23-24 Carmina Burana - Other - Page 15
GUEST ARTISTS, Cont.
Isabel Borges, Guest Artist
Isabel Borges is a New Orleans native and began her ballet training at a very
young age with Giacobbe Academy of Dance under the instruction of Joseph
Giacobbe. At the age of fifteen, Isabel moved to New York City to attend Ballet
Academy East’s pre-professional program under the direction of Darla Hoover.
Here, Isabel vigorously trained with renowned ballet instructors like Wendy
Whelan, Irina and Olga Dvorovenko, Jenna Lavin, and many more. Her time
here includes performing some of her favorite roles, such as the principle roles
in George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht and Alan Hineline’s A to M. In 2019,
Isabel returned to New Orleans to complete her undergraduate degree at Loyola
University while dancing with New Orleans Ballet Theater. Isabel looks forward
to the 2023-2024 season as a newly appointed apprentice.
Sara Falstad, Guest Artist
Sara Falstad, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, began her ballet training with the
Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education, where she studied for 10 years before
relocating to New Orleans in 2009. In New Orleans, Sara furthered her training
at the Schramel Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Greg and Marjorie
Hardwick Schramel before accepting a traineeship with the Charlotte Ballet
Academy in 2012 and then a traineeship with the Joffrey Academy of Dance
in 2013. During this time, she also enjoyed returning to New Orleans to dance
in New Orleans Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker and Summer Solstice. In 2015,
Sara’s pursuits took her to the Sarasota Ballet, where she performed in ballets
by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Matthew Hart, George Balanchine, Dame Ninette
de Valois, Anthony Tudor, and Sir Frederick Ashton. After a year and a half with
the company, she had the opportunity to dance internationally with Tokyo
Disney Resort in their flagship live show One Man’s Dream II: The Magic Lives
On, a Disney medley featuring many of Disney’s iconic characters. She worked in
Japan for three years, dancing in both title and ensemble roles until the show’s
closing in December 2019. Upon her return to New Orleans, Sara rejoined NOBT
as a company artist.
Nikolas Gaifullin, Guest Artist
Nikolas was originally born in Sarasota, Florida and received his training from
both of his parents, Stephanie Murrish and Daniil Gaifullin. Nikolas has had
the opportunity to work with well renowned choreographers such as Johan
Kobborg, Anna Marie Holmes, Yuri Possokhov, Jade Hale Christofi, Joshua
Bergasse, Omar Nieves, Anthony Krutzkamp, Devon Carney, Anthony Johnson,
Ryan Nye, Robert Mills, Ma Cong, Dwight Rhoden, Norbert De La Cruz III, Tara
Lee, Kiyon Ross, Ross Freddie McCray, Viktor Plotnikov, Bruce Wells, and John
McFall. Nikolas has performed with companies and troupes such as Kansas
City Ballet II, Atlanta Ballet, Polunin Ink, Oklahoma City Ballet, Tulsa Ballet,
and Broadway production of Sugar Hill: Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker. His
repertoire includes Johan Kobborg’s Romeo and Juliet, Yuri Possokhov’s Don
Quixote and Nutcracker, Septime Webre’s Alice in Wonderland, Dwight Rhoden’s
Sunrise Divine, Robert Mills Nutcracker, John McFall’s Nutcracker, Kiyon Ross’s
Sum Stravinsky, Jiri Kylian’s Return to a Strange Land, Tara Lee’s Blink, Ma
Cong’s Tchaikovsky, Ross Freddie McCray’s Fraudulent Smile, Viktor Plotnikov’s
Vesna, Anthony Krutzkamp’s Carmina Burana, Anthony Johnson’s Rings of the
Rose, Ryan Nye’s Tone it Bach, Norbert De La Cruz’s The Fourth Wall, Bruce Well’s