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SPONSOR AN ARTIST
Ballet Arkansas proudly features 17 world-class professional dancers from across the United States. With a donation of $1,500, you can sponsor a Company Artist of your choice for the 26|27 season. Your sponsorship comes with exclusive perks, including backstage tours, invitations to studio rehearsals, advance casting notices, and much more. Your generous support helps Ballet Arkansas retain top talent and furthers the reach of our mission. Email michael@balletarkansas.org to request sponsorship of your preferred Company Artist. *One sponsor per Company Artist, per season.
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MEREDITH LOY
12th Season
Community Cast Rehearsal Director
Sponsored by Seth Rubenstein and Ashley Huddleston
Meredith Short Loy, a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, received her early training at Arkansas Academy of Dance and Arkansas Festival Ballet. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet Performance from the University of Oklahoma. Now in her 12th season with Ballet Arkansas, Meredith has had the opportunity to perform works by Agnes de Mille, Christopher Wheeldon, Ma Cong, FLOCK, Xin Ying, Yury Yanowsky, George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Noelle Kayser, and Andrea Schermoly. A few of Meredith’s favorite roles and works include Mina in Michael Fothergill’s Dracula, the title role in Michael Fothergill’s Cinderella, Giselle in Giselle, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker Spectacular, George Balanchine’s Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, and Andrea Schermoly’s Within Without. In addition to performing, Meredith takes great pleasure in working as a rehearsal director for Ballet Arkansas’ community casts and as an educator at the Ballet Arkansas School for Dance.
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LEAH NORWINE
8th Season
Sponsored by Megan Hall
Leah Norwine grew up in Herndon, Virginia. She received her training at the Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington, DC. She is a recipient of an NSLI-Y Scholarship and a Training and Performing Scholarship, both from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Upon graduation, she danced at The Washington Ballet as a trainee under both Septime Weber and Julie Kent before going on to dance with Oklahoma City Ballet in the Studio Company. Since joining Ballet Arkansas, her favorite roles include Jordan in Fothergill’s The Great Gatsby, Dew Drop, Arabian, and Lead Marzipan in Fothergill’s The Nutcracker Spectacular, Yellow Girl in Gerald Arpino’s Confetti, a Vampire in Fothergill’s Dracula, Big Swans and Pas de Trois in Swan Lake, the pas de deux in Fothergill's The Web, a Stepsister and Summer Fairy in Fothergill’s Cinderella, and Bourre Girl in Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations. Leah has also enjoyed working with various outside choreographers, including Simon Kuban, Yoshito Sakuraba, FLOCK (Alice Klock and Florian Lochner), and Mariana Oliveira. Leah is also a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor and loves to empower people to experience the joy of movement. She would also like to thank her husband and family for all their support and encouragement.
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ALDRIN VENDT-FELDGES
8th Season
Community Cast Rehearsal Director
Sponsored by Clark Trim and Henrik Thostrup
Mr. Vendt started dancing at age 10 in Tyler, Texas. After 2 years he moved to Dallas, Texas where he studied at Ballet Academy of Texas under the direction of Lisa Slagle. Upon graduation, he attended Texas Christian University’s School for Classical and Contemporary Dance under the direction of Elizabeth Gillaspy with a full tuition scholarship. Mr. Vendt joined Oklahoma City Ballet for the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons. Here he performed several works choreographed by Robert Mills including Russian and lead Chinese in The Nutcracker and Czardas in Swan Lake. Vendt joined Ballet Arkansas for the 2019/20 season and has since danced featured roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker Spectacular, Dracula, Sleepy Hollow, The Great Gatsby, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wonderland, and Carmen, in addition to numerous original commissioned works. Notable early roles include the Sugar Plum Cavalier in The Nutcracker and both the Prince and a Stepsister in Cinderella. Aldrin is in his 8th season with Ballet Arkansas and is proudly sponsored by Clark Trim and Henrik Thostrup.
