23-24 Nutcracker Playbill - Other - Page 13
GUEST ARTISTS
Iori Araya, Guest Artist
Iori Araya, a native of Japan, danced at Singapore Dance Theatre and New Jersey
Ballet prior to joining Ballet Memphis in 2017. She has danced Aurora in The
Sleeping Beauty, George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Serenade, Allegro
Brillante, Divertimento #15, Stanton Welch’s Maninyas, Val Caniparoli’s Chant,
Edwaard Liang’s Age of Innocence. She was a finalist at the 10th Asian Pacific
International Competition, winning a scholarship to The Australian Ballet School
where she was chosen to be a part of The Australian Ballet’s Dancers Company
Tour. Her noted performances with Ballet Memphis include George Balanchine’s
Square Dance and Matthew Neenan’s Water of the Flowery Mill.
Jonathan Carter, Guest Artist
Jonathan Carter started his ballet training at the age of 3. At 9, he began
attending Northwest Florida Ballet Academie and trained under the direction of
Todd Eric Allen and Dorothy Lister. As a professional, Jonathan has danced with
Atlanta Ballet II under the direction of Gennadi Nedvigin, Cincinnati Ballet II
under the direction of Victoria Morgan and Alabama Ballet under the direction
of Tracey Alvey. With Alabama Ballet, he performed The Cavalier in Balachine’s
The Nutcracker and Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty. In 2020, he joined
Northwest Arkansas Ballet Theatre where he performed principal roles including
Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
In 2022, Jonathan joined Dayton Ballet. With Dayton Ballet, Jonathan
performed multiple principal roles including Cavalier in Dayton Ballet’s
The Nutcracker, Peter Pan in Septime Weber’s Peter Pan and a soloist role in
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Limoncello. As a Guest Artist, Jonathan has performed
principal roles with Cuban Classical Ballet, A&A Ballet, Mobile Ballet, Victoria
Ballet Theatre, Inwood Ballet, Andalusia Ballet and Midland Festival Ballet.
Rafael Ferreras, Guest Artist
Rafael Ferreras received his early ballet training in New York with the Dance
Theatre of Harlem and the Joffrey Ballet School. Audiences know him for
his leading roles in Romeo and Juliet, Dracula, The Firebird, Angels in the
Architecture, Midsummers Night’s Dream, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and
The Sleeping Beauty. He danced with Ballet Memphis, Tulsa Ballet, Hartford
Ballet, New Jersey Ballet and Elisa Monte Dance. Ferreras is currently the Ballet
Master for the San Antonio Ballet.
