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International Evenings of Dance
2008 Vail International Dance Festival

Performing Artists:
	Daniel Ulbricht New York City Ballet Born in St. Petersburg, FL, Daniel Ulbricht began his dance training at the age of eleven. In 1999, he was invited by the School of American Ballet to continue his training in New York City. In 2000, he became an apprentice with New York City Ballet and joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2001. In 2005, Mr. Ulbricht was promoted to the rank of soloist, and became a Principal dancer in 2007.
	Wendy Whelan New York City Ballet Wendy Whelan was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. At the age of three she began taking dance classes with Virgina Wooton, a local teacher, and at age eight she performed as a mouse with the Louisville Ballet in The Nutcracker. Ms. Whelan studied at the Louisville Ballet Academy and the School of American Ballet before joining New York City Ballet in 1986. She was promoted to soloist in 1989 and to Principal Dancer in 1991. Ms. Whelan has created leading roles in six ballets by Christopher Wheeldon, and she has performed as a guest artist with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden and the Maryinsky Ballet at the Maryinsky Theater.
	Ashley Bouder New York City Ballet Ms. Bouder was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and began her ballet training at the age of six at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She attended the 1999 Summer Program at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, and was invited to continue her training during the Winter Session. Ms. Bouder was named an apprentice with New York City Ballet in June 2000 and became a member of the corps de ballet that October. She was promoted to the rank of soloist in February 2004, and in January 2005, Ms. Bouder was promoted to Principal Dancer.
	Tiler Peck New York City Ballet Tiler Peck was born in Bakersfield, California. She began her dancing training at the age of seven entered the School of American Ballet in the fall of 2003. Ms. Peck joined New York City Ballet in September 2004 and was promoted to soloist in December 2006. She is a 2004 recipient of the Princess Grance Foundation Dance Fellowship and the Mae L. Wien Award.
	Leanne Benjamin The Royal Ballet Born in Australia, Ms. Benjamin trained at The Royal Ballet School and won the Adeline Genée Gold Medal and Prix de Lausanne. She joined The Royal Ballet in 1992, becoming a Principal by the spring of that Season. She has also been a Principal with SWRB, ENB and Deutsche Opera Ballet. Ms. Benjamin was awarded an OBE in 2005.
	Edward Watson The Royal Ballet Born in Bromley and trained at The Royal Ballet School, Mr. Watson joined The Royal Ballet in 1994 and was promoted to Principal, 2005.
	Carla Körbes Pacific Northwest Ballet Carla Körbes is from Porto Alegre, Brazil, and began her ballet training at age five. In 1996, Peter Boal danced with her as a guest artist of the school and encouraged her to come to New York to study at the School of American Ballet. In 1999, she was the Mae. L. Wien Award recipient and became an apprentice with New York City Ballet. She joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2000 and was the Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2001–2002. She was promoted to soloist in 2005 and later that year joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a soloist. Ms. Körbes was promoted to Principal dancer in 2006.
	Batkhurel Bold Pacific Northwest Ballet Mr. Bold is from Ulan Bator, Mongolia, and trained at the Perm Choreographic Academy in Russia. Mr. Bold joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 1996, was promoted to Soloist in 1999 and made a Principal in 2004.
	Igor Zelensky Kirov Ballet Mr. Zelensky was born in Labinsk (Krasnodar Region). He graduated from the Tbilisi School of Ballet and trained at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. He joined the Mariinsky Theatre in 1988, where he has been a Principal Dancer since 1991. He has been recognized with the People’s Artist of Russia Award, at The International Ballet Competition and with the Baltika prize. From 1992 – 1997 he was a Principal Dancer at New York City Ballet. In 1996 he became guest artist with The Royal Ballet, and in1999 he was invited to La Scala as a guest artist. In 2000 he was appointed guest artist at the Bayerische Staatsoper and returned to New York City Ballet as Principal guest artist, while continuing with The Royal Ballet and Kirov Ballet as well as companies around the world. Watch Igor Zelensky on YouTube:
	Misa Kuranaga Boston Ballet Misa Kuranaga won the gold medal in the senior division of the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. She began her training at the Jinushi Kaoru Ballet School in Japan in 1991 and then at the School of American Ballet. In 2001, Ms. Kuranaga won the gold medal in the Junior Division of the Ninth Moscow International Ballet Competition, and was the recipient of the “Hope of the World Ballet” prize. That same year she was a scholarship award winner at the Prix de Lausanne. Ms. Kuranaga has also been a member of the San Francisco Ballet. This past June, Ms. Kuranaga was celebrated at the “Misa Kuranaga Ballet Night,” an evening produced in her honor at NHK Hall in Japan. Ms. Kuranga joined Boston Ballet in 2003 and was promoted to Soloist in 2007.
Photo: Andrew Eccles	Linda Celeste Sims Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Linda Celeste Sims (Bronx, NY) began her dance training at Ballet Hispanico School of Dance and is a graduate of La Guardia High School of the Performing Arts. In her senior year, Mrs. Sims won a Presidential Scholar award given by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. During the summers of 1993 and 1994, she was a scholarship student at the Pennsylvania Ballet School. She has danced with 'El Piccalo Theatro del' la Opera and Ballet Hispanico. Mrs. Sims joined the Company in 1996. Watch Linda Celeste Sims on YouTube:
Photo: Andrew Eccles	Matthew Rushing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Matthew Rushing began his dance training at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He is a recipient of a Spotlight Award and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He trained at The Ailey School in New York City and later became a member of Ailey II, where he danced for a year. During his career, he has performed as a guest artist for galas in France, Russia, Canada and Hungary and performed for former President Bill Clinton's inaugural presidential celebration. In 2003, Mr. Rushing performed at The White House State Dinner in honor of the President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki. He joined the Company in 1992. Watch Matthew Rushing on YouTube:

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