Archives: Guest Artists

SLBC was established in 2022, with the mission to create community projects guided by a collaborative artistic vision. SLBC offers affordable and accessible dance classes and performances, with an emphasis on collaborating with local artists. SLBC is a program of Deseret Experimental Opera (DEXO), which formed in 2013. DEXO’s mission is to create professional opportunities for local unestablished artists and to create original works for and about our Utah community.

Panelists include:

MICHAELA GERARD
Originally from Boise, Idaho, Michaela (she/they) moved to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah and graduated with a BFA in Ballet as well as a BS in Psychology. Michaela danced locally with Municipal Ballet Co, later becoming a founding member of Salt Lake Ballet Cooperative, and the Deseret Experimental Opera Board secretary. Michaela is a U of U Fine Arts Ambassadors and enjoys the opportunity to continue learning from and collaborating with so many talented U of U alumni, as well as dancing and collaborating with other local dancers, artists, and musicians.

SIERRA GOVETT
Sierra (she/her), a Boulder, CO native, trained with Boulder Ballet before attending the University of Utah, where she earned dual degrees in Ballet and Environmental & Sustainability Studies in 2018. In addition to performing, she is passionate about choreography and has created numerous stage works, including pieces exploring themes of climate change and human connection. Since graduating, she has danced with Municipal Ballet and Salt Lake City Ballet Cooperative. Beyond the arts, Sierra is dedicated to community impact. She serves as the New Roots Program Manager at the International Rescue Committee, leading a team of 6 to implement initiatives that enhance food security and provide agricultural land access for refugees and new Americans.

CARLY SCHAUB
Carly (she/her), a dance artist residing in Salt Lake City, teaches Ballet, Modern Dance/Contemporary, Early Court Ballet, and Screendance. She works as an adjunct faculty member at Westminster University and Salt Lake Community College, and she also teaches young students at Wasatch Arts Center as well as individuals living with Parkinson’s in the regular open classes hosted by Westminster University and Deseret Experimental Opera. Carly currently serves as Board President of Deseret Experimental Opera (DEXO) and has helped produce/ choreograph/direct many shows with the performing arts non-profit. She is a regular teacher and dancer with Salt Lake Ballet Cooperative which is also under DEXO’s programming. Carly moved to Salt Lake City to attend graduate school at the University of Utah earning an MFA in Modern Dance with Screendance Certification. She earned a BFA in Theatre and Dance from the University of Wyoming. Prior to graduate school, Carly danced, choreographed and served as the Education Coordinator at Northern Plains Dance in Bismarck, ND which led her all over the state performing and guest teaching and choreographing numerous musicals for Sleepy Hollow Summer Theatre and Bismarck State College.

MOLLY KORZEP
Molly (she/her) is from Fincastle, Va, where she trained with the Southwest Virginia Ballet. She graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA in Ballet and BS in Strategic Communications. Pursuing her performance career, she danced with the Kentucky Ballet Theatre, Municipal Ballet, and now with Salt Lake Ballet Cooperative. She works in the event industry as a producer with WEBB and spends any free time outdoors with her husband and pup!

ASHLEY JIAN THOMSON
Ashley (she/her) is a choreographer with Salt Lake Ballet Cooperative and a Communications Specialist with the University of Utah’s College of Fine Arts. Professional credits include 801 Salon with Deseret Experimental Opera, SB Dance’s Curbside Theatre, James Sewell Ballet, Akram Khan x MN Opera, Festival de Danse Cannes, RDT’s Emerge, and Lexus GS Japan’s Kaleidoscope Commercial. Connect with her on Instagram at @brainiacdancer.

Rex Tilton is the Artistic Director of artÉmotion. He is a former Principal dancer with Ballet West and danced with the company from 2008-2022. He was a featured cast member on seasons 1 & 2 of the CW Docu-series Breaking Pointe. He has been featured in issues of Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit Magazine, and Pointe Magazine.. He shared the cover of Dance Teacher Magazine, February 2018, with Allison DeBona. He was also the model for the August 2015 Grishko Pointe shoe ad featured in Pointe Magazine. Additional accolades include producing the ‘I Am Your Friend’ Benefit Dance Performance alongside Allison DeBona, June 2015, to benefit the non-profit organization Fahodie for Friends.  He attended the Pacific Northwest Ballet Professional Division program on scholarship, one year, before getting his job at Ballet West. Additional training includes School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He grew up under the artistic direction of former Pacific Northwest Ballet Principal, Ben Houk, and Pacific Northwest Ballet Soloist, Lauri-Michelle Houk, at San Elijo Dance and Music Academy. In 2020, he was named a Nikolay Brand Ambassador.

Rex Tilton is currently an Associate Instructor for the University of Utah’s School of Dance.

Allison DeBona is the Owner and Artistic Director of artÉmotion. She is a former First Soloist with Ballet West and danced with the company from 2007-2022. She was a featured cast member on seasons 1 & 2 of the CW docu-series, ‘Breaking Pointe.’ She has been featured in issues of Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit Magazine, Pointe Magazine, and Dance Track Magazine. She shared the cover of Dance Teacher Magazine, February 2018, with Rex Tilton. She was also the model for the Fall/Winter 2013 and August 2015 Grishko Pointe shoe ad featured in Pointe Magazine. In August 2016 was featured in an eight page editorial for Vogue Italia. Additional accolades include producing the ‘I Am Your Friend’ Benefit Dance Performance alongside Rex Tilton, June 2015, to benefit the non-profit organization Fahodie for Friends.  She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Ballet from Indiana University, Bloomington, where she trained under former New York City ballet acclaimed Principal Ballerina, Violette Verdy. In 2020 she was named a Nikolay Brand Ambassador and Zarely Role Model. Additional training includes American Ballet Theatre’s New York Summer Intensive and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Graduate program. She grew up under the artistic direction of Jean Gedeon at Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and Debbie Parou at the former Parou Ballet Company.

