ESTELLE CALLAHAN

Estelle is from Paris, France, and trained at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts where she graduated in 2011. She spent summers training at Boston Ballet School, Colorado Ballet Academy, and the Royal Ballet School. She went on to dance as a trainee with American Repertory Ballet for two years. She joined Connecticut Ballet in 2013 where she was featured as Clara in their Nutcracker alongside Julie Kent and Alexander Hammoudi and spent a year with Manassas Ballet Theatre. In 2015, Estelle moved to Germany to dance with JSLN Dance Company where she spent two years touring Europe performing numerous works of classical and neo-classical ballet. Estelle has recently been performing with Connecticut Ballet, Thomas Ortiz Dance, Ballet for Young Audiences, and for American Ballet Theatre as a supernumerary dancer. She is very excited to be dancing with Jersey City Ballet.

ELI CANO

Eli Cano has studied with the French Academie of Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and The American Dance Festival at Duke University.
He holds a BFA in Ballet from Texas Christian University. His dance experiences have led him to dance by Robert Battle and Calpulli Dance. Eli is an actor in Television and Film working in Gossip Girl, Law and Order and The Normal Heart. Eli is the recipient of the Iconic Award. He is a Ballet Master teaching in upstate New York. Eli lives in New York City

SHANNON GRANT

Shannon Grant began her ballet training at age four with a master teacher of the Russian Kirov Ballet.  As a professional dancer, she has performed soloist and principal roles in Europe, Canada, and throughout the United 

States. Shannon "performs with athletic gusto," a reviewer in The Los Angeles Weekly stated.  The LA Downtown News said she "impressively performs."  Shannon has performed and studied with the Joffrey Ballet, Scottish American Ballet at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland), Salzburg Ballet (Austria), Ballet de Printemps (Canada), and with Mikhail Korogodsky at the International Vaganova Festival. Some of Shannon's most influential teachers include Marat Daukayev, Hasmik Amirian, and David Howard.  Shannon has danced professionally for many classical ballet companies including, City Ballet of San Diego, Ballet New England (New Hampshire), Media City Ballet (Los Angeles), BalaSole (New York), Ballet Magique (Los Angeles), and David Taylor Dance Theatre (Denver). Shannon's diverse dance career has included a lead role in an Ovation Award winning musical theater production, 'Shag With a Twist', and many MTV music videos for rock bands, commercials, fashion shows, and charity events. Currently, Shannon is based in New York City and working with four professional dance companies. Shannon has achieved certification in all seven levels of the ABT National Training Curriculum and has extensive teaching experience. Additionally, Shannon is a graduate of Columbia University with degrees in business and American Studies.

SIMON KAZANSTEV

Simon Kaszanstev was born in Russia and attended the famous Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Upon graduation, he joined the Stanislavsky Ballet, one of Moscow’s leading companies. He toured internationally while attending the Bolshoi Ballet Academy College, where he earned a BA in Pedagogy and Dance.

BARBARA LINS

Barbara was born in Brazil and trained at Ballet Eliana Cavalcanti. Since moving to NYC she has danced with Connecticut Ballet Company, Arch Contemporary, Homo Veritas Dance Theatre, Albano Ballet of America, American Swiss Ballet Company, guest at Metropolitan Ballet & Academy Minneapolis, and Encounters Company. Barbara is very excited to join Jersey City Ballet Theater!

LAUREL ZALESKI MANGINI

Laurel is a New York City-based freelance contemporary/ballet dancer. She has had the opportunity to dance all across the globe studying and performing at the Royal Danish Ballet, Jacob’s Pillow, Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Adriatico (Italy), and in Finland at the Skiing on Skin Festival. In 2010 Laurel graduated with honors for excellence in dance from Tulane University

JILLIAN ROSNER

Coming Soon

CHLOE RAIN RUSSEL

Chloe Russell is a ballet dancer, choreographer, and instructor based in NYC. She received her early training from Ballet Memphis, Collage Dance Collective's trainee program, the Ailey School, and The San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. She received her teaching training in the RAD Method while dancing with Chattanooga Dance Theatre and Chattanooga Ballet in Tennessee. She currently enjoys freelancing with various companies around the New York area including Jersey City Ballet, City Dance NY, American Ballet Russe, and City Ballet of Boston as well as choreographing her own projects.

