BalletX

BalletX will grace the Spa Little Theater stage with a program true to their mission of expanding the vocabulary of ballet and featuring works by leading choreographers including Jorma Elo, Jamar Roberts, and Jennifer Archibald as well as a special collaboration with the students of the Skidmore College Dance Department.

Based in Philadelphia, BalletX is one of the nation’s premier contemporary ballet companies, whose dancers were named “among America’s best” by The New York Times. The company commissions choreographers from around the world to create dance that is “fresh, inclusive, and connects to what people want” (Philadelphia Citizen).

Led by Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox, BalletX creates extraordinary dance experiences that inspire human connection through live performances, dance education in Philadelphia public schools, free community pop-ups, and more. In addition to virtual works, main-stage performances and international touring, the company offers free community pop-ups, dance classes, artist Q&As, open rehearsals and in-school dance education designed to bring audiences closer to dance.

BalletX performances are presented in partnership with the Skidmore College Department of Dance.

Tickets cost $25-55 and are on sale now.

Christine Cox (Artistic & Executive Director) Christine Cox co-founded BalletX, Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet, with Matthew Neenan in 2005. Under her leadership as Artistic & Executive Director, the BalletX team has produced over 120 world premiere ballets by renowned and emerging choreographers from around the world and toured at prestigious international venues including the Vail Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, New York City Center, and Belgrade Dance Festival. Throughout her tenure, Cox has committed BalletX to expanding dance’s vocabulary for all audiences, promoting initiatives that make contemporary ballet accessible and welcoming to new audiences. In 2013, she and her team launched The X-Process, an engagement program that invites audience members to participate in pre-show conversations with choreographers and open rehearsals. Through BalletX’s Dance eXchange education program, she has partnered with elementary schools throughout the Philadelphia School District to emphasize dance as a means to promote self-confidence and acquire valuable life skills, reaching more than 3,000 local students. In December 2016, Cox led a TEDx Talk at the George School about innovation in the field of contemporary ballet, from the art form’s historical traditions to today’s world of evolving definitions and globalization. In February 2023, Cox led a discussion with Harvard University’s Harvard Dance Center on leadership in the arts. Cox has prioritized making both artistic and civic connections as a leader in her Philadelphia community. As an arts leader, she has served on review panels for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Philadelphia Arts & Business Council and the Board of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and is a member of the Forum of Executive Women. Christine is the recipient of Avenue of the Art’s 2022 Visionary Award, and has received distinguished fellowships from the Independence Foundation and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Cox was a full-time company member with Pennsylvania Ballet from 1993 until her retirement from the stage in 2006. She trained in classical ballet at the Pennsylvania Ballet School and continued at the Performing Arts School of Philadelphia, spending summer sessions at the Joffrey and San Francisco Ballet schools. Some of her featured roles included Rum and Coca Cola in Paul Taylor’s Company B, Eve in Margo Sappington’s Rodin, Mis En Vie the Cowgirl in Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo, and principal female roles in Jerome Robbins Fancy Free and The Concert. During this time, Cox served for ten years as the rehearsal assistant of the children’s corp for Pennsylvania Ballet’s annual production of Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. Prior to joining the Pennsylvania Ballet, she danced with BalletMet (Columbus, OH), as a guest artist with Ballet Hispanico (New York, NY), and with the American Repertory Ballet (Princeton,NJ). Cox is the proud mother of two young boys, Warren and Wesley. 

Tara Keating (Associate Artistic Director) Tara Keating attended The Juilliard School where she received a BFA in Dance under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy. While there, she was awarded the Jerome L. Greene Fellowship and the ‘Most Outstanding Dance Major’ award from the National Dance Association. She has danced professionally with American Repertory Ballet, “Tharp!,” and as a soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet. Throughout her career she has originated roles in world premieres by various renowned choreographers. In 2005, she became a founding member of BalletX, and danced in nearly every performance until her retirement in 2012. Keating was the Producing Director in 2006 and 2007 for Shut Up and Dance, an annual benefit for MANNA. She was also the recipient of a 2002 City Paper Choice Award. Tara was a Master Lecturer at The University of the Arts, and served as BalletX’s Artistic Coordinator and Ballet Mistress from 2011 to 2013. She was named Associate Artistic Director in February 2014. 

