Choreographers/Designer

ANDERSON SOUZA (Choreographer, Touchline) was born in Santo Ângelo, Brazil. Anderson received his training at the Conservatório Brasileiro de Dança under Jorge Teixeira. After graduating, he joined the Cia Brasileira de Ballet in Rio de Janeiro, dancing principal and soloist roles and competing in national and international competitions, including the Beijing International Ballet Competition. Souza traveled with the Company to perform in Colombia, China, Israel and France. In 2013, he joined Gelsey Kirkland Ballet. Under the unique guidance of Kirkland, Anderson matured his artistry and received praise from national critics, including those at The New York Times. He has enjoyed dancing roles in The Nutcracker (by Yuri Possokhov), La Sylphide as Gurn (staged by Johan Kobborg), Sum Stravinsky (by Kiyon Ross), Sandpaper Ballet (by Mark Morris), Tuplet (by Alexander Ekman) and the world premiere of Catch (by Liam Scarlett). Anderson is excited to be joining Atlanta Ballet for his 4th season! This is Anderson's first time choreographing and he is very excited for this additional step of his career.

KEITH REEVES (Choreographer, Bodies in Motion) is a mixed media artist that focuses on dance and choreography. As a choreographer, he creates movement that pulls from different dance genres. To Reeves, dance is universal. Connecting to an audience through movement is his main goal. In his practice, he believes in highlighting different human experiences as a narrative. Reeves was inspired by conversations of family history with his grandmother during this time of COVID-19. Atlanta producer, Ptar’s music spoke to Reeves because of his many levels in one track. When choosing music, Reeves uses tracks with a wide variety of elements. Ptar’s music was an incredible landscape to build on. Reeves' movement is developed through research and understanding of the dancers with whom he works. Creating this piece, he wanted to play with choreographing moving architecture. In a situation where we can't touch, experimenting with how he can create a visual idea or essence of being able to touch was a challenge, but it gave him the liberty to think out of the box. With this particular piece, it's almost like Reeves saw his life unfolding. The more he started to see the complete vision, it was clear to him that Bodies in Motion is his love letter to culture and the ever-evolving beauty of diversity. GUILHERME MACIEL (Choreographer, The Bitter Earth) reconciles his career as a dancer and choreographer since 2014, when he assumed the position of resident choreographer of the Grupo Jovem Paulista in Brazil, his native country, where he created amateur projects and choreographies for competitions. In 2016, after winning the Outstanding Choreographer Award in the Youth America Grand Prix final in New York, he was invited to participate in the 2017 edition of the "Creative Workshop for Young Choreographers" at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he created For a Sweeter Look and performed his award-winning work Shelter. Maciel joined Atlanta Ballet as a dancer in the 2019|2020 season and his creation for the Silver Linings program is his first work as a choreographer for the Company. DARIAN KANE (Choreographer, Dr. Rainbow's Infinity Mirror) is from Northern California, and has been a Company member of Atlanta Ballet for three seasons. This is her first year choreographing. She has been drawing for as long as she has been dancing, so she imagines her dances as fluid sequences of individual drawings in which any one moment could stand alone. Kane is influenced by pop composer Joe Hawley and film composer Danny Elfman, and by film directors Wes Anderson, Tim Burton and Quentin Tarantino. She begins with her classical dance training and builds upon it, imbuing her pieces with the whimsy and quirkiness of her cinematic influences.

SERGIO MASERO (Choreographer, Teneo Integrum) is originally from Madrid, Spain. He received his ballet training from Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza “Mariemma” and San Franciso Ballet School. Since early in his career, the world of choreography has always appealed to Masero and he has seized every opportunity that has presented itself. His works include, La Follia and At the Ballet, for Ballet Memphis; Annie, a full-length ballet commissioned by the Dance Academy of Bartlett; and Forced Perspective and Tintinare, for galas with Northwest Florida Ballet. Masero is looking forward to growing his career as a choreographer and is thrilled to be able to create a work for Atlanta Ballet.

JOSEPH R. WALLS (Lighting Designer, Pleiades Dances) most recently designed the lighting for Orlando Ballet’s production of Moulin Rouge. Additionally, he has designed original works for The Washington Ballet and a list of choreographers including Jessica Lang, Trey McIntyre, Ethan Stiefel, John Heginbotham, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Dana Genshaft. Internationally, Walls regularly works with STEPS of Panama and recently designed Marlyn Attie’s Crush at the National Theatre of Panamá with support from the United States Embassy. Walls holds a nomination for the prestigious Premios Escena award for best lighting in Panama City, Panama. In 2019, Walls designed the weeklong celebration with Pope Francis – The World Youth Day. Other design collaborations include those with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Ballet West, Utah Metropolitan Ballet, staibdance, Inland Pacific Ballet, Chautauqua Dance, Ballet Spartanburg, The Charlotte Ballet, Roswell Dance Theatre and Komasnsé Dance Theater, as well as with Sundance Mountain Resort productions. www.jwallsdesign.com