Senior Dancers
Emi Asakura
Born: Elmira, NY. Emi took her first ballet class at the Ithaca Ballet in 2018 and is very excited to be back after a year in Japan dancing at various drop-in studios. This will be her fourth year in the company. She has attended Ithaca Ballet summer intensives and had the opportunity to teach at the 2026 session. Favorite roles include Willis from Giselle, Chocolate and Flower Waltz Corps from the Nutcracker, Fairy Attendant and Demi Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, and Blues in Pieces.
Gwen Lloyd
Born: Ithaca, NY. Gwen has been dancing for 14 years (nine with Ithaca Ballet) and a summer intensive with Burklyn Ballet. Gwen has been in the company since 2023, and previous roles include: Mother Ginger and Party Teen in Nutcracker, and Waltz corps and Fairy Attendant in Sleeping Beauty. Gwen will graduate from Ithaca High School in 2027.
Hazel O’Brien
Born in Ithaca, NY. Hazel has danced for 12 years at Ithaca Ballet. Hazel has been in the company since 2022. Along with dancing at Ithaca Ballet’s summer camp she has also spent time with The Burklyn Ballet Theater summer intensive. Hazel’s notable roles include Clara, Demi Waltz, Chocolate (The Nutcracker), Celeste and Teen Babar (The Story of Babar), and Hansel (Hansel and Gretel). Hazel will graduate from Dryden High School in 2027 and is currently part of Ithaca Colleges Exercise and Human Performance New Visions class.
Patience Shantaya
Born: Ithaca New York. Patience has been dancing for 11 years. This is her third year as a company dancer at Ithaca Ballet. While living in Cincinnati, for 3 years she danced with princesses Ballet under the direction of Gordon Havens. There she also trained with Kristi Lowe-Murphy who is a hand picked trainee by Mikhail Baryshnikov. Some of my notable roles are Second Corps Snow (The Nutcracker) Marzipan (The Nutcracker). Patience is a freshman in High School and will graduate in 2030
Richard Huxtable
Born: Syracuse, NY. Richard began his ballet training at the age of five with Ballet and Dance of Upstate New York under the direction of Kathleen Rathbun. He later continued his studies with Rafael Gregorian and Caroline Wallace, further developing his classical and contemporary training. Richard was accepted on scholarship to the American Ballet Theatre Summer Workshop in New York City for three consecutive years, where he studied under Franco De Vita and Skylar Brandt. He also attended the Joffrey Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Program in New York City for two years on scholarship, studying under Era and Andrei Jouravlev. Additionally, Richard was accepted on scholarship to the Bolshoi Ballet Summer Intensive. Richard has competed at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) for two consecutive years, earning Top 12 in the Classical Variations category and Second Place in the Junior Contemporary Division. He was also invited to perform in the YAGP Finals at Lincoln Center.
Throughout his training, Richard has had the opportunity to perform alongside acclaimed dancers including Ana Sophia Scheller, Lia Cirio, Paul Craig, and Oksana Maslova. His performance experience includes numerous full-length ballet productions, including The Sleeping Beauty, Dracula, Peter Pan, and Cinderella, as well as entering his eleventh year performing in The Nutcracker. Richard is currently entering his second-year dancing with Ithaca Ballet. His featured roles with Ithaca Ballet include Chocolate, Marzipan and the Nutcracker in The Nutcracker, the Count in Cinderella, and the Swan in Carnival of the Animals. Richard is currently a senior and will graduate from Seton Catholic Central High school in 2027.
Honour Shantaya
Born: Ithaca, New York. Honour has been dancing for 13 years. This is her third year as a company dancer at Ithaca Ballet. While living in Cincinnati, for 3 years she danced with Princess Ballet under the direction of Gordon Havens. There she also trained with Kristi Lowe-Murphy who is a hand picked trainee by Mikhail Baryshnikov. She is so grateful to all of her teachers along the way! Some notable roles are Waltz of the flowers and Second Corps Snow (The Nutcracker) the Dutchess and Waltz Corps ( Sleeping Beauty). Honour is a junior in High School and will graduate in 2028.
Samantha Swart
Born: Ithaca, NY. Samantha has been dancing at Ithaca Ballet since she was eight years old. This is her 4th year in the company. Previous roles include Waltz in Sleeping Beauty, Snow corps, and Demi Angel in the Nutcracker. Samantha will graduate high school in 2028.
All of the photographs are taken by Natasha Keller