Choreographers

KEATON LEIER (Choreographer, La Forme du Vent), originally from Canada, grew up in the small city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Leier started studying ballet at a later age, and he joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in 2013. After graduation from the school in 2016, he then moved on to dance with Houston Ballet’s second company for one year. Joining the ranks of Atlanta Ballet for the 2017|2018 Season, Leier is now commencing his fourth season with the Company. His most recent highlight was premiering The Nutcracker Prince at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Some more highlights include dancing Gurn in La Sylphide, as well as the lead in Liam Scarlett's Vespertine. Dancing with the Company over the years, Leier has enjoyed performing works from Alexander Ekman, Johan Kobborg, Liam Scarlett, Yuri Possokhov, Dwight Rhoden, Ricardo Amarante, Yury Yanowsky and Craig Davidson. Though he experimented with choreographing some in school, this is Leier's first time choreographing professionally, and he is looking forward to exploring this opportunity.

CARRAIG NEW (Choreographer, I Know Where It Is) was born in Juneau, Alaska. He is a graduate of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography where he studied classical Russian technique with Bolshoi Theatre first soloist Denis Medvedev. He performed on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Yuri Grigorovich’s staging of La Fille Mal Gardée, dancing in the Gypsy Dance as one of the four friends, as well as being featured as a demi-soloist. He also performed as a soloist in La Bayadère's Dance of the Drum. New performed on the Bolshoi Historical Stage in A Tribute to Marius Petipa, which included Danse des Forbans from Le Corsaire. He was invited to dance as the guest artist at the premier performances of the Ballet de Barcelona, in Spain and France. New joined Atlanta Ballet 2 in 2018-19. He has performed Arabian, Russian, Mice and Skier in Yuri Possokhov's reimagined production of The Nutcracker; the Beast in Bruce Wells’ Beauty and the Beast; Von Rothbart and Benno in Bruce Wells’ The Swan Princess; Dance of the Wedding Guests in La Sylphide; and a leading role in Volar, a contemporary ballet choreographed by Nadia Mara. BRET COPPA (Choreographer, Rabten Numinous) is from San Pedro, California. He danced with Atlanta Ballet 2 for one season before joining Atlanta Ballet as a Company apprentice. This is Coppa’s first season as a Company member. Some of his roles with Atlanta Ballet include Gaston, The Beast, Rat King, Russian, Nephew, Arabian and Red Man. He is a graduate of University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he has performed many principal roles; including Solor in La Bayadere, Principal Male in Donizzeti Variations, Waltz Boy in Serenade, The Poet in Les Sylphides and Cavalier in The Nutcracker. Coppa got his start at San Pedro City Ballet, then moving to Peninsula School of Performing Arts under the artistic direction of Roberto Almageur. During his training in the Los Angeles area, he performed as a guest artist in California, and danced roles throughout the country. He has also competed into the Prix de Lausanne twice, and he was a finalist in 2015. In 2017, Coppa went to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he received his teaching certification in the Vaganova method.