Company Members

Emily Barrows began dancing at the age of eight. Later, she enrolled in pre-professional programs at Festival Ballet Providence and Koltun Ballet Boston. Ms. Barrows has trained at numerous summer intensive programs including Orlando Ballet, Ballet Austin, Atlanta Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She went on to join the conservatory program at Atlanta Ballet on full scholarship. She was offered a trainee position with Grand Rapids Ballet in 2017 and was promoted to apprentice in 2019. Ms. Barrows also performed with Minnesota Ballet. She joined New Jersey Ballet in 2021 where she has performed in The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Peter Martins’ Hallelujah Junction, George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite, and Lauren Lovette’s Not Our Fate.

Aram Hengen was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He began his training at Providence Ballet School under the direction of Eva Marie Pacheco. During his senior year of high school he attended Boston Ballet School’s pre-professional program under the direction of Margaret Tracey and Peter Stark where he performed in Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker. In the fall of 2020, Aram took his training to Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he graduated with a Bachelor's of Science in Ballet with an Outside Field in Business Studies. He has spent his four years at Indiana University working with Sarah Wroth, Kyra Nichols, Carla Körbes, Michael Vernon, Christian Claessens, and Sasha Janes. While at Indiana University Aram has performed lead roles in works by George Balanchine, Justin Peck, Annanbelle Lopez Ochoa, Dwight Rhoden, August Bournonville, and many more. He has attended summer programs at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and The Chautauqua Institution where he worked alongside Patricia McBride and Jean Pierre Bonnefoux. He has also performed as a Guest Artist with organizations such as Ballet Rhode Island, Northeast School of Ballet, Ballet Theatre of Carmel, and Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet.

Raleigh Ledford began her dance training at Quenedit Ballet School in San Antonio, Texas. She had the unique opportunity to travel to Cuba to train and perform with the Cuban National Ballet School, under Ramona de Saa. Ms. Ledford studied at the Rock School of Dance Education on scholarship for two years where she performed in the International Dance School Festival at the David H. Koch Theatre and as the Sugar Plum in Nutcracker 1776. She studied at the English National Ballet School on scholarship under the direction of Viviana Durante. There she performed Frederick Ashton’s Rhapsody, Rudolph Nureyev’s Raymonda Suite, and Memorias del Dorado by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Ms. Ledford joined New Jersey Ballet in the fall of 2022, performing roles in NJB’s The Sleeping Beauty, Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite, George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Lauren Lovette’s Not Our Fate, and NJB’s Nutcracker. This will be Ms. Ledford’s second season with the company.

Denise Parungao was born in Manila, Philippines where she began her professional career with Ballet Philippines. She soon rose to the rank of principal dancer where her repertory included lead roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Carmen, and The Nutcracker. Ms. Parungao joined New Jersey Ballet in the spring of 2022 under the direction of Maria Kowroski. Since joining the company she has danced featured roles in George Balanchine’s Who Cares? and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain and This Bitter Earth, and was part of the original cast in Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite.

Ms. Parungao has won awards from the CCP National Ballet Competition, Aliw Awards, and Philstage Gawad Buhay; she was also accepted to compete in the USA International Ballet Competition in 2018. She has taken part in the International Ballet Stars Gala in Australia, Life Chance Gala in support of the people in Ukraine in South Caroline, Okamoto Ballet Festival in Japan, Fonteyn Gala in Arizona, and Asbury Park Dance Festival.

In the summer of 2022, she was a rehearsal mistress and teacher at the Westlake School for the Performing Arts in California. As she starts her second fall season with New Jersey Ballet, she has also joined the faculty of NJB School and Art of Dance in Chester, New Jersey.

Eunice Suba enrolled at New Jersey School of Ballet at age eleven and later joined the Intensive Program. Ms. Suba received scholarships to attend summer intensive programs at Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre NYC, and French Academie Ballet. As a student, she was chosen to dance the coveted role of Clara in NJ Ballet’s Nutcracker and later joined New Jersey Ballet Company in 2017. In 2018, she competed at the USA International Ballet Competition and the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition NYC, receiving a Gold Medal. Since joining New Jersey Ballet Ms. Suba has performed leading roles including Sugar Plum, Dew Drop, and Snow Queen in NJ Ballet's Nutcracker and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. She has had featured roles in George Balanchine's Who Cares?, Margo Sappington’s This Thing Called Love, and Peter Martin’s Hallelujah Junction. Ms. Suba was also part of the original cast of Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite.

