ARTISTS

Founder, Executive Director, Artist

Laurel Winton trained at both the School of American Ballet and San Francisco Ballet on merit scholarships and went by her stage name “Jenny Winton” for most of her career. She was a professional Ballerina for 13 years in which she danced for prominent companies such as the Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet X, Pennsylvania Ballet, and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. In 2014, Laurel was chosen to represent the United States in the International Ballet Competition where she competed with 100 of the most elite young professionals from 17 other countries around the globe. This competition held in Jackson, MS, like the Olympics, is held once every four years and is considered one of the highest-ranking dance competitions in the world. From there, Laurel transitioned into the Broadway world and took on the role of “Penny” in Broadway’s North American Tour of Dirty Dancing. She fell in love with acting and co-starred on the CBS television series “BULL” before she joined one of her dream companies, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet.

Laurel founded DanceAspen in 2021 in order to keep the arts alive in her community after the devastation of the pandemic, and continues to lead one of the quickest-growing dance companies in the United States into its third year as Executive Director.

Company Manager, Marketing, Artist

Kaya Wolsey is a dancer, choreographer and teacher residing in Aspen, CO. Kaya received her early ballet training at Wasatch Ballet Conservatory under the direction of her mother, Allison Wolsey. After receiving her BFA from the University of Utah, Kaya began her professional career with Ballet San Antonio in Texas and later joined SALT Contemporary Dance where she grew and honed her craft as a contemporary dancer. Most recently, Kaya was a member of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and performed as a guest artist with South Dakota Ballet. Kaya has had the opportunity to work with and perform original works by many reputable choreographers including Nicolo Fonte, Jorma Elo, Alejandro Cerrudo, Peter Chu, and many more. Kaya is also an experienced and passionate teacher and choreographer.

Artist

Sammy Altenau grew up in Southern California dancing at Dance Studio 84 and Cuizon ballet center. She was trained by Katherine Wolanske before attending the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. Program in New York. She has performed works by William Forsythe, Mats Ek, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Carolyn Dorfman, Robert Moses, Stefanie Batten-Bland, Claudia Schreier, etc. She danced with Graham II, Miriam Barbosa Dance, and Carolyn Dorfman Dance, before becoming a founding member of DanceAspen.

Choreographer, Artist

Matthew Gilmore was born and raised in Canton, Massachusetts. He received his BFA from The Juilliard School in 2019. Matthew is a recipient of the 2018 Princess Grace Award in Dance. His early dance training was at The Gold School and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Matthew joined Aspen Santa Fe Ballet in 2019 where he danced for one season before becoming a founding member and choreographer for DanceAspen.

Artist

Meredith began her training at Central Florida Ballet under the direction of Vasile Petrutiu and Vladimir Bykov and went on to attend the Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington D.C. She was a trainee with Joffrey Ballet of Chicago and Ballet Met Columbus prior to joining State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara in 2013. Most recently, Meredith was a company artist with Visceral Dance Chicago, where she had the privilege of working with choreographers such as Danielle Agami, Kevin O’day, Monica Cervantes, Mike Tyus, Roderick George and Nick Pupillo. She is honored to be in her first season with Dance Aspen and excited to be a part of the Roaring Fork community.

Artist

Jonah Delgado started his training at the academy of dance arts in Chicago, IL under the directorship of Ricky Ruiz. Prior to attending college, Jonah participated in Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, American Ballet Theater and River North Dance Chicago summer intensives. Jonah has also guested with Visceral Dance Chicago under the guidance of Nick Pupilllo. As a newly minted graduate of Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, he started his professional career with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet in Aspen, Colorado. In 2021 Jonah joined Ballet X in Philadelphia, PA where he spent two seasons under the directorship of Christine Cox. Jonah most recently danced with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin in Germany for the 2022/2023 season where he performed many new works. In the fall of 2023, Jonah is excited to be relocating back to Aspen, CO to join Dance Aspen.

Artist

A San Diego native, Nicole received her training from Danceology's Academy of Classical Ballet with Elena Baltovick and California Professional Ballet Program with Maxim Tchnerychev. After a traineeship with Tulsa Ballet and performing works by Ma Cong, Jera Wolfe, Marcello Angelini, and Alejandro Cerrudo, she has danced with Richmond Ballet, Wonderbound, Zikr Dance, The Rosin Box Project, and Ballare Carmel. As an artist, she has had the opportunity to perform original repertoire and new creations by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Jennifer Archibald, Merce Cunningham, Cherice Barton, Carly Topazio, Lillian Barbeito, and Kelly Ashton Todd, among others. She has also spent summers and residencies with Carmel Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, Ballet Jazz Montreal, NW Dance Project MOVE (Launch), Joffrey Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet. Nicole is thrilled to join and collaborate with the artists of Dance Aspen and the Roaring Fork community!

Artist

Michaella Ho (she/her) is from Toronto, Canada and began her training with Academy of Ballet and Jazz, School of Canadian Ballet Theatre under the direction of Nadia Veselova-Tencer. She continued her training with Erin Forrest at Forrest Academy of Ballet NY. She attended summer programs with Nederlands Dans Theatre, Arts Umbrella, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Ellison Ballet. At the Juilliard School, she performed works by Emilie Leriche, Omar Roman De Jesus, Medhi Walerski, Donald McKayle, Sonya Tayeh, and Jamar Roberts, amongst others. Michaella has recently performed in Sharon Eyal and Gai Beher's production of R.O.S.E. at the Park Avenue Armory alongside L-E-V. She is the founder of Contemporary Dance Lab, an educational contemporary dance initiative for pre-professional dancers. Michaella is excited to join Dance Aspen for their Winter 24/25 season.

Artist

Paulio Sóvári was born in Romania and has spent the last ten years leaving a significant imprint as a photographer, dancer, and teacher and is now based in the United States. His artistic journey began at Interlochen Arts Academy and onto the esteemed Juilliard School. This strong foundation laid the groundwork for Sóvári, who went on to grace international stages and lend his dance expertise to renowned companies such as the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin under the direction of Nacho Duato and the Oper Graz in Austria. Paul is very excited to be joining Dance Aspen for their winter season, and is thrilled to be once again dancing in the roaring fork valley. You can discover his photographic work at PaulioSovari on IG and at his website, www.sovariphotography.com.