our company.

Brooke first began her training with Sugarloaf Performing Arts at the age of twelve. She soon developed a passion for ballet, joining Sugarloaf Youth Ballet the following year, under the direction of Lori Zamzow-Wire. Being a part of SYB provided her with opportunities to perform soloist roles, such as Belle (Beauty and the Beast), and compete in competitions, such as YAGP and UBC. Aside from her training with Sugarloaf, she attended summer training programs with Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Atlanta Ballet. Upon graduating high school, Brooke went on to join Georgia Ballet as a Company Trainee for two seasons before joining Gwinnett Ballet Theatre. During her time with GBT, Brooke has performed roles including, Sugarplum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and the title role of Carmen. Brooke is excited to begin her fifth season with GBT, as well as continue in her role as School Director at Sugarloaf Performing Arts.

An avid explorer of movement, Cecily spent her early years training at Southeastern School of Ballet, with summers at Ellison Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Masterclasses in Prague, and St Louis Dance Theatre. She is also an alum of the National Security Language Initiative for Youth, and attended their summer program at Moscow State Academy of Choreography (Bolshoi Ballet Academy) on full scholarship. During her time in Atlanta, Cecily has performed and choreographed for Dance Canvas, The Georgia Ballet, The Aurora Theatre, Atlanta Dance Collective’s FEMMEfest, Fly On A Wall’s “Excuse The Art”, and just finished her first summer season with Columbia Repertory Dance Company. Additionally, Cecily was featured in a music video for singer/songwriter Nathan Colberg’s, “The Giver.” Currently Cecily is in her 5th season with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, and has been featured in numerous classical and contemporary works. Additionally, she debuted her first concert work, “Runs Toward Light” on the GBT company this past February.

Abigrace trained at Gwinnett Ballet Theatre under direction of Wade Walthall and Lisa Sheppard Robson, subsequently receiving her BFA in dance from University of North Carolina School of the Arts under Dean Susan Jaffe. She went on to dance in Oklahoma City Ballet’s Studio Company and Ballet Tucson as an apprentice. As a company member, she has danced with Eugene Ballet, Texture Contemporary Ballet, Bluebird Uncaged, Jana Taylor and Dancers, Pasadena Dance Theatre, and Kayzer Ballet in Portugal. Some of her favorite pieces to dance include Balanchine’s Serenade and Donizetti Variations, the Mazurka variation and pas de deux from Les Sylphides, Grand Pas from The Nutcracker, as well as works by Suzanne Haag and Alan Obuzor. She most recently performed in the European Royal Classical Ballet (Krolewski Ballet) US tour of Swan Lake. Aside from dancing, she enjoys jewelry making, teaching, baking, exploring her interest in counseling, and caring for her puppy, Elton. Abigrace is happy to return home to dance professionally with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre!

Nancy Holman began her classical training at North Georgia School of Dance under the direction of Lori Barrett. In 2014, she joined the performance company Praise in Motion, and in 2016, she continued furthering her training at En Pointe School of Dance under Kathy Thomas-Law. Nancy has enhanced her skills by training with renowned companies each summer, including the Atlanta Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School (South & NYC), International Ballet Intensive, and the American Ballet Theatre. She has also collaborated with staibdance, attending its professional intensive program in Italy in 2023 and serving as the Assistant Program Manager in 2024. Nancy has been teaching and performing professionally in Atlanta since 2021 and is entering her second season with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Elizabeth Jenkins trained under the direction of Valentina Barsukova. Elizabeth attended summer programs, with scholarships, at Miami City Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Louisville Ballet. She performed alongside American Ballet Theatre while they were touring Sleeping Beauty in Detroit. She has been recognized at many ballet competitions and even had the opportunity to perform at Lincoln Center for YAGP Finals. After graduating high school, she chose to attend Butler University where she graduated with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance. She has danced prominent roles in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Giselle. Elizabeth is looking forward to her first season with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre!

Originally from Alpharetta, Georgia, Koren began her dance training at the age of four, learning all genres of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, and musical theatre. In her youth, she was also a competitive gymnast, earning multiple state champion and regional titles. After deciding to pursue dance full time, she began her training under the direction of Joan Kall Stewart in Cumming, GA, then later joined the pre-professional program at The School of the Georgia Ballet. Afterwards, she attended a ballet conservatory program for two years. She continued her training with Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance. After graduating high school, l, Koren received a trainee position with United Ballet Theatre in Orlando, FL, under the direction of Joeseph Gatti. After dancing there for three seasons, she moved up in the company. Koren has competed in YAGP competitions, and attended various summer programs such as ABT New York City, ABT Young Dancer Program, SAB Young Dancer Program, Bolshoi Ballet in New York City and in Connecticut, and Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive. Her favorite roles have been Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara, Snow Queen, Tinkerbell, and Queen of Dryads.