In August 2021, Allison DeBona was appointed Principal of the Frederick Quinney Lawson Ballet West Academy Peggy Bergman Park City Campus. She is also an Associate Instructor for the University of Utah’s School of Dance. DeBona is a co-founder of “Dancers and Motherhood,” an initiative to support mothers within the dance community.

Elizabeth Yntema is the President & Founder of the Dance Data Project® and a member of the Board of Trustees for WTTW/WFMT. A graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Michigan Law School, where she received the Jane L. Mixer Memorial Award for Social Justice, she has been deeply involved in philanthropy and advocacy, particularly in the arts and social justice. She has served on numerous Chicagoland boards, including the Joffrey Ballet and the Junior League of Chicago, where she was named Volunteer of the Year. Named to The Philanthropy Workshop’s 2018 cohort, she has been recognized with the Top Tier Feminist Giver Award by Philanthropy Women and as a lifetime Honorary Member of Corps De Ballet. She is also part of Chief, a national network of women executives. Yntema and DDP’s work have been featured in Women and Leadership: Journey Toward Equity and Turning Pointe: How A New Generation of Dancers is Saving Ballet From Itself.

About Dance Data Project:
Dance Data Project® was created to examine gender imbalance in artistic and administrative leadership in dance companies, venues, and organizations. By issuing data reports, advocacy, and programming, DDP raises awareness related to gender equality, primarily in areas of leadership and choreographic opportunities. DDP is the only organization doing this vital work to produce metrics-based research clearly outlining issues of equity and transparency in the dance industry.

Dance Data Project® promotes equity in all aspects of classical ballet by providing a metrics-based analysis through the DDP data base while showcasing women led companies, festivals, competitions, venues, special programs and initiatives. DDP focuses on artists of merit: choreographers, photographers, lighting, costume, set designers, and commissioned composers. DDP has published, as of next January 2025, 40 full reports and 16 Data Bytes since the project began in 2019.

Kevin Thomas was born in Trinidad and Tobago and grew up in Montreal, Canada. He received his degree in dance from the CEGEP de Vieux Montreal.

Mr. Thomas began his career as a professional dancer in Montreal with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, one of Canada’s leading ballet companies. At the age of 19, he was the only Black dancer with the company. He later became a soloist with the company then moved on to Cleveland San Jose Ballet as a principal dancer and finally to the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) in New York as a principal dancer, where he performed internationally for 10 years.

Mr. Thomas’ credits include leading roles in The Prodigal Son, Dialogues, The Four Temperaments, Othello, Adrian (Angel on Earth), A Song for Dead Warriors, Troy Games, Equuis and Dougla. He has performed leading roles in numerous ballets including The Nutcracker, Tarantella, Agon, Who Cares, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Don Quixote, Consort Lessons, and Aureole.

Mr. Thomas has made guest appearances with the Royal Ballet in London, Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York and Fleming Flindt and Peter Schaufuss in Denmark. He has also appeared on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera and on television in Law and Order.

In 2006, Mr. Thomas and Marcellus Harper founded Collage Dance to increase diversity in classical ballet and relocated the company to Memphis the following year. They established the Collage Dance Conservatory in 2009. The organization has quickly grown to boast an international touring professional company and nationally recognized conservatory, training more students of color in a classical art form than any other nonprofit in the region.

Mr. Thomas has served as Ballet Master for New Ballet Ensemble & School and has choreographed for Opera Memphis, Hattiloo Repertory Theatre, New Ballet Ensemble, Orpheum Theatre, Flint Institute of Music, University of Memphis, The University of Utah, Nashville Ballet and Collage Dance Collective. He is a National Visiting Fellow at the School of American Ballet in New York City and has taught at schools and programs around the country including the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Flint Institute of Music, The University of Utah, School of American Ballet, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, the Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program (SDP), the International Association of Blacks in Dance, Tennessee Association of Dance and The University of Memphis.

About Collage Dance:
Rooted in the heartland of Memphis, TN, Collage Dance embodies the greatness of American dance and is at the national forefront of inspiring the growth and diversity of ballet.  Collage’s meteoric rise over the last decade is fueled by its dynamic programming, virtuosic company artists and its talent for presenting what the Albany Times Union called “ballet made utterly, gorgeously human.”  Collage Dance was recently named a Southern Cultural Treasure by South Arts and the Ford Foundation, is one of the 50 largest ballet companies in the nation and one of the largest Black-led performing arts organizations in the South.

Since 2007, Adam Sklute has expanded Ballet West’s outlook, repertoire, and visibility with exciting Company and world premieres, increased touring, heightened public exposure, and greater focus on the Ballet West Academy. He began his career with The Joffrey Ballet, rising through the ranks from dancer to Associate Director. His stewardship of Ballet West has been marked by both financial growth and elevated artistry, and was the subject of The CW Network’s docu-drama, Breaking Pointe, which aired for two seasons. From September 2016 to October 2017, Sklute took on the dual position of CEO and Artistic Director overseeing both administrative and artistic operations of Ballet West. An internationally sought after teacher and adjudicator, Sklute has received numerous awards, including Utah’s Enlightened 50 (2014), The Bronze Minuteman Award for Outstanding Service to Utah and The Nation (2015), and Utah Diversity Connection’s Business Award for outstanding commitment to diversity initiatives. Most recently, Sklute was included in Deseret Magazine’s 25 Changemakers of the West for his efforts to build greater equity and inclusion in classical ballet.