Artist Bios
Juan Arango
Medellin, Colombia
Juan Guillermo Arango Villa was born in Medellín, Colombia, where he began his ballet training at the age of eight at Andrea Wolff Ballet under the direction of Andrea Wolff. At just nine years old, he participated in his first summer intensive at his home studio, studying the Miami City Ballet School curriculum under the guidance of recognized faculty member Kim Sonderegger.
In 2010, Juan was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Miami City Ballet School Summer Intensive, returning on scholarship for several consecutive summers. Throughout his training, he had the privilege of working with internationally acclaimed artists and directors, including Edward Villella, Lourdes Lopez, and Arantxa Ochoa. In 2016, he was selected as a full scholarship student for the School’s Pre-Professional Division, where he continued to refine his artistry and technical excellence before graduating in 2020.
As a performer, Juan has interpreted a broad repertoire spanning corps de ballet, soloist, and principal roles in both classical and contemporary works. His performance credits include The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, La Bayadère, Le Corsaire, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Napoli, Serenade, Stars and Stripes, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Jewels, Divertimento No. 15, Carnival of the Animals, Faena Arts: Dance With Me, Le Petite Danse, Iuvenalis, and Balabille.
Juan joined Ballet Pensacola in 2021.
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 ninth season as a Principal Dancer with Ballet Pensacola, where she has performed the roles of Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, 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 & Sugar Plum 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 Student Choreographer’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
Amanda Eve Carrick is happy to be part of Ballet Pensacola for her 5th season where she is a principal dancer and adult ballet teacher for the academy. She is originally from Southfield, Michigan and continued her dance education at the University of Oklahoma. During her time at OU, Amanda Eve learned from a wide range of ballet and modern dance professionals, and performed internationally at the Austrian Haydentage Festival (2014). In 2016, she graduated with her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance with a Minor in Nonprofit Management. Following graduation, she joined Louisville Ballet as a trainee for 2 seasons. During that time Amanda Eve had the opportunity to perform works by George Balanchine and Val Caniparoli, among other notable choreographers. In 2018, she was hired by Fort Wayne Ballet where she danced for 4 seasons as a principal dancer. There, she performed her first principal role in the ballet Cinderella and represented the company on tour to Taizhou, China with Sister Cities International. Amanda Eve performed leading roles in works by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, and was honored to be part of the premiere restaging of Edward Stierle’s Empyrean Dances, set by Kim Sagami (2019).
In 2022, Amanda Eve joined Ballet Pensacola and has since performed as The Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker, Aurora from The Sleeping Beauty, and Cupid from Don Quixote, just to name a few. Last season, Amanda Eve represented Ballet Pensacola dancing with AVID Dance Company in the Arpino Dance Festival 2025 at the Joyce Theater in New York City. In the festival, she performed as the Pink Girl in Arpino’s Confetti. It was a special experience working with dancers from all around the world and learning more of Gerald Arpino’s dazzling choreography.
Amanda Eve has also presented her own choreography, “Sinatra Under the Stars,” on the company dancers while healing from a major injury in 2024. She previously presented her choreographic talents on company dancers at Louisville Ballet for the annual Choreographer Showcase and first explored her creative talents in college. She entered the Young Choreographer Showcase, and her choreography, “Near Light,” was selected to be performed by the Oklahoma Festival Ballet.
Amanda Eve is excited for the future of Ballet Pensacola and the opportunities to dance and create this season!
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, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.
In 2018, Zion joined Richmond Ballet’s second company performing in Who Cares? and Cinderella. He joined First State Ballet Theatre the following year, adding Dracula and Carnival in Venice to his rep.
In 2020, Zion joined Fort Wayne Ballet as a Soloist, expanding his repertoire with ballets such as Light Rain and Fancy Free. He joined Ballet Pensacola in 2024 as a Principal Dancer and has performed featured roles in Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Romeo and Juliet.
Zion is looking forward to his third season with Ballet Pensacola!
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.
Lisa 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.
Lucy Hamilton
Lucy began her formal training under Pasha and Kristina Kambalov at First State Ballet Theatre where she performed with FSBT’s professional company in the corps of most of the major classical ballets. She completed her training at the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School, working with world renowned teachers Ramona de Saa, Ariel Serrano, Ana Julia Bermudez, Delia Bellart, Roberto Machado, and Tania Vergara Pérez. In 2015, she was awarded the silver medal at the Encuentro Internacional de Academias in Havana, Cuba.
In 2017, she began her professional career with Ballet San Antonio and later danced in Texas Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company, Syracuse City Ballet, and Central New York Ballet. Throughout her career Lucy has performed many featured roles in works by Bruce Wells, Ben Stevenson, Tim O’Keefe, Yosvani Cortellan, George Balanchine, and many others, and has had original works created on her by Jared Allan Brunson, Felipe Panamá, and Aldo Kattón. Some of Lucy’s roles include Odette in Swan Lake, Carmen, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in the Nutcracker, Marie Taglioni in Grand Pas de Quatre, Dying Swan, Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, Don Quixote Pas de Deux, Peasant Pas de Deux from Giselle, Paquita Grand Pas de Deux, Spring Waters, Act III Pas De Deux from Sleeping Beauty, Diana and Acteon, and Coppélia.
