BRANDON ALEXANDER, originally from Houston, Texas, received his training with Lori Amare and Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy. He has danced with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Rochester City Ballet, Teater Vanemuine Ballet in Estonia, and Ballet Hagen in Germany. During his career he has danced works by Cayetano Soto, Itzik Galili, Riccardo De Nigris, Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Giorgio Madia, Jamey Leverett, and Silas Stubbs among others. Alexander joined Smuin in 2020.

TESSA BARBOUR, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, trained at Alwin School of the Dance before studying abroad in Warrington, England on a scholarship awarded to her at the Cecchetti International Competition. She has danced with New Mexico Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, and San Diego Ballet. Her favorite past performances include Man in Black by James Kudelka and Indigo by Stanton Welch. Since joining Smuin in 2016, Barbour has performed works by Val Caniparoli, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Trey McIntyre, Helen Pickett, and Amy Seiwert.

IAN BUCHANAN hails from Fairfax, California, where he trained with Dance Theatre Seven. He has danced with Houston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, Rochester City Ballet, and Alberta Ballet. Buchanan has performed works by Jiří Kylián, Stanton Welch, Ma Cong, Ben Stevenson, Wen Wei Wang, Aszure Barton, Jean Grand-Maître, Julia Adam, Denise Clarke, and Leiland Charles. Buchanan joined Smuin in 2018.

CLAIRE BUEHLER is from Milwaukee, WI and trained at the Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy. She has danced with the Studio Company at Oklahoma City Ballet, Nashville Ballet II, and Minnesota Ballet before joining Smuin in 2021 as an apprentice. Some of Claire’s favorite past performances and roles include Gina Patterson’s 72 Steps, Winter in Paul Vasterling’s Seasons, Blue Bird in Karl Von Rabenau’s Sleeping Beauty, and Cygnets in Robert Mills’ Swan Lake. Claire has also been featured in works by Chris Stuart, Charlotte Boyd-Christensen, and Mollie Sansone.

STEPHANO CANDREVA was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he trained in ballet at Escola de Danca Alice Arja. Stéphano started his career performing with Brazillian professional companies Cisne Negro Cia de Danca and Teatro Sesiminas. Stéphano has danced in the U.S. with City Ballet of San Diego, California Ballet, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and most recently, Atlanta Ballet. He has danced works by Septime Webre, Stanton Welch, George Balanchine, David Craigson, Ricardo Amarante, Yuri Possokov, Mark Morris, Max Petrov, and Betsey Wistrich. Candreva joined Smuin in 2021.

MAGGIE CAREY, of Dayton, Ohio, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance from Butler University, where she performed works by choreographers including George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, and Paul Taylor. Upon graduating, Carey performed as a guest artist with the Dayton Ballet. She spent two years with the Cincinnati Ballet Second Company, performing works by Victoria Morgan, George Balanchine, Ohad Naharin, and working with choreographers such as Garrett Smith, Nicolo Fonte, and Jennifer Archibald. Carey joined Smuin in 2018.

MENGJUN CHEN, a native of Wenzhou, China, trained at the Beijing Dance Academy and Joffrey Ballet Academy of Dance. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Beijing Dance Academy, he joined Milwaukee Ballet where he performed major roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Cinderella, Dracula and La Boheme. Chen also performed contemporary works by Matthew Neenan, Gabrielle Lamb, Ma Cong, Amy Seiwert and Val Caniparoli. In 2014, he was a finalist in the USA International Ballet Competition. Chen joined Smuin in 2015.

