American Midwest Ballet’s talented professional dancers hail from around the nation and abroad. 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, and Omaha Theater 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, and the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. 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 an all-new production of Peter and the Wolf with the Omaha Symphony, and regularly creates new works for American Midwest Ballet. As part of the company’s ongoing collaboration with Joslyn Art Museum for Momentum, Erika has choreographed original ballets inspired by museum artwork or exhibitions, including Connemara, Cleopatra, Go West!, and Appalachian Song. Other featured works include Tropico, Party Animals, The Diner, Ella, and Rhapsody in Blue. 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.
Matthew Lovegood, Ballet Master
Matthew Lovegood began his training in Pennsylvania with Sharon Filone at the Lake Erie Ballet School and Sandra Barnett at Little’s Dance Studio. He went on to study on full scholarship at North Carolina School of the Arts, Miami City Ballet School, and the Chautauqua Festival Dancers. Matthew has danced professionally with Ohio Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Lake Erie Ballet, and Omaha Theater Ballet. He has performed numerous leading roles within the classical repertoire, including Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty, Franz in Coppelia, and Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet, as well as in works by George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Donald Byrd, Heinz Poll, Laura Dean, Luis Montero, and many others. He has also performed as a Guest Artist with Hawaii Ballet Theatre, Neglia Ballet Artists, and Ballet Tucson.
Area audiences have enjoyed Matthew in roles such as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Albrecht in Giselle, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, Cavalier in The Nutcracker, the Asp in Erika Overturff’s Cleopatra, Puck in Oscar Antunez’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the leading role in Ann Reinking’s staging of In the Style of Bob Fosse. Also a choreographer, he has premiered works with numerous schools and professional companies, including Bacchanale Variations, Signs of Life, Sadako, Poseidon, Transcription, Caprice, and Swan Lake for American Midwest Ballet. Matthew continues to serve as a guest teacher for schools throughout the country. Matthew is a founding member of American Midwest Ballet and returns for his twelfth season as ballet master. More about Matthew.
Artists
Erin Alarcón
Hometown: Hackettstown, New Jersey
Training & Experience: B.A. in dance from Mercyhurst University; New Jersey School of Dance Arts; summer programs at Eglevsky Ballet and Joffrey Ballet; professional performances with SoMar Dance Works and Ballet Concert; guest artist with Iowa Dance Theater
Featured Repertory: Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker; Odette in Swan Lake; Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz; title roles in Giselle and Alice in Wonderland; featured roles in Tropico, Party Animals, The Diner, DanceSport, and Ella
Additional Highlights: choreographed full-length original version of The Wizard of Oz, and short works Bricolage and One in Three featured in Momentum; twelfth season with American Midwest Ballet; founding company member
Rebecca Brenner
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Training & Experience: B.F.A. in dance from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; Columbus City Ballet School, merit scholarship at Orlando Ballet School; summer program at American Ballet Theater; member of Rochester City Ballet
Featured Repertory: Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Little Swan and Neapolitan variation in Swan Lake; roles in French Songs, The Wizard of Oz, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Paquita, Cleopatra, and Go West!
Additional Highlights: participated in Youth American Grand Prix New York City finals; eighth season with American Midwest Ballet
Nora Carr
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: roles in The Wizard of Oz, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, French Songs, Group Therapy, Appalachian Song, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Additional Highlight: sixth season with American Midwest Ballet
Elena Carter
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Training & Experience: B.F.A. in dance and B.A. in mathematics from the University of Arizona; Pacific Northwest Ballet School; summer programs at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Perry Mansfield, Ballet Austin, Los Angeles Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and Pacific Northwest Ballet
Featured Repertory: roles in The Wizard of Oz, The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Death and the Maiden, In the Style of Bob Fosse, and Appalachian Song; performed the solo Temporary Dwelling in Omaha Dance Project
Additional Highlights: selected to train with Pacific Northwest Ballet at the age of eight on full scholarship through a public outreach program; fifth season with American Midwest Ballet
Ryan Christopher
Hometown: Golden, Colorado
Training & Experience: International Youth Ballet School and Performing Arts Conservatory of Texas summer program; professional dancer with Ballet Ariel and Boulder Ballet; guest artist throughout the United States
Featured Repertory: soloist in Paquita; pas de trois in Swan Lake; pas de six in Giselle; pas de deux in French Songs; Snow King and Cavalier in The Nutcracker; Wizard in The Wizard of Oz; featured roles in On My Mother’s Side and Go West!
