New Moves

NATASHA ADORLEE is an Emmy Award-winning choreographer, filmmaker, composer, and educator in San Francisco, CA. A first-generation Asian American woman, she is currently the Artistic Fellow with Amy Sewiert‘s Imagery. Adorlee began choreographing in 2014 while maintaining an award-winning dance career with Robert Moses‘ Kin, ODC/Dance, Kate Weare and Co., and The San Francisco Symphony. After winning over 10 international awards for her acclaimed short film “Take Your Time“ in 2018, she has been a sought-after filmmaker, choreographer, and composer ever since. After attending SUNY Purchase and graduating from UC Berkeley, Adorlee was invited to join ODC/Dance. As a performer, Adorlee has danced a vast repertoire of works and contributed original choreography, sound design, and art direction to over 20+ ODC/Dance repertory works. In addition, Adorlee has created over 20 original dance-based works- spanning stage, film, and immersive performance mediums. Most recently, she was commissioned to create for Joffrey Ballet‘s Winning Works, Ceprodac (Mexico), Kawaguchi Ballet (Japan), Ballare Carmel, Ballet22, and Imagery. In addition to working for dance companies, Adorlee has created original work for Pixar Animation Studios, Occulus, National Geographic, and New Yorker Magazine. Natasha founded Concept o4 to create multimedia dance-based experiences advocating for more accessibility to the arts. Awarded an NEA Grant, Dresher Fellowship, and Jacob‘s Pillow Choreographic Fellowship in 2023 and a BalletX Incubator and Groundworks commission in 2024, Adorlee is pursuing a prolific creation period while sharing her deep knowledge of movement and film with the greater community through Dance on Camera workshops. She is also an Artistic Advisor for Ballet22.

PETER CHU (he/him) is an award-winning multifaceted movement artist. Born in the Bronx and raised in Cocoa Beach, Chu’s interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine was a gateway to a deeper understanding of his Chinese identity. Being raised by his mother, a music therapist, profoundly shaped his rhythmic and musical approach to creating. Chu began his dance training as a competitive gymnast and nurtured his artistry at Dussich Dance Studio. He was a BFA student at The Juilliard School and awarded the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography upon graduation. Chu’s career spans over three decades. He has performed with renowned dance companies such as Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Crystal Pite’s Kidd Pivot, EZdanza, Aszure Barton and Artists, and Celine Dion’s A New Day. Chu has also choreographed for Ballet Augsburg, Backhaus Dance, Charlotte Ballet, Cirque du Soleil, DART Dance Company, Gibney Dance Company, Giordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) Summer Intensive, Orlando Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and more. In 2008, Chu formed his project-based company, chuthis., which combines innovative lighting and sound with live contemporary movement. He takes great pride in chuthis., where he explores the deepest parts of his identity and artistry as a director, choreographer, and educator. Chu’s accolades include receiving the 2010 A.C.E. Capezio Award and being selected as the 2008 choreographer for the Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival. In 2018, he received the Harvard Blogett Award for Distinguished Artist for his creative process and piece at the Theater, Dance, and Media Department at Harvard University. Chu has also served as Rehearsal Director for Nederlands Dans Theater 2 and Guest Rehearsal Director for NDT1. Currently based in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Chu travels frequently for freelance choreographic commissions and teaching experiences. He has looked forward to Cincinnati Ballet and Kansas City Ballet commissions in 2024. Chu’s dynamic artistry and dedication to pushing the physical bounds of dance make him a highly respected and sought-after artist in the industry.

DUNCAN COOPER

Born in Denver, Colorado, Mr. Cooper currently living in San Francisco. However having spent a considerable amount of time growing up in NYC and the Bay Area, he considers himself a native of both coasts. Over his carrer he danced with two major companies, San Francisco Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem, with the latter with whom he was a principal dancer with for 9 years. His travels touring with these companies have taken him all over the world.

Mr. Cooper started dancing at the age of five, when he began taking ballet classes at Richard Thomas’ New York School of Ballet. At the age of 13 Mr. Cooper received a full scholarship to train at the San Francisco Ballet School. He soon became a recipient of the Robert Kirby Scholarship, as well as the first to receive the Lew Christensen Scholarship for best male dancer. In 1989, bypassing the obligatory apprentice year, he was made a full company member.

