Company

Julia Hughes

Name:  Julia Hughes

Company Position:  Apprentice

Joined Ballet RI:  Joined Ballet RI as a junior apprentice in the 22-23 season. Promoted to apprentice for the 23-24 season.

Hometown: Christchurch, New Zealand

Training/Education: Alberta Ballet School, currently pursuing a B.A in Politics & International relations and social anthropology.

Favorite Quote:

“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians” ~Nelson Mandela

Favorite Role or Ballet & Why:

Performing the spring fairy in Yury Yanowsky’s Cinderella has become one of my favorite roles. Being able to take the piece from the creation process to the stage was an extremely surreal experience. The intricacies within this role were both physically and mentally demanding and being able to overcome the artistic challenges of this role truly guided my growth as an artist.

Accomplishment you are most proud of:  Moving to the other side of the world at the age of 15 from New Zealand to Canada to pursue my passion as a dancer.

Fun Fact about yourself:  When I was 6 years old, I participated in violin busking to raise a sum of over $1000 for the Christchurch Earthquake Mayoral Relief fund and the following year for the Red Cross Canterbury relief fund, for the 2010 & 2011 Canterbury Earthquakes.

Follow Julia on Instagram @juliiahughes

 

Stephen Gunter

Name:  Stephen Gunter

Company Position:  Company Artist

Joined Ballet RI:  Joined Ballet RI in 2023 as an Apprentice. Promoted to Company in 2024.

Hometown: Winston-Salem, NC

Training/Education: Stephen completed his undergraduate and high school training at UNCSA from 2016-2022 and received BFA in ballet performance and pedagogy. He also attended summer intensives at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Ellison Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater.

Favorite Quote: Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” ~Peter Pan

Favorite Role or Ballet & Why:

Stephen’s favorite role is Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. He enjoys leaning into his goofy, lighthearted nature while helping portray such a strong story with gorgeous music that is always a hit with audiences. All the sword fighting doesn’t hurt either.

Accomplishment you are most proud of:  Performing in YAGP’s 20th Anniversairy International Dance School Festival, in the cast of Ilya Kozadayev’s Dream(s)pace.

Fun Fact about yourself:  Stephen has worked with the Board of the Angels Race, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering educators and students alike. They offer grants to elementary school teachers, scholarships for high school seniors, and support various youth programs within North Carolina and Virginia.

Follow Stephen on Instagram @sgunter_dance

 

 

 

Yury Yanowsky

Yanowsky won First Prize at the Prix de Lausanne and the Silver medal at the Varna and U.S. International Ballet Competitions. He trained with Carmen Delgado de Robles, Anatol Yanowsky, and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

Yury’s passion for choreography began early in his dancing career and over the past decade he has had the opportunity to showcase his work around the world. He has been commissioned to create new works for Boston Ballet, Boston Ballet 2, Bundes Jugend Ballet, Jacobs Pillow Gala, Atlanta Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Kansas City Ballet, Portland Ballet, and Festival Ballet Providence. In 2015, he was awarded the Choreographic Prize at the prestigious Erik Bruhn Competition and his ballet Smoke and Mirrors for Boston Ballet was named “Best in Dance for 2016” by The Arts Fuse and hailed as a “visual and choreographic masterpiece”. In 2018 he founded Dance YaNOWsky, a small touring company dedicated to his vision. Yanowsky is focused on creating new works that are relevant and reflective of todays society, oftentimes using unique collaborations to enhance his works.
Yanowsky has served as Movement Consultant for American Repertory Theatre and as Movement Director for The Boston Lyric Opera. He is a frequent teacher at Boston Ballet, Boston Arts Academy, and Centro Coreographico Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. When not choreographing, Yury remains on the Dance Faculty at Harvard University.

@yuryyanowsky
Yuryyanowsky.com

Garret McNally

Name:  Garret McNally 

Company Position:  Company Dancer 

Joined Ballet RI:  2023 

Hometown: New Orleans, LA

Training/Education: Studied for High School & Ballet at University of North Carolina School of the Arts/ studied and achieved a bachelor’s in history at the University of New Orleans 

Favorite Quote:  “Why be mediocre when you can be drop dead gorgeous” -Susan Jaffe 

Favorite Role or Ballet & Why: Favorite ballet is Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy of the Shakespeare’s story and Sergei Prokofiev’s sensational music composition makes for my favorite ballet out there! 

Accomplishment you are most proud of: Graduating from college with a bachelors! 

Fun Fact about yourself:   I was a background dancer in the Netflix original “Tall Girl 2” as well as TNT’s “Claws”

Follow Garret on instagram @gsmcnally 

 

Christopher Anderson

Christopher Anderson trained as a student under the tutelage of Marika Besabrasova at the Academie de Danse de Princess Grace. He also trained at North Carolina School of the Arts and finished his training at San Francisco Ballet School, under the guidance of Richard Cammack and Anatole Vilzak. He joined San Francisco Ballet where he had an illustrious 16-year career as a Soloist, working with and performing works by William Forsythe, David Bintley, Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine, and Mark Morris to name a few. Christopher went on to dance as an International Guest Artist before finishing his dance career as a Principal Dancer with Alberta Ballet. After retiring, he continued his lifelong journey with ballet as a full-time faculty member of Boston Ballet School for 16 years, honing and developing his pedagogical skills before joining the Ballet RI team. At Ballet RI Christopher continues to share his passion for Ballet as an Artistic Coach, Director of SDI and as Principal of the Core Division of the School of Ballet RI.