Lucy has also developed a passion for teaching and coaching and is excited to continue that passion as a teacher in Ballet Pensacola’s Academy. Since joining Ballet Pensacola for the 2025-2026 season, Lucy has had the privilege of dancing Mina and one of Dracula’s Brides in Michael Pappalardo’s Dracula, the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker, and a Harlot in Jorge Amarante's Romeo and Juliet. She is so excited for her second season with Ballet Pensacola!
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.
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 third year with the company.
Cooper Wright
Pensacola, Florida USA
Cooper Wright has been a local to the Pensacola FL. area for about 10 years. He grew up in a military family and moved to Navarre in 2016. During his high school years, he was a part of the Navarre high school theatre program which he later on became the assistant choreographer then head choreographer for. Also, while in high school he began taking dance lessons at Broadway Lights Dance Center at the age of 16, he trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and multiple other styles and competed on their dance team.
In 2023 Cooper was invited to take classes at Ballet Pensacola by Academy Director, Debi Janea who later introduced him to Darren McIntyre, who was the Artistic Director at the time and began dancing with the professional company. Since then he has performed with the company as a Corp de Ballet dancer and now a Demi Soloist. Some of his favorite roles he has performed as in past seasons include The Rat King and Russian Candy Cane in Ballet Pensacola’s The Nutcracker, Arthur in Dracula, and Paris in Romeo and Juliet. He continues to pursue choreography whenever he can and has put his own original choreography in multiple shows for the ballet including Ballet Bourbon and Ballot and A Night of Four Seasons, as well as a few Gallery Night performances. He hopes to continue to pursue choreography for the company and the community.
This will be Cooper’s fourth season with the ballet, and he cannot wait to see what it entails.
Elena Damiani
Elena Damiani, from Westfield, Indiana, trained at Central Indiana Academy of Dance under the direction of Suzann DeLay. During her junior year of high school, she had the opportunity to perform Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations with Butler Ballet. She attended the University of Oklahoma School of Dance where she earned a BFA, with honors, in Ballet Performance and a minor in Health and Exercise Science.
During her time at OU, she performed featured roles such as First Violin in George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco as well as Snow Queen and Lead Mirliton in Willam F. Christensen’s The Nutcracker. She also performed in Opaque, Unfazed, an original work by Trey McIntyre. Elena joined the Oklahoma City Ballet Studio Company in 2019 as part of the joint program with OU and was promoted to apprentice in 2021.
While with Oklahoma City Ballet, she had the opportunity to perform in Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, and Septime Webre’s ALICE (in Wonderland). Her repertoire also includes full-length ballets by Robert Mills and Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye.
Elena joined Vitacca Ballet in 2023 and performed original works by Alana Jones, Sean Aaron Carmon, and Tina Kay Bohnstedt.
In 2025, Elena joined Ballet Pensacola as a Leading Corps de Ballet Dancer and performed roles such as Dracula's Brides in Michael Pappalardo's Dracula, Tea in Ballet Pensacola's The Nutcracker, and Juliet's Friends in Jorge Amarante's Romeo and Juliet.
In addition to her performing career, Elena teaches in the Ballet Pensacola Academy and has experience teaching at summer intensives, offering private coaching, and choreographing. She is also certified in Mat Pilates.
Elena is excited to return to Ballet Pensacola for the 26/27 season as a Demi Soloist!
Annabel Fobert
Annabel Fobert grew up in both Tampa, FL and later New York City. She trained at Ballet Academy East, under the direction of Darla Hoover, and Miami City Ballet School, under the direction of Arantxa Ochoa. Annabel, as a student, has performed principal and soloist roles in works by George Balanchine, Alan Hineline, and Jenna Lavin. Annabel completed six seasons as a professional dancer with Alabama Ballet, with the direction of Tracey Alvey and later Christopher Stuart.
Throughout her professional career Annabel has been given the opportunity to perform many programs such as Serenade, Western Symphony, the role of Zulma in Giselle, the role of Dawn in Coppelia, and Lead Marzipan in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.
Annabel joined Ballet Pensacola in 2025 as a Leading Corps dancer last season and is excited to go into the 26/27 season as a Demi-Soloist. Over the past year she enjoyed performing roles such as Brides in Dracula and the 1st variation in Odalisque.
Outside of company life Annabel is proficient in teaching ballet to upcoming generations, and was able to achieve a Bachelor of Science in Health Science through Purdue Global University. Annabel is elated to continue her career with Ballet Pensacola for the 26/27 season!
Eliza Sell Vivas
Originally from San Antonio, Texas, began her ballet training at the age of three at Bravo Ballet under the direction of Sandra Bravo. Her passion for ballet quickly blossomed, leading her to continue her studies at the Quenedit Ballet School under the guidance of Catalina Garza and Ernesto Quenedit.