Erica began her professional training at North Carolina School of the Arts. She later attended San Francisco Ballet’s pre professional program where she performed in many company productions. She toured with SFB in their production of “Don Quixote”, and after three years with San Francisco Ballet Erica joined Colorado Ballet in 2006 with artistic director Martin Fredmann. She continued on to perform with Madison Ballet, Nova Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts Summer Performance Series, and Sierra Nevada Ballet where she performed Odette/ Odile in “Swan Lake”. She has performed world premieres by Adam Hougland, Emery Lecrone, Robert Dekkers, and Rick McCullough. Erica joined Ballet Arizona in 2008 under the direction of Ib Anderson. She performed in George Balanchine’s “Four Temperaments”, “Theme and Variations” , “Stravinsky Violin Concerto”, “La Valse”, “Rubies”, and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. She also performed ballets choreographed by Ib Anderson, Alejandro Cerrudo, and Marius Petipa. After four seasons with Ballet Arizona Erica was featured in commercials, print ads, and an episode of Disney’s “Shake it Up”. She later joined Smuin Ballet in 2012 with artistic director Celia Fushille. She has originated roles in world premiers by Adam Hougland, Helen Pickett, Val Caniparoli, and Garrett Ammon. She has also performed pieces by Michael Smuin, Jiri Kylian, Trey McIntyre, Darrell Moultrie, Amy Seiwert, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Ma Cong. After seven seasons with Smuin Ballet Erica is overjoyed to be returning to the stage again with the company.

CASSIDY ISAACSON, originally from Redmond, Washington, trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet before joining Grand Rapids Ballet Company at age 16. Some favorite works performed during her eight years at Grand Rapids Ballet include Trey McIntyre’s Wild Sweet Love, Alejandro Cerrudo’s Extremely Close, Penny Saunders’ In Frame and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Written and Forgotten. Isaacson joined Smuin in 2019.

TESS LANE trained at South Bay Ballet in Torrance, CA, performing Robert Kelly’s Summertime at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MI. While apprenticing with Sacramento Ballet, she performed works by George Balanchine, Ron Cunningham, and Lila York. Lane joined California Ballet Company in 2013 and was featured in Swan Lake, Giselle, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well as Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, The Great Gatsby, and Fluctuating Hemlines. She also danced in the National Choreographers’ Initiative in 2017 and 2018. Lane joined Smuin in 2018.

MARC LAPIERRE began his early training at Ballet Etudes in Norwalk CT under the direction of Nanette Vallas. While at Ballet Etudes he trained closely with Christina Fagundes. He then attended Ballet Academy East in New York City under the direction of Darla Hoover and at age 16, Marc furthered his training at The School of American Ballet. He then went on to dance with Los Angeles Ballet, where he had the pleasure of dancing works by August Bournonville, George Balanchine, Aszure Barton and Alejandro Cerrudo. Two years later he joined Oregon Ballet Theatre as an apprentice and was promoted to the Company corps de ballet in his second season. During his time with OBT, he danced works by Alvin Ailey, Ben Stevenson, Nicolo Fonte, Christopher Stowell, and Trey MyIntyre. LaPierre joined Smuin in 2021.

TEREZ DEAN ORR, originally from Hudson Valley, New York, received her training at the prestigious School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. In 2005, she joined the State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara, dancing a wide range of contemporary and classical works. Dean Orr joined Smuin in 2008 and has been featured in works by Jiří Kylián, Trey McIntyre, Val Caniparoli, Helen Pickett, Amy Seiwert, Ma Cong, Adam Hougland, and Michael Smuin. While dancing full time, she received her BA through the Saint Mary’s College LEAP program.

JOHN SPEED ORR trained at Dance Theatre Seven in Fairfax, California under David Roxander. In 2007, Orr began his professional career with Sacramento Ballet featuring in roles such as Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations before joining Smuin Ballet. During his four years with Smuin, he performed leading roles in works by Val Caniparoli, Jiří Kylián, Helen Pickett, Trey McIntyre and Michael Smuin. Orr danced with Trey McIntyre Project until his retirement in 2014. He now pursues careers both as a realtor for Vanguard Properties, repetiteur for Trey McIntyre and creative projects with his supremely talented wife, Terez Dean Orr. Orr rejoined Smuin in 2020.

