Festival Artists 2021
Julian Mackay
Julian MacKay, age 22, from Montana, is the youngest Principal Dancer of the San Francisco Ballet. At the age of 11 he left rural Montana to train at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow Russia. Upon graduating he became the first American to receive a full Russian Diploma, having completed both the upper and lower school. While in school he medaled in five consecutive International Ballet Competitions, including the Prix de Lausanne and gold medals at the Istanbul IBC and YAGP along with bronze at Sochi Young Ballet of the World and the Beijing International Ballet Competition.
At 17, while still in school, he made his professional debut as Siegfried in Swan Lake with the Russian State Ballet in Berlin. Graduating top of his class he was hailed as a young "Apollo" by Russian dance critics, dancing numerous roles on the Bolshoi stage. At the age of 17 Julian joined The Royal Ballet in London, as their 2016 Prix de Lausanne prize winner. Eight months later, upon personal invitation from Mikhail Messerer, he joined The Mikhailovsky Theatre, St. Petersburg as a Second Soloist.
By 19 years old, MacKay was promoted to First Soloist after a thrilling performance in Flames of Paris, and has danced numerous principal roles worldwide.
At the height of his time at the Mikhailovsky Theatre he became an International Guest Artist.
Julian is fluent in Russian and has his Bachelors Degree as a Ballet Master and Choreographer from the prestigious GITIS University (Russian Institute of Theatre Arts), in Moscow, Russia.
Lauren Lovette
Lauren Lovette is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and an acclaimed independent choreographer. In her time with the company she has earned both the Janice Levin Award and the Clive Barnes Award for dance.
She has created works for the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, among others. Her collaborators include musician Kate Davis, poet Andrea Gibson, and fashion designers Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim of Oscar de la Renta/MONSE, Zac Posen, Narciso Rodriguez and Victor Glemaud.
In 2019 Ms. Lovette was named Artist-in-Residence for Damian Woetzel’s prestigious Vail Dance Festival. In 2018, she was awarded a Virginia B. Toulmin Fellowship for Women Leaders in Dance at The Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University.
Since December 2018, Ms. Lovette has served as Artistic Chair of the Board of Groove With Me, an organization that offers hundreds of young women free dance and movement classes, with the goal of providing a safe and nurturing environment in which to practice self-expression and explore potential.
Nadia Khan
Born in Pray, Montana, Nadia Khan was trained by Prima Ballerina Assoluta Eva Evdokimova, Angelina Armeiskaya (star of movie "Children of Theatre Street") and Bolshoi star Masha Mukhamedov. Khan has been featured on the cover of Malaysia Tatler and Dance Informa as a "Dance Sensation" along with a Singapore Tatler eight page spread. Starting her career with the Bayerisches Staatsballett, in Munich, Germany, she went on to dance with the Leipziger Ballett, in Leipzig Germany and Compañía Nacional de Danza, in Madrid, Spain.
Since 2015 Nadia has been dancing in the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera Ballet) under the direction of Paris Opera Etoile Eleonora Abbagnato where she is their only non-Italian ballerina. Nadia's repertoire highlights include Swan Lake, Giselle, Don Quixote, Forsythe's In the Middle Somewhat Elevated and Artifact, Roland Petit's La Chauve Souris, Alexander Ekhman's Cactus and Cranko's Taming of the Shrew.
Maria Sascha Khan
Born in Pray, Montana, USA, from a young age Maria Sascha has been passionate about helping and inspiring others through the Beauty of the Arts.
Maris Sascha is from a family of artists. All of her siblings were born and raised in Montana. Hailed as “the most influential ballet family of our time” by London dance critics and “ballet treasures” by the Washington Post, they are passionate about bringing this international acclaim back to where it all began.
Maria Sascha's career has taken her across the globe to the stages of the world, including as a Principal Dancer in Russia.
Along with her performing career, Maria Sascha is Artistic Director of Ballet Legacy Master Classes worldwide, a Mentor for non-profit arts organisation Youth Arts in Action, and an ambassador for London based charity Save Wild Tigers. She is a passionate advocate and cultural ambassador for the arts, including working with the UNESCO International Dance Council. She is currently undertaking her Masters Degree in Arts and Cultural Enterprise at Central Saint Martins, in London.