Keelan Whitmore (Rehearsal Director & Community Liaison) Keelan Whitmore, a native of Rockford, Illinois received his training at Rockford Dance Company and Joffrey Ballet School/New School University. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and the St. Mary’s College L.E.A.P, Keelan received his Bachelor of Arts and was also awarded the Dean’s Professional Student Award. From 2001-2006 he danced with Kansas City Ballet and in 2006 became a member of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. As a choreographer and educator, Keelan has worked with numerous national and international arts organizations. In 2006, Keelan co-founded the Kansas City-based multidisciplinary ensemble Quixotic Fusion. He danced with Alonzo King LINES Ballet from 2006 to 2013 and as a soloist with TanzTheater Münster from 2014-2021, where he was awarded in 2019 the Outstanding Artist Award by the Gesellschaft der Musik- und Theaterfreunde Münsters und des Münsterlandes e.V. For the 2022/2023 season. He returned to Theater Münster in 2022-2023 as a guest dancer and as Coordinator of Community Outreach and Diversity. Keelan joined BalletX for the 2023-2024 season. 

Eli Alford (Dancer)  a native of Birmingham, Alabama, trained at Encore Performance Company and Alabama Ballet School, where he studied under Roger VanFleteren and Tracey Alvey. As a student, Eli performed alongside the company in their productions of La Sylphide, Don Quixote, and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker while earning the highest marks on his annual R.A.D. examinations. In 2022, Eli received a BFA in Dance from the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance under the direction of Jodie Gates and William Forsythe, where he learned and performed works by Ohad Naharin, Jiri Kylian, Justin Peck, Merce Cunningham, and Dwight Rohden, to name a few. Eli joined BalletX in 2022. 

Itzkan Barbosa (Dancer)  trained at the USC Dance Conservatory, Carolina Ballet, and Ballet Academy East, performing roles in Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht and Serenade as well as Odette in Swan Lake. She studied in Summer Intensives with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Barcelona Dance Center, and Paris Opera Ballet, where she was awarded a full scholarship. Itzkan danced professionally with Miami City Ballet and New York Theatre Ballet, performing masterworks by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Antony Tudor as well as Aurora in Sleeping Beauty. She performs contemporary and aerial dance with Dzul Dance and is a Principal Artist with Verzola Ballet. Itzkan joined BalletX in 2023. 

Francesca Forcella (Dancer) trained at Dance Stop Education Center and Princeton Dance and Theater, under the direction of Risa Kaplowitz and Susan Jaffe. She danced professionally with Houston Ballet II under the direction of Stanton Welch, performing alongside the main company and touring nationally and internationally. In 2011, she represented Houston Ballet at the International Youth Dance Festival in Budapest, Hungary. Francesca performed with Washington Ballet, under the direction of Septime Webre, and American Contemporary Ballet in Los Angeles. She was a 2012 recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for her work in Imagination Stage’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Francesca joined BalletX in 2013. 

Savannah Green (Dancer)  a native of New York City, trained at LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts and Manhattan Youth Ballet. She graduated from USC Santa Barbara in 2017, where she was a member of the Student Dance Company and spent a year touring internationally and performing works by José Limón, Andrea Miller, and Anna Halprin, among others. During this time, she was a featured soloist in Limón’s tribute to Isadora Duncan, Dances for Isadora, and performed as part of The Radical Bodies Exhibition at Hunter College. Savannah has danced with Buglisi Dance Theater, performing in Jacqulyn Buglisi’s Table of Silence in New York City. Savannah joined BalletX in 2020. 

Lanie Jackson (Dancer) a native of Dallas, Texas, trained with Dallas Ballet Company under the direction of Judy and Brent Klopfenstein. She performed internationally with the company, traveling to Austria for the Stars of Tomorrow Festival and to Canada for the Regional Dance America Festival. Lanie graduated from The Juilliard School in 2021 under the direction of Alicia Graf Mack and Mario Alberto Zambrano. There she performed new works by choreographers including Gentian Doda, Andrea Miller, James Whiteside, and Matthew Neenan, and participated in residencies with Ohad Naharin. She danced professionally with Ballet Virginia under the direction of Lydia Roberts Coco. Lanie joined BalletX in 2023. 

Annika Kuo (Dancer)  studied at Princeton Ballet School, also known as American Repertory Ballet, and has attended multiple training intensives including The Royal Ballet School, The Dutch National Ballet Academy, and BalletX. She graduated in 2022 with a BFA in Dance from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she performed works by distinguished choreographers including Daniel Pelzig, Ruka Hatua-Saar White, and William Isaac, among others. In the 2021-2022 Season, she was selected as a BalletX Dance Fellow. Annika joined the BalletX company in 2022. 

Jared Kelly (Dancer) began his early dance training at The Washington School of Ballet in Washington, DC. Upon completion, he furthered his training at The Baltimore School for the Arts and Indiana University Ballet Theatre, where he graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet with an Outside Field in Business Marketing. With a broad repertoire of experience, Jared has performed works by George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Mark Morris, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, and Paul Taylor, among many others. Prior to joining BalletX, he was a company member with Minnesota Dance Theatre under the direction of Lise Houlton. Jared joined BalletX in 2022. 