LAUREN PSCHIRRER graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and apprenticed at Rochester City Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet. While with the Joffrey, she danced works by Sir Frederick Ashton, Michael Pink, and George Balanchine. With Ballet Memphis, Pschirrer performed works by Matthew Neenan and Gabrielle Lamb. She also originated roles during the National Choreographers Initiative in 2015, 2017, and 2018. Pschirrer joined Smuin in 2016, and has performed in works by Val Caniparoli and Helen Pickett, and featured roles in Amy Seiwert’s Broken Open and Falling Up.

YURI ROGERS began his training with the Academy of Ballet San Francisco under the direction of Richard Gibson and Zory Karah. He then had the opportunity to continue his training and perform with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, the Grand Rapids Ballet, and BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio. Rogers has performed works by Lar Lubovitch, Leiland Charles, and Edwaard Liang. Rogers joined Smuin in 2021.

Maxwell Simoes grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where he attended the Creative and Performing Arts High School as well as training with Olga Kresin and Lev Assualyak. He placed gold at the Tanzfestival Berlin Tanzolymp for his contemporary solo and as a duet finalist in the YAGP NYC competition. Following this success, Maxwell studied at the Rudra Béjart École in Switzerland, student of Azari Plissetski, leading to performing with the Béjart Ballet in pieces by Maurice Béjart including Bolero, Le Sacre du Printemps, and Petruschka. He returned to the U.S. and performed at The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and Smuin Ballet. Maxwell currently dances with Jacob Jonas the Company in LA where he can be also be seen performing in Sia’s newest music video. Along with doing freelance projects, he has the added opportunity to create and teach internationally, and recently, he has performed for fashion brands such as Hermès, Prada, and Greg Lauren.

Brennan Wall, originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, studied at Los Angeles Ballet Academy. She danced with Silicon Valley Ballet (previously Ballet San Jose) as a trainee before joining The New Ballet’s Studio Company. In 2017, Wall joined Ballet de Monterrey under director José Manuel Carreño. She performed in Luis Serrano’s La Bayadere, Swan Lake, and Don Quijote, and danced soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Alberto Méndez’s Phantom of the Opera, and Diego Landin’s Shorthand of Emotion. Wall joined Smuin in 2019.

BRANDON ALEXANDER, originally from Houston, Texas, received his training with Lori Amare and Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy. He has danced with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Rochester City Ballet, Teater Vanemuine Ballet in Estonia, and Ballet Hagen in Germany. During his career he has danced works by Cayetano Soto, Itzik Galili, Riccardo De Nigris, Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Giorgio Madia, Jamey Leverett, and Silas Stubbs among others. Alexander joined Smuin in 2020.

TESSA BARBOUR, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, trained at Alwin School of the Dance before studying abroad in Warrington, England on a scholarship awarded to her at the Cecchetti International Competition. She has danced with New Mexico Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, and San Diego Ballet. Her favorite past performances include Man in Black by James Kudelka and Indigo by Stanton Welch. Since joining Smuin in 2016, Barbour has performed works by Val Caniparoli, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Trey McIntyre, Helen Pickett, and Amy Seiwert.

IAN BUCHANAN hails from Fairfax, California, where he trained with Dance Theatre Seven. He has danced with Houston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, Rochester City Ballet, and Alberta Ballet. Buchanan has performed works by Jiří Kylián, Stanton Welch, Ma Cong, Ben Stevenson, Wen Wei Wang, Aszure Barton, Jean Grand-Maître, Julia Adam, Denise Clarke, and Leiland Charles. Buchanan joined Smuin in 2018.

CLAIRE BUEHLER is from Milwaukee, WI and trained at the Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy. She has danced with the Studio Company at Oklahoma City Ballet, Nashville Ballet II, and Minnesota Ballet before joining Smuin in 2021 as an apprentice. Some of Claire’s favorite past performances and roles include Gina Patterson’s 72 Steps, Winter in Paul Vasterling’s Seasons, Blue Bird in Karl Von Rabenau’s Sleeping Beauty, and Cygnets in Robert Mills’ Swan Lake. Claire has also been featured in works by Chris Stuart, Charlotte Boyd-Christensen, and Mollie Sansone.

