internacional de Academias in Cuba.
In 2017, Lucy began her professional career with Ballet San Antonio, where she performed leading roles, including The Enchantress in Bruce Wells’ Beauty and the Beast, Snow Queen in Easton and Haley Smith’s Nutcracker, Fate in Carmen, Swan Lake Pas de Trois, Diana and Acteon Pas de Deux, as well as corps roles in Giselle, George Balanchine’s Rubies, and Gerald Arpino’s The Nutcracker. In 2019, Lucy joined Texas Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company under Ben Stevenson. There, she performed Stevenson’s Harlequinade Pas de Deux, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, Bernard Gaddis’s Ballet 37, and the Bird in Tim O’Keefe’s Peter and the Wolf.
In 2021, Lucy joined the Syracuse City Ballet and danced principal roles such as Carmen, the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, Marie Taglioni in the Grand Pas de Quatre, the Wedding Pas de Deux from Sleeping Beauty, Dying Swan, and the Fairy Godmother in Rene Daveluy’s Cinderella. While in Syracuse, Lucy also performed with the Central New York Ballet as Odette in Aldo Kattón’s Swan Lake Act II and had many original works created on her, such as Jared Allan Brunson’s Agartha, Felipe Panamá’s Contact, and Kattón's Bolero, A Thing of Beauty and Lies, Pandemonium, and Three Songs.
This will be Lucy’s first season with Ballet Pensacola.
Zion Harris
Boston, Massachusetts USA
Zion Harris is originally from Boston, Massachusetts, and received his training at Boston Ballet. While in the Pre-Professional and Trainee Program, he had the opportunity to perform with the company in Romeo and Juliet, La Sylphide, and The Sleeping Beauty.
In 2018, Zion joined Richmond Ballet’s second company, where he danced in productions including Cinderella and Who Cares? The following year, he joined First State Ballet Theatre and performed in Dracula, Carnival in Venice, and original works by fellow company members.
In 2020, Zion became a member of Fort Wayne Ballet, expanding his repertoire with ballets such as Light Rain, Fancy Free, and Romeo and Juliet. He joined Ballet Pensacola in 2024, performing featured roles such as the Jester in Cinderella, the Cavalier in The Nutcracker, and Espada in Don Quixote. Zion is excited to return for his second season with Ballet Pensacola!
Carey Hodovanich
Columbus, Ohio USA
Carey Hodovanich is from Columbus, Ohio, and began dancing with Dublin Dance Center at the age of three. She pursued higher education at the University of Alabama, graduating in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.
During her time at the University of Alabama, she studied under and performed in works by Qianping Guo, Rita Snyder, Cornelius Carter, and Sarah M. Barry, as well as works staged by James Jordan, Lauren Giordano Whittington, and Mikhail Ilyin. Notable roles include soloist in Todd Bolender’s fifth movement of Voyager, soloist in Schumann’s Sonatas, and ensemble member in the first collegiate staging of Gus Giordano’s Sing Sing Sing.
Since joining Ballet Pensacola in 2021, Carey has danced featured roles such as the Snow Queen, the Dew Drop, and the Arabian Pas de Deux in The Nutcracker, Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, Carlotta in Darren McIntyre’s The Phantom of the Opera, and Hermia in Darren McIntyre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has also performed as the Crystal Fountain Fairy and Cinderella in The Sleeping Beauty, as well as the Autumn Fairy in Cinderella. Most recently, Carey danced as the Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote. The 2025-2026 season will be Carey’s fifth season with the company.
Piper Martincheck
Southern California USA
A native of Southern California, Piper Martincheck started dancing at the age of seven. She trained at Riverside Ballet Arts, City Ballet of San Diego, and Milwaukee Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program under the direction of Tatiana Jouravel-Malinkine. She has participated in many summer intensives, including those at Boston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Milwaukee Ballet. She spent a year in Milwaukee Ballet’s Second Company and then went on to join Ballet Pensacola. She is excited to be starting her second year with the company.
Sunnat Temirov
Sunnat Temirov was born on January 29, 2002. He began his professional ballet career in 2020 as a soloist with the Alisher Navoi Academic Grand Theater of Opera and Ballet in Uzbekistan, where he worked until 2023.
In the 2023–2024 season, he was invited to join Fort Wayne Ballet as a soloist, where he performed in many productions, dancing principal and featured soloist roles. Some of the highlights of his repertoire include roles such as Marzipan, Chinese Tea, and Little Nutcracker in The Nutcracker; the Pas d’Esclave Pas de Deux in Le Corsaire; the Jester and Pas de Trois in Swan Lake; Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet; the Peasant Pas de Deux in Giselle; Basilio in Don Quixote; Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty; and the Golden Idol in La Bayadère. Sunnat is excited to continue growing as an artist and sharing his passion for dance in the upcoming season.
Trevor Williams
Paducah, KY USA
Trevor began his training at the age of 15 in his hometown of Paducah, Kentucky, before moving at the age of 17 to Louisville, Kentucky, joining Louisville Ballet's Studio Company. After graduating from his training, he accepted a company contract at Louisville Ballet for two more seasons, where he danced originated works by Andrea Schermoly, Adam Hougland, and danced works by Val Caniparoli, Ronald Hynd, and more.
Trevor joined Ballet Pensacola as a Leading Artist at the end of the 2024 season, dancing in their final production of the season, The Sleeping Beauty. Excited to return for the 2024-25 season, Trevor is grateful for the opportunity to grow and promote this art form to the audiences of Pensacola and beyond.
Cooper Wright
Pensacola, Florida USA
Cooper Wright has been a local to the Pensacola, FL area for 8 years after moving from Virginia in 2016. His passion for the arts began when he was 13, performing in his first middle/high school musical, Beauty and the Beast. From there, he performed as an actor and dancer in many shows, including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Mary Poppins, and Julius Caesar.
Cooper began training as a dancer when he was 16 at Broadway Lights Dance Center in Navarre, FL, learning ballet, jazz, contemporary, and many other styles. He joined Ballet Pensacola and plans to use his experiences with the ballet to continue his career in choreography.