Jeremy Coachman (Romeo /ensemble. male/female cast) born and raised in Riviera Beach, Florida, began his professional career with Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal from 2015-2022. Whilst there, he had the opportunity to work with, and perform works by Itzik Galili, Andonis Foniadakis, Ihsan Rustem, Anne Plamondon, Juliano Nunes, Barak Marshall and Wen Wei Wang. He also had the pleasure to perform in 13 countries and countless cities in that time.
Jeremy enjoys the gift of dance and expressing through other means besides speech. He continually wants to explore the possibilities and push the limits of what the body can hold in expressive communication.
Audrey Sides (Juliet/ensemble, male/female cast) was born in Oakland, CA and received her early dance training at the Oakland Ballet School and the Oakland School for the Arts. She went on to train at the San Francisco Ballet School and joined Ballet Austin as a trainee upon graduation. In 2019, she moved to Chicago to train with the Hubbard Street Professional Program and in 2020 was a founding member of Little Fire Artist Collective. In 2021, Audrey moved to Vancouver, BC where she worked with artists such as Daina Ashbee, Joshua Beamish, The Biting School (Aryo and Arash Khakpour), Alyssa Favero/VOLT24, and Eilish Shin-Culhane, while developing her own choreographic practice and training at Modus Operandi, a contemporary dance training program directed by Tiffany Tregarthen, David Raymond, and Kate Franklin. While in Modus, Audrey performed new works by Shay Kuebler, Nicolas Ventura, b. Solomon, Brandon Alley, Yin Yue, and Zahra Shahab. Audrey joined LA Dance Project in 2023.
Daphne Fernberger (Romeo/ensemble female/female cast), born and raised in NYC, began her professional career with Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet before moving to Europe to join Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company. As a freelance artist, she danced for the Merce Cunningham Trust in “Night Of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event,” Ersan Mondtag, Margie Gillis Legacy Project, among others, in both Europe and the United States. Daphne graduated from American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and received her BFA from The Juilliard School. During her time at Juilliard, Daphne had the honor of performing a lead role in Pina Bausch’s rarely seen work, “Wind von West,” also traveling to Germany to perform in celebration of Tanztheater Wuppertal’s 40th anniversary. Her own choreographies include “Hellerau is Female,” “WHOLE,” a short film for the fashion brand Rentrayage, the dance film “Environment as Self,” and “The River Within.” Daphne also movement directs for other projects, collaborating with visual artists, theater productions and more. Daphne Joined L.A. Dance Project in 2021.
Nayomi Van Brunt (Juliet/ensemble female/female cast) began her formal training at age 9 with Atlanta Festival Ballet under Nicolas Pacana and Gregory Aaron. In high school, Nayomi started training at Atlanta Ballet’s Centre for Dance Education under Sharon Story. After high school she began dancing with Atlanta Ballet under John McFall. Since her time with Atlanta Ballet, Nayomi has danced with New York Theatre Ballet and Wonderbound. She has had the pleasure of performing in works by Christopher Wheeldon, Val Caniparoli, Victor Quijada, Janie Taylor, Charm La Donna, Pam Tanowitz, Gemma Bond, Madeline Hollander, and Benjamin Millepied. Nayomi has had the privilege to perform at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the Vail International Dance festival. Nayomi has walked in Hermes women’s FW21 runway show, danced in Richard Mille’s WITHIN, modeled for Rodarte’s FW21, danced for singer Remi Wolf on Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show,” and modeled for Everlane’s “Releather”campaign. Nayomi joined L.A. Dance Project in 2019.
Shu Kinouchi (Mercutio) A native from Yokohama, Japan, Shu Kinouchi joined L.A. Dance Project in 2020. Prior to LADP, Shu danced at Houston Ballet and Tulsa Ballet. Shu trained at Mayumi Kinouchi Ballet Studio, Hamburg Ballet School von John Neumeier, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. Throughout his career Shu has worked with world class choreographers including Benjamin Millepied, Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, Janie Taylor, Jessica Lang, Marcello Angelini, Stanton Welch, William Forsythe, Aszure Barton, Ma Cong, Nicolo Fonte, Matthew Neenan, Jodie Gates, Ronald Hynd, Christopher Wheeldon, Ben Stevenson, Connor Walsh, Oliver Halkowich, Kazuyuki Futami, Melody Walsh and many others. Shu also creates original multimedia dance works which have been displayed at galleries in NYC, curated by NFT ASIA, and at MoveMint Experience in NFT NYC.
