Guest Artists
Analiese Capponi
Analiese began her formal dance training at Philadelphia Dance Theatre. She attended Harid Conservatory, Houston Ballet, and the National Ballet School of Canada, all on full tuition scholarship. She has attended JKO American Ballet Theatre, and Regional Dance America National Choreographic Intensive. Ms Capponi was awarded "Outstanding Performer" at the 2015 Regional Dance America Festival for her performance in Ruka White's Flock. In 2019 Ms Capponi completed certification in (PBT) Progressing Ballet Technique training. Most recently Ms Capponi has completed the CPYB teacher training course.
Annika Kua
Ballet X
Annika Kuo studied at Princeton Ballet School (also known as American Repertory Ballet) and has attended multiple training intensives including The Royal Ballet School, The Dutch National Ballet Academy, and BalletX.
She graduated in 2022 with a BFA from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she has performed works by distinguished choreographers including Daniel Pelzig, Ruka Hatua-Saar White, and William Isaac. Annika joins the company following her one year dance fellowship with BalletX.
Ankhtra Brivett-Battle
PHILADANCO
Ankhtra Maa Brivett-Battle (He/Him) is a Black dance artist born in Newark, NJ and raised in Springfield, NJ. He was introduced to dance by a friend's mother who was a ballet teacher. He began his training at the age of 8 at the Dance Theatre of Harlem Summer Intensive in NYC. He went on to train at Peridance Capezio Center and shortly after he trained with Manhattan Youth Ballet under the direction of Deborah Wingert.
After graduating High School, Ankhtra started dancing with PHILADANCO’s second company D/2 from 2017-2020. In the summer of 2021, he trained at the B12 Berlin Workshop Festival in Germany where he worked with artists like Miceala Taylor and Nadine Gerspache.
Ankhtra is a 2022 BFA graduate of the University of the Arts School of Dance (director: Donna Faye Burchfield). Ankhtra had the pleasure of performing in works by Tommie-Waheed, Sidra Bell, Merce Cunningham, Shayla Vie-Jenkins, Thom White and more. Ankhtra also received an award for Expressivity upon graduation in May of 2022.
Diyah Gonzalez
PHILADANCO
Christian “Diyah” Gonzalez (FL) began his training at The Osceola County School for the Arts at the age of 14. After graduating, Diyah was accepted into the Boston Conservatory at Berklee as the Contemporary Dance Performance Class of 2023’s ‘Presidential Scholarship’ Recipient. As a student, Diyah has had the pleasure to learn and grow with organizations such as The Jacobs Pillow Summer Intensive Contemporary Program & The Alonzo Kings LINES Contemporary Ballet Summer Intensive both of which he was awarded Full Tuition Scholarships to attend.Diyah is in his first season with Philadanco!
Lila Kushner
PILOBOLUS
Lila Kushner is a contemporary dance artist, choreographer and teacher based out of Philadelphia PA. She recently graduated from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she received her BFA in contemporary dance performance, with a composition emphasis. At the conservatory she performed works by notable artists including T. Lang, Victor Quijada, Brian Brooks, Bradley Shelver and Aszure Barton. Lila is passionate about choreography and making her own work. Outside of the Conservatory, Lila has choreographed works at Philadelphia Dance Theatre. Her most recent piece won the Regional Dance America NorthEast Emerging Choreography Award, and received a full scholarship to the National Choreography Intensive.
Lila has danced for Hybrid Motion Dance Theatre in Boston, and is a current Teaching Artist for Pilobolus.
Maggie Bucko
Ballet Hartford
Maggie began dancing when she was 12 years old at Philadelphia Dance Theatre, under the direction of Joy Delaney Capponi. In 2019, at age 17, she moved to Sarasota, FL, and danced as a trainee with Sarasota Ballet for two years. While there, she had the opportunity to dance with the main company in The Nutcracker and their 29th Season Gala. In 2021, she moved to Phoenix, AZ, to join Ballet Arizona as a Studio Company member. She danced in Balanchine’s Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto, Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs, and in Artistic Director Ib Andersen’s World Premiere Guan Gabriel, among others. Her most prominent role was Juliet’s Cousin in Ib Andersen’s Romeo and Juliet. She is currently in her second season with Ballet Hartford as a Company Artist.
William Burden
PHILADANCO
William began his Training at William M. Meredith School and Continued at Creative & Performing Arts H.S. (CAPA) under the direction of Ms. LaDiva Davis. He attended the Rock School of Dance Education and was a scholarship student at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. William also has many years of training with Tap Team Two & Company, co-directed by his father, Robert Burden. William has been a company member with Eleone Dance Connection, Eleone Dance Theater/Artistic Director Shawn Lamere Williams and Spectrum Dance Theatre under the artistic direction of Mr. Donald Byrd. He has recently performed ballets like “The Browder Project” with Dawn Marie Bazemore, founder of DB Dance Project. William has been a recipient of the Marian Anderson Award in Philadelphia multiple times. William received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts.
Eliza Griffin
Courtesy of Princeton Ballet School