Rebecca Lerch, Demi-Character Dancer

Rebecca grew up in Radford, Virginia, where she graduated with a degree in Dance from Radford University. From 2008-2011, she performed various demi-character roles with Connecticut Ballet under the direction of Brett Raphael. Rebecca joined Ithaca Ballet as an Auxiliary company dancer for the 2011-12 season, has served on the Ithaca Ballet Board of Directors since 2013, and returned to the stage as a demi-character dancer in 2016.  Roles with Ithaca Ballet include Swan and Candidate Bride (Swan Lake), Stepmother (Cinderella), Actor/Reveler (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Clara's Mother (Nutcracker). Rebecca has a Masters of Education from the University of South Carolina.

Lavinia Reid, Guest Choreographer

Rainbow Dance Arts Co., Saga Ambegaokar and Dancers and others. Studied at the Boston School of Ballet with Tatiana Baboushkina, Boston Conservatory, American Ballet Center, Ballet Guild of Ithaca, and Village School. Choreographer and costumer designer for companies in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Texas, and the District of Columbia. Awarded scholarship to National Craft of Choreography Conference, and a residency at the Carlisle Project, funded by the Ford Foundation. Former faculty member, Ballet Center of Ithaca and the Seneca School of Ballet (Dundee, NY). Summer guest faculty, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Director of the Chambersburg Youth Ballet in Pennsylvania and teaches ballet at Wilson College in Shippensburg.

Nick Garvey, Guest Cavalier (Ithaca performance)

He was born in Maryland, United States.  Nick began studies in dance at the Greater Annapolis Ballet in 2020 under the instruction of Margaret Russell. He then auditioned and was accepted to the Rock School of Philadelphia on a full scholarship. There he studied from 2021 to 2023 under the instruction of Telmo Moreira, Bo and Stephanie Spassof, and Peter Stark. Nick competed in 2020 at the Youth America Grand Prix, finishing in the top 12 in classical dance and third place in contemporary. In 2022, Nick competed again at the Youth America Grand Prix and won third place in classical, contemporary, and pas de deux dance.  Repertoire includes: Laurencia , Diana & Actaeon, Flames of Paris , Don Quixote, Paquita , and parts of The Nutcracker such as Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Doll, and in the ballet corps. In 2023 he became part of the Ballet Concierto of Puerto Rico.