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Dancers

	ALEXANDRA GIUFFRE Ms. Alex Giuffre grew up on the west coast and trained at Cuizon Ballet Centre under the direction of Zippora Karz and Lisa Cuizon. She also studied at California Dance Theatre with Stanley Holden, Charles Maple and Lore Leblanc. She received a scholarship with the Pacific Northwest Ballet School and trained in their Professional Division for three years. This opportunity allowed her to perform with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in The Firebird, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Symphony in C and A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Ms. Giuffre also attended the summer training programs of The School of American Ballet, Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, The Jillana School, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Ms. Giuffre was formerly an apprentice with Eugene Ballet/Ballet Idaho and had the opportunity to perform Giselle, Swing Kings, The Princess and the Pea and Pink Martini. This is Ms. Giuffre’s third season with The Montgomery Ballet. In addition to teaching in The Montgomery Ballet School, Ms. Giuffre has performed such roles as Swan Lake Pas de Trois, and the role of Snow Queen in The Montgomery Ballet’s The Nutcracker.
	KYANA NELLER An, Atlanta Native, she began her training in 1996 with Bernadette Campbell of the Buford School of Ballet, and in 1998 was accepted into the pre-professional division of the Atlanta Ballet School. She was privileged to work with many guest teachers, including Violette Verdy and Fernando Bujones. She also trained in the summer programs of the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association. In 2001, she performed Arabesque de Degas with the Atlanta Ballet for the Degas Gala at The High Museum of Art. Ms. Neller Participated in the American Academy of Ballet Performance Awards in 2004, where she received the gold medal with distinction, in level twelve. In 2003, she started her professional career with the North Atlanta Dance Theatre under the direction of Michael Garrison. She performed many roles from Carmen and Sleeping Beauty and danced the lead role of Mr. Garrison’s Cappricio Espanol. This is Ms. Neller’s third season with The Montgomery Ballet. In addition to teaching in The Montgomery Ballet School, Ms. Neller has performed such roles as Swan Lake, Pas de Trois, and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker.
	COLIN HISLOP Born in Albany, New York, Mr. Hislop began his dance training at the age of 15 with Phyllis Latin. He studied ballet, jazz, latin and tap. With the Phyllis Latin Dance Company, he toured Russia in 2002, performing at the Bolshoi Student Theater in Moscow. Mr. Hislop attended Skidmore College where he performed in the The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and numerous other contemporary works. He also danced with the Tim McGuire Dance Studio, Glen Falls, NY. This is his second season as a member of the company for The Montgomery Ballet.
	ABBY MARUNA Born in Fort Rucker, AL. Ms. Maruna started her dance training at the age of ten at The Montgomery Ballet. She has recently been invited to join the company. Her past performances have included Arabian and Snow Queen from The Nutcracker. She performed the part of Dream Girl in Carnival of the Animals. During the summer of 2006 she attended the summer intensive at the North Carolina School of Arts. This summer she performed under the direction of Elie Lazar at the Andalusia Ballet’s summer intensive program.
	IAN MORRIS Born in Saratoga Springs, New York, Mr. Morris began his dance training under the direction of Phyllis Latin. He studied ballet, jazz, latin and tap. With the Phyllis Latin Dance Company, he toured Russia in 2002, performing at the Bolshoi Student Theater in Moscow. Mr. Morris attended Joffrey Ballet School on full scholarship in 2004, where he first worked with Elie Lazar. Additionally, Mr. Morris is a member of LazarBallet NYC and has performed a variety of roles in classic and contemporary ballet. He enjoys being a guest dancer with Andalusia Ballet and numerous other regional companies throughout the country. This is Ian’s second season with the Montgomery Ballet.
	GINNY SMITH Born in Brewton, Alabama, Ms Smith began her dance training under the direction of Meryane Martin Murphy. Additional training was at the Nutmeg Conservatory and Chantauqua Institute. Her performances include Sugar Plum Ferry in the Nutcracker, Madam Tipsy in Gentlemen of the Empire and Their Ladies, and she performed the lead role in Cinderella. She began her professional career with the Nashville Ballet in 2004 under Paul Vasterling. Ginny now begins her second season with The Montgomery Ballet.
	PATRICK WILLISON is a graduate of the Houston Ballet Academy where he performed with the Houston Ballet in Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Cleopatra and Swan Lake, Kenneth MacMillian’s Mannon and Trey McIntyre’s Peter Pan. Patrick has also been seen with Nashville Ballet in Paul Vesterling’s The Nutcracker and Dracula, and was a member of the Sandra Organ Dance Company. As a member of the Alabama Ballet in Birmingham, Patrick has been seen in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Carousel, Flower Festival Pas de Deux, Concert Fantasy, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, An American in Paris, Don Quixote, and in Leslie Browne’s Brahm’s Trio. This is Patrick’s second season with The Montgomery Ballet’s Professional Company, although he has performed throughout the year’s in many of Montgomery Ballet’s productions, including Pas de Trois from Swan Lake, Don Quixote, and Firebird.
	CHRISTOPHER ASHE - A native of Atlanta, GA, Christopher began dancing at the age of eight, receiving his early training at Ballethnic Academy of Dance and Atlanta Ballet’s Centre for Dance Education. Mr. Ashe has studied and was awarded scholarships to various renowned dance institutions such as Alvin Ailey, School of American Ballet, ABT, Joffrey Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem where he danced as a member of the Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble. Christopher happily returns to the Montgomery Ballet after two seasons with the Georgia Ballet in Marietta, GA., where he was featured in original ballets such as Janusz Mazon’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Firebird. He recently appeared as a guest artist with Northern Plains ballet in Bismarck, ND and has danced notable roles including his favorites, Spanish and Arabian in the Nutcracker, Franz in Coppelia has also been featured in such ballets as George Balanchine’s the Four Temperaments, Robert Garland’s New Bach, Alice in Wonderland and the Great Gatsby. He credits and thanks his loving Grandparents for their continued support.