LILLI ETHEREDGE was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. She began her dance training at Mobile Ballet and in 2019 she moved to California to train at The Colburn Dance Academy under the direction of Jenifer Ringer. Following her training at Colburn, she was in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Professional Division under the directorship of Peter Boal. While in Seattle, she performed in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake and a number of new works by Pacific Northwest Ballet company dancers.

Yuiko Honda began dancing in Tokyo. Throughout her training, she received awards at numerous ballet competitions. Ms. Honda was selected as a candidate for the 2018 Prix de Lausanne and began her professional ballet training at the New Zealand School of Dance on scholarship. She also trained at the Architanz Training Program 2021 in Tokyo. Ms. Honda was first hired by Maria Kowroski as an apprentice in 2021 and became a New Jersey Ballet Company member in 2022. That same year, she performed Grand Pas Classique as a guest dancer for Youth Spirit of Dance in Poland. In 2023, she was chosen by the judges to compete in the USA International Ballet Competition. Since joining New Jersey Ballet Ms. Honda has danced lead roles including Cupid in Don Quixote, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Enchanted Princess in The Sleeping Beauty, and Dew Drop in The Nutcracker. Ms. Honda was part of the original cast in Harrison Ball's Purcell Suite, and had featured roles in Peter Martin's Hallelujah Junction, George Balanchine's Who Cares?, and Lauren Lovette's Not Our Fate.

David Wilson Michael Lopena, a Chicago native, began his dance studies at The Joffrey Ballet School under the direction of Erica Edwards and Willy Shives. Mr. Lopena holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ballet from The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. While studying he had the honor of performing leading roles in various works, including Gerald Arpino‘s Birthday Variations, Don Quixote, George Balanchine’s Serenade, as well as new choreographic works. Mr. Lopena studied with companies such as Giordano Dance Chicago, Nashville Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and has performed at regional theaters around the country. Since joining New Jersey Ballet in 2021, he has had the honor of performing in numerous ballets including, Hansel and Gretel, George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, and Lauren Lovette’s Not Our Fate.

Abigail Robison is from Salt Lake City, Utah where she began her dance training at Salt Lake Dance Center. In 2020 she moved to Seattle to participate in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Professional Division under the directorship of Peter Boal. While in Seattle, she performed in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake, and several new works by Pacific Northwest Ballet company dancers. Abigail joined New Jersey Ballet as a company member in 2022. While dancing with the company she has performed in Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite, George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, The Nutcracker, Once Upon a Time, and The Sleeping Beauty.

FELIPE VALENTINI began his training at the Classical Dance School of La Plata in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During his time there, he also began a Ballet Technique workshop in the Sarmiento de La Plata Association with Professor Victor Filmonov and Pas De Deux training with Professor Raúl Gato at Teatro Argentino. Mr. Valentini has also studied ballet at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colon and Maximiliano Guerra Foundation in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Cary Ballet Conservatory Professional Training Program in North Carolina. Ballets that he has performed in include Harlequin at Teatro Coliceo Podesta, Waltz of Beauty and the Beast, Waltz of the Flowers, The Nutcracker, traditional Agentinian dances, among others at Teatro Colon, and many more at Teatro Quilmes, Teatro de Parana. He has performed with Ballet Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Teatro Dardo, Huston Conservatory Ballet, and Cary Ballet Company. He has participated in and placed at the Youth America Grand Prix in multiple categories. Mr. Valentini’s company experience includes Philadelphia Ballet II for their 2021/2022. This is his first season with New Jersey Ballet.