Gianna DeMassio

Name:  Gianna DeMassio

Company Position:  Apprentice

Joined Ballet RI:  2023

Hometown: Highland, NY

Training/Education: New Paltz Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School. Traineeships with Charlotte and Richmond Ballet.

Favorite Quote: “And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” -John Steinbeck

Favorite Role or Ballet & Why:  My favorite ballet is George Balanchine’s Serenade. It is one of the first ballets I remember seeing as a little girl, and ever since I have dreamed of performing its Waltz Girl.

Accomplishment you are most proud of:  I am most proud of all the works I have choreographed and put on stage.

Fun Fact about yourself:  I love rock concerts and baking!

Follow Gianna on Instagram @gigi.825

 

 

Alexandria Troianos

Name:  Alexandria Melina Troianos

Company Position:  Company Dancer

Joined Ballet RI:  2023

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa

Training/Education: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School for 7 years and Elite Dance by Damian also for 7 years.

 Favorite Quote: “Everything happens for a reason.”

Favorite Role or Ballet & Why:  I loved every role I have performed. I can’t pick a favorite just yet.

Accomplishment you are most proud of:  Performing the role of Cinderella in Yury Yanowsky’s world premiere of Cinderella.

Fun Fact about yourself:  I started dancing in commercial dance competitions when I was 6 and at age 14 I decided to focus on ballet.

Follow Alexandria on Instagram @lexi_troianos

 

Ashley Griffin

Name: Ashley Griffin

Company Position: Company Artist

Joined Ballet RI: Joined as a Company dancer in 2023.

Hometown: Florence, SC

Training/Education: Ashley joined Boston Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Program on full scholarship at the age of 16. Then, she joined Orlando Ballet as Trainee on full scholarship, and was promoted to Orlando Ballet Second Company after one season. She has also attended programs at the School of American Ballet, Houston Ballet, Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell at the Kennedy Center, Chautauqua Institution, CPYB, Charlotte Ballet, Boston Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, and the “ART of” intensives supported by William Forsythe in Zurich, Switzerland and Madrid, Spain. In 2020, Ashley joined Dayton Ballet as a company dancer, where she received opportunities to perform in principle roles such as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the The Nutcracker, the pas de deux girl in Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain, and Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. She has also spent two summers participating in a choreographic collaboration with Dayton Dance Initiative. Currently, she is a graduate student at New York University and has previously completed a B.A. from Northeastern University with Summa Cum Laude honors and Boston Ballet’s Adaptive Dance Teacher Certification. During her first season with Ballet RI, some of her favorite performances have included the Fascinatin’ Rhythm and Man I Love girl in George Balanchine’s Who Cares, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker, Desdemona in Jose Limon’s Moor’s Pavane, and the Winter Fairy in Yury Yanowsky’s Cinderella.

 Favorite Quote: “When you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.”

Favorite Role or Ballet & Why: My dream role is Juliet from Romeo and Juliet because it a profound story of love that is powerful and timeless. There is an incredible emotional contrast to artistically relish in, and the music is simply magnificent. My other favorite role will always be the Sugar Plum Fairy. It’s an absolute classic, and I’m so grateful to have performed it in two professional companies.

Accomplishment you are most proud of: Dancing professionally at three professional companies while earning two college degrees.

Fun Fact about yourself: One of my favorite hobbies is photographing new places and experiences around the world.

Follow Ashley on Instagram @__ashleygriffin__

 

Leticia Guerrero

A native of Venezuela, Ms. Guerrero received her early training at the Keyla Ermecheo Ballet School in Caracas. She has performed with numerous companies including Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, Metropolitan Ballet of Caracas, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Michigan Ballet, Charleston Ballet Theatre, Jose Mateo’s Ballet Theatre and Cadence Dance Project.

She has created leading roles in ballets in Gianni Dimarco’s El Amor Brujo, Schéhérazade and Azucar, Plotnikov’s Carmen, The Widow’s Broom,Loof and Let Dime and Coma, De Bouteiller’s Romeo and Juliet and FBP’s 2006 premiere of Don Quixote. Other leading roles include Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Rubies, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Tarantella, Who Cares?, Pelzig’s The Princess and the Pea, Swan Lake and Eldar Aliev’s A Thousand and One Nights. Ms. Guerrero also participated in the 2004 Venezuela Del Mundo Gala and was recognized for representing Venezuela internationally with high standards and “projection, dignity and beauty.” In addition Providence Mayor David Cicilline awarded a Citizens Citation for her “exceptional and wholehearted devotion for the art of dance.”

After her retirement from the stage in May 2012, she transitioned into her new role as Ballet Mistress with the Company, and as a faculty member with School of Ballet RI where she continues to pass on her knowledge to a new generation of dancers.

Brian Gomez

Name: Brian Gomez

Company Position:  Company Dancer

Joined Ballet RI:  September, 2023

Hometown: La Habana, Cuba

Training/Education: National Ballet School of Cuba “ENA”

 Favorite Quote: “Without sacrifice there is no victory.”

Favorite Role or Ballet & Why:   Solor from “Le Bayadere”. Dancing “Solor” was a dream for me, and I would love to be able to do it again.

Accomplishment you are most proud of:  To have been promoted to the position of Principal Dancer at the age of 18.

Fun Fact about yourself:  If I hadn’t been a dancer, I would have liked to be a soccer player.

Follow Brian on Instagram @briangomez_24