New York City Ballet MOVES

Gilbert Bolden III

Gilbert Bolden III is a Soloist with New York City Ballet. He was born in San Diego, California and began dancing at the age of nine in Las Vegas, Nevada. His ballet training began in 2011 at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, CA, and he continued his studies at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA in 2013. In 2014, Mr. Bolden enrolled at the School of American Ballet, NYCB’s official school. He became an apprentice with the Company in August 2017, joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in August 2018, and was promoted to Soloist in October 2023. Since joining the company Mr. Bolden has originated featured roles in ballets by Justin Peck, Silas Farley, and Gianna Reisen. He has also been featured in many works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. 

Elaine Chelton // Musician

Elaine Chelton has been a piano soloist with New York City Ballet since 1995. Chelton attended the preparatory and college divisions of the Manhattan School of Music, and she received her Bachelor of Music and her Master of Arts degrees from Queens College. She has also played for the Eglevsky Ballet and the American Dance Machine. Her recordings include two CDs of ballet music for Roper Records and Songs and Arias from Broadway to Opera with soprano Elena Malfitano. A composer and lyricist of musicals, her revues Stages and A New Voice were performed at Don’t Tell Mama in New York City, and her musical Voice of the City, with book and lyrics by Kenneth Jones, received a staged reading at the York Theatre. Chelton is a member of ASCAP and The Dramatists Guild.

Harrison Coll

Harrison Coll is a New York City Ballet Soloist. Born in Manhattan, New York, he began his dance training locally at the age of 4 and in 2003, he entered the School of American Ballet. In November 2012, Mr. Coll became an apprentice with NYCB and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in August 2013. He was promoted to soloist in October 2018. Since joining the Company, Coll has performed featured roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Mauro Bigonzetti, Andrea Miller, Justin Peck, Troy Schumacher, and Myles Thatcher.  

Ashley Hod

Ashley Hod is a New York City Ballet Soloist. Born in Great Neck, NY, she began her dance training at age 4 at the Great Neck School of Dance and came to the School of American Ballet in 2003. Named an NYCB apprentice in 2012, she joined the NYCB corps de ballet the following year and was promoted to Soloist in 2022. Her repertory includes leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Troy Schumacher, and Christopher Wheeldon.  

Hannah Holman // Musician

Hannah Holman, cellist, joined the New York City Ballet Orchestra at the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Her career encompasses orchestral and chamber music, solo performances, and teaching. Holman is also the principal cellist of the Quad City Symphony, a position she has held since 2008, and currently teaches at the University of Northern Iowa and Biola University. Holman studied at the Eastman School of Music and Michigan State University, where she completed her Bachelor of Music degree, and she obtained her Master of Music degree with Fritz Magg at the New England Conservatory.

Claire Kretzschmar

Claire Kretzschmar was born in Glendale, Arizona. She began her dance training at age 4 at the Academy of Dance Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, later studying at the Wake Forest Community Ballet and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She entered the School of American Ballet in 2009 and was named an NYCB apprentice in 2010. Kretzschmar joined the corps de ballet in 2011 and was promoted to Soloist in 2018. Her repertory includes leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Peter Martins, Andrea Miller, Matthew Neenan, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and Troy Schumacher. 

Roman Mejia

Roman Mejia is a Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas and began studying ballet at age 3 with his mother and father. At age 13, he entered the Mejia Ballet Academy. He attended summer courses at the School of American Ballet, NYCB’s official school, in 2014 and 2015, before entering SAB full-time for the 2015 winter term. In August 2017, he became an apprentice with NYCB and he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in November 2017. He was promoted to Soloist in October 2021 and to Principal Dancer in February 2023. His repertory with NYCB includes featured roles in numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and Christopher Wheeldon, and he has also originated featured roles in ballets by Kyle Abraham, Silas Farley, Edwaard Liang, Peck, Ratmansky, and Gianna Reisen.

Outside of NYCB, Mejia was the 2022 Vail Dance Festival Artist in Residence, and he has appeared in Twyla Tharp’s TWYLA NOW and with Tiler Peck at New York City Center and Sadler’s Wells in London.