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LAUREN YORDANICH
8th Season
Sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Edward Anson
Lauren Yordanich began her dance training at Dance Arts of Chelsea in Michigan and Ballet Chelsea under the direction of Wendi DuBois. She furthered her dance education through summer programs with Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, the Cecchetti Council of America, and Ballet West. Before joining Ballet Arkansas, Lauren danced as a trainee with Grand Rapids Ballet, working with choreographers such as Val Caniparoli, Penny Saunders, Brian Enos, Attila Mosolygo, and Olivier Wevers. Since joining Ballet Arkansas in 2019, Lauren has performed featured roles in Michael Fothergill’s Sleepy Hollow, Dracula and Carmen, Gerald Arpino’s Reflections and Birthday Variations, and Sir David Bintley’s Galanteries. Several of Lauren’s favorite roles include Giselle and Myrtha in Giselle, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Cinderella in Cinderella, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Aurora and Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, the Sugarplum Fairy and Dew Drop in Michael Fothergill’s The Nutcracker Spectacular. She has also performed works by Andrea Schermoly, Thang Dao, Tsai Hsi Hung, Yury Yanowsky, Yoshito Sakuraba, and Madison Falconer. In addition to performing, she is passionate about teaching and serves as a community cast director with Ballet Arkansas.
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KERRIDWYN SCHANCK
5th Season
Sponsored by Elizabeth Michael
Kerridwyn began and completed her training at The Portland Ballet in Portland, OR. Ms. Schanck began her professional career as an apprentice at Ballet Idaho in 2017. Following this, she joined Northwest Arkansas Ballet Theatre in 2019. She then joined Ballet Arkansas in 2022. Her favorite performance opportunities since joining Ballet Arkansas include Cygnets in Swan Lake, Lady Capulet in Romeo & Juliet, Dewdrop in The Nutcracker Spectacular, and Peasant Pas in Giselle. Outside of performing, she is passionate about choreographing on her fellow dancers, as well as teaching at the Ballet Arkansas School for Dance. She is excited to begin her fifth season performing with Ballet Arkansas.
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SAGE VENDT-FELDGES
5th Season
Community Cast Rehearsal Director
Sponsored by Drs. Jennifer Guimbellot and Sam Dalvi
A native of St. Louis, MO, Sage began her classical ballet training at Milwaukee Ballet School in high school. After graduating high school, she trained as a youth company member with A&A Ballet and as a trainee with BalletMet. During her time at BalletMet, she was chosen to perform corps de ballet roles in company productions by Edwaard Liang such as The Nutcracker, Giselle, and Dorothy and the Prince of Oz. She also had the privilege of performing works by George Balanchine including Concerto Barocco and Serenade (set by Nilas Martins and Wendy Whelan). Since joining Ballet Arkansas in 2022, she has had the honor of performing many principal roles including Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker Spectacular, Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, and most recently, the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella as well as a featured role in Andrea Schermoly’s Within Without. Sage also takes great pride in working as a community cast director and teacher in Ballet Arkansas School For Dance.
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KEITH NEWMAN
5th Season
Community Cast Rehearsal Director
Sponsored by Dr. Alan and Mrs. Amber Bagley
Keith Newman, a Washington, DC native, trained for 11 years at The Washington School of Ballet under the guidance of Kee Juan Han and Xiomara Reyes. During his time at the school, Keith had the opportunity to perform in numerous ballets by the Artistic Director, Septime Webre, including world premieres of Peter Pan, The Great Gatsby and ALICE (in Wonderland). He also served as a Repetiteur for Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker in 2017. Following his training at The Washington School of Ballet, Keith studied at Indiana University under the direction of Sarah Wroth. In his time there, he performed in Justin Peck’s In Creases, George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Donizetti Variations, as the Shy Boy in Jerome Robbins' The Concert, in Antony Tudor’s Dark Elegies, and in August Bournonville’s Kermesse in Bruges. He graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Ballet and an Outside Field in Arts Management. Since joining Ballet Arkansas, Keith has performed classical/neoclassical roles such as Jonathan in Dracula, the White Rabbit in Wonderland, Escamillo in Carmen, Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet, Ichabod in Sleepy Hollow, and Hilarion in Giselle. In contemporary roles, he has performed works by choreographers Yoshito Sakuraba, Yuka Oba-Muschiana, Tsai Hsi Hung, Lorenzo di Loreto, Noelle Kayser, and Andrea Schermoly.
