DANCERS

Jacob is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada and trained at the ROCK center for dance. At the age of sixteen, he was invited to study dance with Houston Ballet Academy’s professional division under the direction of Vicki Attard and Claudio Muñoz. After two years of training, he then moved to Columbus, Ohio to dance with BalletMet 2 for two seasons under the direction of Edward Liang. Jacob later joined Ballet Idaho, under the direction of Garrett Anderson and Anne Mueller, and worked with LED, under the direction of Lauren Edson in Boise, Idaho. He then joined NW Dance Project in Portland, Oregon and is grateful to be in Seattle going on his second season with Whim W’Him. Jacob has performed works by Caroline Finn, Yin Yue, Ihsan Rustem, Lauren Edson, FLOCK, Goyo Montero and others.

Owen is originally from Utah. He began his professional career dancing and touring with Odyssey Dance Theatre from 2019 – 2022. As a company member/soloist, he performed in original full length dance theater productions throughout Utah and Germany. He has also danced with Junction Dance Company. Owen has performed in the ensemble of Hello Dolly, The Little Mermaid, and Newsies as Elmer at Hale Centre Theatre. He then joined GibneyPRO in NYC under the direction of Alexandra Wells and Bret Yamanaka. He has performed works by Laja Field, Lea Ved, Mia Michaels, Peter Chu, and more. Owen is thrilled to be joining Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance for their 2024-25’ season.

Stella, originally from Boston, danced with a variety of companies as a freelance artist in NYC, including The Moving Forward Collective by Madi Hicks, Obremski/Works under Jesse Obremski, Liony Garcia, and Rachael Lieblein-Jurbala. She also performed with kNoname Artist by Roderick George, in the premier of his piece The Missing Fruit at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. While in NYC, Stella trained with GibneyPRO, where she choreographed a solo while also working with Peter Chu, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Laja Field, Adam Barruch, Lea Ved, and Sidra Bell. She performed for two seasons with SFDanceworks in San Francisco, under Dana Genshaft, in works by Pam Tanowitz and Babatunji Johnson, and with DawsonDanceSF under Gregory Dawson. While training at The Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, she worked with David Harvey, Alex Ketley, Chuck Wilt, and others, and she then apprenticed for BODYTRAFFIC in Los Angeles. Stella performed works by Ronald K. Brown, Jennifer Archibald, and Amy J. Gardner as part of The Contemporary Performance Ensemble Program at The Jacob’s Pillow School in 2023, and has attended other intensives including Juilliard, BalletX, and more. Stella is thrilled to be joining Whim W’Him Seattle Contemporary Dance for their 2024/25 season.

Aliya was born and raised in Evergreen, CO. At the age of 17, she moved to New York City to join the Jazz & Contemporary Trainee Program at the Joffrey Ballet School. She’s worked with choreographers such as Yin Yue, Greg Lau, Omar Roman De Jesús, Norbert De La Cruz III, Yoshito Sakuraba, and many more. After graduating in 2023, she became the teaching and choreographic assistant to Artistic Director, Angelica Siskin. She has performed and assisted projects for NYFW, the grand opening of Perelman Performing Arts Center in NYC, and Hermes. Aliya is excited for this new chapter at Whim W’Him.

Jemoni Powe is a dancer from Las Vegas, Nevada. Beginning his training at the School of Nevada Ballet, he was soon chosen as a Merit winner in Dance and Choreography for the National YoungArts Foundation. He debuted in a music video by Grammy award-winning Jazz artist Gregory Porter entitled “Revival.” He is highlighted in the November 2020 issue of Dance Spirit Magazine as one of five dancers to follow. He is a 2024 graduate from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He has danced in companies such as Gallim, NVA and Guests, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Pony Box Dance Theatre. He is overjoyed to be joining Whim W’him Dance Theatre for their upcoming season!

Ashley is originally from the DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area. She began her training in Stuttgart, Germany, where her family was stationed for eight years. In 2021, Rivette received a BFA in Dance from Shenandoah Conservatory. She apprenticed with Christopher K. Morgan & Artists during their 2019 and 2020 seasons. After graduating from Shenandoah Conservatory, Ashley joined DanceWorks Chicago (DWC) under the direction of Julie Nakagawa for two seasons. Some of her DWC repertoire included works by Robert Battle, Charissa-Lee Barton, Joshua Manculich, Mark Caserta, Demis Volpi, Hanna Brictson, Drew Lewis, Brian Enos, and Noelle Kayser. Ashley has supplemented her training with intensives and workshops by Flock, Sydney Dance Company, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, Perry Mansfield, Yin Yue Dance Company, and BARE Dance Company. In Fall 2023, she made her Lyric Opera Chicago debut as a dancer in Janáček’s Jenůfa, choreographed by Teresa Rotemberg (Noelle Kayser, Ballet Mistress). Rivette was a founding member of Boykin Dance Project as well as an administrative assistant under the direction of Brian Josiah Martinez. She is very grateful to be joining Whim W’Him this season and looks forward to further exploring her artistry.

Yoshi Sanders is a dance performer, choreographer, and educator from Massachusetts. Yoshi began his dance training under Shakia Barron in 2013 at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School in South Hadley, MA. Yoshi is a recent graduate of Vassar College, where he performed in works by various artists including Shannon Gillen, Yoshito Sakuraba, Jennifer Archibald, Desmond Richardson, Stephen Rooks, and Leslie Partridge Sachs. In addition, Yoshi has performed in works by Ido Gidron, Andrea Constanza Martini, Alex Clare and Brian Brooks.