Joshua Stewart
A native of New Orleans, American tenor Joshua Stewart has been praised for his compelling artistry and versatility. Recent appearances include Beethoven’s 9. Sinfonie with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle; Zinovy in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mstensk and Lazarus in the world premiere of Giorgio Battistelli’s Wake at the Birmingham Opera Company, directed by Sir Graham Vick; his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the role of the Narrator in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri under the directional team of Gustavo Dudamel and Peter Sellars; Antenore in Zelmira with Gianluigi Gelmetti and Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo at the Belcanto Opera Festival „Rossini in Wildbad“. Upcoming performances include his debut at Seattle Opera in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird and a European tour of Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.
Recent debuts include the title role in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with the Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera and Madison Opera, tenor soloist in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid, Trin in La Fanciulla del West at the Hamburg State Opera, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Opera de Lausanne and Opera de Fribourg, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Toledo Opera, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera Carolina, Abdallo in Nabucco at the Oberammergau Passionstheater, as the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana with the Toledo Symphony, and as the Erzengel in Das Spiel von der Auferstehung des Herrn by Walter Braunfels with the Muenchner Rundfunkorchester. He also performed the Shepherd in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and at the Royal Festival Hall in London under the musical direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen and directed by Peter Sellars.
Joshua Stewart is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and prizewinner in the 2013 International Voice Competition „Vokal genial“ and is a former member of the studio of Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, where he made his debut in 2012. He has performed in numerous festivals, received several awards, and worked with renowned conductors throughout the world, as well as having the honor of performing for several world leaders, including King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, the Honorable George H. W. Bush, the Honorable William J. Clinton, and the Honorable Barack H. Obama.
Christine Shevchenko
Principal Dancer of American Ballet Theatre, Christine Shevchenko was born in Odessa, Ukraine where she trained in rhythmic gymnastics and ballet at an Olympic School. At the age of eight, she moved to the United States. Shevchenko danced the children’s lead in Pennsylvania Ballet’s The Nutcracker for three years, and was featured in the NBC special “Degas and the Dance”. In 2002 she was invited to perform with International Ballet Theatre Company’s “Stars of Kirov, Bolshoi and Ukrainian Ballet”.
In 2003, Shevchenko became the youngest recipient of the Princess Grace Award. Other awards include a Bronze Medal in the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, 2005 Gold Medal and Title of Laureate at the Moscow International Ballet Competition, the George Zoritch of Ballet Russe Award for Talent Recognition and the 2010 Margaret Moore Dance Award. In August 2006, Shevchenko joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company. She joined American Ballet Theatre in December 2007 and was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer in September 2017.
Chase O’Connell
Principal dancer Chase O’Connell was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia. At 13, he received a scholarship to train at the Kirov Academy of Washington, D.C. He studied under Vladimir Djoulouhadze and Anatoli Kucheruk from 2007 to 2009. In 2009 he received a scholarship to train at the Royal Ballet School in London, England. There, he studied under Meelis Pakri and David Peden. While at school he had the privilege to perform with English National Ballet in their 2010 Nutcracker.
After studying at the Royal Ballet School for 2 years Chase joined the world-renowned Paris Opera Ballet to perform in their production of Cinderella. In 2012 he began his contract with Ballet West II. He was promoted to the main company in 2013 and to the rank of Principal Dancer in 2016.
While at Ballet West he has performed prinicpial roles in ballets by John Cranko, Frederick Ashton, Balanchine, Jiri Kylian, Jerome Robbins, Nicolo Fonte, Stanton Welch and Adam Sklute. As well as contemporary principal roles created on him by Nicolo Fonte, Edward Liang, Africa Guzman and Val Caniparoli.
Chase has danced in Galas internationally and his performance in Onegin was one of Pointe Magazines top performances in 2019. “He is a dynamic dancer, the consummate prince, and a caring patner to his ballerinas.” Adam Sklute
Alisher Khasanov
Alisher Khasanov is an award-winning Choreographer and Director of the 11th International Choreography Competition and the First Russian Folk Dance Competition, in Moscow, Russia. He is the artistic director and inspiration behind the theatre movement 'Mime- Orchestra". Mr. Khasanov has degrees both from the School of Choreography, in Almaty, Khazakstan, and the prestigious Russian Academy of Theater Arts (GITIS), in Moscow Russia.
After working as a dancer both in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Mr. Khasanov turned to directing. As a choreographer, he participated in various international projects, including the Center of Dramatic Arts in Shanghai, International Chekhov Festival and the 'Gesher' Theater Israel. He has choreographed productions for theatres, such as the Bolshoi Theater in Russia, Opera and Ballet Theater Chelyabinsk and many others. He was the choreographer for the Russian National figure skating team and the Artistic Director of Tzvetnoy Bulvard Circus, touring both England and Japan. From 2002 to 2009 Alisher Khasanov was the head choreographer and the artistic director of Moscow Children's Music and Drama Theater.
