Meet the ABREPASO 2020-21 trainees!
We are halfway through our first pre-professional training program. I couldn’t be more proud of these dancers and all their work so far. The four apprentices each have unique strengths and talents, and all are equally dedicated and hard-working!
They have already learned Sevillanas, a full alegrías, improvisation skills in tangos, and this semester we’ll be learning a garrotín.
Addie Carter
Addie is in her second year at the Oberlin Conservatory studying oboe performance, where she plays in several ensembles. In the past few years she has participated in the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts, where she won the annual concerto competition; the Curtis Institute of Music’s Summerfest; the Boston University Tanglewood Institute; and Hidden Valley Music Seminars. In her free time, you can find her reading, playing the tinwhistle, and gardening with her dad. Addie is originally from Clarksville, TN where she graduated from Rossview High School and lives with her parents, two siblings, adorable dog, and many houseplants.
Tianyi Guo
Tianyi Guo is a flamenco dancer and flamenco aficionado. She started learning flamenco dance from Libby Lubinger and Saundra Bohl at Fairmount Center for the Arts, Cleveland OH in 2017. Immediately she felt a passion for flamenco. She especially enjoys dancing the Buleria. She is eager to learn everything she can about flamenco music and culture. She has taken workshops and lessons from Alice Blumenfeld, La Romera, Marija Temo, Wendy Clinard, Kerensa DeMars, Rhina Motohkaw and Javier Heredia. She joined the pre-professional training program with artistic director Alice Blumenfeld in September 2020.
Tianyi is originally from Inner Mongolia, China. She attended high school in Beijing and college in Xiamen before moving to Kent, Ohio for graduate school at Kent State University. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher on soft matter physics at Kent State University. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing kyokushin karate, playing piano, cooking and gardening.
Hannah Jackson
Hannah Jackson grew up all over the US and trained in as many different methods of ballet as she could get her hands on. She eventually settled down in Colorado Springs, where she trained with Patty Hoffman and Holly Marble at Colorado Ballet Society, performing all sorts of classical roles with CBS’s preprofessional company. Hannah graduated from Belhaven University with her BFA and joined Intersect Dance Theatre, a modern company in Jackson, Mississippi. She has spent the last five years in western New York teaching and choreographing for local studios, as well as performing with Genesee Dance Theatre and Sharing Space Dance Collective. Hannah has recently moved to Ohio following the completion of her MA Professional Practice in Dance Technique Pedagogy from Middlesex University in early 2019. Her specialty is encouraging dancers to think and find their own voice.
Christina Patterson
Christina's history with dance began and continues to be made possible with local community centers and non-profits. As a young girl, she attended classical ballet and tap classes at Michal Zone and Gunning Recreation Centers. After high school, she began learning Brazilian Samba with Aquarela do Mundo Escloa de Samba and performed in Northeast Ohio until 2005. In 2016, Christina joined Teatro Publico de Cleveland, the Latinx arm of Cleveland Public Theater as an ensemble member and active volunteer. Her most recent performance took place in December 2019 for TPC's "Xmas Cuento Remix." In July of 2019, she attended her first Flamenco class in Oberlin, Ohio under Alice Blumenfeld. Christina is currently with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Ohio serving as Program Coordinator for its hospital based initiatives. She has completed an Associates Degree and is a credentialled loan officer and certified notary in the State of Ohio. Christina was born and raised in Cleveland and is Puerto Rican. She currently resides in Northeast Ohio with her husband and four children.