Richmond Ballet
The State Ballet of Virginia
Christian Renforth
Company Dancer
Christian Renforth, a native of Richmond, VA, started his early dance education with Richmond Ballet's Minds In Motion program. After graduating from the School of Richmond Ballet, he continued his dance journey around the world including dancing with the Royal New Zealand Ballet where Christian spent 2020-2022 touring ballets nationally across Aotearoa (New Zealand). Christian holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, cum laude, from Butler University. Before leaving for New Zealand, Christian danced in Ohio as a corps de ballet member with Cincinnati Ballet. Christian has appeared in world premieres by Nicolo Fonte, Cathy Marston, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Travis Wall, and Loughlan Prior as well as works by George Balanchine, Val Caniparoli, Nacho Duato, Jirí Kylián, Justin Peck, Jerome Robbins, Alice Topp, Septime Webre, and Ethan Stiefel, amongst others. He has appeared as a guest principal artist with regional companies across the USA. Christian is the recipient of the Martha Hill Award, a nomination given by The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. He joins Richmond Ballet for his first season this year.
Company Dancers
Our professional company is made up of elite dancers from around the world who have helped earn Richmond Ballet critical acclaim. Dance/USA says Richmond Ballet is “a jewel among U.S. dance companies,” while The Washington Post calls it “a company to which dance fans everywhere ought to pay attention.” We’re proud of all that our company dancers bring to Richmond, and the world.
Cody Beaton
Jackson Calhoun
Courtney Collier
Michael Duncan
Celeste Gaiera
Mikell Graf
Colin Jacob
Khaiyom Khojaev
Jack Miller
Rachel Nash
Eri Nishihara
Zacchaeus Page
Paul Piner
Naomi Robinson
Sabrina Sabino
Izabella Tokev
Ira White
Naomi Wood
Studio Company
The Richmond Ballet Studio Company is the highest level of the Pre-Professional Division of School of Richmond Ballet, featuring exceptional student dancers from across the country. The eleven-month program includes a diverse range of performance opportunities such as Lecture Demonstrations, Richmond Ballet Company mainstage performances, and the end-of-season showcase with the Richmond Ballet Trainees.
First Row
Avalon Kirby
Second Row (L-R):
Tekhylon Armour
Katrina May Thomas
Third Row (L-R):
Itay Krasnovsky
Hannah MacLeod
Josiah Lax
Rika Kinoshita
Darius Mealy
Kennady Jackson
Cade Bolz
TRAINEES
Founded in 1993, the nationally recognized Richmond Ballet Trainee Program offers select advanced students a transitional experience to bridge the gap between the academic ballet setting and the world of professional dance. The Richmond Ballet Trainee Program is one of the few in this country that enables aspiring dancers to pursue formal dance training and gain valuable performance experience with a professional company.
First Row (L-R):
Chelsea Hacking
Kate Swales
Genesis Robinson
Second Row (L-R):
Tess Moayedi
Eden Wilson
Isabella Vanik
Gillian Carr
Third Row (L-R):
Oliver Gardner
Alexis Dawson
Bella Ownby
BriAnna Binzak
Sydney Stutzman
Benjamin Piner
Artistic Staff
The Artistic Staff at Richmond Ballet is made up of international professionals who each bring incredible talent, expertise, and credentials to their respective roles. With impressive backgrounds and world experience, they offer a unique perspective that has helped shape our organization over the years. For over 40 years, Stoner Winslett has served as the founding Artistic Director of Richmond Ballet, the first major company of professional dancers in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She is one of the longest tenured artistic directors of a major ballet company and one of the country’s few female artistic directors. In June 2020, acclaimed choreographer Ma Cong joined Richmond Ballet as its first ever Associate Artistic Director.
Stoner Winslett
Artistic Director
Ma Cong
Associate Artistic Director
Judy Jacob
Artistic Associate & Chairman of Faculty
Igor Antonov
Artistic Associate and Studio Company Director
Lauren Fagone
Artistic Associate
