Iori Araya began her training in Japan and received the Idemitsu Scholarship at the Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition, which enabled her to train at The Australian Ballet School. She has performed with The Australian Ballet’s The Dancers Company, Singapore Ballet, and New Jersey Ballet before joining Ballet Memphis. Her repertoire includes Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, the principal woman in George Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations, and Fate in Choo San Goh’s Romeo & Juliet. She has performed works by George Balanchine, Steven McMahon, Trey McIntyre, Matthew Neenan, Durante Verzola, Val Caniparoli, Edwaard Liang, Stanton Welch, and others. Outside of Ballet Memphis, she has performed internationally at the Ballet Ensemble Gala in Japan, the Palm Desert Choreography Festival, and NCI 2024.

Gabrielle Collins, originally from West Hartford, Connecticut, began her training at The Hartt School Community Division. In 2014, she joined Atlanta Ballet II, where she performed featured roles, including Marya in John McFall’s The Nutcracker, and appeared as a guest artist with The Atlanta Opera. She later joined Tulsa Ballet II, performing works by Helen Pickett, Ma Cong, and Jennifer Archibald, among others. In 2020, she danced the title role in Septime Webre’s Carmen with Dayton Ballet before joining Cincinnati Ballet that same year as a corps de ballet member. There, she performed works by notable choreographers including William Forsythe, Stephanie Martinez, Alejandro Cerrudo, and Cathy Marston. Gabrielle has danced with Smuin Ballet since 2023.

Alyssa Eyster, originally from San Jose, California, began her training at Cincinnati Ballet’s Academy before continuing at Inland Pacific Ballet in Southern California. She earned her BFA from UNCSA under the direction of Susan Jaffe. Alyssa has danced with Nashville Ballet II and Minnesota Ballet and is an alumna of The School at Jacob’s Pillow. She is entering her fourth season with Dayton Ballet, where highlights include the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and the Bluebird Pas de Deux in Sleeping Beauty. Alyssa is excited to participate in the final summer of the National Choreographer’s Initiative.

Amelia Grubb Hillman has called Iowa home since joining Ballet Des Moines as a company dancer in 2016. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, she completed her training on scholarship at the Kirov Academy of Ballet and the Akhmedova Ballet Academy. In addition to her 10-year career with Ballet Des Moines, Amelia has performed with the National Choreographer’s Initiative, English National Ballet, Richmond Ballet, The Washington Ballet, and Columbia Classical Ballet, and is also a company artist at Noce Jazz & Cabaret. Some of her most cherished moments onstage include performing Cinderella, Christopher Wheeldon’s Je Ne T’aime Pas, and the title roles in Romeo & Juliet alongside her husband, Logan Hillman.

Lucia Lorenzo began dancing at age three at the YMCA and continued her training at Rochester City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet School. She has performed professionally with Ballet Austin, De La Dance Company, Oakland Ballet, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance, and Boulder Ballet, where she is currently a company artist. Her repertoire spans classical and contemporary works, and she has collaborated with choreographers including Val Caniparoli, Amy Seiwert, Jennifer Archibald, Stephanie Martinez, and Ben Needham-Wood. She looks forward to exploring collaborative processes this summer at NCI, challenging herself to adapt, build trust, and contribute authentically within a new creative community.

Alyssa Manguiat, originally from Mason, Ohio, trained at Cincinnati Ballet Academy before joining both the second company and main company. In 2021, she joined Ballet Austin as a company dancer, performing roles such as the Giggle Couple in Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, Waltz Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade, the Yellow Principal Couple in Jessica Lang’s ZigZag, and a soloist role in Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, as well as works by Amy Seiwert and Jennifer Archibald. She has also performed with The School at Jacob’s Pillow, Performa/Dance Festival in Austin, and NCI 2025, where she appeared in premieres by Glenn Edgerton and Natasha Adorlee.

Darcy McLoughlin, originally from Long Island, New York, trained pre-professionally at Manhattan Youth Ballet under the direction of Deborah Wingert and Daniel Ulbricht from 2011 to 2019. She joined BalletMet as a trainee from 2019 to 2022, working alongside the professional company in numerous productions. In 2022, she joined Ballet Memphis under the direction of Steven McMahon. Performance highlights include the principal role in George Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations, Clara in Steven McMahon’s The Nutcracker, the Spring Fairy in Cinderella, Cerrito in Pas de Quatre, and world premieres by Durante Verzola and Steven McMahon. In 2025, Darcy performed in the ADC IBC 20th Anniversary Finals Gala and joined Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Ballet Ensemble under Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, performing a world premiere at the season opening gala. She will begin her fifth season with Ballet Memphis this August.

