We are excited to give you a taste of what is to come this upcoming season. Please join us in welcoming our six amazing Emerging Artists!
The Emerging Artist program supports the professional development of distinctively talented and emerging dance artists. The program provides an opportunity to work closely with Ballet BC’s artistic team, enabling them to learn about the structure of a professional dance company environment, train with established dancers, perform and tour with a professional dance company, and participate in the creative process. We are proud that some of the most promising dance artists are trained right here at home!
Kiana Jung was born and raised in Vancouver, BC where she started her dance training at Arts Umbrella at the age of 9. She then completed the professional and the graduate program under the direction of Artemis Gordon. While studying at Arts Umbrella, Kiana was invited to perform in Medhi Walerski’s Romeo + Juliet in Ballet BC’s 2017/18 season. She has done many summer intensives including the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, the AU international Summer Intensive, and has attended the Banff Centre for arts and creativity. She has had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Aszure Barton, Yvan Dubreuil, Rafael Sady (Mats Ek), Crystal Pite, Cayetano Soto, Lesley Telford, Tom Weinberger and many other artists. Kiana is thrilled to return to Ballet BC for her second season as an emerging artist.
Evan Rapaport was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He began dancing at the age of 5 and developed his love for Hip-Hop and popular dance forms. He continued to formally train at the New World School of the Arts where he received awards from the YoungArts foundation for Contemporary Dance and Choreography. Evan then continued his studies at The Juilliard School. He has performed works by many incredible artists, including Twyla Tharp, Martha Graham, and Richard Alston. Evan furthered his rigorous training through summer intensives such as Magnus Midwest/Northwest, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Springboard Danse Montreal. Evan had the opportunity to dance as an Emerging Artist with Ballet BC last season and performed Crystal Pite’s Solo Echo while on tour with the company. Evan is excited to be back and grow more with the Ballet BC family.
Stefanie Noll was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, but grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Her training includes the Joffrey Trainee Program, Marymount Manhattan College, and the Arts Umbrella Graduate Program. Outside of school, she has worked for choreographers including Alexandra Damiani, Loni Landon, and Amy Gardner, as well as spending time doing music videos and dancing in concerts. She’s furthered her training at summer programs including Nederlands Dans Theatre, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, and San Francisco Conservatory. Most recently she’s graduated from the Arts Umbrella Graduate program where she had the opportunity to dance works by Sharon Eyal, Marco Goeke, Mats Ek, Johan Inger, and Nacho Duato, and participate in new creation processes with Crystal Pite, Lesley Telford, Amos Ben-Tal, Lukas Timulak, and Emily Molnar. She is very excited to be joining Ballet BC as an Emerging Artist for the 20/21 season.
Sarah Pippin is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina and began dancing at the age of 3. She completed her early dance training at CC & Company Dance Complex where she received a diverse dance education. In May of 2020, Sarah graduated from The Juilliard School with a BFA in Dance, where she was the recipient of the Irving B. and Joan W. Harris Endowed Scholarship and the prestigious Martha Hill Prize. Sarah has attended summer intensives at Springboard Danse Montréal, Nederlands Dans Theater, The School at Jacob’s Pillow, and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance.
Originally from Austin, Texas, Daniel Rae Srivastava began his dance training with Cheryl Copeland. During high school, as his commitment to dance intensified, he found an equivalent devotion to the humanities. By continuing his education at USC Kaufman, he was able to pursue both of these vocations, interweaving these disparate fields into one cohesive curriculum. Due to a generous scholarship, Rae was afforded the opportunity to pursue his Master’s in Legal Ethics while he concluded his rigorous B.F.A. studies. During his time at USC, Rae studied under influential artists like William Forsythe, Jermaine Spivey, Bobbi Jene Smith, and Victor Quijada, while performing masterworks by Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, and Jiri Kylian. Rae is inveterately interested in the ways that dance, as a reflection of its societal context, can elicit positive change. As such, he devoted his senior thesis to this philanthropic pursuit, planning and organizing a fundraising gala for Planned Parenthood, which was unfortunately cancelled in its final stages due to the pandemic. He is delighted to join Ballet BC as an Emerging Artist, and he looks forward to cultivating a fruitful performing career with the company.
Jacob Williams is from Vancouver, Washington. For many years, he performed in musical theater until he found a love for dance at the age of 16. After high school, Jacob furthered his education at Alonzo King Lines Ballet going on to dance with dawsondancesf and Oregon Ballet Theatre 2 (OBT2). In 2018, he joined the Arts Umbrella Graduate Program under the direction of Artemis Gordon where he has just graduated. During his summers, Jacob trained at Springboard Danse Montreal, AU International Summer Intensive, and Northwest Dance Project. He has had the honor of performing works by Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, Sharon Eyal, Marco Goecke, Johan Inger, and Crystal Pite. Jacob is overjoyed to be joining Ballet BC as an Emerging Artist this season.
Be sure to stay tuned for the official announcement of our 2020/21 Full Company Artists!
Ballet BC’s Emerging Artist Program is generously supported by the RBC Foundation and the Y.P. Heung Foundation. We are grateful for their leadership in training the next generation of artists in Canada.
