MADDIE BLESSINGER (she/her) joined MDT after dancing with Los Angeles Ballet and Ballet Tucson. Maddie grew up in Los Angeles, California, and first left home to study at UNC School of the Arts’ High School program under Susan Jaffe. She then trained at School of Oregon Ballet Theater and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She attended summer programs at San Francisco Ballet and Royal Ballet School, where she was coached by Darcey Bussell and Irek Mukhemadov, and learned work by Wayne McGregor. Repertory highlights include work by renowned choreographers; Sir Fredrick Ashton, George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen. This is Maddie’s second season with MDT.

KYLIE FOX (she/her) was born in Minneapolis and raised in Iowa. Her training includes full scholarships with Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Basil Thompson, Jeffrey Bullock, and Jim Vincent; years of private training with Karin Averty; and company classes by private invitation with Ballet Hispanico. Kylie has danced professionally with companies including Swan Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, CityDance NY, Ballet des Ameriques/CABT, Encounters Dance, Armada Dance, Neville Dance Theater, and Iowa Dance Theatre. Kylie has performed original classical and contemporary works by choreographers including Royce Zackery, Ursula Verduzco, and Nadia Vostrikov;,and workshopped company repertoire under Gabrielle Lamb. Kylie has also appeared in the Periapsis Open Series, CounterPointe, Dance Parade NYC (Main Stage), Brooklyn Dance Gala; and the Liberty Hall, Brooklyn Bridge, and Higher Ground Dance Festivals. Additionally she has performed four times both in New York's "Fall Fashion Week" and for the historic organization "The Society of Illustrators". Career highlights include being the first African American "Sugarplum Fairy" in Iowa Dance Theater's 34 year history of presenting "The Nutcracker" (2019); being selected as a scholarship participant for Harkness Center (NYU/Langone) Healthy Dancer Initiative with Mark Morris Dance Group, RIOULT, and Gibney Dance (2020/22); and being featured as a ballerina in the iconic "The New Yorker" magazine for an illustrated series by Jenny Kroik (2022). This is Kylie's first season with MDT.

EMILY PITTS (she/her) is a Minnesota native who began training in ballet, jazz, tap, and contemporary. She joined Minnesota Dance Theatre’s school in 2015 and began performing with the company in 2019. With the company, Emily has performed works by Loyce and Lise Houlton, Elayna Waxse, Zachary Manske, Alanna Morris-Van Tassel, and Alexander Hille. Emily also enjoys teaching Minnesota Dance Theatre’s YCD and PAD students. She has choreographed several contemporary works on MDT students for Minnesota Dance Theatre’s Strawberry Festival and other local Twin Cities performances. Beyond dance, Emily is a third year student at the University of Minnesota pursuing a B.S. in Microbiology. This is Emily’s fifth season with MDT. 

KEN SHIOZAWA (they/them) was born in Japan and raised in Irvine, California. They began their classical dance training at the Maple Conservatory of Dance, under the artistic direction of Charles Maple. They also received training from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Full-Time Program and summer programs including the Prague Ballet Intensive, the National Choreographer's Initiative, Washington Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, and Oklahoma City Ballet. In 2020, they graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance from Butler University and now attend the University of Wisconsin Superior as a graduate student in Clinical Mental Health. Ken has previously worked with Minnesota Ballet and performed roles such as Puck in Bruce Well’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a soloist in Durante Verzola’s Spirited Syncopations. Ken also choreographs, with their most recent work being set on the Minnesota Ballet in 2023, and is excited to join the faculty teaching for MDT. This is Ken’s first season with MDT.

SASHA HAYDEN ZITOFSKY (he/him) was born in Serov, Russia and grew up in New Jersey, where he began his dance training at the age of eight. While studying various genres of dance, Sasha also performed in local and regional musical theatre productions. He landed a coveted role in the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular" at age 11 and was cast in various Off-Broadway productions throughout high school. Sasha continued his dance training under the direction of Jodie Gates at the University of Southern California's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, graduating summa cum laude in 2021 with a BFA in Dance.  He has worked with several renowned choreographers including William Forsythe, Matthew Neenan, Barak Marshall, and Dwight Rhoden. In 2021, Sasha performed at the "B12 Dance Festival" in Berlin, Germany, as well as in Carolina Ballet's "The Nutcracker". He continued in 2022 as a company dancer with Roxey Ballet. In his free time, Sasha enjoys being involved in theatre productions, working on film projects, and has self-published a poetry book. Sasha is very excited to join the Minnesota Dance Theatre for the 2023-2024 season!