Vinícius Freire is a classical and contemporary ballet dancer who began his dance career at the age of twelve before joining the Fernanda D'angelo Ballet in Recife the following year. In 2014, Mr. Freire received a full scholarship for the Bolshoi Theater School in Brazil, placed in the 3rd year of an 8-year program. His performances include Don Quixote's Gypsy Dance (2017), The Talisman Male Variation (2018), Blue Bird Pas de Deux in Sleeping Beauty (2019), Pas de Deux in Flames of Paris (2019) and The Rat King in The Nutcracker (2019). Vinícius participated in the pre-selection of the Prix de Lausanne in Goiânia (Brazil) in 2018. He was hired by the Junior Company at the Bolshoi Theater School in 2021, performing in virtual shows, including Pas d'Esclave in Le Corsaire, Pas de Deux in Diana y Acteón, and choreographies by Swan Lake. In 2021 he was hired for the Philadelphia Ballet II for the 2021/2022 season and became an apprentice soon after for the 2022/2023 season of the Philadelphia Ballet. In July 2023 he was named the best dancer at one of the largest dance festivals in Brazil, the Dance Festival of Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil. This will be Mr. Freire’s first season with New Jersey Ballet.

SeHyun Jin is from South Korea and began her ballet training when she was ten years old and continued her training at the Daejeon Art High School. In 2009, she was accepted into the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. on both artistic and academic scholarships. While in Washington, D.C., Ms. Jin also trained at the Kennedy Center Master Class Series where she was awarded the Certificate of Merit from the National Society of Arts and Letters in recognition for her impeccable technique. After she graduated from Kirov Academy of Ballet, she was a member of the Milwaukee Ballet Company, a principal dancer of the Columbia Classical Ballet for 4 years, and Charleston City Ballet as a Soloist. Ms. Jin is a principal guest artist in Ann Brodie’s Carolina Ballet, Kingsport Ballet, and Charleston Ballet in WV. She received the Silver Medal (Professional Division) at the 2015 World Ballet Competition in Orlando. Past honors include third place at the Korea International Ballet Competition and the Seoul International Dance Competition in 2011. Since joining New Jersey Ballet in 2018, Ms. Jin has performed in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Lauren Lovette’s Not Our Fate, Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain, Sugarplum Fairy and Snow Queen in the Nutcracker, Lilac Fairy from The Sleeping Beauty, and White Swan from Swan Lake. She has originated roles in Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite and Pedro Ruiz’s Estancia.

RISA MOCHIZUKI was born in Tokyo and trained at the Royal Ballet of Flanders and the Kishibi and Kawasaki Ballet Schools in Japan. Winning medals in several international competitions, she danced solo and principal roles with the Teatrul Balet Sibiu, Romania, the Constanta Național Opera Ballet and the Timisoara Național Opera Ballet. Ms. Mochizuki has danced principal roles in Don Quixote, Paquita, Nutcracker, Chopiniana and La Vivandiere to name a few. She joined New Jersey Ballet in 2014.

Brian Sevilla trained at the Ballet Manila School in the Philippines. Mr. Sevilla joined Ballet Manila in 2017, where he performed roles in Rudy De Dios’ Carmina Burana, Marcelino Libao’s Paloma Muerta, Gerardo Francisco’s Ibong Adarna, Martin Lawrence’s Romeo and Juliet, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Snow White, La Traviata and The Sleeping Beauty.

In 2018 Mr. Sevilla was a gold medalist at the Asian Grand Prix as well as the CCP National competition. This is Mr. Sevilla’s first season with New Jersey Ballet.