He continues to create performance and competition pieces, for artists around the world and is excited to be in Montana for the first time! Tonight will showcase two world premieres! His all new original solo “Rain" & Bach solo especially choreographed for the Yellowstone International Arts Festival.
Young Talent 2020
Josh Fisk
Josh Fisk of Helena, Montana, started dancing three years ago at age 14. While a student he danced the role of the Nutcracker Prince in 2017 and 2018, as well as performing as a guest artist at the San Clemente Dance & Performing Arts Center in San Clemente, California.
In March 2018, Josh participated in
the Universal Ballet competition in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended summer intensives at Houston Ballet,
and the Royal Ballet School in London, England. In March 2019, Josh was accepted to the English National Ballet School (ENBS), a specialist training center for ballet dancers aged 16 to 19, in London, England. He began his studies in September 2019 under the direction of Director of Dance, Viviana Durante, former star of the Royal Ballet. In his first performance as a student at ENBS Josh had a leading role in Andrew McNichol’s “Splendour.” Although the 2019-2020 school year was interrupted by Covid-19, ENBS created an online performance in which Josh danced in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “ Memorias del Dorado”.
Samuel L. Siskind
Actor, composer and vocalist Samuel L. Siskind landed the Youth Principal role of Sem in the LA Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten's "Noye's Fludde” at 10 years old.
Winner Best Performance in a Musical as Brett in Children's Letter's to God at Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Center NY 2019, Nominated Best Actor in his first film Little Angel by the Official Latino Film Festival 2018.
Featured in three supporting roles in the art-house thriller "The Uncanny" (2020), including a vocal solo of "Panis Angelicus" for the plot climax scene.
At the age of 12 Samuel completed his first major classical composition entitled “THE FOREST,” a three part choral work for voice and piano.
The Forest had it’s worldwide premier at Carnegie Hall May 2019 and the National Children’s Chorus took it on tour in Asia that summer.
Jaden Grimm
Jaden Grimm grew up in a small mountain town in Colorado. At age 13, she left her home and her family to pursue her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer, training in the pre-professional program at Master Ballet Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona. During her time there, Jaden danced soloist roles in many Phoenix Ballet productions, received recognition at international competitions, and performed in international galas. In September 2019, Jaden
moved to St. Petersburg, Russia as one of the few Americans invited to train at the renowned Vaganova Ballet Academy.
Some of her accomplishments include, international trainee at Vaganova Ballet Academy, St. Petersburg, Russia, USA IBC
2018, YAGP Silver Medalist & NYC Finalist 2017-2019, YAGP 1st Place Pas De Deux 2018, People’s Choice Award Recipient at Arizona Young Artists' Competition 2019, ADC IBC Award Winner 2019, Grishko World Ambassador 2020.
Heath Voy
Heath Voy, Montana, USA first found his passion for dance at age 10. Attending summer intensives at Harid Conservatory, Kirov Academy of Ballet and the Los Angeles Ballet School, he then moved to Florida to study full time at the Harid Conservatory.
In 2019 Heath was invited to attend the Vaganova Academy in
Saint Petersburg, Russia, making history as the second Montanan to ever attend the school. He was quickly singled out as one of the few international students to perform in the Vagonova Ballet Academy’s production of The Nutcracker on the historic Mariinsky Theatre stage. Heath is a “Ballet Legacy Master Classes”2019 scholarship recipient and has been mentored by Youth Arts in Action. He has performed in full length ballets such as Giselle, The Nutcracker, and Raymonda, and variations from Swan Lake, Giselle, Flower Festival in Genzano, The Nutcracker, Laurencia, Coppélia, Raymonda, Paquita, and Don Quixote.
Isaac Hall
Isaac Hall performed at the premier of the Yellowstone International Arts Festival, Fairy Tea for the Arts, under the tutelage of Youth Arts in Action mentor, Joshua Stewart. Joshua’s performance at last years Festival proved a great inspiration to Isaac, encouraging him to go on and pursue his dream of becoming a profestional singer.
Isaac has just graduated from Bozeman High School with the class of 2020. Despite having to fall back to remote learning this spring, he knows that he received a great education and was given opportunities not available to many students elsewhere in the country. This coming fall Isaac will be attending Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and looks forward to being surrounded by so much culture.
Isaac will be performing An Die Musik by Schubert, When I think Upon the Maidens by Head, and Cabin from Bowles’ Blue Mountain Ballads.
2021 tickets are now on sale!
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