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MURRAY McCORMACK
4th Season
Sponsored by Drs. Ann and Ashay Patel
Murray is originally from Macon, Georgia, where she received training at Dance Arts Studio under Alice Sheridan. During her later teen years, she supplemented her training by studying privately with coaches Rebecca Metzger and Jessica Saund. Throughout her education and professional career, Murray has attended summer intensives at The School of American Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, and Orsolina28. From 2018 to 2022, she danced at Indiana University Ballet Theater under the direction of Sarah Wroth and other renowned teachers, namely Carla Körbes, Michael Vernon, Kyra Nichols, Christian Claessens, and Sasha Janes. At IUBT, she performed prestigious repertoire such as Twyla Tharp’s Deuce Coupe, George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht Ballet, and Justin Peck’s In Creases. After graduation, Murray was invited to join Ballet Austin as an Apprentice where she danced under Artistic Director, Stephen Mills and Michelle Martin for the 2022/23 season. During her time at Ballet Austin, she had the opportunity to perform in Stephen Mills’ The Nutcracker and Cinderella, George Balanchine’s Serenade, and to work with choreographer and former Nederlands Dans Theater dancer Alexander Anderson on his original contemporary work, Desert Rose. The following season, she was hired as a Company Artist with Ballet Arkansas under Artistic Director, Michael Fothergill. The past three seasons, Murray has most enjoyed dancing Pas de Trois in Swan Lake, the Dewdrop Fairy in Michael Fothergill’s The Nutcracker Spectacular, and Andrea Schermoly’s Within Without. Murray has a passion for choreographing and has had the honor of choreographing twice for the company. She has also taught at several dance schools throughout her career and currently is an instructor for the Ballet Arkansas School for Dance.
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WILLIAM HEIDE
3rd Season
Sponsored by Robert and Amanda O'Neal
William Heide is originally from Racine, Wisconsin, and began dancing at the age of 8, taking lessons at The Studio of Classical Dance Arts under the tutelage of Marc Darling and Linda Bennett. After leaving Racine, William then trained at Joffrey Chicago in the Conservatory program. From Chicago, William attended Marian University in Indiana, where he would continue to dance with the Ballet Theater of Carmel, directed by Jane and Frank Weiner, and guest in their productions as lead Russian in The Nutcracker and Benno in Swan Lake. William joined Milwaukee Ballet II under the direction of Mirelle Favarel, Calvin Hilpert, and Davit Hovanysian in 2022. At Milwaukee Ballet, William performed roles in Artistic Director Michael Pink’s productions of Hunchback of Notre Dame, Swan Lake, and Peter Pan, in addition to Milwaukee Ballet's second company’s showcases of Momentum. Since joining Ballet Arkansas in 2024, William has had the privilege of dancing roles such as Escamillo in Michael Fothergill’s Carmen, Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, and Albrecht in Gisselle.
