Maddie Blessinger 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. Some of her repertory highlights include work by Sir Fredrick Ashton, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Chieko Imada, Marius Petipa, Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen. Since joining MDT last August, she has had the pleasure of dancing "Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy" and "Carmina Burana", and Elayna Waxse’s "Polaris" and "Four Seasons". She also enjoys teaching and choreographing for the students in MDT’s school. This is Maddie's second season at MDT.

Marie Finley grew up dancing at MDT, performing repertoire by Loyce Houlton, George Balanchine, Lise Houlton, and many local choreographers. She earned her BFA in Dance at Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco. Marie also trained in GYROTONIC ® and GYROKINESIS ® and developed an extensive knowledge of the body’s functions and movements inside the studio and out. After college graduation, she moved to Salt Lake City to dance with SALT2 and was immersed in the realm of contemporary dance. Missing the ballet world and California, she moved to Santa Barbara to dance with State Street Ballet and revisited the classical variations of Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, and the beloved Nutcracker.

Kylie Fox 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.

Helen Hatch (Adult Open Division) is a dancer, choreographer and educator based in Minneapolis. Named as one of Minnesota Monthly’s “10 Artists to Watch” in 2012, Helen was a member of Minnesota Dance Theatre from 2011-2017, dancing an eclectic range of repertoire while also creating her own work. Since then she has worked with various artists in the Twin Cities on projects as a performer, choreographer, and producer. Helen is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA program where she was awarded Dance Departmental Honors. Her choreography has been presented at the Ailey Citigroup Theater, the 2011 Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Festival, 2014 MN Fringe Festival, The Southern Theater, throughout Mexico and Guatemala by the Juntos Collective, and commissioned by Minnesota Dance Theatre, Saint Paul Ballet, Mareck Dance, Penelope Freeh, Aveda, and The Cowles Center. Helen is the founder and director of Hatch Dance, whose debut performance Isotope was named a “2018 Top Ten Twin Cities Dance Performance” by the Star Tribune. In 2022, Helen was in residency at University of North Carolina School of the Arts Choreographic Institute. Helen has taught extensively throughout the Twin Cities since 2012.

Kendall Kramer Originally from Minnesota, Kendall graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Spanish Language from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, where she had the privilege of studying with Danny Buraczeski. In Texas, she worked with Leslie Scates of Lower Left, Frame Dance, and Psophonia Dance Company as a company member, where she also set work. 

Since returning to Minneapolis in 2019, she has choreographed and performed genre-diverse works for REM5 VR Studio, Zenon Zone, Fox & Beggar, Future Interstates, “The Heathers” with Barret Music Studio, won Nudie Nubies April 2022, performed for DanceCO, in AU by Hatchdance and Honeyworks, Toward Utopia by Paula Mann, Paradise by Jon Ferguson and Helen Hatch, among other projects.

Kendall has over 10 years teaching experience, including many residencies for Arts-in-Education. She currently teaches at Hot House, Zenon Dance School, and Arts Outreach via The Arena.

Justin Leaf is ballet teacher and performance artist originally from Hagerstown, Maryland. Justin was a company member of James Sewell Ballet (2002-2008) and Minnesota Dance Theatre (2008-2014), and they independently danced original works by John Kelly, Morgan Thorson, and George Stamos, among others. Justin’s formative training included summers at the Kirov Academy and School of American Ballet, before spending a year in the Pre-Professional Division the Pacific Northwest Ballet School and then four years at The Juilliard School, graduating with a BFA in Dance Performance in 2001. Since that time, they have taught ballet for various schools and companies, including Ballet Co.Laboratory, Ballet Hispánico, James Sewell Ballet, Minnesota Dance Theatre, and Minnesota Ballet. Their choreography has been presented by Minnesota Dance Theatre, James Sewell Ballet, and Minnesota Orchestra, among others. They were awarded a McKnight Fellowship for Dancers in 2009 and the Zaraspe Prize for Outstanding Choreography in 2001. 

