Meet the Artists

Meet the Artists of Allegro Dance Project

2020 Company Artists

Jesse Barfield- Dancer
Jesse obtained his BA in Theatre with a minor in dance from Millikin University and continued his career as a performer by entertaining crowds at Derby Dinner Playhouse. He also performed on the cruise ship Emerald Princess and in Branson, MO at the King's Castle Theatre. He's settled back in Louisville, KY and is currently the Assistant Artistic Director of Sacred Heart School for the Arts and teaches Dance/Voice/Drama there as well as at Dancensation Studios. He wishes to thank Jeana for letting him collaborate on this daring project and he is thrilled to be part of Allegro Dance Project.

Marian Boyko- Dancer
Marian trained in classical ballet for five years with Bluegrass Youth Ballet. She has also spent time with Winchester Ballet and Gloria Deo School of the Arts, but feels like she has found her home with Allegro. She has since graduated from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor's in Kinesiology and is currently a group fitness instructor with Proof Fitness. She enjoys playing tennis and volleyball in recreational leagues. This is her second season with Allegro Dance Project.

Joseph Brandt- Dancer & Choreographer
Joe grew up in Cedar Rapids, IA where he began tap dancing at the age of 6. He was involved with the competition troupe at his dance studio and participated in many musical productions through school and the community theatre. Joe continued dancing in various capacities while at Iowa State University where he became President of the tap dancing club as well as a cabinet member of several other student-led dance organizations. He now occasionally teaches tap workshops in Louisville and has collaborated on several pieces with Ambo Dance Theatre. This is his first season with Allegro Dance Project and we are thrilled to welcome him and to debut his first choreographic work for the company as well!

Kate Cox- Dancer
Kate is a first year medical student at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology with a minor in Dance. At UK, Kate trained in ballet and modern dance, attended the American College Dance Association Southern and East-Central Regional Conferences annually, performed in the annual dance concerts, choreographed for the student choreography concerts, and choreographed for her senior thesis with the Gaines Center for the Humanities. Previously, she trained with Bluegrass Youth Ballet for twelve years, attended the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts in 2014 and received additional training during summer intensives with Cincinnati Ballet and Kentucky Ballet Theatre. Kate often assists with our weekly Adaptive Dance classes and this is her sixth season with Allegro Dance Project.

Brad DeLaney- Dancer
Brad has been dancing for five years and is a Sophomore in the dance program at the Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville. He has received additional training at the Cary Ballet Conservatory's Boy's Ballet Summer Intensive program, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater Summer Intensive and has performed in the Louisville Dance Series and Moscow Ballet's “The Great Russian Nutcracker”. He is excited for his first season with Allegro Dance Project.

Lindy Fischer- Dancer
Lindy is an Senior at Lafayette High School and is a ballet major in the SCAPA program. She has been dancing with Bluegrass Youth Ballet for ten years, and has been featured in roles such as Estelita in Dia De Los Muertos and Clara in the Nutcracker. In the summer of 2019, she attended Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts for dance. She is excited for her first season with Allegro Dance Project.

Tessa Fowler- Dancer
Tessa has been dancing with Bluegrass Youth Ballet for nine years and has attended summer intensive at Alma Dance School and Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance. She attends Lafayette High School as a Freshman ballet major in the SCAPA program and is also a violist in the Lafayette Orchestra. She assisted in her middle school special education class for three years and assists with our weekly Adaptive Dance and Adaptive Ballet Classes. This is her second season with Allegro Dance Project.

Isabelle Hayden- Dancer
Isabelle has been dancing for fourteen years and has received the majority of her training and support at Bluegrass Youth Ballet. She attends Bluegrass United and will be a Senior in the fall. She has received additional training at Kentucky Ballet Theatre and has attended Summer Intensives with both Louisville Ballet and Cincinnati Ballet. She has performed in the Ballet Under the Stars Pre-show for several years. This is Isabelle’s third season with Allegro Dance Project.

Gwendolyn Hinkle- Dancer
Gwendolyn is a Ballet Major at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts - Lafayette. She is also in the Lafayette Pre-Engineering Program. She attended the 2020 Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA) in Dance and was also a GSA Finalist in Instrumental Music. During her twelve years with Bluegrass Youth Ballet, she has performed a variety of roles, including Clara inThe Nutcracker and Rapunzel in Fifteen Dances. She plays flute in the Lafayette Wind Symphony honor band and this is her third season with Allegro Dance Project.

