Dillon Anthony

DILLON ANTHONY began training in 1997 at the School of Canton Ballet directed by Cassandra Crowley in Canton, Ohio.  He has danced roles in The Nutcracker; Dracula the Ballet; Don Quixote; Le Corsaire, Wizard of Oz, Sleeping Beauty and many contemporary works. Dillon trained under master teacher and coach Ms Laura Alonso from Cuba. His summer intensive scholarship experiences included Pittsburgh Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Chautauqua. Dillon is honored to be back for a second season with Dayton Ballet.

Case Bodamer

CASE BODAMER was born and raised on the south shore of Long Island where he began his ballet training with Kathleen Kairns-Scholz.  While studying with the American Dance Theater of Long Island and Kathleen Kairns-Scholz, Case was given the opportunity to perform leading roles in West Side Story, Rodeo, The Nutcracker and many more productions.  Prior to joining the junior division at The Ailey School in Manhattan, he spent two summers training at New York State Summer School of the Arts and The Julliard Summer Intensive. After high school, Case was accepted to the Fordham/Ailey Bachelor of Fine Arts program where he spent one year before taking a traineeship with Ballet Austin.  Case is thrilled to be returning to Dayton Ballet for a second season and wants to thank his mother, father, sister and brother for their never ending love and support.

Erika Cole

ERIKA COLE is originally from Michigan and began her training at Geiger Classic Ballet Academy, under the direction of Mary Geiger.  In 2000, she joined the Houston Ballet Academy on full scholarship.  In 2002, she began her professional career at Oregon Ballet Theatre, where she resided for 2 years.  At Dayton Ballet, Erika has enjoyed dancing the role of “Sugar Plum Fairy” in The Nutcracker, as “Elizabeth Jones” in Dermot Burke and Stephen Mills’ There Was A Time, “Juliet” in Septime Weber’s Romeo and Juliet as well as “Odette” in Webre’s Swan Lake, “Katrina” in Alan Hineline’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and “Lady of the Light” in the world premiere of Christopher Fleming’s The Who’s Tommy. She also shined in a feature role in Gregory Robinson’s Carmina Burana.  Erika is very excited to be returning for a sixth season with Dayton Ballet.

Grant Dettling

GRANT DETTLING grew up in Spokane, WA where he began his ballet classes with Barbara Suzanne and Lynne Williams.  Ballet scholarships led him to finish his training at the prestigious Pacific Northwest Ballet School and the School of American Ballet. Prior to joining Dayton Ballet, Grant danced with the Washington Ballet, Texas Ballet Theatre and Ohio Ballet.  Last year, Grant danced leading roles as “Dracula “in Stuart Sebastian’s Dracula, as the “Cavalier” in Dermot Burke and Karen Russo Burke’s The Nutcracker and a feature role as “Captain Walker” in Christopher Fleming’s The Who’s Tommy. He also appeared in Canyons, D-Con and Play Ball.  Grant and his beautiful wife, Katie Keith, are delighted to be returning to Dayton for their fourth season.

Christy Forehand

CHRISTY FOREHAND was raised in Champaign, Illinois and graduated from the Virginia School of the Arts.  She started her professional career with the Charleston Ballet Theatre followed by Augusta Ballet, where she performed principal roles in: Balachine’s Serenade and Tarantella; Jill Bahr’s Rite of Spring; and, Colin Conner’s Second Hand Sofa.  Now in her fifth season with Dayton Ballet, Christy has danced as “Snow Queen” and “Sugar Plum Fairy” in Dermot Burke and Karen Russo Burke’s, The Nutcracker, “Black Swan” in Swan Lake, “Constance” in The Three Musketeers, and “Wendy” in Peter Pan.  She has also enjoyed being featured in Dermot Burke’s Fetes des Courtiers and Alan Hinelines Thresholds II.

Daniel Karasik

DANIEL KARASIK began his dance training at age 17 in Buck County, PA.  He attended, on scholarship, the Nutmeg Conservatory, the Joffrey Ballet School and the School of Ballet Florida.  Recently, Daniel graduated from Point Park University, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance.  It was there he had the opportunity to perform choreography including that of George Balanchine, Agnes DeMille and Susan Stroman.  Daniel is enjoying his second season with Dayton Ballet and thanks his beautiful fiancé and parents for their love and support.

