Colorado Ballet promotes four dancers

Colorado Ballet Artistic Director Gil Boggs recently promoted Corps de Ballet dancers Morgan Buchanan and Kevin Gaël Thomas to Soloists. In addition, Boggs promoted two Studio Company dancers to Apprentices, for a total of 30 professional company dancers for the 2016-17 Season.

“I couldn’t be more proud of all our Colorado Ballet dancers and I’m also excited about the roster changes for this coming season,” said Boggs.

Get to know Morgan Buchanan

Originally from Houston, Texas, Morgan Buchanan trained at the Ballet Center of Houston and at Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy. She also attended summer programs with American Ballet Theatre, Orlando Ballet and Houston Ballet.

She joined Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company in 2009, was promoted to the main company in 2011 and was then promoted to Soloist this year.

Her notable roles with Colorado Ballet include Wendy in Michael Pink’s Peter Pan, Vitality Fairy and Jewels in The Sleeping Beauty, Moyna in Giselle, Autumn Fairy and Fairy Godmother in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, Dew Drop in The Nutcracker, First Passerby in Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, and Effie in La Sylphide.

Get to know Kevin Gaël Thomas

Kevin Gaël Thomas is from France and studied at Rosella Hightower’s International Ballet Center and at Canada’s National Ballet School.

After graduation, he danced for a year with Houston Ballet II, joined Colorado Ballet in 2007 and was promoted to Soloist this summer.

His notable roles at Colorado Ballet include Fritz, a Russian and the Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker, Blue Bird and Jewels in The Sleeping Beauty, the Whip Boy in Glen Tetley’s The Rite of Spring, Jester in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, Peter in Michael Pink’s Peter Pan, Puck in Christopher Wheeldon’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the title role in Michael Smuin’s Peter and the Wolf, the first sailor in Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, and Gurn in La Sylphide. 

Other promotions

Boggs also promoted Regan Kucera and Tyler Rhoads to Apprentices in the company. Kucera and Rhoads had both danced with the Studio Company for the last two seasons. Kucera originally studied at International Ballet Academy in Cary, North Carolina, and at summer programs by American Ballet Theatre, Orlando Ballet and Saratoga Springs. On the other hand, Rhoads is from Midland, Texas, and trained at Midland Festival Ballet, the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida, and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.

In addition to these two new company dancers, 22 Studio Company dancers will join the professional company dancers this season for the productions at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company is a pre-professional training opportunity for dancers with the potential and desire to become professional dancers.

Colorado Ballet’s main company dancers will perform at An Evening under the Stars on August 20 at the Arvada Center Outdoor Amphitheater. The company will officially open its 2016-17 Season with Swan Lake on October 7 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. For more information, visit www.coloradoballet.org. 

Photo (top): Morgan Buchanan. Photo (left): Kevin Gaël Thomas. Photo (right): Thomas with Dana Benton. Photos by Allen Birnbach.