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BENJAMIN PINER
3rd Season
Sponsored by Clark Trim and Henrik Thostrup
Benjamin Piner was born on Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and started dancing around the age of 8 at the Florida Ballet in Jacksonville Florida. After dancing in Jacksonville for three years, he moved to Cary, North Carolina to join the International Ballet Academy to further his ballet education. While at the International Ballet Academy, he trained with Nadia Pavlenko, Maxim Ponomarenko, Emma Fernette, and Rossana Nesta in the pre-professional program. During his time there, he went to ADC IBC finals and to the Youth America Grand Prix. After five years at the International Ballet Academy, he was offered to join the Richmond Ballet as a trainee. During his time in the trainee program, he performed roles such as a Minion in Ma Cong’s Firebird and Franz in The School of Richmond Ballet’s performance of Coppélia Suite. During his two seasons with Ballet Arkansas, Benjamin performed roles such as Benvolio in Romeo & Juliet, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow and Hilarion in Gisselle.
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McKENNA ULBRICK
2nd Season
Sponsored by Eric and Amy Wolf
McKenna Ulbrick was born in Reston, VA and began training in ballet at the age of 3. Training at Skye Ballet Center, she competed at the YAGP Finals where she received a scholarship to attend The Rock School for Dance Education. During her time at The Rock, she was a participant in the NSLI-Y program, spending six weeks in Moscow training at The Bolshoi Ballet Academy and studying Russian language. After two formative years under Bo and Stephanie Spassoff and receiving coaching from Telmo Moreira and Natalya Zeiger, McKenna received a scholarship to attend San Francisco Ballet School led by Patrick Armand. While there, she enjoyed the expertise and passion of her teachers. McKenna attended The Royal Ballet School Summer Session and was then a trainee with The Washington Ballet under Xiomara Reyes and Rinat Imaev where she performed in The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker with the company. She also performed in trainee performances as 3rd shade in La Bayadere pas de trois, La Esmeralda soloist, and The Queen of Dryads, Kitri’s friend, and Bridesmaid in Don Quixote and enjoyed guidance from Francoise Thouveny-Doyle. In the 2024-2025 season, McKenna enjoyed dancing with Grand Rapids Ballet as a trainee. She performed in various programs such as Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, Val Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker, and Jumpstart, where she choreographed and performed in a number of pieces. She is grateful to receive guidance and mentorship from Sona Kharatian. Last season, McKenna loved performing the Wafting Variation in Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations and Winter Fairy in Cinderella. She teaches in the School for Dance and cherishes her students. McKenna is thrilled to start her second season with Ballet Arkansas.
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ALLEN SIZEMORE
2nd Season
Sponsored by Dr. Julie Robinson
Allen is from Fort Wayne, Indiana where he started dancing at the age of nine. Allen graduated from the Auer Academy of Fort Wayne Ballet under the direction of Karen Gibbons-Brown and Eleonora Pokhitinova Hartung. Allen was the only student in the school’s history to receive consecutive most improved dancer scholarships. During his schooling, Allen attended summer intensives at San Francisco Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Ballet Austin, and others. He went on to become a trainee with Fort Wayne Ballet for one season performing roles such as “Quincy Morris” in Tracy Tritz’s Dracula, “Spanish Lead” in The Nutcracker, and “Hungarian Lead” in Swan Lake. In 2023, Allen joined Milwaukee Ballet II under the direction of Mireille Favarel, Davit Hovhannisyan, and artistic director Michael Pink. During his tenure there, Allen had the privilege of working with choreographers such as Timothy O'Donnell, Nelly van Bommel, and Lorenzo Di Loreto. He also performed in Mireille Favarel’s staging of Paquita, Michael Pink’s Dracula as “Impresario", and the world premier of Pink’s The Nutcracker: Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium. Allen then spent a season as a soloist with Ballet Theater of Maryland under the direction of Nicole Kelsh. Here, he performed roles such as “Pas De Trios” in Bourneville's Napoli, “Merliton” in Dianna Cuatto’s The Nutcracker and “Spanish Lead” in Swan Lake. Allen is currently studying for his bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana University. This is his first season with Ballet Arkansas.
