Resident Dancers
Madison Jayne Cole
|
Madison Jayne Cole joins Texture from Central Illinois Ballet where she was a soloist dancing under the direction of Rebekah Von Rathonyi. Madison began her professional training with Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program, while receiving her academic education at Professional Children’s School in New York City. She later completed her training at SLK Ballet NYC under the direction of Sara Knight where she was chosen to participate in an exchange program with Central Ballet in London, England. Throughout her years at SLK, Madison had the privilege of guest performing at the Alto Jonio Dance Festival in Villapiana, Italy, with Phoenix Ballet, Long Island Ballet Theater, and Indelible Dance. She has also attended programs with the Dutch National Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet. Upon graduation from SLK, Madison accepted a professional dancer contract with New York State Ballet where she worked under the direction of Rebekah Von Rathonyi, Sarah Rothrock-Rickel, Robert Royce, Michelle Lucci, and Katherine Johnson. Favorite past credits with NYSB include; Dorothy The Wizard of Oz, Firebird The Firebird, Cinderella Cinderella, and Myrtle Wilson The Great Gatsby. Madison performed internationally with Chevalier Ballet in an original production of Beatles Ballet in Henley On Thames, England featuring live music performed by Beatlemania UK. Throughout her time with Central Illinois Ballet, Madison performed many soloist and principal roles, some of which including Rosie the Riveter in Women of History, Snow Queen in the Nutcracker, and Madame Thenardier in Rebekah Von Rathonyi’s premier of Les Miserables.
|
Kinsey Love
|
Kinsey is honored and excited to be joining Texture Contemporary Ballet as a resident dancer this season! Most recently, Kinsey danced with Confluence Ballet Company from 2021-2024, initially as an apprentice before her promotion to company artist in 2022. Some of her favorite roles included Carabosse in A Villain Redeemed, Dew Drop in Nutcracker for a Difference and Soloist in Kassi Tiedjens’ Gaia.
Previously, Kinsey trained with Louisville Ballet from 2017-2021, the first two seasons as a trainee and the final two seasons as a studio company member. She had the pleasure of performing in the corps de ballet with the main company in most of their productions including favorites such as Alun Jone’s Cinderella, Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow, Val Caniparoli's The Nutcracker, and Robert Curran’s Giselle. Kinsey began her dance training at the age of 6 in Bakersfield, CA. From ages 12-15, she continued her training in Allen, TX before moving to Olympia, WA to train at Studio West Dance Academy under the direction of Stephanie Wood Ennett and Mariana Ramsour. Additional training included summer programs with San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet Arizona, and Oklahoma City Ballet. She also attended the University of Utah on a ballet scholarship for one year before leaving to train in the pre-professional programs at Ballet Arizona and Colorado Ballet. |
Katie Miller
|
Katie Miller is originally from Michigan and began taking dance classes at the age of three. She studied for many years at the Paavola School of Dance, spending summers at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s (PBTS’s) Intensive Summer Programs. She continued her studies at PBTS’s Graduate Program for two years where she had the opportunity to perform with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, attended Complexions Contemporary Ballet Summer Intensive, and also received private instruction from Giuseppe Canale of Northeast Academy of Dance.
She has performed with Texture Contemporary Ballet since 2012, danced with the Sacramento Ballet for six years, and had the opportunity to perform in The Suzanne Farrell Ballet Forever Balanchine: Farewell Performances at The Kennedy Center. The performances have ranged from classical, to contemporary, to tap, to neoclassical ballets exemplified by George Balanchine: Serenade, Chaconne, Concerto Barocco, The Four Temperaments, Who Cares?, Stars and Stripes, Western Symphony, and Rubies. Katie has taught at Paavola School of Dance, The School of the Sacramento Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School in their Pre-Professional Division, Summer Intensive, and Community Division. She has also choreographed for Texture Contemporary Ballet’s WIP Choreography Project. For several years, Katie has been doing wide ranging administrative tasks for Texture as an Administrative Assistant and Manager of Outreach & Community Involvement. She is also currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts at St. Mary’s College of California. |
Alan Obuzor
|
Alan Obuzor was honored in 2013 by Dance Magazine by being named one of the "Top 25 to Watch". In 2023-2024 he was selected as a School of American Ballet (SAB) National Visiting Fellow. Originally from Pittsburgh, Alan began dancing at the age of nine. Two years later he attended Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School(PBTS), where in 1998 he was a recipient of the prestigious Princess Grace Foundation Dance Honorarium. Alan received a contract to join Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's(PBT's)professional company at the age of 17. During his seven years in PBT's Company, he danced a wide array of ballets ranging from classical to neoclassical to contemporary, which included principal and soloist roles in ballets such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Symphony in C, Carmina Burana and Divertimento 15. In that time he also worked with many world renowned figures in dance, and was selected to originate soloist roles in new works by choreographers Dwight Rhoden, Derek Dean, Matjash Mrozewski and Jiabin Pan. Alan began teaching in 2002; from 2007-2012 Alan was on the faculty of PBTS as one of the primary Pre-Professional Division teachers and choreographers. In the fall of 2012, Alan joined the teaching faculty of Pittsburgh Youth Ballet. Alan choreographed his first work in 2002 on himself and a fellow dancer. Since that time he has choreographed over 120 new works for Texture Contemporary Ballet, Texture Ballet School, PBT, PBTS, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet Company, New Ballet Ensemble, Harvard Ballet Company, Point Park University, Dancers' Trust, Canton Ballet, Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and various independent projects. In 2011, Alan won first place in the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters Dance/Choreography competition. During 2014 Alan was awarded a BRAZZY Award – “Outstanding Male Dancer in Pittsburgh 2014”. In 2017 Mr. Obuzor received an “Outstanding Teacher Award” by Youth America Grand Prix. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Texture Contemporary Ballet 2011, and Texture Ballet School 2019.