Deirdre Murnane grew up in Los Angeles, CA where she studied ballet with her mother, Eva Ralf and Tania (Riabouchinska) Lichine. After high school, she moved to Minnesota to dance at Minnesota Dance Theatre where she was a member of MDT company II. After moving back to Los Angeles for a couple of years to study Jazz and teach at Dupree Dance Academy, she moved back to Minneapolis and became a founding member of Zenon Dance Comapany where she danced for six years. She then joined Myron Johnson's Ballet of the Dolls where she danced for six more years and married her husband, Michael Murnane. Deirdre has also danced with Minnesota Opera, Sons of Winter Theater, Shawn McConneloug and her Orchestra, Children’s Theater Company, and Macy’s Glamorama. Deirdre has taught dance in the Twin Cities since 1984 and yoga since 2009. She has a 500-hour yoga teacher certification from Yoga Center Minneapolis, and is certified in Simonson Jazz Dance Technique. Deirdre was most recently the Dance Director for Reif Dance at The Reif Arts Center in Grand Rapids MN from July 2017 through December 2021 where she had the opportunity to direct and choreograph for several original full length productions including A Tale of Two Heroes - Orpheus and Hercules, Enchanted Forest, Cinderella, 4 Reif Dance Company shows and an annual Nutcracker.

Perryn Northrup started dancing at Minnesota Dance Theatre at the age of five and has performed in pieces by Loyce Houlton, Lise Houlton, Julia Sutter, Elayna Waxse, Emily Pitts, and Jeffrey Hankinson. Perryn has also attended summer intensives with Minnesota Dance Theatre and Next Generation Ballet. Perryn is currently a junior at Edina High School and an assistant teacher for the Young Children’s Division. 

Anna Novak grew up dancing at Minnesota Dance Theatre. She was given many opportunities such as performing in Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy, attending summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre and Kaatsbaan Ballet, and eventually performing with Minnesota Dance Theatre's company in performances such as Carnival of the Animals. Anna moved to New York City, which led her to perform at regional theatres such as the Guthrie Theater, Fireside Theatre, Arizona Broadway Theatre, Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, Old Log Theatre, and the MGM Beau Rivage. She made her NYC, Off Broadway debut in the Vital Theatre Company's production of Angelina Ballerina the Musical. Anna returned back to Minnesota and has since danced with the Minnesota Opera (Daughter of the Regiment), Collide Theatrical, and DanceCo. Anna is also an actor and has performed in plays, commercials, as well as being featured on the History Channel in the series I Was There.

Sofia Perlman started her training with Minnesota Dance Theatre when she was three years old. She has attended summer intensive programs at Minnesota Dance Theatre, The Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Next Generation Ballet. Sofia has performed in works by Loyce and Lise Houlton, Elayna Waxse, Julia Sutter, Emily Pitts, and Jeffrey Hankinson. She is currently a senior at The Blake School.

Emily Pitts 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. 

Laura Pratt (Adult Open Division)

Sally Rousse (Adult Open Division) performs, teaches, choreographs, curates, writes, and advocates dance. She is a two-time recipient of the McKnight Fellowship for Dancers, a Sage Awardee for “Best Performer,” was named “Artist of the Year” (Minneapolis City Pages) and is the mother of two young adults. Rousse’s site-specific works have taken dance off the traditional stage into venues such as the Kwon Tung Pier in Hong Kong and up the tree of a vacant lot and have also been seen in both theatrical and commercial venues such as the Guthrie, Southern, and State Theaters; the Walker Art Center, MASS MoCA, the Cartoon Channel, and Harvard’s American Repertory Theatre. Born in Vermont, Rousse performed as a leading dancer with Ballet Chicago, the Royal Ballet of Flanders, and James Sewell Ballet, the company she co-founded in NYC. She has danced many roles in the classical and Balanchine repertoires, works by Maurice Béjart, Jiri Kylián, and more than 100 new works created on her by contemporary choreographers, branding her “Renegade Ballerina.” As an instructor of classical and contemporary ballet and Zena Rommet Floor-Barre®, Rousse seeks to replace exclusive physical standards with unbiased and somatically sound ones and continues to consider the values of ballet, its lexicon, and history. “Throughout my 50+ years in dance, I have come to feel the outwardly silent, inwardly buzzing life of moving in a studio or onstage as an exquisite, spiritual practice of polishing the soul, the character.”