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KIRSTEN RYE
1st Season
Sponsored by Suzanne and Dr. Earl Babbie
Originally from Duluth, Minnesota, Kirsten trained and performed with the Minnesota Ballet. She graduated from the University of Utah in May 2025 with a Ballet H.B.F.A., Chemistry B.S., and Honors Ecology & Legacy Minor. She published her Honors Thesis titled, Perspectives: Choreography Through the Eyes of a Chemist which was featured in Lassonde’s Student Innovator at the U List for 2025. She also studied abroad in Kenya and with Ballet Nacional Dominicano in the Dominican Republic. She then danced with Olympic Ballet Theatre in Edmonds, Washington until joining Ballet Arkansas in August 2026. Throughout the years she had the privilege to perform works from many notable choreographers and re-stagers including Mikhail Fokine, George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Melissa Bobick, Rex Tilton, Allison DeBona, Oleg Gorbuoulev, Price Suddarth, and Beth Twigs. Besides performing, Kirsten also has had a passion for teaching dance since 2018, including teaching at the School of Minnesota Ballet and Emerald Ballet Theatre. She is excited to be joining the roster of excellent teachers here at Ballet Arkansas’ School for Dance. She is thrilled to start the season and bring her joy of dance to Little Rock audiences!
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KAREN LOPES DE AVILA
1st Season
Sponsored by Robert and Amanda O'Neal
Karen Lopes de Avila began her ballet training at the age of nine at the Academy of Classical Ballet California under the direction of Crystal Petzel, where she trained from 2014–2023. In 2022, she attended the San Francisco Ballet Summer Intensive, where she discovered her desire to pursue ballet professionally. She started her professional training as a Trainee with State Street Ballet during the 2023–2024 season. In 2024, Karen joined Nashville Ballet II, where she spent two seasons performing works including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Don Quixote Suite, in which she performed Kitri’s Friends. She also performed in Día de los Muertos, Maestro, and Chaplin, all by Maria Konrad, as well as Flames of Paris Suite, in which she performed the role of Jeanne. She performed in Nashville Ballet’s Swan Lake, dancing in the Swan Corps and as a Peasant in Act I. She also performed in Sherlock by Penny Saunders. Throughout her time with Nashville Ballet, Karen had the opportunity to work with a variety of choreographers, including Durante Verzola, Penny Sanders, and Sarah Tallman, Travis Bradley, as well as numerous teachers and artists. These experiences allowed her to continue developing her artistry, versatility, and passion for dance while gaining valuable experience as a professional dancer. Karen is excited to join Ballet Arkansas as a Company Artist for the 2026–2027 season. She looks forward to continuing to grow as an artist, exploring new repertoire, and contributing her passion, dedication, and energy to the company.
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EMMA FRIDENMAKER
1st Season
Sponsored by Ross and Grace Burnett
Emma Fridenmaker, from Villa Hills, Kentucky, began dancing at the age of 3 and trained with Cincinnati Ballet for 14 years. As a student, she had the privilege of performing in many company productions; notable among these were Coppelia, Raymonda, and the original cast of Victoria Morgan’s King Arthur’s Camelot. Upon graduating high school Emma continued her training in the Second Companies of Kansas City Ballet (Devon Carney), Oklahoma City Ballet (Robert Mills), and Louisville Ballet (Robert Curran). Most recently, Emma danced with De La Dance Company in Cincinnati, Ohio (Meridith Benson and Mario de la Nuez), where she rose to the rank of Principal Dancer. While there she had the honor of performing some of her favorite roles; Giselle (Giselle), Swanilda (Coppelia), and Cinderella (Cinderella) as well as Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen (The Nutcracker, Jazzed Up). In addition to these roles, some of Emma’s favorite pieces to perform have been Bizet (Meridith Benson), A Willing Spirit (Anna Leithart), and DeLanade (JonMarie Johnson). When not dancing herself, Emma enjoys sharing her love of ballet with the next generation and is excited to be on the faculty for the Ballet Arkansas School for Dance. Outside of the studio, Emma earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership with a minor in Management from Northern Kentucky University.
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