American Midwest Ballet’s talented professional dancers hail from around the nation. The company plays a key role in the cultural vitality of the region, inspiring people through its expressive performing artists, acclaimed choreographers, skilled teachers, and stunning productions.

Erika Overturff, Artistic director & CEO

Erika Overturff is the founder of American Midwest Ballet, the region’s professional ballet company. Under her leadership as artistic director and CEO, American Midwest Ballet enriches the area through an exciting array of professional dance performances and a strong commitment to cultural education and community engagement.

Erika began her training in Iowa at the Academy of Ballet, studying at summer programs including North Carolina School of the Arts, American Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and the Kirov Academy. Following early high school graduation as valedictorian, Erika earned her B.F.A. in ballet performance and teaching from the University of Utah, which she attended on a full scholarship. She graduated cum laude in just three years and was chosen outstanding senior by the ballet department faculty.

Erika went on to dance with Montgomery Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Omaha Theater Ballet, and American Midwest Ballet. She has performed principal and soloist roles in a wide range of classical and contemporary repertoire. Audiences have enjoyed Erika’s performances in roles such as Eileen in Swing, Swing, Swing!, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lucy in Dracula, Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, Myrtha in Giselle, the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, and roles in Ann Reinking’s In the Style of Bob Fosse, Harrison McEldowney’s Call It Off, and Bob Fosse’s Sing, Sing, Sing. Erika has also been a faculty member and guest teacher for schools around the United States.

As a choreographer, Erika has received critical praise for her work. She served as répétitrice for Montgomery Ballet and resident choreographer for Omaha Theater Ballet. She has worked on several collaborations with Opera Omaha, created a production of Peter and the Wolf with the Omaha Symphony, and regularly creates new works for American Midwest Ballet. In collaboration with Joslyn Art Museum, Erika has choreographed original ballets inspired by museum artwork or exhibitions, including Connemara, Cleopatra, Go West!, Appalachian Song, and The Bee’s Knees. Other featured works include Tropico, Party Animals, The Diner, Ella, Sweet and Low-Down, Rhapsody in Blue, Feeling Good, and Cinderella. Erika also created American Midwest Ballet’s lively and entertaining version of the holiday favorite The Nutcracker, which has premiered to enthusiastic audiences both at home and on tour. For her vision and achievements, Erika was named a recipient of the Midlands Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Awards, honoring area entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals.

Erin Alarcón, Ballet Master

Artist Sponsor: OrthoNebraska

Erin Alarcón began her dance training with Christine Taylor at North Jersey School of Dance Arts in Hackettstown, NJ where she was also a member of New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet under the direction of Luba Gulyaeva. Erin went on to graduate magna cum laude with a B.A. in dance performance from Mercyhurst University Dance Department under the direction of Tauna Hunter. During her time there she performed both principal and soloist roles, as well as choreographed several works for the dance department. In addition to her classes and performances, Erin spent two years teaching the open ballet classes at Mercyhurst University. During the summers she studied with Eglevsky Ballet and Joffrey Ballet. She has been coached by many wonderful artists including Laura Alonso, Bruce Marks, Vivi Flindt, and Bill Evans. Erin had the opportunity to study dance abroad with Valerie Valentine of the Dutch National Ballet, where she worked directly with Ms. Valentine, as well as Maurice Causey, then Ballet Master for Netherlands Dance Theater.

Erin danced professionally with SoMar Dance Works and Ballet Concerto, and has appeared as a guest artist with Iowa Dance Theater performing the title role of Cinderella. Over her 15 years performing with American Midwest Ballet, she performed the principal roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, The Wizard of Oz, and Alice in Wonderland, the later two for which she won the Omaha Entertainment Award for Best Featured Dancer. In Erika Overturff’s The Nutcracker, Erin has danced the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop Fairy and Snow Queen and in Overturff’s Cinderella was a Stepsister. Erin worked with Nilas Martins in Bournonville Divertissements and has performed works by George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Frank Chaves and Harrison McEldowney among others.

Erin has choreographed several works for American Midwest Ballet, including the award-winning full-length ballet The Wizard of Oz, Whipped Cream!, and Fragile Creatures. Erin served as Operations Manager for the company for seven years and is currently the Director of American Midwest Ballet’s Junior Company. She has taught master classes and workshops throughout the United States and Erin is a founding company member; this is her fifth season as Ballet Master for the company.