Additional Highlights: former baseball and football athlete; professional costume and prop designer; ninth season with American Midwest Ballet
Fredrick Davis
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Training & Experience: Trained on full scholarship with Ballet Tennessee; worked with Arthur Mitchell at Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble; promoted to company member under the direction of Virginia Johnson; guest artist for Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Ballet Tucson, Dance Theatre of Harlem, San Jose Dance Theatre Company, New Jersey Ballet Company, and Connecticut Ballet; guest artist and choreographer for Neville Dance Theatre
Featured Repertory: Balanchine’s Agon, Alvin Ailey’s The Lark Ascending, Ulysses Dove’s Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven
Additional Highlights: Featured in the award-winning PBS documentary From the Streets to the Stage: the Journey of Fredrick Davis, sharing the story of his life beginning as a homeless child on the street and transcending to be a world-class ballet dancer; U.S. Ambassador for Dance Theatre of Harlem in Kingston, Jamaica, St. Thomas, and Honduras; performances at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, the Donald McKayle honors performance in Irvine, California, and the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C.; first season with American Midwest Ballet [beginning with Momentum]
Claire Goodwillie
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
Training & Experience: Omaha Theater Ballet School; summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet and Ballet Austin; apprentice with Omaha Theater Ballet
Featured Repertory: title role in Cleopatra; Rat Queen and Dew Drop Fairy in The Nutcracker; Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; featured roles in Sadako, Party Animals, Giselle, The Diner, and Go West!; Edgar L. Page’s A Slow Drag
Additional Highlights: twelfth season with American Midwest Ballet; founding company member
Alyssa Grimsley
Hometown: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Training & Experience: B.F.A. in ballet performance from the University of Oklahoma; Western Arkansas Ballet; summer programs at Joffrey Midwest, Ballet Austin, Tulsa Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet
Featured Repertory: Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Gift of Heart in The Wizard of Oz; Big Swan in Swan Lake, Snow Queen and Arabian in The Nutcracker; roles in French Songs, Death and the Maiden, Giselle, Paquita, Go West!, and Ella
Additional Highlights: toured with Oklahoma Festival Ballet to Eisenstadt, Austria and with Burklyn Ballet Theatre to Edinburgh, Scotland; eighth season with American Midwest Ballet
Alexandra Hoffman
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: Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker; Gift of Wisdom in The Wizard of Oz; Maiden in Death and the Maiden; Fee in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Little Swan in Swan Lake; roles in Group Therapy, Cleopatra, Go West!, Bournonville Divertissements, and Transcription
Additional Highlight: seventh season with American Midwest Ballet
Richard Marks
Hometown: Waukee, Iowa
Training & Experience: Milwaukee Ballet II; Westside Dance Academy; The Pointe Academy
Featured Repertory: Frank Chaves’ Habaneras; Russian in The Nutcracker; Rustic in Bruce Wells’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade; Vicor in Michael Pink’s Dracula
Additional Highlight: third season with American Midwest Ballet
Kelanie Murphy
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Training & Experience: B.F.A. in dance performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Madison Ballet, Minnesota Ballet; 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: Porcelain Doll and French in The Nutcracker; roles in French Songs, The Wizard of Oz, and Habaneras; Ann Reinking and Dylis Croman’s staging of Bob Fosse’s Trumpet Solo from ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’
Additional Highlight: fourth season with American Midwest Ballet
Kogan Murphy
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Training & Experience: Joffrey Ballet trainee; Ballet Theatre of Indiana, Judith Svalander School of Ballet; Joffrey Ballet summer program
Featured Repertory: lead in Rhapsody in Blue; Spanish and French in The Nutcracker; Little Swan in Swan Lake; roles in The Wizard of Oz, Giselle, Appalachian Song, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Additional Highlights: Miss Illinois talent scholarship and Miss Douglas County; seventh season with American Midwest Ballet
Wyatt Payne
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: Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Nutcracker Prince, Russian, and Arabian in The Nutcracker; roles in The Wizard of Oz, Death and the Maiden, Appalachian Song, Bricolage, and Habaneras