Amanda Sachs (Adult Open Division) grew up in New Jersey studying R.A.D. before moving to San Francisco for the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program. In 2014, Sachs joined The Francesca Harper Project in NYC and toured internationally with Metamorphosis Dance. In 2017 joined TU Dance in MN, where she performed Alvin Ailey’s solo "Witness and Night

Creature", "Walking with Pearl: Africa Diaries" by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and numerous other works. She is an original member of "Come Through", produced by Liquid Music in collaboration with Grammy-winning musician Bon Iver and TU Dance. She is featured in Bon Iver’s "Naeem and We" lyric videos, and has performed at the Bonnaroo and Eaux Claires music festivals. In 2020, Sachs presented her first self-choreographed solo Still for The Cowles 6 FEET/ 6 SOLOS. Sachs joined NW Dance Project in Portland in 2021, where she performed works by Ihsan Rustem, Yin Yue, Joseph Hernandez, Sarah Slipper, and Luca Veggetti and toured internationally. She has performed locally with Honeyworks and Hatch Dance for their Live @ The Shed series in 2021 and 2022. Sachs premiered in Ashwini Ramaswamy's "Invisible Cities"  as well as "Cold Air Rises" by Ben Frost as part of The Great Northern Festival in Minnesota. In 2023, she made her opera debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago this Spring in Carmen and joined PARA.MAR, performing original works by Helen Simoneau and Stephanie Martinez. Most recently, Sachs presented her first work "Searching for Giants", co-choreographed with Elena Hollenhorst for MN Orchestra.

Raina Saunders

Kari Schire received her early ballet training in the Cecchetti Method, passing the Elementary through Professional level exams Highly Commended. She furthered her training in MDT’s Performing Arts Division and attended professional workshops with Donald Byrd, Alonzo King, Anouk van Dijk, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Kari has performed professionally with Minnesota Dance Theatre, James Sewell Ballet, TU Dance, and American Repertory Ballet. With MDT, Kari has performed in works by Loyce Houlton — "Knoxville, Summer of 1915", "Carmina Burana", and various roles in "Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy"  — as well as works by Lise Houlton, Helen Hatch, Elayna Waxse, Penelope Freeh, Jennifer Hart, Dwight Rhoden, and Uri Sands. Kari is also a certified STOTT PILATES® Instructor. Since her certification in 2012, she has worked with people from all walks of life, though she particularly enjoys helping dancers build stability, strength, and stamina to meet the challenges required of today’s performing artists.

Isabelle Schmidt began her training at Minnesota Dance Theatre at the age of three, and will join MDT's Second Company next year. She has performed in MDT’s annual Nutcracker Fantasy in a range of roles, from mouse to snow and flower corps. Isabelle has attended summer intensives with ABT and the Boston Ballet, and is currently a senior at Southwest High School.

Kentaro Shiozawa 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.

Yuki Tokuda is a ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher, based in the Twin Cities.  She is originally from Japan and was trained under Mikiko Dei, Hideo Fukagawa, and  Jun Ishii, internationally recognized dancers, teachers and competition judges. She moved to the U.S. in 2000 to continue her training in New York at the Joffrey Ballet School. Ms. Tokuda has danced professionally with USA Ballet, Peoria Ballet,  Metropolitan Ballet, and she was the principal dancer at Continental Ballet for 7 years.  With diverse training in classical, contemporary, modern and jazz, she is an  international guest dancer and collaborator with many companies, including James Sewell Ballet and Minnesota Dance Theatre. While training in New York, Ms. Tokuda’s  instructors included David Howard, John Prinz, Fabrice Herrault, and Michael Vernon.  At Steps on Broadway in New York she was one of the first International Visa Program students. She has, also, trained with Boston Ballet and Connecticut Ballet. She has  performed many principal roles, most notably in: Le Corsaire, Don Quixote Pas de  Deux, Les Sylphides, Pas de Quatre, Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo, Princess Aurora, Lilac  Fairy and Princess Florine in The Sleeping Beauty, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in The Nutcracker, Odette and Odile in Swan Lake, Coppelia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the title roles in Romeo and Juliet, and Giselle. She has performed at The Walker Art Center, The Ritz Theater, The State Theatre, The Tek Box, The Ted Mann Concert  Hall, The O’Shaughnessy, The Pantages Theatre, The Intermedia Arts, The Lab Theatre, Peavey Plaza, and the Cowles Center. 