Tristen Prescott hails from a small town just outside of Columbia, South Carolina. At age six, she found a passion for dance and trained rigorously at Southeastern School of Ballet, a small school near the downtown area. During her teen years she attended a variety of summer intensives at schools such as Houston Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, and The Rock School for Dance Education. At age sixteen, she was chosen to join Texas Ballet Theater’s very first Professional Training Division, where she trained under the guidance of TBT Ballet Mistress Anna Donovan for two years. During her time at TBT she performed various roles in classical works, such as Ben Stevenson’s The Nutcracker and Coppelia as well as lead roles in original works choreographed by artists including Hailey Von Schlehenried, Vincent Hardy, Richard Freeman, and TBT faculty. At eighteen, she joined Gwinnett Ballet Theater as a trainee and has worked her way through the ranks to become a full-fledged company member. Along the way, she has been given the opportunity to perform various roles in classical pieces choreographed by GBT’s very own artistic director Lori Zamzow-Wire, in ballets such as Midsummer Night’s Dream, and she performed Dewdrop Fairy in GBT’s The Nutcracker. She has also had the opportunity to perform in Michael Garrison’s Carmen, as well as several original works choreographed by Jennifer Mason and Michelle Bourgeois. She is entering her fourth season with GBT and is very excited to be performing on stage again for you all!

Kali began her dance training at Tucson Dance Academy at the age of 10. Kali has trained with Atlanta Ballet, The Harid Conservatory, Master Ballet Academy, Joffrey Ballet NYC, San Francisco Ballet, Detroit Ballet, Houston Ballet, and United Ballet Theatre. She has worked professionally with Artifact Dance Project as an apprentice and company member, United Ballet Theatre as an apprentice and has been a paid guest at several schools and companies. Kali has performed roles such as Spanish, Snow Corps and Flower Corps, Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, Arabian, Shades Pas De Trois, Shades First and Third Solo, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet Balcony Pas, Mollie in Artifact’s Animal Farm, soloist in Artifact’s Surrounding Dillinger, the lead in Artifact’s Katterwaul, soloist in James Boyd’s Carousel, the lead in Handel, and many more. Kali is extremely excited for her second season with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre.

Julia Johnson is originally from Wichita, KS, and grew up training and performing at Ballet Wichita. During this time, she had the opportunity to spend summers studying at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Kansas City Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre, among others. Julia went on to receive her B.F.A. in Ballet from Texas Christian University, where she performed in original choreographic works by Elizabeth Gillaspy, Adam W. McKinney, and Janelle Figgins. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and also received a minor in Movement Science. After graduating from TCU, Julia spent a season performing with Avant Chamber Ballet as a trainee. She had the opportunity to perform original ballets by Katie Puder, as well as George Balanchine’s Walpurgisnacht and Paul Mejia’s The Nutcracker. Julia is excited to continue her dance career with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre

Ella Lynn was born in Pleasanton, California, and began dancing at a young age with Valley Dance Theater, Contra Costa Ballet, and Diablo Ballet School. She has attended summer programs at Master Ballet Academy, Houston Ballet Academy, and Diablo Ballet School. Lauren Jonas, the Director of Diablo Ballet, invited Ella to be a trainee with the company from 2021-2023. While a Trainee with Diablo Ballet, Ella danced Cygnets (Sean Kelly’s ‘Swan Lake Suite’), Waltz of the Hours and Czardas (Sean Kelly’s ‘Coppélia’), Mirlitons, Snow, and Flowers (Julia Adam’s ‘Nutcracker Suite’), Paquita Corps (Christopher Lam’s ‘Paquita’), Fairies and Rustics (Julia Adam’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’). In 2023, she joined the company at Ballet Pensacola as a Corps de Ballet member. During her time in the company, she danced Vampire Bride (Darren McIntyre’s ‘Dracula’), Doll and Guardian Angel (Darren McIntyre’s ‘Nutcracker’), the Fairy of Golden Vine and Little Red Riding Hood (Stéphano Candreva’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’), Chinese Princess (Stéphano Candreva’s ‘Nutcracker’), and Stepsister (Stéphano Candreva’s ‘Cinderella’). Ella has had the opportunity to be coached by numerous choreographers and instructors: Joanna Berman, Nicole Ciapponi, Lauren Jones, Sean Kelly, Christopher Lam, Raymond Tilton, Andrea Gaudet, and Pierre Francois Vilanoba, to name a few. She has taught for the Diablo Ballet School’s young children’s program, Five Star Dance Theatre in Pensacola, and Tutu School, where she taught in California and currently teaches in Georgia. Ella is so excited for her first season with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre!

