EMILY BOYKIN began her training at Hansen's dance studio in Oconomowoc Wisconsin, where she studied ballet and tap. After moving to Austin she has received training and instruction at Tapestry, Cafe Dance, The Dance Center, Blue Lapis Light, and now Ballet East. She is currently working on earning her B.A. in dance. Miss Boykin is thankful for having the opportunity to work with a variety of choreographers including Deidre Strand, Allison Orr, Sharon Marroquin, Francisco Gella, Toni Bravo, and of course Melissa Villarreal. Emily has performed in various competitions and performances throughout Texas as well as New York.

JUAN P. FLORES was raised in Laredo, Texas. He began his dancing career at age 17, at the Vidal M. Trevino Fine Arts School.  Mary Ellen Leyendecker and Cheryl Kirkpatrick are the two teachers that influenced his dance training, which consisted of, ballet, jazz, tap, Celtic, hip-hop, lyrical and belly dance.  He performed numerous times with the Dance Expressions Dance Studio and with the Laredo Ballet Theatre.  He played various roles in the Nutcracker every year.  J.P. moved to Austin 3 years ago in search of better dance opportunities.  As a result, he now performs with Ballet East, where he has had the opportunity to work with acclaimed choreographers from all over.  J.P. gives thanks to Melissa and Rudy for such a great opportunity; as he embarks his 8th season with the company and the beginning of Mr. Flores’ role as Rehearsal Assistant for Ballet East.

JESSICA GABY grew up in Miami, FL where she began her dance training at the age of 4.  Since then she has studied tap, ballet, jazz, modern, and dance for musical theater.  Jessica worked as a choreographer for QuantUM Productions, Miami Stage Company, and Miami Children's Theater, and has danced with several companies including RainDance Productions in Miami and Uprise! in Austin.  Jessica received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Miami in 2005, but since then has chosen to pursue her love of the arts.  She currently works as a preschool teacher at Open Door East.  Jessica feels incredibly fortunate to have found such a talented, beautiful, loving family of dancers to work with.

MEGHAN GILL is a highly respected tapper, and is also known for her knowledge and ability in hip hop. Her motivation and passion for dance has touched many lives of those around her. She has a well-rounded background of ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop. This gives her style a unique twist.

Meghan can be seen in an instructional DVD for cheer and hip hop called Urban Cheer and Dance which hit the stores last year. Meghan has also appeared in numerous venues around Dallas. She has been part of many dance companies in Dallas, including The Drawbacks, Urban Dance Movement, and Collin County Community College Dance Repertoire just to name a few. She has taught internationally, and has traveled to Canada to teach hip hop. She has recently been chosen to dance with Justin Timberlake in the upcoming movie A Priest Called Irving.

She was chosen to perform with radio Disney star Jer-Z and was Frenchy in the local production of “Grease.” She was as well chosen to participate in Gil Stroming’s entry into the Fringe Festival in NYC. Meghan has been an assistant to U.S. Junior Figure Skating Olympic Coach G. Webster Smith and choreographs and teaches nationally for many private studios, teams, and independent performers, as well as assistant to Gino Johnson at many hip hop workshops.  This is Meghan's 2nd season with Ballet East.

NICOLE JENSEN is originally from Anderson, Indiana.   She graduated in three years with High Honors & her B.F.A. in dance from UT. She received her teaching certificate from Texas State University. Nicole was the dance teacher and director at the McCallum High School Fine Arts Academy for four years, and is currently in her 5th year of teaching and directing dance at Small Middle School.  Her performance experience includes numerous principal ballet roles with Anderson Young Ballet Theatre, and contemporary works with UT, Metamorphosis & Ballet East. Nicole has been very fortunate to study with choreographers such as Regina Larkin, Trinette Singleton, Lyn Wiltshire, Yacov Sharir, and Bill Evans.  Nicole is trained in Latin and Ballroom dance, and has had the opportunity to compete and train in London, Italy and the west coast. She has also danced for the San Antonio Spurs and enjoyed being a part of a championship year.

ELIZA KAISER began her training in Cincinnati at Le Dance Studio and later with the Anneliese Von Oettingen School of Ballet under Maki Kabayama, former dancer of the National Ballet of Canada, and the School of the Cincinnati Ballet. She has graduated with a BFA at Towson University, where she studied with Vincent Thomas of VT Dance Company, Jayne Bernasconi of AirDance Bernasconi, Stephanie Powell of The Stephanie Powell Dance Ensemble, Catherine Horta-Hayden, Dennis Price, and various other well-known dance professionals. She has danced roles in Raymonda Pas de Dix, Hidden Realities, Tapestries, Dougala, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Ellington Suite, and Paul Taylor’s Airs. She studied classical ballet at L’Ecole de Danse Classique d’Aix en Provence in France and she also had the pleasure of working with French choreographer, Angelin Preljocaj.  Having been in Austin for four years, she is excited to rejoin Ballet East for her fourth season with the company.