Her choreography was chosen for Choreographer’s Evening at The Walker Arts Center and commissioned by Macalester College, Wayzata Symphony Orchestra, Wooddale  Church, Cerulean Fire, Japan America Society of Minnesota, Saint Paul Conservatory  for Performing Artists and Threads Dance Project. She is a recipient of 2023 McKnight Dancer Fellow, Minnesota State Arts Board and St. Louis Park Arts & Culture Grant.  She is a co-director with Rie Tanaka of Mirage Performing Arts where their mission is envisioning, enriching and enhancing both the cultures of Classical Music and Ballet. 

Ms. Tokuda is also a certified STOTT Pilates Instructor, the owner/designer of YukiTard, a custom dancewear company, and the director of Tokuda Ballet. 

Zachary Tuazon was born and raised in Tinley Park, Illinois. He received his initial training in ballet, modern and jazz under the tutelage of Brenda Langan and Diane King. He has also received training from the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He received his BA in Dance Pedagogy from Butler University where he performed works by Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Susan McGuire, Derek Reid and Patrick Hinson. He has taught ballet and contemporary around the Twin Cities and is currently on the ballet faculty at Summit Dance Shoppe. This is Zachary’s ninth season with MDT. 

Michelle Vagi received her early training at Continental Ballet Company under Riet Velthuiusen and later at the School of Music at Indiana University under Violette Verdy, Glenda Lucena, Jaques Cesbron and Gouping Wang.  After receiving her Bachelor's in Ballet Performance and English Literature in 2006, Michelle joined Ballet Arizona under the artistic directorship of Ib Andersen.  Throughout her professional career, Michelle studied under Daniel Baudendistel.  While at Ballet Arizona, Michelle performed principal roles in August Bournonville's Flower Festival in Genzano, Jerome Robbins' In the Night, Christopher Wheeldon's Polophonia and Andersen's productions of  The Nutcracker  (Sugar Plum Fairy), Coppelia, The Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night's Dream  and in several of Andersen's origial creations.  Michelle has also performed soloist roles in Alexi Ratmansky’s Carnival of the Animals, Swan Lake, Napoli, The Sleeping Beauty,Don Quixote, Coppelia, Giselle, Les Sylphides, Raymonda, and Balanchine's Apollo, Divertimento No. 15, La Valse, The Four Temperaments,   La Sonnombula  and Serenade.  Michelle has performed in several other Balanchine and classical ballets during her career and has performed with Ballet Arizona at the Kennedy Center and the Joyce Theater.

Jacob Walters

Elayna Waxse is a Minneapolis-based performer, dance educator, and choreographer. Elayna has performed with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Colorado Ballet/Colorado Ballet Studio Company, Black Label Movement, BodyCartography Project, and with Cie. Ismael Ivo at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival 2014. They were a member of TU Dance from 2012 to 2019, and were part of the original creation team of Come Through, the collaboration between TU Dance and Grammy-award winning musical group Bon Iver. Through this collaboration Elayna performed at the Hollywood Bowl (LA, CA), and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.). Their choreographic work has been supported by Minnesota Dance Theatre, University of Minnesota Dance Department (2022 Cowles Visiting Artist), Threads Dance Project, and University of Minnesota Opera Theatre among others. She is a 2019 recipient of a McKnight Fellowship in Dance.

Sasha Haydn Zitofsky was born in Serov, Russia and grew up in New Jersey, where he began his dance training. While studying various genres of dance, Sasha was able to be seen in Kids Bop, Toys 'R' Us, and various commercial projects. Sasha got his B.F.A. in dance at the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance under the direction of Jodie Gates. He has worked with renowned choreographers including Dwight Rhoden, William Forsythe, Matthew Neenan, and Victor Quijada.

Principal Accompanist, Company and School - Susan Hsu

Company and Open Division Accompanists -  Tom Linker, Pat Lyles, Joe Strahan