Sofia Striegl was born and raised in Long Beach, California, where she trained at Long Beach Ballet Academy. After two seasons as a trainee with Grand Rapids Ballet, she joined Ballet Idaho in 2022 and was promoted to Company Artist in 2025. She has performed in original works by Penny Saunders, Joseph Hernandez, and Anne Mueller and Garrett Anderson, as well as featured roles in Justin Peck’s Pulcinella Variations, Christopher Stowell’s Sleeping Beauty, Alejandro Cerrudo’s Extremely Close, and Barak Marshall’s Rooster. This is Sofia’s first NCI, and she is thrilled to be part of its final season.

Nicolas Bierwagen is from the Pacific Northwest and began his training at The Portland Ballet. He attended summer programs at Northwest Dance Project, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Boston Ballet before joining Boston Ballet School under the direction of Margaret Tracey and Peter Stark, where he advanced to the trainee program. He later joined Cincinnati Ballet’s Second Company, performing works by Twyla Tharp, Septime Webre, Ohad Naharin, and Garrett Smith. Nicolas recently completed his third season with Dayton Ballet under Artistic Director Brandon Ragland, working with choreographers including Andrea Schermoly, Adam Hougland, and Gary Jeter. He will join Boulder Ballet for the 2026–27 season under the direction of Ben Needham-Wood.

Julian Goodwin-Ferris, originally from Houston, Texas, will join Ballet Idaho as a soloist this fall. He previously danced two seasons with New Jersey Ballet and five seasons with Miami City Ballet, performing in works including Balanchine’s Serenade (Waltz Boy), Prodigal Son (Friend), and Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels. He also danced with Ballet Austin during the 2016–17 season. Julian performs regularly with Artistic Ventures in Dance (AVID), most recently in Confetti as part of the Arpino Festival at The Joyce Theater. He graduated with high distinction from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2019 and trained for more than a decade at Houston Ballet Academy, also attending Jacob’s Pillow in 2017 and 2021.

Logan Hillman, from northern Virginia, trained at the Kirov Academy of Ballet and the Akhmedova Ballet Academy. He has danced professionally with Columbia Classical Ballet, Richmond Ballet, and Nashville Ballet, and has spent the past seven seasons with Ballet Des Moines. His favorite works include Who Cares? (Balanchine), Sechs Tänze (Kylián), Sergeant Early’s Dream (Bruce), Swipe and The Lottery (both Caniparoli), and Romeo and Juliet (Mattingly), performed alongside his wife, Amelia Hillman. Outside of dance, he enjoys hiking, painting models, reading, and spending time with his family and pets.

Rhys Hudson, from Houston, Texas, trained at Vitacca Dance Project before joining Boston Ballet School in 2017, where he studied for three seasons. He danced with BalletMet’s Second Company for two seasons and later joined Ballet Austin as an apprentice. He then performed with Alberta Ballet as a corps de ballet member for two seasons. Most recently, he was a company artist with Boulder Ballet for the 2025–26 season. His summer training includes the Finnish National Ballet School, The Royal Ballet School, and San Francisco Ballet School, among others.

Marco Lorenzo-Giguere was born in Washington, D.C., and trained for seven years at The Washington School of Ballet before attending St. Paul’s School, where he studied under Kate Lydon. He began his professional career with BalletX, performing repertoire and new works by Matthew Neenan, Amy Hall Garner, Jennifer Archibald, Nicola Wills, and Natasha Adorlee. He later joined Richmond Ballet’s Studio Company, appearing in productions of Cinderella (Ben Stevenson), The Nutcracker (Stoner Winslett), and Moving Art 1 (Val Caniparoli, Ma Cong). He will begin his second season with Ballet Austin this fall.

Trevor PinterParsons, originally from Holliston, Massachusetts, began dancing at age 12 at the Dancing Arts Center and joined Cincinnati Ballet as a trainee in 2021. In 2023, he joined Indianapolis Ballet, where he was promoted to soloist in his first season. His roles include Romeo in Septime Webre’s Romeo and Juliet, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, and the principal male role in Balanchine’s Who Cares?

Ian Rotheroe was born in New York City and began his training at the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. He later trained for seven years at Manhattan Youth Ballet under Deborah Wingert, Brian Reeder, and Marina Stavitskaya, and completed his studies in the Pacific Northwest Ballet Professional Division program. He is currently a soloist with Ballet Idaho, where he is in his fourth season, performing featured roles in works by Justin Peck, George Balanchine, Danielle Rowe, Christopher Stowell, Garrett Anderson, and Anne Mueller.

Michael Stadtherr, born in Novi, Michigan, is a dancer with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He trained at Planko Classical Ballet Academy before attending Canada’s National Ballet School, where he received the Peter Dwyre and Jeffrey Kirk Awards. He continued his training in Boston Ballet’s Graduate Program before joining Tulsa Ballet II and later Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. His repertoire includes works by George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Frederick Ashton, and Rudolf Nureyev, as well as NCI choreographers Val Caniparoli, Edwaard Liang, Stephanie Martinez, and Ma Cong.

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