Katie Keith

KATIE KEITH joins Dayton Ballet is excited to return for her fourth season with Dayton Ballet.  She has been a member of Ohio Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater and Washington Ballet, as well as performing professionally with Kansas City Ballet, Chautauqua Ballet Company, Washington D.C.’s Arka Ballet, and Fort Worth’s Casa Manana Musical Theater Company.  Katie began training with the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, under the direction of Nan Klinger, in her home town of Akron, Ohio.  She continued her training as a scholarship student at Washington School of Ballet.  Katie also studied jazz and voice.  In her previous years as a professional, she has especially enjoyed performing: Balanchine’s Rubies and Who Cares?, Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, the musical West Side Story; along with the role of “Myrtha” in Giselle.  While at Dayton Ballet, Katie has been delighted to perform featured roles in Swan Lake, America’s Robin Hood, There Was a Time, as “Mina” in Stuart Sebastian’s Dracula and as “Mrs. Walker” in The Who’s Tommy.  Katie is thrilled to be sharing her Dayton Ballet experience with her husband of five years, Grant Dettling.

Justin Michael Koertgen

JUSTIN MICHAEL KOERTGEN joins Dayton Ballet for his ninth season.  Born and raised in Michigan, Justin attended the Interlochen Arts Academy from 1994-2000.  Justin also studied in New York City with the Joffrey Ballet School, performing with the Joffrey Dance Ensemble.  Highlights from previous seasons with Dayton Ballet include the roles of  “Dracula” in Stuart Sebastian's Dracula, “Laertes” in Stephen Mills’ Hamlet, and featured roles in Mills’ Red Roses and Five Flights Up as well as Christopher Fleming’s Janis & Joe.  Mr. Koertgen enjoyed several other roles including: “Romeo” and “Tybalt” in Septime Webre’s Romeo & Juliet, “Cavalier” in The Nutcracker, “Don José” opposite Anna Kirker in Carmen, “James Smith” in the highly praised There Was a Time by Dermot Burke and the title role in The Who’s Tommy.

Erica Lehman-Downey

Keenan McLaren

Rob Morrow

ROB MORROW began his ballet training at the age of 15 in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Rob has trained at such renowned studios as Virginia School of the Arts, Nashville Ballet, Delta Festival Ballet and the Joffrey School. He enjoyed dancing the role of “Smee” in Septime Webre’s Peter Pan and being featured in Alan Hineline’s Thresholds II. He is very happy to join Dayton Ballet for his third season and wishes to thank his friends and family for all of their love and support.

Halliet Slack

HALLIET SLACK is originally from Louisiana and is in her sixth season with Dayton Ballet.  She has trained at the North Carolina School of the Arts as well as Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet Academy and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Before joining Dayton Ballet, Ms. Slack danced wit the Richmond Ballet where she performed the well-known works of George Balanchine, such as Concerto Barocco and Serenade, as well as John Butler’s Carmina Burana.  Some of her favorite Dayton Ballet performances include “Blanche” in Karen Russo Burke’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Septime Webre’s Carmen and Christopher Fleming’s The Who’s Tommy.  She especially enjoyed being featured as the “Dew Drop Fairy” in Dermot Burke and Karen Russo Burke’s The Nutcracker and “Mina” in Stuart Sebastian’s Dracula.

Apprentice: Christian Delery

CHRISTIAN DELERY was born in Salisbury, Maryland in 1992. He starred in his first community production at five, Four Tickets to Christmas where he sang, danced and acted. In 2004, Christian began ballet training at the age of 12 with the Eastern Shore Ballet Theater, where he danced for 3 years. He also made professional recordings with the Salisbury University Jazz Band at the age of 14. In 2007 he studied under Phyllis Papa with the Atlantic City Ballet as an apprentice. In 2008 he moved to Virginia School of The Arts where he finished his training. He trained at the Joffrey School in the summer of 2009 under a full scholarship. At the age of 17 he was accepted as an apprentice with  Dayton Ballet. He is very excited for his first season with Dayton Ballet.

Trainee- Gabrielle Sharp

GABRIELLE SHARP is excited to participate in her first year as a trainee with Dayton Ballet. She has been a student at Dayton Ballet School for the past seven years and a member of DB II, Sr.  She has performed in Dayton Ballet productions of The Nutcracker featured as “Josephine Schwarz.”, There Was a Time, and America’s Robin Hood.  In DB II, Sr. Gabrielle was featured in Sleeping Beauty as “Temperament Fairy” and Don Quixote as “Amour”. She has also performed at Wright State University’s Spring Concert in Karen Russo Burke’s Dos-a-Dos and Reverly.