At the age of 12, Eliza made the pivotal decision to pursue a professional career in ballet. She began training at the Dance Center of San Antonio, where she studied the Vaganova method under the direction of Vanessa Bessler. During her time there, she had the opportunity to work with esteemed instructors including Alexei Moskalenko, Kristian Ratevossian, Natalia Bashkatova, Sally Herrera, Amy Fote, Yelena Borisova, Mikhail Tchoupakov, and Carlos Dos Santos.
Eliza performed numerous leading roles in classical ballets, including Odette in Swan Lake, Kitri in Don Quixote, Cinderella in Cinderella, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, among others. She also participated in several prestigious competitions, including the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Finals in New York City, the YAGP Europe Scholarship Classes in Paris, and The American Ballet Competition.
She was invited to take part in a student exchange program with the Dutch National Ballet Academy, training under Ernst Meisner. After graduating from high school, Eliza pursued private coaching at BellEclat Ballet with Lauren Ader-Cumpston and studied weekly with Nikoloz Makhateli.
In the fall of 2022, Eliza joined Ballet Theatre of Maryland as a Trainee. She was promoted to Apprentice in 2023, and then to Corps de Ballet in 2024. During her time with the company, she performed in several notable roles, including an original work choreographed by founding Artistic Director Edward Stewart in Sapphire Romance, Arabian in The Nutcracker, the Russian Princess in Swan Lake, and Aurora’s Friend in The Sleeping Beauty.
Eliza is in her second season with Ballet Pensacola as a Leading Corps de Ballet member. She is deeply grateful for all the opportunities and experiences that Ballet Pensacola has offered her this past year and is thrilled to start another season with such a wonderful company!!
Payton Wilson
Payton was raised in Indiana and started dancing at the age of four. She grew up through the Auer Academy of Fort Wayne Ballet and trained under the direction of Karen Gibbons-Brown, Eleonora Pokhitonova-Hartung, and Tracy Tritz. She joined the professional company at Fort Wayne Ballet in 2021 and spent four seasons in the Corps de Ballet with them.
During her first season with Ballet Pensacola, she performed roles in Dracula, The Nutcracker, A Night of Four Seasons, and Romeo and Juliet. She is excited to start her second season with Ballet Pensacola.
Carolyn Ansinn
Carolyn Ansinn, originally from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, began her ballet training at Ballet Arts of Bucks County and then trained on full scholarship at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia from 2016–2021. She comes from generations of professional dancers.
Carolyn earned her BFA in Ballet Performance with a minor in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma, graduating summa cum laude in Spring 2025. While at OU, she performed internationally as a guest artist in pas de deux with the National Arts Academy of Bulgaria and at the San José Ballet Festival in Costa Rica.
Before relocating to Pensacola, Carolyn danced professionally with Canyon Concert Ballet in Northern Colorado under the direction of Michael Pappalardo, where she performed roles including the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and one of the Four Little Swans in Swan Lake.
Carolyn is excited to begin her first season with Ballet Pensacola as a Corps de Ballet member for the 2026–2027 season.
Ella Grimm
Ella began her classical ballet training at the age of six with the Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy. During her time there, she performed the role of Alice in Rolando Yanes’ Alice in Wonderland. After completing the highest level of the Academy, she continued her training in the Milwaukee Ballet Pre-Professional Program for two years before joining the Milwaukee Ballet Second Company, where she danced for an additional two years.
As a member of the Second Company, Ella had the opportunity to perform alongside the Milwaukee Ballet’s main company in corps de ballet roles and participate in numerous community outreach events. She has also attended prestigious summer intensives, including the Ellison Ballet New York Intensive and the Milwaukee Ballet Summer Intensive.
Ella has competed at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) Semi-Finals, earning Top 12 placements in the Senior Classical category in 2023 and in both the Senior Classical and Contemporary categories in 2024. She is passionate about continuing to grow as an artist and looks forward to furthering her professional ballet career as a Ballet Pensacola Corps de Ballet member.
Astrid Westerfield
Native to Louisville, Kentucky, Astrid began her ballet training at the age of four. She danced locally, studying numerous methods of ballet until 2021. In addition to ballet, Astrid has trained and competed in various styles of dance such as Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Modern, and Acrobatics along with attending summer intensives from American Ballet Theatre, Cecchetti Council of America, and The Washington Ballet.
In 2022, Astrid joined the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School performing multiple corps de ballets and soloist roles. These include the Bluebird Grand Pas de Deux and Lilac Fairy from Sleeping Beauty, Dew Drop from The Nutcracker, Bridesmaids from Don Quixote, Dulce in Tarde en La Siesta, Paquita Pas de Trois, Little Swans from Swan Lake, Les Sylphide, Tarantella, Awakening of Flora, Swanhilda's Friends & Wheat Dance from Coppelia, Bolero by Tania Vergara Perez, Mrs. Renfield from Dracula, and more.
Astrid has collaborated with professional companies such as The Nacional Ballet de Costa Rica, The Charleston Ballet, Salt Creek Ballet, and Tania-Vergara Dance Theater. Along with collaborations, Astrid has taught and choreographed individual and group pieces in a variety of styles.
This is Astrid's first season with Ballet Pensacola!