|
Madeline Kendall Schreiber
|
Madeline Kendall Schreiber was trained in classical ballet under the direction of Stuart Carroll and Sharron Newton of Capitol Ballet Company in Sacramento California. In 2014, Madeline moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to dance with Ballet West where she performed in a number of productions, including Swan Lake, George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, and John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet. While dancing with Ballet West she was a part of the statewide educational outreach program, Ballet West for Children, performed as a guest artist in a production of The Nutcracker in Fairbanks, Alaska, and participated in a Cultural Dance Exchange Program with the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin in Germany. Madeline has danced with Texture Contemporary Ballet since 2016, as a resident artist, and she has performed with the company at the DUMBO dance festival in Brooklyn, New York. She has also enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with other local artists in Texture’s main stage performances and elsewhere in the community. More recently, Madeline has appeared as a guest artist with The Sacramento Ballet in their production of Giselle.
|
Jillian Sinko
|
Jillian Sinko is a graduate from Point Park University where she received her B.F.A. in Dance. Originally from Bethlehem, PA, Jillian grew up training with Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. During her time at Point Park, she developed her passion for contemporary dance and finding ways to fuse that with her classical training. Jillian performed various works at Point Park by Susan Stowe, Daniel Karasik, and Rocker Verastique. She has also choreographed several works/dance films, including The Other Side, which was featured in The Constructed Sight Dance Film Festival, and Breathe, which was featured in the Kennedy Center’s Art Under a Minute project. After graduating, Jillian first guested with Texture in 2022, and is thrilled to have joined the company as a resident dancer. She continues to choreograph and create.
|
Baylee Sullivan
|
Baylee Sullivan, originally from Racine, Wisconsin, began her training at a local studio under Marc Darling and Linda Bennett. After graduating high school, she trained with the Ruth Page Center for the Arts Civic Ballet in Chicago for the next year. She then went on to dance with Richmond Ballet as a trainee. Following two years in the trainee program, Baylee was accepted into Richmond Ballet’s second company where she had the pleasure of performing in various contemporary works and ballets such as Romeo & Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, A Midsummer Nights Dream, La Bayadère and The Nutcracker. In September of 2019, Baylee moved to New York City to dance with New York Theatre Ballet for one season before being accepted into Confluence Ballet for their inaugural season in Pittsburgh, PA. Baylee is very excited to be joining Texture Contemporary Ballet this season.
|
Elaina Sutula
|
Elaina Sutula, of Brookfield, Connecticut, graduated magna cum laude from Mercyhurst University with a B.A. in Dance and a B.A. in Pre-Nutrition Studies in May 2016. Under direction of dance chair Tauna Hunter, she performed works including Flower Festival in Genzano, Pas de Quatre, Bruce Marks’s La Fille Mal Gardée, contemporary choreography by Rick McCullough and Hannah Baumgarten, and the title role in Melissa Bobick’s production of Little Match Girl. She received additional training during summer programs at The Nutmeg Conservatory, Ballet Austin, and Tulsa Ballet. Elaina spent four years in Minnesota dancing professionally with St Paul Ballet and Ballet Co.Laboratory, where she worked with choreographers including Zoé Henrot, Joseph Morrissey, Peter Davison, and Kinsun Chan. Elaina is an American Ballet Theatre® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is excited to be working alongside the beautiful artists of Texture Contemporary Ballet.
|