Choreographers

James Gnam

James Gnam is a Vancouver based performer, improviser and choreographer. He received his training at the National Ballet School of Canada and in 1998 began working with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. In 2004, he joined Ballet BC where he performed in work created by Jiri Kylian, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris and Lar Lubavitch; and created roles with choreographers such as Crystal Pite, John Alleyne, Peter Bingham and Simone Orlando. In 2008, James incorporated the plastic orchid factory; a Vancouver based performance/art company that functions as an umbrella for the work he creates with his wife Natalie LeFebvre Gnam. James has been commissioned to create work for The Bouand Dance Company, The Contingency Plan, Ballet BC’s Mentor Program, The Arts Umbrella’s Dance Company and the plastic orchid factory. James has worked as a repetiteur for Ballet BC, its Mentor program and Summer Dance Intensive; he is a faculty member at the Anna Wyman School of Dance and has frequently been invited to teach professional contemporary classes for CADA’s BC chapter. In 2009, James and his wife were honored as the emerging artists for the Mayor’s Arts Award for Dance in Vancouver.

Davy Brun

Davy Brun was born in 1974 in Vénissieux, began dancing at the age of 13 at the
Lyon Regional Academy, then attended the Paris National Opera Ballet School.
Professional career: 1993, Lyon Opera Ballet;1996, Geneva Grand Theatre Ballet;
1999, Lyon Opera Ballet.
Repertoire in Lyon: Carmen by Mats Ek, Newark by Trisha Brown,Rassemblement
and Jardi Tancat by Nacho Duato, Roméo and Juliet by Angelin Preljocaj,
Casse-Noisette by Dominique Boivin.

Deanna Carter

Deanna Carter is from Seattle WA where she began her early ballet training with Delphine McDade. She continued her studies on scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet, the First Chamber Dance Company and Maggie Black in New York.

Deanna has choreographed for the Leipzig Ballet Intern 1 Concert, and Dessau Ballet in Germany, Stars of La Scala in Milan Italy, and Gudrun Bojeson of the Royal Danish Ballet and friends. She has also created for contemporary companies Danza De Contemporania of Guadalajara, and Mnenosini and Nemian of Mexico City. Deanna has also choreographed the Operetta Night in Venice, Zar & Zimmerman as well as the Musical Les Miserables.

Her ballet and contemporary works have been presented internationally in over 16 countries. In Russia her work Same Old Song was awarded best American Choreography from a panel of 12 judges at the international Ballet Festival of Kazan in 1994.

Deanna has choreographed for several Regional Dance America Companies where her works have been recognized by being placed on the National Choreography Plan of RDA. She also has been a multiple recipient of Monticello Scholarship for choreography.

Deanna has also served as Ballet Mistress of Italy’s Aterballetto, Germany’s Leipzig Ballet, Mexico City’s Taller Coreografico de la UNAM and as assistant to the Director of Teatro San Carlo in Naples. She has been a Guest Teacher for La Scala, Milan, Maggio Danza, Florence, Semper Oper, Dresden, Northern Ballet Theater, England, as well as other companies throughout Europe, the USA and Mexico. For the last 2 seasons recently, she has been Ballet Mistress for the Dessau Ballet and Guest Choreographer with Anhaltisches Theater, both of Dessau Germany. During the past couple of years in Dessau, she has choreographed for the musical Les Miserables and the operetta Nacht en Venedig.

Erica Trivett

Erica Trivett was born in Vancouver (Canada). She has been working as dancer and soloist in several international companies, including Compagnie Apostoma (Lyon), Cie. Thor (Brussels), Copenhagen International Ballet, Tanztheater Basel, Gulbenkian Ballet (Lisbon), Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Génève, Swiss International Choreographers Workshop, Oregon Ballet Theater, National Ballet of Canada.

Jason Ohlberg

Originally from Fresno, CA Jason received his formal dance training at the State University of New York at Purchase. Professionally, Jason has danced with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Dance Kaleidoscope, Jan Erkert and dancers, and Wade Madsen and Dancers.
In 1997, Jason founded Same Planet Different World Dance Theater in Chicago where he acted as artistic director and head choreographer for four years.
Jason has been on faculty at Barat College, Jordan Academy, the school of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the University of Washington, Spectrum Dance Theater, Arc Dance Productions, Dance Fremont and the Y.A.I. program of the Seattle Children’s Theater. Jason is a certified authentic Pilates instructor with Metropolitan Pilates in Seattle

Rachel Tess

Rachel Tess began training at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre,  under director James Canfield from 1998-2000. She danced works by James Canfield, Trey McIntyre, George Balanchine, Charles Moulton, Bebe Miller, Donald Byrd, and David Parsons. In search of more extensive modern dance training and opportunities to explore choreography, Rachel began her education at the Juilliard School in 2000.
While earning her BFA she had the opportunity to perform works by José Limón, Adam Hougland, Jirí Kylián, Nacho Duato, Zvi Gotheiner, and Lar Lubovitch among others. She was also a member of the Lar Lubovitch dance company during its 2003 and 2004 seasons. She is a 2003 Princess Grace Award winner for modern dance and was presented in 2004 with the Martha Hill Dance Award by the Juilliard faculty. Upon graduation Rachel joined Les Grands Ballet Canadiens where she had the opportunity to work with Didy Veldman, Stijn Celis, Jean Christophe Maillot and Ohad Naharin. In 2005 Rachel moved to Sweden where she has danced for two seasons with the GoteborgsOperansballett, performing the works of
Tero Saarinen, Regina Van Berkel, Meryl Tankard, Daniela Kurz, Matz Ek and Nicolo Fonte.

Alexandrous Ballard

Choreographer Alexandrous Ballard, Artistic Director of the Bouand DanceCompany began his training in NYC with Margaret Craske, Loren Hightower and Sallie Wilson.  He spent his performing career with the Cleveland San Jose Ballet, Ballet Royale de Wallonie and Oregon Ballet Theater, dancing soloist and principal roles in these companies and others.  He has worked with and performed works by Bebe Miller, Trey McIntyre, Karol Armitage, Paul Taylor, Agnes De Mille, Dennis Nahat, Christopher Gillis and many others in addition to extensively performing the classical repertoire, most especially the Bournonville repertoire.  In 2005 after travelling in Europe and observing the contemporary ballet aesthetic there, he founded the Bouand DanceCompany, a 9 member contemporary ballet company dedicated to performing works from young European and American choreographers as well as his own works.  Alexandrous has created ballets for Oregon Ballet Theater, The Portland Ballet, Vancouver Dance Theater and Bouand in addition to acting as a ballet master and repetiteur for The Portland Ballet, setting the classical repertoire for their advanced students.    In 2000, Alexandrous co-founded a program focusing on young men desiring to become professional dancers, which has graduated students into Houston Ballet, Ballet West, Pennsylvania Ballet, Suny Purchase, Joffrey 2, Boston Ballet 2 and others.  He continues as faculty at The Portland Ballet, teaches Master classes throughout the community and has taught in the Masters program at University of Oregon and in the Theater Arts department at Portland State University.