Quinlan King- Dancer
Quinlan has been dancing at Bluegrass Youth Ballet for six years, where she most recently danced the roll of Clara in the Nutcracker. She is a student at Lafayette High School and is in the gifted and talented program for visual arts, which is her favorite thing to do other than dance. This is her second season with Allegro Dance Project.

Eliza Leaver- Dancer
Eliza has trained in classical ballet for 14 years at Lexington Ballet. She graduated from Lexington Catholic High School this spring and will be attending the honors college at Florida Southern College where she will be double majoring in Dance and Journalism. Eliza performed with Allegro Dance Project back in 2017 for “In Our Element” and is excited to return this season!

Lindsey Long- Dancer
Lindsey is a Pre-Professional student at Bluegrass Youth Ballet where she fell in love with the ballet and contemporary dance community. She began her dancing journey at the age of eight and has performed lead roles in Bluegrass Youth Ballet’s Dia de los Muertos, The Nutcracker, and will perform the title role in their upcoming production ofCinderella.As a rising senior at Lafayette High School, Lindsey has also been accepted into the highly selective Chamber Orchestra as a violist. She will graduate from Lafayette’s Pre-Engineering program in 2021. Lindsey assists with Allegro’s weekly adaptive dance classes and adores working with such amazing kids. She is excited for her third season with the Allegro Dance Project!

Amberly Simpson- Dancer & Circus Artist
Amberly M. Simpson is a dancer, aerialist, educator, and choreographer local to Louisville where she works with her adult professional company, Ambo Dance Theatre, and as the full-time dance instructor at Noe Middle School. She has collaborated and/or performed with Blackbird Dance Theatre, Voices HEaRD, the 6th No Borders Project, the Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Fund for the Arts Opening Night at Churchill Downs, Kasari Dance, and Suspend Productions. Her work has been featured in the Brighton Dance Festival, Lighthouse Dance Festival, and Princeton Research Day where her work received the Impact Award. In 2019, she was named one of the Generation Three Hadley Creatives. This is her 5th season performing with Allegro Dance Project!

Megan Skinner- Dancer
Megan is a rising Sophomore at Lafayette High School where she takes part in the SCAPA program as a contemporary dance major. She has danced with Bluegrass Youth Ballet for the past 12 years, where she has danced lead rolls in the Sorcerer's Apprentice and Clara in the Nutcracker. This is her third season with Allegro Dance Project.

Angelica South- Dancer
Angelica is originally from Traverse City, Michigan and trained in classical ballet under the direction of Thomas Morrell. She moved to Lexington in 2013 and dance professionally with Lexington Ballet Company for six seasons. She is the Artistic Director of the non-profit United Fine Arts Academy in Georgetown and a Senior Instructor at United Talent Dance. Angelica loves passing on her love of ballet, performing, and the arts to the next generation of younger dancers and hopes to inspire them to continue dancing. Angelica performed with Allegro Dance Project back in 2017 and we are thrilled to welcome her back again this season!

Ainsley Thomas- Dancer & Choreographer
Ainsley Thomas is a graduate of Lafayette High School where she was a contemporary dance major at SCAPA and was a part of Lafayette Theatre. She trained at Bluegrass Youth Ballet for twelve years and has been featured as lead roles in Alice in Wonderland, Dia de los Muertos, and The Nutcracker. She will be attending the University of Dayton this fall, majoring in marketing and also participating in their dance ensemble. This is Ainsley's fourth season dancing with Allegro Dance Project and we are thrilled to debut her first choreographic work for the company!

Adrianna Watts- Dancer & Circus Artist
Adrianna began training at the age of 3, splitting her time between Bluegrass Dance Center and Excel gymnastics in Richmond. She won her first State all-around title at the Kentucky State gymnastics championships at the age of 5, and placed in the top 5 at Stage One dance Nationals that same year.
Over the next ten years she expanded her training to include tap, jazz, modern, ballet, contemporary, musical theatre, pointe, acrobatic arts, aerial silks, and hand balancing. She has been a USAG regional qualifier, performed with the CRU Dance Spectacular company, has won 3 national titles in lyrical dance, tap and acrobatics and has traveled around the US and Canada studying circus arts. Adrianna made her Allegro debut in 2017 in “In Our Element” and she is thrilled to return this season, as both as a hand-balancer and a company dancer!