STEPHANO CANDREVA was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he trained in ballet at Escola de Danca Alice Arja. Stéphano started his career performing with Brazillian professional companies Cisne Negro Cia de Danca and Teatro Sesiminas. Stéphano has danced in the U.S. with City Ballet of San Diego, California Ballet, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and most recently, Atlanta Ballet. He has danced works by Septime Webre, Stanton Welch, George Balanchine, David Craigson, Ricardo Amarante, Yuri Possokov, Mark Morris, Max Petrov, and Betsey Wistrich. Candreva joined Smuin in 2021.

MAGGIE CAREY, of Dayton, Ohio, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance from Butler University, where she performed works by choreographers including George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, and Paul Taylor. Upon graduating, Carey performed as a guest artist with the Dayton Ballet. She spent two years with the Cincinnati Ballet Second Company, performing works by Victoria Morgan, George Balanchine, Ohad Naharin, and working with choreographers such as Garrett Smith, Nicolo Fonte, and Jennifer Archibald. Carey joined Smuin in 2018.

MENGJUN CHEN, a native of Wenzhou, China, trained at the Beijing Dance Academy and Joffrey Ballet Academy of Dance. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Beijing Dance Academy, he joined Milwaukee Ballet where he performed major roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Cinderella, Dracula and La Boheme. Chen also performed contemporary works by Matthew Neenan, Gabrielle Lamb, Ma Cong, Amy Seiwert and Val Caniparoli. In 2014, he was a finalist in the USA International Ballet Competition. Chen joined Smuin in 2015.

Erica began her professional training at North Carolina School of the Arts. She later attended San Francisco Ballet’s pre professional program where she performed in many company productions. She toured with SFB in their production of “Don Quixote”, and after three years with San Francisco Ballet Erica joined Colorado Ballet in 2006 with artistic director Martin Fredmann. She continued on to perform with Madison Ballet, Nova Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts Summer Performance Series, and Sierra Nevada Ballet where she performed Odette/ Odile in “Swan Lake”. She has performed world premieres by Adam Hougland, Emery Lecrone, Robert Dekkers, and Rick McCullough. Erica joined Ballet Arizona in 2008 under the direction of Ib Anderson. She performed in George Balanchine’s “Four Temperaments”, “Theme and Variations” , “Stravinsky Violin Concerto”, “La Valse”, “Rubies”, and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. She also performed ballets choreographed by Ib Anderson, Alejandro Cerrudo, and Marius Petipa. After four seasons with Ballet Arizona Erica was featured in commercials, print ads, and an episode of Disney’s “Shake it Up”. She later joined Smuin Ballet in 2012 with artistic director Celia Fushille. She has originated roles in world premiers by Adam Hougland, Helen Pickett, Val Caniparoli, and Garrett Ammon. She has also performed pieces by Michael Smuin, Jiri Kylian, Trey McIntyre, Darrell Moultrie, Amy Seiwert, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Ma Cong. After seven seasons with Smuin Ballet Erica is overjoyed to be returning to the stage again with the company.

CASSIDY ISAACSON, originally from Redmond, Washington, trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet before joining Grand Rapids Ballet Company at age 16. Some favorite works performed during her eight years at Grand Rapids Ballet include Trey McIntyre’s Wild Sweet Love, Alejandro Cerrudo’s Extremely Close, Penny Saunders’ In Frame and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Written and Forgotten. Isaacson joined Smuin in 2019.

TESS LANE trained at South Bay Ballet in Torrance, CA, performing Robert Kelly’s Summertime at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MI. While apprenticing with Sacramento Ballet, she performed works by George Balanchine, Ron Cunningham, and Lila York. Lane joined California Ballet Company in 2013 and was featured in Swan Lake, Giselle, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream as well as Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, The Great Gatsby, and Fluctuating Hemlines. She also danced in the National Choreographers’ Initiative in 2017 and 2018. Lane joined Smuin in 2018.