During his time with San Francisco Ballet, Mr. Cooper danced a wide range of the repertoire. During Mr. Cooper’s nine years dancing with Dance Theatre of Harlem as a Principal dancer, he danced leading roles in such ballets as Balanchine’s Apollo, Prodigal Son, Agon, Allegro Brillante and Stars & Stripes; Albrecht in Giselle; Robbins’ Fancy Free; Ashton’s Thais pas de deux; Glenn Tetley’s Sphinx & Dialogues; Smuin’s A Song For Dead Warriors and St. Louis Blues and many others.

Notable guest appearances have included being invited to dance lead in Stars and Stripes for New York City Ballet’s Balanchine Centennial Celebration, playing the part of Apollo in Central Park’s Summer Stage Balanchine Centennial Tribute; Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Ashton & Balanchine Gala; in the Miami International Dance Festival, Washington Ballet’s Giselle, Dance Brazil’s Festival in Bahia, Brazil, Rebecca Kelly Ballet’s 25 Anniversary, and with Dances Patrelle he has danced the lead in Mr. Patrelle’s Macbeth, as well as dancing in his “POP” & Ms. Meredith’s “Pair of Jacks pas de deux”; Lexington Ballets Fabric of Dance Galas 2 &3, Ballet Virginia International,Virginia Ballet Theatre, Ballet NY, Configuration Dance, Lexington Ballet and many others.

In March of 2007 Mr. Cooper created his first one act, full-length contemporary ballet for Virginia Ballet Theatre, an homage to the 1960’s spy film genre called, Mr. Evil and The Forever Diamond. Most recently in 2010, Mr. Cooper was invited to choreograph a 37 min. full-length contemporary ballet work called, Universal Residue for Lexington Ballet. In 2011, Mr.Cooper was also invited by new Dance Theatre of Harlem director Virginia Johnson, to be a part of their Harlem Works 2.0 Series, where he danced a new pas de deux choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultre called “Believe”, created on him and former Broadway & ABT great Ashley Tuttle.

Until 2007, Mr. Cooper was also involved in and part creator of a National Outreach Program for kids at risk, called Athletes For Kids (AFK), involving professional dancers and star professional athletes. Although most of his time and attention is now focused on teaching, mentoring & choregraphing, Mr. Cooper continues to dance as a freelance dancer on various dance projects and galas nationally and internationally. He also continues to be apart of the Lines Ballet School teaching staff & New York City Dance Alliance. Currently he is also co-creator & Director of a new national summer program called Modas Dance Summer Program.

AMIRA HOGAN, a Texas native, began her ballet journey at age 6 at the YMCA. She continued training at Robert Underwood’s School for Dance, TKB Center for Ballet & Dance and graduated from Vitacca Vocational School for Dance in 2023. Ms. Hogan received awards from Youth America Grand Prix including the Hope Award, The World Ballet Competition’s Promise Award, ADC/IBC awards, Emerging Artists and multiple scholarships and offers worldwide. In 2023-24, Hogan danced Gina Patterson’s While The World was Laughing, the North American premiere of Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll & Hyde, The Nutcracker and Peter Pan by Devon Carney, Natasha Adorlee’s Komorebi, Caroline Dahm & Haley Kostas’ Circle Back and George Balanchine’s Jewels. Hogan is honored and excited for year two with Kansas City Ballet.

OLIVIA JACOBUS, born and raised in Los Angeles, discovered her love for ballet at age 9, training with Romy and Zippora Karz of New York City Ballet, and continues to work with them today, professionally. At age 15, Jacobus was accepted into Colburn Dance Academy’s pre-professional program in downtown Los Angeles where she performed works from George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, including Valse Fantasie, The Four Temperaments, Sleeping Beauty, Who Cares?, and Antique Epigraphs. In 2020, she joined Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Professional Division where she spent two years performing works such as Swan Lake, Beauty and the Beast, Divertimento No. 15, and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, alongside the company.

Jacobus is elated to return to Kansas City Ballet as a Company Artist for a third season, ready to work and grow alongside the company. Some of her favorite moments from previous Kansas City Ballet seasons are Emeralds Pas de Trios from Jewels, the classical challenges of Devon Carney’s Giselle, and Tea in Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker.