Natalie Willett- Dancer
Natalie attends Lafayette High School in the SCAPA Dance Program and the Pre-Engineering Program. She has been dancing with Bluegrass Youth Ballet since the age of three and has danced the lead role of Clara in the Nutcracker. This is her second season with Allegro Dance Project.

Reese Willett- Dancer
Reese has been dancing with Bluegrass Youth Ballet for thirteen years, where she has danced the lead role of Clara in the Nutcracker. She attends Lafayette High School as a SCAPA Ballet major and as a pre-engineering student and attended the 2020 Governor’s School for the Arts (GSA) in Dance. This is her second season dancing with Allegro Dance Project.

Additional Artists featured in Look Both Ways Twice

Angelito Anacan
Angelito has danced for Dance Theatre of Tennessee, Lexington Ballet, and Kentucky Ballet Theatre. He has been featured in leading roles as a guest artist with the Bluegrass Youth Ballet and Gloria Deo School of the Arts. This is his fifth season with the Allegro Dance Project.

Hillary Johnson
Hillary is a Senior ballet major in the SCAPA program at Lafayette High School. She has been training at Bluegrass Youth Ballet for thirteen years and has received additional training at Cincinnati Ballet, attended Pittsburg Ballet Theatre's summer intensive on partial scholarship and attended the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts last summer. Hillary is also a member of the Lafayette Dance Team and this is her fourth season dancing with Allegro Dance Project.

Amos Oliver
Born and raised in Saint. Petersburg, Florida, Amos began his professional training at the Academy of Ballet Arts and the Pinellas County Center for the Arts. Prior to AMDA College and Conservatory of Performing Arts-LA, Amos received his BFA in dance performance from The Boston Conservatory. While at the conservatory, he performed many works by world-renowned choreographers. Amos has been seen as “Thad” in NBC’s Hairspray LIVE!, The 50th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Gotham, LOVE, and many more. You can next catch him traveling the world in Hairspray on Royal Caribbean’s ‘Symphony of the Seas’. Amos would like to thank God, his family, his agents and his friends for the immense amount of support! Amos performed with Allegro Dance Project back in 2016-2017 for GROW and we are delighted to welcome him back again this season.
You can follow his journey on social media! IG: Amosoliver90

Rio Velasco
Rio started taking dance classes when she was five years old at a recreational studio in Lawrenceburg, KY. Since then she has trained in several studios in Louisville, Kentucky, enhancing her ballet, contemporary and modern dance techniques. She performed for two years in the nationally recognized Moscow Ballet’s The Great Russian Nutcracker. Through invitation she attended the Northern Ballet’s summer intensive in Leeds, England in 2017. Rio first performed with Allegro Dance Project back in 2015 and is very excited to be back for a third season again this year.

Jayson Douglas
Jayson is from Paterson, NJ and began his training at Dance World Academy. He has received additional training at Steps on Broadway, BDC, and The Ailey School and attended Point Park University as a dance major. He has attended summer programs at Dance Place, Orlando Ballet 2, and Boston Ballet all on full scholarships. Jayson has danced professionally with NCDT (now Charlotte Ballet), Lexington Ballet, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Ballet Nouveau Colorado, Company C Contemporary
Ballet, James Sewell Ballet and has also performed around the world on cruise lines as a dancer and aerialist. He is a resident choreographer with MidState Ballet, Sarah Berges Dance, and teaches masterclasses and adjudicates dance competitions around the country. Jayson just returned from performing in the Cannes Dance Festival in Cannes, France and is looking forward to joining Ballet Co. Laboratory in the Spring as a guest artist. This is his first season performing with Allegro Dance Project.

Aerial Artists

Jacey Standridge
Aerial Silks & Aerial Ladder Artist Jacey has been training in the aerial arts for eleven years and teaching aerial arts to children as young as three years old for eight years. Her speciality is Lyra, but her first apparatus was aerial silks. She is currently a Junior at Spalding University where she is majoring in Social work. This is her second season performing with Allegro Dance Project.