Joshuan Vázquez began his dance training in his hometown of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. At the age of 11, he had the opportunity to receive a scholarship to continue and complete his training in Classical Dance, Modern Dance, Jazz, Urban Dance and Lati Dance with Western Ballet Theater, Ballet Escenario and EMBAE for six years. In 2018, joined the Ballet de Camara de Madrid where he has been featured in many principal and soloist roles part of the classical and contemporary repertoire with this company in Spain. In 2020, he was a top award winner for his Classical Variation, Contemporary Solo, and “Best” Pas de Deux at Dance Open America’s International Competition. In 2022, Mr. Vázquez joined New Jersey Ballet Company and graduate in Classical Dance Pedagogy (Cuban Technique) at the Alicia Alonso Dance Institute, Rey Juan Carlos II University (URJC) in Madrid. In addition, he has performed in festivals such as Festival de la Danza 2019 (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain), Festival del Movimiento 2020 & 2021 (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Asbury Park Dance Festival 2023 (Asbury Park, New Jersey). As a dancer with NJB, Mr. Vázquez has danced After the Rain & This Bitter Earth pas de deux by Christopher Wheeldon, Who Cares by George Balanchine and Hallelujah Junction by Peter Martins among others classical ballets as The Nutcracker, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote.
As a guest artist and company dancer, he has danced with Ballet Etudes of Florida, Mauro Ballet Company, Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Ballet Arts Dance Company, Charlotte Youth Ballet, Midland Ballet Festival, Tabula Rasa Dance Theater and Ballet Collective.
His repertoire includes The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet, Dracula, La Sylphide, Cinderella, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Blue Bird, Diana and Acteon, Spring Waters, The Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsair, Flames of Paris, La Fille Mal Gardée, Coppelia, Raymonda, Majísimo, Paquita and Flower Festival in Genzano, Joyas and Tangos by Nana Badrena Sujeto a Cambios by Carlos Iván Santos, This Thing Called Love by Margo Sappington’s, Oedipus Rex & Border of Lights by Felipe Escalante and The Night Falls by Troy Schumacher, among others.
Within his professional development and training are teachers such as Nana and Mumy Badrena, Iván Monreal Alonso, Lázaro Carreño, Leydi Villalobos, Kelvin Santiago, Wilmaliz Mendret, Elmer Pérez, Armando Seda, Marena Pérez, Victor Gili Mendéz, Galina Alvárez, Deborah Marquéz, Laura Alonso, Martha Bosch, Orlando Salgado, Óscar Torrado, Luba Gulyaeva and Maria Kowroski, among others.

Julian Goodwin-Ferris, is originally from Houston Texas. He danced for 5 seasons with Miami City Ballet, where he performed in a variety of works including George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son (Friend), Rubies, Square Dance, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels, Alexei Ratmansky’s Swan Lake, and Justin Peck’s Rodeo. During the 2016-17 season, Julian danced with Ballet Austin where he toured China for a month, performing in 14 different cities.
Julian graduated with high distinction, from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2019, with a degree in ballet and an outside field specializing in music theory and art history.
While growing up, Julian spent more than 10 years at the Houston Ballet Academy, training under Claudio Muñoz, and dancing in numerous productions with the professional company. He spent summers studying with Irina Vakhromeeva, and attended the ballet program at Jacob’s Pillow in 2017 and 2021.
Julian choreographed works for Miami City Ballet’s Pop-up series in 2021, 2022 and 2024. In 2022 and 2023 he choreographed two commissions for New World Symphony, collaborating with composer Matthew Schultheis and Wesley Ducote.

Ilse Kapteyn grew up in western Massachusetts and trained with Irina Vakhromeeva and Ruth and Noble Barker. She spent summers at the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theater NY, and the Chautauqua Institution. She graduated from Deerfield Academy and also spent a year at the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (Bolshoi Ballet Academy) before joining New Jersey Ballet in 2012.
Since joining New Jersey Ballet Ms. Kapetyn has performed leading roles including Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in Nutcracker, Myrtha in Giselle, Mercedes in Don Quixote. Ms. Kapetyn has originated roles in Jackson Ferreira’s About Happiness, Pedro Ruiz Estancia, and Harrison Ball’s Purcell Suite. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Maria Kowroski Ms. Kapteyn has been featured in Christopher Wheeldon's After the Rain and George Balanchine's Who Cares?. She has guested as Swanhilda in Coppelia and Kitri in Don Quixote.
Ms. Kapteyn is a faculty member and teacher at the New Jersey Ballet School and is a certified instructor of BodyCode System, which helps improve body awareness and function.

Michael Santiago Paradiso (he/him/his), from Cranford, New Jersey, began his ballet training in 2011 with the New Jersey School of Ballet. After four years, he was accepted by Mr. Edward Ellison to the Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program in New York City. Upon graduation in 2018 from Ellison Ballet, Michael joined Tulsa Ballet II, the second company of Tulsa Ballet. Over the span of six years, he was promoted to the rank of Demi-Soloist with the main company and has worked with many choreographers such as Ma Cong, Jennifer Archibald, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Andy Blankenbueler, Garrett Smith, Craig Davidson, Jennifer Webber, and Val Caniparoli. He has performed in notable contemporary pieces such as O Balcao de Amor by Itzik Galili, The Green Table by Kurt Joss, and the main pas de deux of Alexander Ekman’s Cacti. His classical repertoire includes the Peasant Pas and Neapolitan dance of Swan Lake, the Matadors of Don Quixote, the Jester in Cinderella, and various roles of The Nutcracker. Michael is excited to return to New Jersey Ballet for their 2024/2025 season.