AURORA AUSSERER

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana

Training & Experience: Ballet Idaho; Indiana Ballet Conservatory; Summer programs with San Francisco Ballet and Indiana Ballet Conservatory

Featured Repertory: Spanish in The Nutcracker; Cobweb in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; roles in Appalachian Song, and Bob’s Fosse’s Sing, Sing, Sing

Additional Highlight: second season with American Midwest Ballet

Hometown: Burnt Hills, New York

Training & Experience: B.F.A. in dance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; Akjun Ballet Theatre; Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet; Northeast Ballet Artist; summer programs at American Ballet Theater, Miami City Ballet, Saratoga Summer Dance Intensive, CPYB; scholarship recipient at New York Summer School of the Arts

Featured Repertory: Clara, French and Porcelain Doll in The Nutcracker; Gift of Wisdom in The Wizard of Oz; Spring Fairy in Cinderella; Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; featured roles in Fragile Creatures, Whipped Cream! and Bee’s Knees; roles in Swan Lake, and French Songs

Additional Highlight: Assistant Director of AMB Summer Intensive; Children’s Rehearsal Assistant for company productions; eleventh season with American Midwest Ballet

Sophie Graham

Hometown: New Canaan, Connecticut

Training & Experience: Milwaukee Ballet 2; Joffrey Ballet Chicago trainee; New England Academy of Dance; summer programs at ART of workshop in Zurich, Switzerland, Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, Miami City Ballet, Boston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Sarasota Ballet

Featured Repertory: Porcelain Doll and Chinese in The Nutcracker; Moth in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; featured roles in Appalachian Song; roles in Cinderella, Whipped Cream!, Go West!, and Bob Fosse’s Sing, Sing, Sing; roles in Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Swan Lake, and Beauty and the Beast, and a premiere in Milwaukee Ballet’s Genesis show along with roles in George Balanchine’s Sylvia and Who Cares

Additional Highlight: fourth season with American Midwest Ballet

Eliza harden

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky

Training & Experience: B.F.A. in ballet performance from the University of Oklahoma School of Dance (summa cum laude); Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory; DuPont Manual Youth Performing Arts School; Village Dance Theatre

Featured Repertory: Dew Drop and Russian in The Nutcracker; Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; roles in Alice in Wonderland, Ray Mercer’s Significant Encounters, Go West!, Appalachian Song, and Bob Fosse’s Sing, Sing, Sing 

Additional Highlights: performed at the Mexico City International Dance Festival; voted outstanding senior by dance professors; fourth season with American Midwest Ballet

Alexandra Hoffman

Artist Sponsors: John Ritland, Greta Vaught, & Mia Ritland

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

Training & Experience: Ana Lobe of Cleveland San Jose Ballet; summer programs at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Nashville Ballet, and Louisville Ballet; trainee with Louisville Ballet

Featured Repertory: Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Stepsister in Cinderella; Snow Queen, Dew Drop, and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker; Gift of Wisdom and Emerald Queen in The Wizard of Oz;  Maiden in Death and the Maiden; Little Swan in Swan Lake; featured in Don Quixote Pas de Deux, Feeling Good, and Gerald Arpino’s Ruth, Ricordi per Due; roles in Group Therapy, Appalachian Song, Fragile Creatures, Bournonville Divertissements, and Transcription

Additional Highlight: twelfth season with American Midwest Ballet

CASEY KELLEY

Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska

Training & Experience: Ballet Nebraska II; American Midwest Ballet Junior Company; American Midwest Ballet School of Dance; Omaha Academy of Ballet; summer programs with Ballet West and American Midwest Ballet; guest artist throughout the United States

Featured Repertory: Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz; Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland; Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Drosselmeyer, Arabian Prince, and Gingerbread in The Nutcracker; featured roles in Go West! and Appalachian Song; roles in Fragile Creatures, Whipped Cream!, Love Games, Bob Fosse’s Sing, Sing, Sing, and Frank Chaves’ Eva

Additional Highlight: fifth season with American Midwest Ballet

Leah Kressin

Hometown: Carlsbad, California

Training & Experience: Bachelor of Arts in dance from California State University Long Beach; San Elijo Dance and Music Academy on merit scholarship, City Ballet of San Diego, San Diego Ballet Collective; master classes with Gelsey Kirkland, David Howard, Susan Jaffe, Abbie Seifel, Desmond Richardson, Lawrence Rosenberg, Ivan Vargas; summer programs with American Ballet Theatre, Escuela Internacional de Flamenco Manolete

Featured Repertory: Spanish in The Nutcracker; March Hare in Alice in Wonderland; roles in Fragile Creatures, Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, Swing, Swing, Swing!, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Additional Highlight: sixth season with American Midwest Ballet

Kogan LARSEN

Artist Sponsor: Dick & DeAnna Miller Charitable Trust

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Training & Experience: Joffrey Ballet trainee; Ballet Theatre of Indiana, Judith Svalander School of Ballet; Joffrey Ballet summer program