In 2019, Dance Magazine featured Mejia as one of their “25 To Watch,” and he was also the recipient of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA Dance Fellowship. In 2020, Mejia was a finalist for the Clive Barnes Award.

Unity Phelan

Unity Phelan was born in Princeton, New Jersey where she studied at the Princeton Ballet School. After attending summer courses at the School of American Ballet, Phelan was invited to attend the school full time and remained at the school for three years. Phelan was invited to join the New York City Ballet in the winter of 2012 as an apprentice and joined the company as a Corps de Ballet member in 2013. In the Winter of 2017, Phelan was promoted to Soloist dancer and in the Fall of 2021, she was promoted to Principal dancer. In her time at New York City Ballet, Phelan has danced numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon and other choreographers. Phelan has been featured in Dance Magazine, Elle Magazine, and People Style Magazine. In the last couple years, Phelan has been found on the silver screen acting in “John Wick 3: Parabellum” and “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”. In 2019, Phelan was awarded the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award for her work at New York City Ballet.

Mary Rowell // Musician

Mary Rowell is an innovative violinist known for her work with the Grammy Award-winning Tango Project, the indie band The Silos, and pop icon Joe Jackson. She has carved an indelible place in the contemporary classical music world as co-founder of the post-classical quartet ETHEL. Rowell has performed, recorded, and premiered countless scores as a soloist and chamber musician, and she has appeared as violin and electric violin soloist with, among others, the National Symphony, Houston Symphony, New York Chamber Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, and New York City Ballet, in Richard Einhorn’s Maxwell’s Demon for Ulysses Dove’s ballet Red Angels. Mary is an ensemble member of the Tribeca New Music Festival specializing in the “Avante-Pop” and Vermont’s stellar new music ensemble TurnMusic. A graduate of the Juilliard School, she is currently performing Off Broadway in Shaina Taub’s new musical SUFFS and is the long-time concertmaster of the Radio City Christmas Show Orchestra.

Aaron Sanz

Aaron Sanz is a Soloist with New York City Ballet. Born in Madrid, Spain, he began his dance training at age 8 at the C.P.D. Carmen Amaya in Madrid, and came to the School of American Ballet in 2010. Named an NYCB apprentice in 2011, he joined the corps de ballet in 2012 and was promoted to Soloist in 2018. His repertory includes featured roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, August Bournonville, William Forsythe, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Troy Schumacher, and Christopher Wheeldon. 

Photo by Paul Kolnik

KJ Takahashi

KJ Takahashi is a member of New York City Ballet’s corps de ballet. He was born in Dallas, Texas, and began his ballet training at age 8 at Ballet Academy of Texas under the direction of Lisa Slagle. In 2014, he studied ballet at Mejia Ballet International under the direction of Paul Mejia and in 2015, he began training at Ballet Tech under the direction of Elliot Feld. He entered the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet, in 2016, and received additional training at summer courses at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Mr. Takahashi was named an apprentice with NYCB in 2019 and as an apprentice, performed featured roles in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Candy Cane, Tea) and Lauren Lovette’s The Shaded Line. He originated a featured role in Kyle Abraham’s dance film Where We Fell in 2020 before joining the Corps de Ballet in August 2021. Mr. Takahashi was recently promoted to soloist in April 2023. 

Mr. Takahashi was the Janice Levin Dancer Honoree for 2022-2023. 

Peter Walker

Peter Walker is a Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet. Born in Fort Myers, FL, he began his dance training at age 8 with Judy Murray and at the Gulfshore Ballet, and came to the School of American Ballet in 2007. Named an NYCB apprentice in 2011, he joined the NYCB corps de ballet in 2012, was promoted to Soloist in 2018, and to Principal Dancer in 2022. His repertory includes leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Kyle Abraham, Sidra Bell, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Jamar Roberts, Christopher Wheeldon, and in his own work, among others. He has choreographed two works for NYCB: ten in seven (2016) and dance odyssey (2018).