Laney Walters began ballet at the age of three and trained at Buford School of Ballet, under Bernadette Campbell, all the way until graduating high school. Through high school she also had the opportunity to train with Andrea Pell in the Ballet Conservatory of North Georgia for four years. During her time there she had many performance opportunities. Her most memorable roles include Aurora in “Sleeping Beauty,” Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” and The Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in “The Nutcracker.” She also attended several summer intensives, such as Joffrey Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, and Ballet Magnificat. Upon graduating high school, Laney was accepted in Ballet Magnificat’s trainee program and moved to Jackson to dance with the world’s premiere Christian ballet company for three years. Her last two years she had the incredible opportunity to train and tour with the Ballet Magnificat Events Company, where she performed all around the country as well as Japan, Croatia, The Czech Republic, and Germany. Throughout her time there she was trained by amazing teachers, including Kathy Thibodeaux, Cassandra Voborsky, and Sol Maisonet, as well as performing the ballets “Deliver Us” and “Scarlet Cord” choreographed by Jiri Voborsky. Moving back to her hometown, Laney is excited to begin her first season with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre.

Originally from Beaver Dam, WI, Lily Edgar started dancing at the age of 4. In 2010 she transferred to the School of Madison Ballet to continue her ballet training. As a student, Lily had the opportunity to perform with Madison Ballet’s professional company in many ballets, including ‘The Nutcracker’, ‘Cinderella’, and ‘A MidSummers Nights Dream’. She also trained at Ballet Chicago’s and Milwaukee Ballet’s Summer programs. At the age of 18 she joined Madison Ballet, one of two professional companies in Wisconsin, where she danced professionally until April 2023. During her tenure at Madison Ballet, her favorite role included Clara in a brand-new Nutcracker production choreographed by Sara Stewert Schuman. She also had the pleasure of performing various other roles and ballets, notably as Orange Girl soloist in ‘Birthday Variations’, by Gerald Arpino, ‘Stabat Mater’ by Marienela Olivera, ‘A Midsummers Nights Dream’ by Peter Anastos, and ‘8 by Benny’ by Heinz Poll. Lily is honored to have performed in Madison Ballet productions for over a decade. From 2023-2025, Lily was a freelance artist, some of her guest appearances include: Lucy and Dracula’s Bride in Eddy Brays ‘Dracula’ with Mainstage Academy, Sugar Plum Fairy in Brookefield Dance Academy’s ‘The Nutcracker’, and the lead in their production of ‘Fairy Doll’. Ms. Edgar also performed with the UW Madison Wind Performance in “Olympic Dances” by Liz Sexe, and was a part of many performances with Isthmus Dance Collective in Madison, WI. Lily is very excited and grateful to have the opportunity to dance with Gwinnett Ballet Theater!

Rhys Johnson trained at International Ballet in Greenville, SC from 2012-2025. Her first teacher was Founder, Lena Forster, who inspired her love of dance. She became an IB Trainee in 2020 under Director Josha Williams, and joined IB Company in 2021 under Artistic Director, Vlada Kysselova. Other notable teachers/choreographers include Juliana Jordan, Liz Blackwood, Victoria Yanchuck, Irina Ushakova, Uriah Boyd, and Tracy Vogt.

While at IB, she performed in 5 different full-length ballets, including: Don Quixote, Swan Lake, La Sylphide, Giselle, and 11 consecutive years of The Nutcracker – with 11 roles ranging from “Baby Mouse” all the way to “Snow”, “Spanish”, and “Arabian”. She also appeared in the professional film The Day the Crayons Quit as “Peach Crayon” for Storytime Ballet (choreographed by Josha Williams, filmed by Jerry Finley). Her favorite variations include Talisman, Swan Lake “Pas de Trois”, and The Sleeping Beauty “Bluebird”.

She trained at 9 other Summer Intensives around the country, including: Sugarloaf Ballet, Utah Ballet, Tampa Bay Ballet Partnering Workshop, Sacramento Ballet, Tiler Peck’s SI, Oklahoma City Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, Orlando Ballet, and the Chautauqua Institute. She is thrilled to dance professionally with Gwinnett Ballet Theatre this season!