	LAURA DE GUIA VILLALOBOS - Laura received her training at the Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, California. She has performed with several companies across the United States, such as Nevada Ballet Theatre, Ballet Oklahoma, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, the Dallas Opera, and most recently, Kentucky Ballet Theatre. Laura has performed principal roles in numerous ballets, including Balanchine's Serenade, Stars and Stripes, Concerto Barocco and Who Cares?, Agnes de Mille's Rodeo, and Arturo Fernandez' Dracula. She has also performed in many of the classics- Grand Pas Classique, Spring Waters, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, and the title roles in Firebird, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Raymond. Laura was accepted, along with husband and fellow dancer Joseph Villalobos, as a competitor in the 4th International Ballet and Modern Competition in Nagoya, Japan. Laura and her husband were married in May of 2007, and this is her first season with the Montgomery Ballet.
	JOSEPH ALEXANDER VILLALOBOS - a native Texan, Joseph began his training in Dallas under Tanju Tuzer and Anthony Noa. From there, he has gone on to perform with various companies across the country, such as Ballet Theatre of Maryland , Nevada Ballet Theatre, Ballet Oklahoma and the Dallas Opera. Joseph has an extensive repertoire, performing principal roles in classical ballets such as Raymonda, Spring Waters, Cinderella, Firebird, Les Sylphides, Flower Festival and Swan Lake. He has also performed principal roles in Balanchine's Who Cares?, and Tarantella, Arturo Fernandez' Dracula, and Choo San Goh's In the Glow of the Night. Joseph was accepted as a competitor in the 4th International Ballet and Modern Competition in Nagoya, Japan. Joseph is married to fellow dancer Laura de Guia Villalobos, and most recently danced with Kentucky Ballet Theatre. This is his first season with the Montgomery Ballet.
	PRISCILLA CROMMELIN-MONNIER Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Priscilla began her early ballet training under the tutelage of her mother in Paris, France. She continued her ballet training at the Montgomery Ballet School under the direction of her mother, Oskar Antunez, and Stevan Grebel. She received full scholarships to the summer programs of The Houston Ballet in Houston, Texas, American Ballet Theatre in New York, The School of American Ballet in New York and Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle Washington. She graduated from high school from the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC and the following year she was offered a full scholarship for the year at the School of American Ballet in New York. In 2006 Peter Boal, former principal dancer of the New York City Ballet and new Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, invited Priscilla to be in the Professional Division of Pacific Northwest Ballet. During the 2006 and 2007 season, she was cast in, and performed in, many of Pacific Northwest Ballet productions including Twyla Tharpe’s Water Baby Bagatelles, Kent Stowell’s The Nutcracker and Swan Lake and Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements and Midsummer Night’s Dream. This fall Priscilla will join the new Los Angeles Ballet under the direction of Colleen Neary former principal dancer of New York City Ballet under George Balanchine and Thordahl Christensen former principal dancer of New York City Ballet and Director of the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, Denmark. Priscilla is thrilled to be performing in Performance on the Green in Divertissement from Rossiana by Elie Lazar, front of her hometown audience for Montgomery Ballet’s Golden Anniversary.
	ALISON DUBSKY A native of Geneva, Ohio, received her early dance training from her mother at the Ballet Theatre of Ashtabula. Ms. Dubsky continued her training with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and Joffrey Ballet School in New York where she received a full scholarship. She performed with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago in The Nutcracker, Taming of the Shrew and Massine's Les Presages. She continued performing with the Joffrey Ensemble Dancers under the direction of Elie Lazar where she toured throughout the United States. At the Sarasota Ballet, she has been seen in such roles as Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pas D'Esclave pas de deux and the Diana and Acton pas de deux. Ms. Dubsky was also seen in the documentary Dancing in Freedom's Shoes: The Alberto Alonso Story. Performance on the Green 2007 was Ms. Dubsky’s first performance with The Montgomery Ballet.
	MICHAEL KEATING A New Jersey native, began his dance training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet and was accepted into its pre-professional program. He has recently returned to his mentors and begun a very rigorous study in the art of pedagogy concerning Vaganova's approach to classical ballet. As a student of John White and Margarita de Saa, he had the privilege of working with choreographers Bryan Koulman and Lina Early performing a variety of classical, modern and contemporary works. Mr. Keating also participated in Pages to Pirouettes, a program used to teach school children about dance, and attended Boston Ballet’s summer program. In 2002, Mr. Keating worked with choreographer Christopher Fleming to celebrate the artist Jean Claude Gaugy’s inspirational masterpiece The Awakening. While with Sarasota Ballet, Mr. Keating has danced in all of Jim Buckley’s ballets notably Centaur, Anne Frank, and Rite of Spring. He also had the honor of resetting Anne Frank on the company during the 2005 - 2006 Season to rave reviews. He has been seen as Lysander as well as Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Prince in Act II of The Nutcracker, Siegfried in Swan Lake, and Don Jose in Alberto Alonso’s Carmen. He was most recently featured as Lt. Pinkerton in the Love Pas de Deux from Madame Butterfly, the drunkard in Carmina Burana, as well as several sinister characters that he greatly enjoyed recreating including a deviant adolescent in Eva Peron - A Dance Portrait, and the evil Rothbart in Swan Lake. Performance on the Green 2007 was Mr. Keating’s first performance with The Montgomery Ballet