Meet the AMB Season 17 company!
New artists join returning favorites
American Midwest Ballet’s artists are back in the studio, preparing to bring you our seventeenth season of professional dance! Here’s a look at our new faces and returning favorites.
Joining AMB this season:
Farrah Johnson
Farrah, of New Orleans, joins AMB as an apprentice. Her training and experience include New Orleans Ballet Theatre, Madison Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet School and Kansas City Ballet School. She has attended summer programs with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Boston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell.
Manami Kawai
Manami, of Seattle, joins AMB as an apprentice. She holds a BFA degree from the University of Utah ballet program and trained at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre graduate program and the International Ballet Academy professional division. She has appeared with Evergreen City Ballet and the Grand Kyiv Ballet.
Axel Rickard
Axel, of Denver, joins AMB as a company artist. He has performed with Grand Rapids Ballet and the Colorado Ballet Studio Company and trained at the Colorado Ballet Academy and Denver School of the Arts. He placed in the top 12 at the Youth America Grand Prix Finals in Tampa in the classical pas de deux category and was first place in the men’s classical senior category at YAGP in Denver.
Ian Roman
Ian, of Santa Ana, California, joins AMB as a company artist. His training and experience include Tulsa Ballet and Repertory Ballet San Clemente, plus the San Francisco Ballet School, San Clemente Dance and Performing Arts, and Orange County School of the Arts. He has attended summer programs with the Royal Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet.
Promotions:
Aurora Ausserer
Aurora is promoted to company artist as she begins her second season with AMB. Her training and experience include Ballet Idaho and the Indiana Ballet Conservatory, plus summer programs with San Francisco Ballet. AMB audiences have seen her in roles including the Spanish dance from The Nutcracker, the fairy Cobweb in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and roles in Appalachian Song and Bob Fosse’s Sing, Sing, Sing.
Mateusz Lojewski
Mat is promoted to company artist as he begins his third season with AMB. His training and experience include Bossov Ballet Theater, Koltun Ballet Bosten, Ballet Arts Worcester, and summer programs at the School of American Ballet and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. His AMB roles have included Thistle and Russian in The Nutcracker and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He was featured in the trombone section of Bob Fosse’s Sing, Sing, Sing and in Alice in Wonderland and Appalachian Song.
Katherine Huse
Katherine is promoted to apprentice as she begins her second season with AMB. She is an alumna of the AMB School and of the Colorado Ballet Society and Canyon Concert Ballet. She appeared in the Youth America Grand Prix ensemble finals in 2024 as a member of the AMB Junior Company. AMB audiences have seen her in works including The Nutcracker, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland.
Returning for Season 17:
Artistic director Erika Overturff and ballet master Erin Alarcón also welcome returning company artists Nora Carr, Sophie Graham, Eliza Harden, Alexandra Hoffman, Jack Kadzis, Casey Kelley, Leah Kressin, Kogan Larsen, Megan Lynch, Richard Marks, Kelanie Murphy, Katerina Schweitzer, Wyatt Weeces, and Whitney Woods, and apprentices Noah Kargman, Cyan Love, and Kennedy Newell.
Are you ready for season 17?
Tickets for all three spectacular productions are on sale now:
- Momentum, our bold menu of brilliant dance – October 17 & 18, Hoff Family Arts & Culture Center
- The Nutcracker, now with delightful new enhancements to costumes and scenery in the realm of the Sugar Plum Fairy – November 21 & 22*, Hoff Center, and December 4-6, Orpheum Theater
- Cleopatra, a moving tale of love, power and ambition centered on one of history’s most compelling and intriguing personalities – April 10 & 11, Hoff Center, and April 24, Orpheum Theater
*Sensory-friendly
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