KAROLINA ZARACH

Karolina is a ballet dancer from Poland. She began dancing ballet at a young age when she was selected to enroll in Ogólnokształcąca Szkoła Baletowa - a Ballet boarding school in the Polish city of Gdansk. After 9 years of studying Ballet, Karolina graduated and was offered a contract to dance professionally at Moravian Theater Olomouc, Czechia. During her time in the Czech company, Karolina advanced from Demisolist to Ballet Soloist and after 5 years decided it was time for something new, taking a contract to dance in Osaka, Japan, and later Sydney, Australia. Most recently in July 2022, Karolina moved to New York City and is excited for the new opportunities and experiences the Big Apple has to offer.

Guest Artists

Ameena Athab

Ameena trained with JNA DANCE AND FITNESS CENTER in Mandaluyong City, Philippines where she performed and competed in classical and contemporary ballets. She holds prestigious awards in team dance and ballet competitions from the Philippines. Ameena is currently an apprentice at Jersey City Ballet.

Jordan Birch

Jordan is a native of Columbus, Ohio. On the road to law school life led Jordan down the dance path instead and he couldn’t be happier. Jordan trains at Joffrey Ballet School on a full Scholarship. Jersey City Ballet Theater is Jordan’s first professional performance.

Blake Brown

Blake Brown is from Colorado Springs, Colorado where she began her training at the Colorado Youth Ballet under Patricia Hoffman. During her training, she was awarded scholarships to the American Academy of Ballet in New York, the Joffrey Ballet Academy of Chicago, and State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, California. Blake began her professional career with Ballet Idaho, where she performed as a guest artist in the Nutcracker as Chinese and Marzipan from 2012 to 2014. In 2015, Blake joined State Street Ballet where she performed in the Nutcracker, various showcases, and toured in the production of Don Quixote. In 2016, she joined the American Swiss Ballet Company in New York City, where she has danced ever since. In her time in New York she has worked with various choreographers and companies, including Metropolitan Ballet where she danced the role of Myrtha in Giselle, City Dance NY, and has choreographed and performed for various independent projects. She has also toured and performed in France, Italy, and Switzerland. Blake is excited to be joining Jersey City Ballet.

Violetta Komyshan

Violetta Komyshan was born in Toronto, Canada to Ukrainian parents. She grew up in New York City and began dancing at the age of 9 when Eliot Feld’s prestigious ballet school, Ballet Tech auditioned her and accepted her to their program. There she learned classical ballet, pointe work, character dance, and even yoga. She then continued on to train at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for music and art and the performing arts. There she learned modern dance styles like Martha Graham and Horton as well as contemporary dance. Violetta has danced and trained internationally in Paris under Violette Verdy where she learned sleeping beauty and Sao Paolo under Eurika Porto and Adrianna Assaf where she performed La Bayadere at the Sergio Cardoso theatre. In her home city of New York City Violetta met Michele Wiles and danced at BalletNext for two years alongside her. Violetta has performed at the Whitney Museum for their 6-month Biennial in an immersive art display choreographed by Brendan Fernandes. She then proceeded to perform at the Noguchi Museum for 6 more months. She also performed with the American Circus Theatre and began to learn aerial arts. Currently she is training with Maxim Beloserkovsky and continuing to dance with Brendan Fernandes. She believes having exposure to many physical types of movement makes one a more interesting dancer. She is thrilled to be joining Jersey City Ballet to perform excerpts of Sleeping Beauty and Raymonda.

ELIZABETH SEIBEL

Born in Damariscotta, Maine, Elizabeth Seibel began dancing at the age of 4. She moved to Philadelphia at 14 to receive training at the Rock School for dance education and afterward with Alexandra Koltun in Boston, Massachusetts. In the following years she moved to New York and she was coached by Valentina Kozlova and Olga Verterich where she danced in several competitions including Tanzolymp Berlin, Youth America Grand Prix, and World Ballet Competition. She also took summer courses at Academie Princesse Grace in Monaco and with Elisabetta Hertel in Florence, Italy. Seibel joined Connecticut Ballet in 2016 where she has performed in the Nutcracker, Les Sylphides and in contemporary works. In 2017, she was a guest artist at Ballet Quest in Montreal, Quebec. Seibel has performed classical variations from Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Paquita, La Bayadere and Grand Pas Classique.

James Monroe Stevko

James is a NYC-based dancer and actor. He started dancing at 18 after entering college as a trumpet player. He was last seen making his principal acting debut in the award-winning production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, directed by Tony, Golden Globe, and Academy Award-winning director, Joel Grey. Previously, he has also danced with: The Metropolitan Opera, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Milwaukee Ballet, City Ballet of San Diego, and in regional musical theater houses. He has been featured in Dance Teacher Magazine, DanceInforma, and the New York Times Bestseller, I Will Teach You to be Rich. Insta: @jmstevko jmstevko.com