Skyler Lubin (Dancer)  trained at The Rock School, where she won third place in the Pas de Deux category at the Youth American Grand Prix Competition and performed in The Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala. She continued her training at Miami City Ballet School, and attended intensives at The School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. From 2010 to 2014, Skyler danced in the Corps de Ballet with Miami City Ballet under the direction of Edward Villella and Lourdes Lopez. She has performed in featured roles including Flower Festival pas de deux, Swan Lake pas de trois, and Jerome Robbins’s Afternoon of a Faun, and has premiered pieces by Alexei Ratmansky and Liam Scarlett. Skyler joined BalletX in 2015. 

Jonathan Montepara (Dancer) a native of Orsogna, Italy, trained with Rome Ballet School. He danced for Rome Ballet Junior Company, where he performed the neoclassical version of Coppélia by Milena Zullo. In 2018 he joined American Repertory Ballet II, and he was promoted to artist in 2020, dancing in company productions such as The Nutcracker, Beauty and the Beast, Giselle, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Jonathan was also featured in many contemporary works, such as Trey McIntyre’s Blue Until June, Riccardo de Nigris’s Beyond the Normal, Colby Damon’s Strange Sentience, Bewitched Pas de deux by Claire Davison, Ja’Malik’s Moving to Bach, and Caili Quan’s Circadia. Jonathan joined BalletX in 2022. 

Jerard Palazo (Dancer)  a native of Manila, Philippines, trained with Royal Winnipeg Ballet School Professional Division, Toronto Dance Theatre, and Alvin Ailey School, and attended summer programs with Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Program and Nederlands Dans Theatre. He has worked with Nai Ni Chen Dance Company, Peridance Company, and Lavagnino Dance in New York. Jerard made his debut as a choreographer at iHeartDanceNYC in June 2021 with New Beginnings, a duet he performed with New York City Ballet Soloist, Megan LeCrone. His full-length ballet, So Close, had its world premiere in the spring of 2022 at Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. Jerard joined BalletX in 2022. 

Ben Schwarz (Dancer) trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under the direction of Marcia Dale Weary and The School of American Ballet, where he trained under many former and current New York City Ballet dancers including Jonathan Stafford, Arch Higgins, and Andrew Scordato. While in New York City, he participated in The New York Choreographic Institute and originated roles in works choreographed by Alysa Spires, Norbert Del LaCruz III, Silas Farley, and Preston Chamblee. In The School of American Ballet’s annual workshop performance, Ben performed in Balanchine classics such as Western Symphony and Bourée Fantasque, as well as neo-classical works such as Justin Peck’s In Creases. Ben joined BalletX in 2022. 

Ashley Simpson (Dancer) a native of West Palm Beach, Florida, trained at A.W Dreyfoos High School of the Arts and Ailey/Fordham School, where she performed works by Dwight Rhoden, Alvin Ailey, Bradley Shelver, Nijawwon Matthews, Janice Rosario, Troy Powell, and Hope Boykin, and was awarded the Denise Jefferson Memorial Scholarship. While in school she performed with XY Dance Project and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and was a trainee/apprentice with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She danced professionally with Collage Dance Collective and was part of the dance ensemble for the film version of Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights. In 2022 Ashley received the ‘Honoraria’ Princess Grace Award. Ashley joined BalletX in 2020. 

Peter Weil (Dancer) trained with Metropolitan Ballet Academy under the direction of Lisa Collins Vidnovic, Boston Ballet, and Next Generation Ballet under the direction of Peter Stark. He participated in intensives with American Ballet Theatre, Orlando Ballet, and Boston Ballet. He is a Youth America Grand Prix medalist and a 2015 participant for the prestigious Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. Peter danced professionally with Pennsylvania Ballet from 2015 to 2023, and was promoted to Soloist in 2019. He performed as Basilio in Angel Corella’s Don Quixote and featured roles in Christopher Wheeldon’s For Four and George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and Tarantella. Peter joined BalletX in 2023. 

Marco Lorenzo-Giguere (Dance Fellow) a native of Washington, DC, trained at Washington School of Ballet and Saint Paul’s School. He has attended summer training programs at American Ballet Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, The Juilliard School, and Royal Danish Ballet. Marco is a rising junior at Columbia University, studying dance and neuroscience. He joins BalletX for the 2023-2024 Season as a Dance Fellow. 

Olivia Winston (Dance Fellow)  a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, trained with Ballet West Academy Professional Training Division and the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program. She has performed with dawsondancesf, tinypistol, and ZiRu Dance, and has attended intensives with BalletX, Hubbard Street, LINES, Complexions, American Ballet Theater, Houston Ballet, and Ballet West/ArtÉmotion. She joins BalletX for the 2023-2024 Season as a Dance Fellow. 

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