Jacobus attends online college as she works towards a degree in business, and in her little spare time, she has enjoyed reading, baking, and creating ballet-themed social media content that resonates.

ELAINE KIMBLE
Elaine Kimble received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance with a minor in Film Studies from The Conservatory of Music and Dance – University of Missouri-Kansas City.  She has had the privilege of working with contemporary choreographers Robert Battle (Alvin Ailey), Joshua Beamish (MOVE: the company), Mary Pat Henry (San Francisco Ballet), Gary Abbott (Deeply Rooted), Frank Chavez (River North), Deeanna Hiett (Alvin Ailey), Rodni Williams (DCDC), and Ronald Tice (Zurich Opera-Ballet) to name a few.

As a choreographer, Kimble has been honored with many accolades including the Youth America Grand Prix “Outstanding Choreography Award” for her work “Up to Here”.  Her piece “Been Here Before” received the “Best Contemporary Performance of the Year” nomination from the Industry Dance Awards. Performance and choreography credits include Joffrey San Francisco, Joffrey WEST, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company,  Quixotic Fusion, Kansas City Youth Ballet, Pacific Festival Ballet, ArtistsRevealed, DEFY Dance Project, Heartlines Dance Company, and Seamless Dance Theatre.

The passion for expression and creativity she instills has led her students to regional and national recognition, as well as exclusive international training programs and companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballet BC, Joffrey Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Marymount Manhattan College, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Westside Dance Project and Arts Umbrella.

ELLIOTT ROGERS
Elliott Rogers is a native of Chicago where he began dancing at the age of 2.

He started training with Chicago Ballet Arts for 2 years and then moved on to more focused training with Ruth Page Center for the Arts under the leadership of Victor Alexander and Dolores Long.

Over the 9 years at Ruth Page, Elliott built his foundation as a student, gained performance experience, and participated in exchange programs with international schools. The most notable being with Escuela Nacional Cubana de Ballet (Cuban National Ballet School).

At 14 Elliott was accepted into Houston Ballet Academy’s Professional Division. During his 4 years in the Professional Division, he received the Ben Stevenson Scholarship Fund to push his training further. After progressing through the academy, he was promoted to Houston Ballet’s second company, HBII, under the direction of Claudio Muñoz and Kelly Myernick for the next 2 seasons.

While training in Houston, Elliott greatly expanded his repertoire, adding over 70 different roles in 50 works, including leading roles in Stanton Welch AM’s The Gentlemen, Bruiser, Brigade, Clear, and others. He would also go on to perform with Houston Ballet in productions of Welch’s The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, and Sylvia. In 2023 he was selected to represent HBII in Assemblée Internationale, hosted by National Ballet School of Canada.

In 2023 Elliott joined Kansas City Ballet as an apprentice. During his apprenticeship, he received the opportunity to perform the title role in Devon Carney’s Peter Pan.

Elliott is eager to continue his professional career with Kansas City Ballet.

CAMERON THOMAS began his dance training in his hometown of Rochester, New York. In 2013, he began performing regularly with the Rochester City Ballet. In 2015, Mr. Thomas received a full scholarship to attend the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. He then joined Kansas City Ballet II for the 2016-2017 season and was promoted to the company the following season. Now in his eighth season with Kansas City Ballet, Mr. Thomas has performed soloist and principal roles in Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort, Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, Mark Morris’ Sandpaper Ballet, William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, Michael Pink’s Dracula, Lila York’s Celts, Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, and Jekyll & Hyde, Devon Carney’s Cinderella, Giselle, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.  In October of 2023, Mr. Thomas debuted the role of Mr. Hyde in the North American premiere of Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll & Hyde. As a choreographer, Mr. Thomas has created works for Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Ballet Second Company, Youth American Grand Prix, and Creative Intersections.

In addition to being a dancer, Mr. Thomas is a ballet pianist and has accompanied for the Kansas City Ballet School, Oklahoma City Ballet School, Williams Henry Contemporary Dance, and the Worldwide Ballet Zoom classes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Thomas co-founded Creative Intersections, an outdoor performance project, with James Kirby Rogers to bring live dance back in a time when theaters were shut down. Creative Intersections partnered with Owen Cox Dance Group to present outdoor programs directed by Mr. Thomas every summer, 2020-2024.