Additional Highlight: fifth season with American Midwest Ballet
Katerina Schweitzer
Hometown: Vero Beach, Florida
Training & Experience: apprentice with Gelsey Kirkland Ballet; Space Coast Ballet Academy; Kirova Ballet Academy of Miami; private training by Heidi Khursandi; Gelsey Kirkland Ballet Academy graduate; summer programs at American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Vero Beach, Kirova Ballet Academy of Miami, and Gelsey Kirkland Academy
Featured Repertory: Spanish in The Nutcracker; roles in Death and the Maiden, Group Therapy, The Wizard of Oz, Appalachian Song, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Habaneras; Ray Mercer’s Ghost Light
Additional Highlight: fifth season with American Midwest Ballet
Amaris Sharratt
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Training & Experience: Ballet Arts Tucson; summer programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Ballet Tucson on full scholarship; performed with Milwaukee Ballet II, Houston Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theater, Ballet Tucson, Earthen Vessels, and Hopestone Dance Company
Featured Repertory: Poppy Queen and Gift of Courage in The Wizard of Oz; lead in French Songs; Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Arabian and Chinese soloist in The Nutcracker; roles in Giselle, Paquita, Cleopatra, Go West!, Swan Lake, and Ella; Sandra Organ Solis’ Pearl
Additional Highlights: performed in Edinburgh, Scotland as a scholarship recipient at Burklyn Ballet Theater; eighth season with American Midwest Ballet
Isaac Sharratt
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona
Training & Experience: Milwaukee Ballet; Ballet Tucson; Milwaukee Ballet II; Ballet Arts Tucson; Tucson Regional Ballet Academy
Featured Repertory: Leading and soloist roles including Michael Pink’s Beauty and the Beast, Dracula, and La Boheme; Aleix Mañé Sáez’ ExiliO; Mark Godden’s Angels in the Architecture; Erika Overturff’s Party Animals; Cavalier and Thistle in The Nutcracker; Frank Chaves’ If Only
Additional Highlights: choreographed works at company and second company levels; third season with American Midwest Ballet
Victor Smith
Hometown: Brisbane, Australia
Training & Experience: Diploma of Dance, Queensland Conservatoire of Ballet, Brisbane; Royal Academy of Dance, Advanced 2 exam, with distinction; Cecchetti, Advanced 1 exam, with honors; Boston Ballet School (trainee); Gelsey Kirkland Ballet Academy, studio company; Joffrey Ballet School, performance company; Baltimore Ballet; Charlottesville Ballet, principal; Ballet Theater of Maryland, soloist; US International Ballet, principal
Featured Repertory: Male lead in Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain, Kettentanz, and Birthday Variations; Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet; Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Additional Highlights: First season with American Midwest Ballet
Anna Swenson
Hometown: Spokane, Washington
Training & Experience: Ballet Arts Academy; trainee program at school of Alberta Ballet; summer programs at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Joffrey Ballet’s Jazz and Contemporary program, and School of Alberta Ballet
Featured Repertory: Emerald Queen in The Wizard of Oz; Snow Queen and Arabian Princess in The Nutcracker; Big Swan in Swan Lake; featured roles in Blackbird, Appalachian Song, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Seneca Montgomery’s Order in the Chaos
Additional Highlight: ninth season with American Midwest Ballet
Whitney Walsh
Hometown: Westlake Village, California
Training & Experience: Joffrey Ballet trainee; guest artist at Pacific Festival Ballet; California Dance Theatre; summer programs at Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre New York, Houston Ballet, and Kirov Academy of Ballet
Featured Repertory: Porcelain Doll and Spanish in The Nutcracker; Little Swan in Swan Lake; roles in Connemara, In the Style of Bob Fosse, One in Three, Transcription, Ella, The Diner, Go West!, Appalachian Song, and Giselle
Additional Highlights: performed several world premieres in Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works; eighth season with American Midwest Ballet
Apprentices
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: American Ballet Theatre, Escuela Internacional de Flamenco Manolete
Jessica Lopes
Hometown: Lages, Brazil
Training & Experience: Milwaukee Ballet II; Miami City Ballet School; Escola de Dança Alice Arja; Cia de Ballet do Rio de Janeiro; summer programs at Miami City Ballet School, Milwaukee Ballet, Seminário de Dança de Minas
Featured Repertory: roles in The Nutcracker, Party Animals, and Habaneras; Frank Chaves’ If Only
Additional Highlights: third season with American Midwest Ballet