Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie announces the promotions of Isabella Boylston to Principal and Joseph Gorak, Christine Shevchenko, Devon Teuscher and Roman Zhurbin to Soloist dancers effective August 1st, 2014.
Isabella Boylston at the age of seven started ballet lessons at Boulder Ballet in Colorado, USA; she then went to Colorado Ballet Academy where in 2001 she won a gold medal for the Youth America Grand Prix Finals in New York. She then attended Harid Conservatory in Florida on a full scholarship in 2oo2 and in 2004 received the scholarship for excellence in dance. Isabella joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2005 and later became an apprentice. In 2007, she was promoted to corps de ballet and in 2011 promoted to soloist. With the company, she has performed as a flower girl in Don Quixote, the ballerina in The Bright Stream, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and many others. She received the Princess Grace Award in 2009 and was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse in 2010.
Christine Shevchenko was born in the Ukraine, a daughter of a gymnast and sprinter while her mother was a dancer and actress. She took rhythmic gymnastic lessons at the age of three and immigrated to the US with her family at age eight, and later attended Rock School in Philadelphia. She won the Princess Grace Award at 14 years of age. Shevchenko joined ABT in December of 2007 as an apprentice and in June 2008 was promoted to the company’s corps de ballet. Her repertoire includes performances in Cinderella, Swan Lake, Apollo, the Sleeping Beauty, and Sylvia.
Joseph Gorak began ballet lessons at North Central School of Ballet in Texas, later at Orlando Ballet School, and also took summer intensive courses at ABT and the School of American Ballet. Gorak became a member of Orlando Ballet in 2004 and in 2006 in joined American Ballet Theatre. His repertoire includes performance as Bronze Idol in La Bayadere, the Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcraker, The Prince in Cinderella, among others. Gorak won a silver medal in the 2005 Helsinki International Ballet Competition and the Grand Prix Award at YAGP in 2006.
Roman Zhurbin was born in Moscow and later immigrated to the United State at the age of 13. He started taking ballet lessons at 15 years of age at LaGuardia High School and at Studio Maestro with Francois Perron. He attended the ABT’s summer intensive program and joined the studio company later that year in 2003. Zhurbin became an apprentice of ABT in 2004, and in 2005 was promoted as a member of the corps de ballet. His repertoire includes High Brahmin in La Bayadere, Dr Coppelius in Coppelia, Don Quixote in Don Quixote and many other roles.
Devon Teuscher started ballet lessons at age nine at Champaign Urbana Ballet Academy in Illinois and later went on to train at the Vermont Ballet Theatre School. She also trained at Kirov Ballet Academy summer intensive program and obtained a scholarship to attend the Northwest Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre programs. In 2005 she was admitted on full scholarship to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and joined ABT as an apprentice in 2007. Some of her repertoire includes Polyhymnia in Apollo, the Fairy Godmother in Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, Aurora in Coppelia, among others.