MARC LAPIERRE began his early training at Ballet Etudes in Norwalk CT under the direction of Nanette Vallas. While at Ballet Etudes he trained closely with Christina Fagundes. He then attended Ballet Academy East in New York City under the direction of Darla Hoover and at age 16, Marc furthered his training at The School of American Ballet. He then went on to dance with Los Angeles Ballet, where he had the pleasure of dancing works by August Bournonville, George Balanchine, Aszure Barton and Alejandro Cerrudo. Two years later he joined Oregon Ballet Theatre as an apprentice and was promoted to the Company corps de ballet in his second season. During his time with OBT, he danced works by Alvin Ailey, Ben Stevenson, Nicolo Fonte, Christopher Stowell, and Trey MyIntyre. LaPierre joined Smuin in 2021.

TEREZ DEAN ORR, originally from Hudson Valley, New York, received her training at the prestigious School of American Ballet, the official school of the New York City Ballet. In 2005, she joined the State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara, dancing a wide range of contemporary and classical works. Dean Orr joined Smuin in 2008 and has been featured in works by Jiří Kylián, Trey McIntyre, Val Caniparoli, Helen Pickett, Amy Seiwert, Ma Cong, Adam Hougland, and Michael Smuin. While dancing full time, she received her BA through the Saint Mary’s College LEAP program.

JOHN SPEED ORR trained at Dance Theatre Seven in Fairfax, California under David Roxander. In 2007, Orr began his professional career with Sacramento Ballet featuring in roles such as Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations before joining Smuin Ballet. During his four years with Smuin, he performed leading roles in works by Val Caniparoli, Jiří Kylián, Helen Pickett, Trey McIntyre and Michael Smuin. Orr danced with Trey McIntyre Project until his retirement in 2014. He now pursues careers both as a realtor for Vanguard Properties, repetiteur for Trey McIntyre and creative projects with his supremely talented wife, Terez Dean Orr. Orr rejoined Smuin in 2020.

LAUREN PSCHIRRER graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and apprenticed at Rochester City Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet. While with the Joffrey, she danced works by Sir Frederick Ashton, Michael Pink, and George Balanchine. With Ballet Memphis, Pschirrer performed works by Matthew Neenan and Gabrielle Lamb. She also originated roles during the National Choreographers Initiative in 2015, 2017, and 2018. Pschirrer joined Smuin in 2016, and has performed in works by Val Caniparoli and Helen Pickett, and featured roles in Amy Seiwert’s Broken Open and Falling Up.

YURI ROGERS began his training with the Academy of Ballet San Francisco under the direction of Richard Gibson and Zory Karah. He then had the opportunity to continue his training and perform with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, the Grand Rapids Ballet, and BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio. Rogers has performed works by Lar Lubovitch, Leiland Charles, and Edwaard Liang. Rogers joined Smuin in 2021.

Maxwell Simoes grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where he attended the Creative and Performing Arts High School as well as training with Olga Kresin and Lev Assualyak. He placed gold at the Tanzfestival Berlin Tanzolymp for his contemporary solo and as a duet finalist in the YAGP NYC competition. Following this success, Maxwell studied at the Rudra Béjart École in Switzerland, student of Azari Plissetski, leading to performing with the Béjart Ballet in pieces by Maurice Béjart including Bolero, Le Sacre du Printemps, and Petruschka. He returned to the U.S. and performed at The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and Smuin Ballet. Maxwell currently dances with Jacob Jonas the Company in LA where he can be also be seen performing in Sia’s newest music video. Along with doing freelance projects, he has the added opportunity to create and teach internationally, and recently, he has performed for fashion brands such as Hermès, Prada, and Greg Lauren.

Brennan Wall, originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, studied at Los Angeles Ballet Academy. She danced with Silicon Valley Ballet (previously Ballet San Jose) as a trainee before joining The New Ballet’s Studio Company. In 2017, Wall joined Ballet de Monterrey under director José Manuel Carreño. She performed in Luis Serrano’s La Bayadere, Swan Lake, and Don Quijote, and danced soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Alberto Méndez’s Phantom of the Opera, and Diego Landin’s Shorthand of Emotion. Wall joined Smuin in 2019.