AMY MENDEZ Native to Houston, Texas, raised in Bainbridge Island Washington. In 2000, Amy attended UT, studying for her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance, graduating with honors and gaining her SBEC teacher certification in dance.  Her instructors have included, Andrea Beckham, Lyn Elam, Bill Piner, Yacov Sharir, and Holly Williams.  She has performed with UT Dance Department, S.T.E.E.L Dance Company, Roustabouts, Millennium Entertainment, Tropical productions and Explosion Dance Company.   She was a founding member of Jazz Ballet Company of Austin since September 2004, and was featured in “Jazz and Tango,” “Nutcracker,” and “Can You Hear Me Now?” Mrs. Mendez has taught dance in Austin for over 10 years, training all ages in ballet, jazz, modern, tap, salsa, drill team, theater and gymnastics. In 2007 Mrs. Mendez directed the Junior Jazz Ballet Company of Austin. She was the Dance Director at Reagan High School for 3 years and now teaches dance at East Side Memorial High School.

KATHERINE L. FEIOCK MCCALL has a lifelong love for dance. She has ventured as a student, instructor, choreographer, and professional dancer. Katherine currently holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Arts Management and a Minor in Business from the University of Tulsa (TU).  Katherine has had the opportunity to work and learn from various gifted and outstanding local, national, and international dancing artists.  In 2005, Katherine founded Monica Huggins Dance Theater (MHDT) a program of Oklahoma Performing Arts in Tulsa and still serves as Artistic Director and choreographer for currently 21 original works.  Katherine danced and choreographed professionally for Tulsa Contemporary Dance Theater, and Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre (ACDT). During the ACDT 2007-2008 season, Katherine was chosen to present her piece Soul Doubt at the North Carolina Dance Festival. Beyond performing and choreographing in the region, Katherine actively pursues her love for teaching. She works with all ages in many different environments including Early Development Learning Centers, Community Centers, Not for Profit and Private Studios, Outreach Programs, and in the Public Schools. Now in Austin, Texas, she enjoys teaching many genres and styles of dance at Dance Xplosion and enjoys the occasional return to her home town as a guest artist for Tulsa Central Fine Arts Magnet, and choreographer for Broken Arrow Public Schools. 

LAURA NOOSE began her dancing career in the hallway of her childhood Missouri home, performing impromptu interpretive modern pieces to the final credit music of each Network TV Monday Night Movie.  Shortly afterward she began her formal training in ballet, jazz, and modern under the tutelage of Dodie Holmes at Dancearts of Columbia.  More recently in Austin, Laura has performed with Calyx Dance Company, Uprise! and Blue Lapis Light.  This year Laura rejoins Ballet East for her 4^th season.

JULIE NUNAN graduated from the University of Texas with a BFA dance degree in 2001.  She began performing with Ballet East while she was a dance student, and left the company in 2002.  She pursued teaching in the southwest Houston area, teaching both dance and math at the high school level for three years.  She is now a third year pharmacy student, again at the University of Texas and rejoined the company in 2007.  She has lost track of the number of seasons she has been with Ballet East, but her feet and ankles tell her that it's been a lot!  After graduation, Julie plans to practice pharmacy in the Austin area and hopes to contribute to Ballet East in the future.

ELIZABETH PALMER is dancing in her 8th season with Ballet East. She has had the privilege to work with many talented individuals including Melissa Villarreal, Dixon Mena, Max Luna III, Regina Larkin, Gina Patterson, Sharon Marroquin, Amberlee Cantrell and Francisco Gella. Elizabeth began dancing as a child and enjoyed living all over the country as part of a military family. She danced with the Colorado Ballet Company and the Tulsa Ballet Theater in their productions of the Nutcracker. She began her formal training in high school when she studied at the Kansas City Ballet School. She danced alongside the company in Swan Lake and the Nutcracker under the artistic direction of William Whitener. She received her BFA in Dance Performance with a minor in cultural anthropology from Missouri State University, and her choreography was selected for the American College Dance Festival in 2004. 

JONTHAN REJINO joins Ballet East for his third season this year. He comes from Olton Texas, where he began dance at West Texas A&M University under Neil Hess and then Under Edward Truitt. Jonathan has performed in Texas the Musical Drama and Lone Star Rising. He has danced with Lone Star Ballet in several roles in their annual performance of Nutcracker and was fortunate to travel to Russia to perform at the Open Look Modern Dance Festival in St. Petersburg. He thanks his family and partner for their support and love and also would like to thank his Ballet East family for all their support and encouragement this past year.

HAILLEY SCHWARTZ is a graduate from the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan and recently graduated from Towson University with a BFA in Dance Performance. She was an active member of the Towson University Dance Company for the 4 years she attended Towson. She performed in works by choreographers such as Chris Elam, Balanchine, Vincent Thomas, Dion Wilson, Carlos Dannan and more. She recently moved to Austin to pursue her dance career and is excited to celebrate her 2nd season with Ballet East Dance Theatre.