Elias Gomez
Aerial Straps Artist & Keg Balancing Artist
Elias is a third generation circus performer. Born in Cuba, he began training at the age of five at the National Sport Institution before moving to the United States in 2012. His talents include: acrobatics, aerial straps, Chinese Pole, fire eating and spinning, stilt walking, unicycle, juggling, clowning, rolling globe walking, singing and playing guitar. He is the owner and coach at Cirque Skills Aerial Arts School and this is his second season performing with Allegro Dance Project.

Musicians

Jolene Davis- Violin
Jolene is a violinist, pianist, arranger, composer and educator with 35 years of stage experience. Her past performance venues include Walt Disney World, Sea World, Once Upon A Stage Dinner Theatre, Florida Symphony Orchestra, Candlelight String Quartet, Orlando Community Theatre, BJ and Disney recording studios, National Dvorak Festival (Spillville, Iowa), Rollins College Baroque Ensemble, Stetson University Orchestra, The Sunshine Pops and more. She has performed on stage with numerous talents including Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Bob Hope, Jack Jones, Liberace, Dinah Shore, Red Skelton, Patti Page, Nancy Wilson ... as a touring freelance musician. Jolene also taught and directed children’s theatre programs in Springfield, Ky. Jolene is proud to perform musical services for churches, weddings and as a therapeutic musician for Music That Heals (New York). This is her sixth year as a composer and violinist for the Allegro Dance Project.

Marcus Wilkerson- Percussion
Marcus is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and percussionist from Louisville, KY. When he's not working on musical projects, he spends the majority of his time making his product Jūn Bug Probiotic Honey Soda which is growing widely popular across the region. Check out the website kentuckyjunbug.com to see what "the buzz" is all about! . Marcus Wilkerson's "rock-n-soul" style is influenced by jazz, world music as well as the seminole folk, gospel and soul songs of his and his parent's generation and even a bit of hip hop. This is Marcus's sixth season with Allegro Dance Project and he also provides music accompaniment for our Inclusive Dance Outreach Program.

Keenan Ray- Bass
Keenan grew up in Bowling Green, KY where he began studying the guitar at age 14. After stints of performing in cover bands, indoor percussion ensemble, and talent shows throughout high school, he moved to Lexington to study at the University of Kentucky. Since then, he has performed and recorded with multiple bands including local acts The Footsteps, Much Obliged, and Damned African Descendants. This is his second season performing with Allegro Dance Project.

DeBraun Thomas- Guitar & Vocals
DeBraun grew up surrounded by many different musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area and began playing in music clubs with father's bands at the age of 15. In 2009 he moved to Lexington,KY to attend the University of Kentucky. After graduating in 2012 he has been focusing on music in addition to working at the local NPR affiliate WUKY. Since 2013, DeBraun has been performing his original music as the DeBraun Thomas Trio. His influences range from artists like Jimi Hendrix to Otis Redding and he describes his music as Rock N Soul. He released his first solo album, All My Colors are Blind, in 2015 recorded at Shagri-La Productions by Duane Lundy. DeBraun is an accompanist for our Inclusive Dance Outreach program & Adaptive Dance classes and this is his sixth season performing and composing with Allegro Dance Project.

Thomas Usher- Music Director, Percussion, acoustic guitar, keyboard & vocals
Thomas is a musician from Hoover, Alabama. He graduated from Berea College where he studied percussion with Tripp Britton. Thomas has performed with The Studio Players and in Kentucky Conservatory Theatre's Winterfest and Summerfest, with numerous bands and provides live music accompaniment for Allegro Dance Project's Inclusive Dance Outreach program. This is his fifth season performing with Allegro Dance Project.

Stephen Weller - Classical Guitar & 12 String Guitar
Stephen grew up singing in his school choir and playing in jazz band. In 2018 he graduated from EKU as a music theory/composition major and guitar major. He is inspired by The Beatles, Leo Brower and Grant Kirkhope and embraces the composition styles of folk, jazz, rock and classical. He is best known as IndieTimber as a YouTube animator and plays guitar, bass, recorder, keyboard and percussion. This is his first season composing and performing with Allegro Dance Project.