Hope Spears (ensemble) was born in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida where she began her dance training before graduating from Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts. She recently graduated with her BFA in Dance from George Mason University where she performed works by Micaela Taylor, Kyle Abraham, Shaun Boyle Darcy, Christopher d’Amboise, and Hope Boykin. Hope joined L.A. Dance Project in 2023.
Courtney Conovan (ensemble) is an Austin, Texas native. There she spent her early years training in gymnastics and dance. Once graduating high school Courtney went on to further her education at Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College SUNY where she performed works by Jie-Hung Connie Shiau, Doug Varone, Annie Rigney, Roderick George, and Rosalind Newman. During her time at Purchase she was selected to study abroad at the London Contemporary School of Dance for a semester. In 2020 Courtney performed for Marc Jacobs in New York Fashion Week, directed and choreographed by Karole Armitage. She has worked closely with SoulEscape for numerous years, performing as a company member for Justin Giles. Courtney is currently finishing up her BFA degree at Purchase college where she is expected to graduate in spring of 2022 while recently joining L.A. Dance Project for her first season with the company.
Marirosa Crawford (ensemble) is a Miami native and Los Angeles based movement artist. She began her dance training at a local studio in Miami and went on to focus on her craft more extensively at New World School of the Arts. Crawford studied both Dance and Literature for undergraduate degrees at SUNY Purchase. At Purchase, Marirosa worked with Doug Varone and Marcus Jarell Willis, and performed works by Martha Graham and Jose Limon. Crawford also performed work by Johannes Weiland and UNA Productions as part of Springboard Danse Montreal. Since being in L.A, Marirosa has choreographed and performed her own solo work titled “measuring undercurrents'' for Stomping Ground: Black Voices Show. Crawford has also performed work by Chris Emile as part of ‘Stranger Love” Opera by LA Philharmonic, in addition to exploring the commercial world, as a dancer in Labrinth x Billie Eillish’s ‘Never Felt So Alone’ music video and Halle Bailey’s ‘Angel’. Marirosa is currently working with Volta Collective and is a primary dancer for Marcella Lewis.
Matisse D’Aloisio (ensemble) began her dance training at City Ballet San Francisco under Galina Alexandrova. At CBSF, she also trained with Marina Alexandrova, Lupe Calzadilla, and Kristin Long before joining the Atlanta Ballet’s second company under Gennadi Nedvigin. In 2019, she joined the Sacramento Ballet under Director Amy Seiwert and then under Anthony Krutzcamp. Matisse also danced for three seasons with Imagery, Seiwert’s San Francisco–based summer company. During her professional career, she has performed works by George Balanchine, Alejandro Cerrudo, Ihsan Rustem, Val Caniparoli, and Penny Saunders. Matisse has also had the privilege of originating works with choreographers Caili Quan, Amy Seiwert, Trey McIntyre, Hélèn Simoneau, Jennifer Archibald, Isaac Bates-Vinueza, Jermaine Spivey, Katerina Eng Beckman, and Natasha Adorlee. Matisse also choreographed for Sacramento Ballet’s annual Beer & Ballet performances for three seasons. Matisse has guested with Joffrey Ballet dancer Hyuma Kiyosawa in Nagano, Japan, and in 2022 she participated as a dancer in the Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellows Program at Jacob's Pillow with choreographer Bates-Vinueza. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Matisse relocated to Santa Cruz, California, where she worked for Tomatero Organic Farm, bringing heirloom tomatoes, leafy kale, and other row crops to market. Matisse joined L.A. Dance Project in 2024.
Aidan Tyssee (ensemble), originally from Redondo Beach, California, recently graduated from the USC Kaufman School with a BFA in Dance. He has danced for fourteen years, training in ballet, hip-hop, tap, lyrical, jazz, contemporary, modern, and more. He has performed pieces by the likes of Ohad Naharin, Jiří Kylián, and Justin Peck, as well as getting the chance to perform in new works created by Yue Yin, Dani Rowe, and other esteemed choreographers. Aidan is also passionate about the cinematic arts, persuading him to help star in and choreograph music videos and dance films. Aidan has recently moved to New York and is honored to be a part of L.A. Dance Project’s Romeo & Juliet.