Featured Repertory: Cinderella in Cinderella; Glinda in The Wizard of Oz; lead in Rhapsody in Blue; Snow Queen, Arabian Princess, Gingerbread and French in The Nutcracker; Little Swan in Swan Lake; featured roles in The Diner and Appalachian Song; roles in Go West!, Fragile Creatures, Whipped Cream!, and Bob Fosse’s Sing, Sing, Sing 

Additional Highlights: Miss Illinois talent scholarship and Miss Douglas County; AMB Community Engagement Coordinator; twelfth season with American Midwest Ballet

Megan Lynch

Hometown: Winona, Minnesota

Training & Experience: B.F.A. in ballet and B.A. in history from the University of Utah; Ballet Blake, Rochester, Minnesota; Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts

Featured Repertory: Mustard Seed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: roles in Ray Mercer’s Significant Encounters, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Go West!, and Appalachian Song 

Additional Highlights: received the outstanding senior award from the University of Utah School of Dance; performed in Inchon, Korea, under the direction of Oleg Vinogradov in Paquita; fourth season with American Midwest Ballet

Richard Marks

Hometown: Waukee, Iowa

Training & Experience: Milwaukee Ballet II; Westside Dance Academy; The Pointe Academy

Featured Repertory: Prince in Cinderella; Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Thistle, Snow King and Arabian Prince in The Nutcracker; Lion in The Wizard of Oz; White Knight in Alice in Wonderland;  featured in Gerald Arpino’s Ruth, Ricordi per Due,The Diner, Go West!, Appalachian Song, Whipped Cream!, Stormy Monday in Frank Chaves’ Eva; roles inRay Mercer’s Speed Date, Swing, Swing, Swing!, and Fragile Creatures

Additional Highlight: eighth season with American Midwest Ballet

Kelanie Murphy

Artist Sponsors: Polina & Bob Schlott

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Training & Experience: company dancer with Madison Ballet and Minnesota Ballet; B.F.A. in dance performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City; performed with Kansas City Ballet, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Judith Svalander School of Ballet; summer programs at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Kansas City Ballet

Featured Repertory: Title role in Alice in Wonderland; Winter Fairy in Cinderella; Gift of Heart in The Wizard of Oz; Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker; featured roles in Fragile Creatures, Gerald Arpino’s Confetti, Frank Chaves’ Eva and Habaneras, Feeling Good, Appalachian Song, Ann Reinking and Dylis Croman’s staging of Bob Fosse’s Trumpet Solo from Sing, Sing, Sing

Additional Highlights: Director of AMB School; company rehearsal assistant; ninth season with American Midwest Ballet

WYATT WEECES

Hometown: Wichita, Kansas

Training & Experience: B.F.A. in ballet performance from Friends University; Rogers Ballet; summer programs at Next Generation Ballet and Oklahoma City Ballet

Featured Repertory: Cavalier, Arabian and Snow King in The Nutcracker; Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland; Black Swan Pas de Deux; roles in The Wizard of Oz, Death and the Maiden, Gerald Arpino’s Confetti, Fragile Creatures, Go West!, Bricolage, and Frank Chaves’ Habaneras

Additional Highlight: eighth season with American Midwest Ballet

KATHERINE HUSE

Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Training & Experience: Colorado Ballet Society, Canyon Concert Ballet, American Midwest Ballet School, American Midwest Ballet Junior Company

Summer Programs: American Midwest Ballet School, Colorado Ballet, Ballet Austin, Cincinnati Ballet

Additional Highlights: performed in The Nutcracker, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland with American Midwest Ballet; attended YAGP ensemble finals; AMB School alumna; second season with American Midwest Ballet

Noah Kargman

Hometown: Roanoke, Virginia

Training & Experience: Roanoke Ballet Theatre; Loudoun Ballet Performing Arts Company; Burton Center for Performing Arts

Summer Programs: Roanoke Ballet Theatre, Charlotte Ballet

Additional Highlight: fourth season with American Midwest Ballet

CYAN LOVE

Hometown: Miami, Florida/Jupiter, Florida

Hometown: Miami, Florida/Jupiter, Florida

Training & Experience: Miami City Ballet School, Paris Ballet and Dance, and Orlando Ballet School

Summer Programs: San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Miami City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet Academy, Ballet West, Paris Ballet and Dance, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Ballet Hispánico

Additional Highlights: performed lead roles in Sleeping Beauty, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Nutcracker with Paris Ballet and Dance by director Jean-Hugues Feray; performed in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker with Miami City Ballet; performed in The Nutcracker with Orlando Ballet; third season with American Midwest Ballet