SOLOISTS

Lila Mohler

Lila has been dancing with Ithaca Ballet since she was four years old. Growing up, she spent almost every summer at Ithaca Ballet summer camp, and attended Nutmeg Conservatory for two summer high school programs as well. While earning a Bachelor of Science degree at Ithaca College, Lila danced with Daniel Gwirtzman and Amy O’Brien. Lila is now a grad student at IC, completing a master’s degree in occupational therapy and looking to work in pediatrics. Lila has loved dancing in many different roles for Ithaca Ballet over the years, and some favorites include Fairy of the Enchanted Garden in Sleeping Beauty, Countess in Cinderella, and Stratus and Blues in Pieces, performed at Winter Dance. Lila enjoys combining her knowledge of anatomy and kinesiology with the art of ballet, and hopes to continue dancing throughout her career.   

Sophie Riedl

Born: Manhasset, NY. Sophie has been dancing since she was four years old and is excited to return to the company as a soloist. She has attended summer programs at Performing Arts Institute of Cortland, Dance Center North (Syracuse), and Ballet Center of Ithaca. Favorite roles include Demi-soloist in waltz of the flowers as well as Chocolate (Nutcracker), Maid of Honor (Sleeping Beauty), and Swan Corp (Swan Lake). Sophie is a graduate student at Cornell studying nutrition and is working toward a career as a registered dietitian. 

Charleigh Huxtable

Born: Syracuse, NY. Charleigh has been dancing for 14 years. She began her training with Ballet and Dance of Upstate NY and Syracuse City Ballet under the direction of Kathleen Rathbun, where she danced for 7 years and performed along side Anna Sophia Scheller, Lia Cirio, Paul Craig, and Claire Rathbun in numerous productions. When she moved to Binghamton, she began training with Rafael Gregorian and his school and trained with him for 4 years and has taken classes with Caroline Wallace. Charleigh has also been accepted and attended summer intensives such as Joffrey’s pre professional program, where she studied with Era and Andrei Jouravlev and Abigail Simons,  American Ballet Theater summer intensive, Ballet and Dance of Upstate NY, and Ithaca ballet summer intensive. This will be Charleigh’s third year in the Ithaca Ballet company and first year as soloist. Notable roles include the Winter Fairy in Cinderella, Side Candy Cane in the Nutcracker, and Big swan in Swan Lake. Charleigh Is currently a sophomore at BCC studying Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Elizabeth Kaden

Born: Ithaca, NY and moved to Toronto at age three.  Ellie began dancing at age five at Pia Bouman School for Ballet and Creative Movement in Toronto and joined Ithaca Ballet at age nine. Over the past 15 years, she has trained in ballet, pointe, jazz, and contemporary dance.

During her years with Ithaca Ballet, Ellie has performed a wide range of classical repertoire. Some of her favorite roles and performances include demi-soloist in La Bayadère, corps de ballet in Giselle, Boléro, and Swan Lake, Pas de Trois in Swan Lake, and Paquita in Paquita. Some of her most memorable performances were as Snow Queen and Coffee Soloist in Ithaca Ballet’s The Nutcracker during her senior year.
After graduating from high school, Ellie attended the SUNY Geneseo Honors Program for one year before returning to the Syracuse area. She currently works at her family’s business, Robert L. Kelly General Insurance Agency, where she recently became a licensed New York State Property & Casualty insurance agent. She also continues her ballet and pointe training at Ballet & Dance of Upstate New York, taking six classes each week.
More than anything, Ellie loves to dance and especially loves performing. She feels most alive on stage, sharing the experience of a performance with an audience. She is grateful to the teachers, friends, and family who have supported her throughout her years of dancing and is excited to be back for another year with Ithaca Ballet.

Abril Peralta

Born: Davis, California. Abril has been dancing at the Ithaca Ballet since she was five years old. This is her fifth year as a company member. She attended Kaatsbaan Summer Intensive in 2023, and received training from Paloma Herrera and Maria Kowroski. Notable roles include Demi-soloist in Waltz of the Flowers and Little Swans in Swan Lake. Abril graduated from Ithaca High School in 2026 and is now attending Cornell University, studying Biological Sciences. She is set to graduate from Cornell in 2030.