A Night at the Ballet From Swan Lake to The Stones

Adji Cissoko is the Associate Artistic Director of Alonzo King LINES Ballet. A dancer with LINES since 2014, Cissoko originated many central roles with the company and has taught classes around the world as part of the company’s outreach program. Prior to joining LINES, Cissoko danced with the National Ballet of Canada.

Sasha De Sola is the Diane B. Wilsey Principal Dancer of the San Francisco Ballet. A standout at competitions around the world, she was nominated for Dance Europe’s Dancer of the Year in 2020 and was recognized for excellence in classical ballet by the Petipa Heritage Foundation in 2023.

Shuaib Elhassan is a dancer with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, having trained at the Ailey School on a full scholarship, as well as at Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts and Jacob’s Pillow. Additional companies with which he has performed include Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Life Dance Company, and Zest Collective.

Francesco Gabriele Frola is a principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet. He began his career at the National Ballet of Canada, where he rose from apprentice to principal dancer, and in 2018, he began dancing with the English National Ballet, becoming a lead principal with the company in 2020. 

Melanie Hamrick is a professionally trained ballerina whose career spanned over 16 years with American Ballet Theatre. Since her retirement from ABT in 2019, she has become further known internationally as a choreographer, producer, educator, and author, as well as co-founder of the company Live Arts Global.

Nicholas Palmquist is an internationally-recognized teacher and choreographer based in New York City. As a freelance dancer, his career spans film, television, and live performance, including In the Heights, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, the Netflix original series The Get Down, the Tony Awards, and the Radio City Summer Spectacular.

Erica Pereira is a soloist with the New York City Ballet. She began studying at the School of American Ballet, the official school of NYCB, in 2005. She became an apprentice with the company in 2006, joined the corps de ballet in 2007, and was promoted to soloist in 2009. 

Christine Shevchenko is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, where she has had a celebrated tenure since joining the Studio Company in 2006. She was the youngest recipient of the Princess Grace Award, and her additional accolades include Bronze Medal at the USA and Gold Medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competitions.

Daniel Ulbricht is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, having trained at the School of American Ballet. In 2000, he became an apprentice with the company, and in 2001, he joined the corps de ballet. In 2005, he was promoted to soloist, and in 2007, to principal dancer.

Connor Walsh is a principal dancer with Houston Ballet. He joined the company as a member of the corps de ballet in 2004 and received promotions to soloist and principal dancer in 2006 and 2007. In 2015, Walsh co-founded REACH, a choreographic project raising money for arts education. 

Chae Eun Yang is a member of the Houston Ballet. She trained at the Universal Ballet Academy in South Korea, Sunhwa Arts School, and Korea National University of the Arts. In 2022, she spent a short time with the National Ballet of Canada before rejoining the Houston Ballet.

Festival Orchestra NAPA is an all-star ensemble of musicians from major international orchestras and faculty from renowned institutions, together with participants from the Frost School at Festival Napa Valley's Blackburn Music Academy. As the central ensemble, the orchestra interacts with nearly every program the festival provides.