Andy is a classical ballet dancer from Havana Cuba. He started dancing when he was 9 at the Cuban National Ballet School. He was then invited to join the Cuban National Ballet Company at the age of 19 under the direction of ballet legend Alicia Alonso. Andy left Cuba in 2016 to further his career in the United States. He’s performed with Florida Classical Ballet, Ballet Met, Cleveland Ballet, Indianapolis Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet since moving to the US. Andy’s favorite, more reputable roles include Sleeping Beauty Pas De Deux, Don Quixote Grand Pas De Deux, Le Corsaire Pas d’esclave, “Momentum” by Gladys Guadalupe, and Nutcracker Arabian, Spanish, Russian, and Cavalier. Andy’s passion for dance has led him to an interest in educating the next generation of dancers. His love for the arts has also helped him to develop a career in modeling. Andy joined New Jersey Ballet in the Fall of 2024 and he’s excited for the coming season.

CATHERINE WHITING trained at the New Jersey School of Ballet and also attended programs at the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. She was part of the New Jersey School of Ballet’s ensemble that took first place twice in the Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey, where Ms. Whiting also won first place performing a pas de deux. Her repertory includes Fairy Doll, Le Corsaire, Nutcracker and Don Quixote. She joined New Jersey Ballet in 2011.

Company Apprentices

Alexandra Limeburg was born and raised in New Jersey. She began her training at North Jersey School of Dance Arts. In 2016 she moved to Miami to train in the pre-professional division at Miami City Ballet School under the direction of Arantxa Ochoa. While in Miami, she learned and performed many Balanchine ballets including "Raymonda Variations" and "Serenade". She also had the opportunity to perform Balanchine's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with the company while still a student. She joined New Jersey Ballet as a trainee in 2022 and had many performance opportunities including Snow, Flowers, and Mirlitons in “The Nutcracker”, Carabosse Attendant, Garland Dance, and Vision corps in “Sleeping Beauty” and “Purcell Suite” by Harrison Ball.

Katelyn Konawalik began her ballet training at an early age at The Academy of Dance Arts in Red Bank, NJ. In 2017, she began training in the professional training division at The Washington School of Ballet, under the direction of Xiomara Reyes. She was promoted to trainee the following year. While at The Washington Ballet, Ms. Konawalik performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Julie Kent’s company productions of The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake; Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Concerto Barocco and Serenade. She also performed in The Washington Ballet’s productions of The Nutcracker and Giselle at the Warner Theater in Washington DC.
Ms. Konawalik spent summers at American Ballet Theatre NY, San Francisco Ballet, School of Philadelphia Ballet and Ellison Ballet. She participated in the Youth America Grand Prix Finals competition in New York City in 2016 and 2017.
In 2023, Ms. Konawalik joined The New Jersey Ballet as a trainee and performed roles in the NJB productions of The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. She was promoted to Company Apprentice in 2024.

Guest Artists

Raynor Rubel: AEA / SAG trained at New Jersey School of Ballet. Raynor’s TV/Film credits include HBO TV Series The Gilded Age. His Regional Theatre credits include: The Music Man (Tommy Djilas) at Goodspeed Opera House and at Asolo Rep; West Side Story (Big Deal/ Snow Boy/Fight Captain) at Asolo Rep and at Barrington Stage Company; Saturday Night Fever (Gus) at Walnut Street Theatre, Riverside Theatre, and at Westchester Broadway Theatre. His New York Theatre credits include: American Dance Machine’s re-staging of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway and Agnes de Mille’s Forty Minutes For Lunch. Raynor has performed as a guest artist with New Jersey Ballet in Rodeo, Cinderella, Esmeralda, and The Nutcracker. He is the founder/owner of Carousel of Progress Academy: a performing arts school for students with special needs. Author of children’s book “TILL YOUR FEET BLEED” www.raynorrubel.com
@raynorrubel