CJ Burroughs (ensemble) received her BFA from University of Michigan and graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts high school program. She further trained at intensives held by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Bodytraffic, LINES Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory, VIM VIGOR, Gallim Dance, and SpringboardX. Her performance career began with Ron De Jesus Dance, Marc Macaranas' DISASTERdance, Thodos Dance Chicago, and Saint Louis Dance Theatre’s trainee program. CJ then joined Saint Louis Dance Theatre, formerly The Big Muddy Dance Company, and danced for seven seasons, performing in lead roles and working with dozens of diverse choreographers. STLDT commissioned her to choreograph several works for the main company, as well as their Summer Intensive and Elevate Student Project. The Modern American Dance Company (MADCO) and Columbus Modern Dance Company (CoMo) recently commissioned her to create new works. In addition, her choreography was featured in University of South Florida’s Screendance festival, WAXworks, Arts United STL, Amalgamate Dance Festival, and Tree9’s Emmy-winning film, Raising Spirits. CJ is thrilled to join the artists of LA Dance Project in its production of Romeo and Juliet.
Brendan Evans (ensemble), originally from Los Angeles California, attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts where he received a merit scholarship from the National YoungArts Foundation. He graduated in 2020 with a BFA from the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance under the direction of William Forsythe and Jodie Gates. While at USC and training at summer programs like NDT, Jacobs Pillow and Springboard, he learned and performed works by Crystal Pite, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin, Fernando Melo, Barak Marshall, and George Balanchine. In 2021, Brendan danced for Northwest Dance Project in Portland, Oregon where he performed works by Ihsan Rustem, Sarah Slipper, Yin Yue, and Joseph Hernandez. As a freelancer he performed both with Andrea Miller’s Gallim Dance Company in New York City and Open Space Dance Company in Portland, Oregon. In 2022, Brendan moved to France to join the Ballet de l’Opera de Lyon. Brendan performed and toured works by Wliiam Forsythe, Marcos Morau, Lucinda Childs, Marlene Montero Freitas, Christos Papadoupoulos, and Rachid Ouramdane. He has performed across stages in Europe, China, and most recently performed for the Paris Summer Olympics with Ballet de l’Opera de Lyon. Brendan is excited to be returning to his hometown to perform with LA Dance Project.
Spencer Lenain (ensemble) Born in San Diego, California, Spencer Lenain began his dance training at age 7 at Ballet Arte where he was instructed by Erlends Zieminch and Sara Viale. He also attended nine summer intensives at American Ballet Theater, earning the National Training Scholar scholarship three times. He attended the California Institute of the Arts, graduating with a BFA in dance in May 2024, and performed at the Vail Dance Festival in 2023 and 2024. Spencer is also very active on social media where his ballet videos are featured on TikTok @spencerdancerrr and Instagram @spencerdancer
CREATIVE BIOS
BENJAMIN MILLEPIED (Artistic Director) is a French dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker. A former principal dancer with New York City Ballet (1995-2011), Millepied’s choreography is featured in major dance companies worldwide, including American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet. He choreographed "Years Later" for Mikhail Baryshnikov and the award-winning film Black Swan. In 2012, Millepied founded the Los Angeles Dance Project and served as Director of Dance at Paris Opera Ballet, commissioning works from renowned artists like William Forsythe and Wayne McGregor. He is featured in the documentary Reset and made his feature film debut with Carmen in 2021. Millepied has received the Prix de Lausanne, the Mae L. Win Award, the USA Artists Fellowship, and is a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters.
ABOUT L.A. DANCE PROJECT
L.A. Dance Project is a non-profit dance company under the Artistic Direction of Benjamin Millepied. Founded in 2012, we opened the doors to our studio and performance space in Los Angeles’ downtown arts district in 2017.
L.A Dance Project is dedicated to the pursuit of artistic innovation and excellence in the realm of contemporary dance. Our mission is to explore the boundaries of movement, creativity, and expression. Through experimentation and collaboration, we strive to create captivating performances that challenge, provoke, and inspire audiences worldwide. Grounded in a commitment to artistic integrity and authenticity, we aim to cultivate a culture of curiosity, openness, and growth within our company and beyond. With humility and passion, we seek to contribute to the evolution of dance as a dynamic and transformative art form, enriching lives and fostering connections across cultures and communities.
This production was made possible by the support of Van Cleef & Arpels
Presented in association with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center