Artistic and Production Teams

DARIAN KANE (Choreographer, Dr. Rainbow’s Infinity Mirror) is from Northern California and has been a Company member of Atlanta Ballet for four seasons and began choreographing last year. 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. She is influenced by playwright and director Robert Wilson, pop composer Joe Hawley, 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. Her choreography got the attention of Dance Magazine, whose editors selected her as one of “25 to Watch” in 2022, highlighting her contemporary style as “worlds away from her regal classical ballet persona.” CHLOÉ GERVAIS (Costume Designer, Dr. Rainbow’s Infinity Mirror) received her Costume BA in her home country in France. She then completed her MA in Costume Design for Performance at the University of the Arts London. Her university project Héloïse was performed at the Sadlers Wells in collaboration with dancer Michael Barnes. Chloé has enjoyed designing costumes for independent films (Cindy, L’Ambassador, Alpha Pill, Falling Prey, Story of Nothing), performance art (Thesmophoria) publicity (My way from Paris) and theater (L’Auberge des survivants, Jeux d’adultes). Her textile work has been exhibited at “Rivisitando il merletto” at the Burano Lace Museum (Venice) and her digital work at the London Festival of Illustration. ANDERSON SOUZA (Choreographer and Scenic Designer, Inherited) 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, Anderson 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. Since joining Atlanta Ballet in 2016, 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). This is Anderson’s second time choreographing for the company. The first was during the 2020-2021 season; where he premiered Touchline. Anderson is ecstatic for the opportunity to share this brand-new and very personal piece with Atlanta ballet audiences. KHARI JOYNER (Composer and Performer, Inherited), described by the New York Classical Review as “one of the most exciting young musicians on the classical scene,” has a following both nationally and abroad as a versatile soloist, chamber musician, and ambassador for the arts. He has made numerous guest appearances with orchestras and ensembles across the world, including two recent performances of both Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto in A Minor and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which received rave reviews. In addition, he has given many cello masterclasses and lectures at notable institutions, most recently at Stetson University and Oberlin Conservatory. Joyner also received a 20172018 career grant from the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund, which nominates and endows a select number of gifted artists with generous funding to further their careers. Joyner has also performed for presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the latter for which he gave a private performance in the Oval Office. A graduate of Juilliard’s prestigious Doctor of Musical Arts program, he was recently appointed as Assistant Professor of Cello at Baldwin Wallace University, and is also on the cello faculty at Mannes Prep.

SUSAN CARTER (Costume Designer, Inherited), an Atlanta native, has been designing and building dance costumes for the past 20 years. She has designed and constructed multiple shows for the Georgia Ballet. Two of her favorite projects for them were Sleeping Beauty and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Also of note were her designs for The International City School of Ballet’s production of Giselle. Susan has also designed costumes for Youth America Grand Prix for soloists and ensembles. Her work has won multiple costuming awards at dance competitions.

ABBY DUPREE-POLSTON (Costume Designer, Fauna) is a costume designer and technician who has worked in a variety of genres including opera, theatre, film, and ballet. She received her degree in Fashion Design from SCAD and worked in the fashion industry as a designer for many years before migrating into costume design and technology. She has designed everything from handbags to cycling kits to dance costumes. This will be her second collaboration with Claudia Schreier, after the Atlanta Ballet’s Pleiades Dances in 2021.

BEN RAWSON (Lighting Designer, Dr. Rainbow’s Infinity Mirror, Inherited and Fauna) is an Atlanta-based lighting designer for theatre, opera and dance, member USA 829. Theatrical/Opera design work can be seen at The Alliance Theatre, Michigan Opera Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Atlanta Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Theatrical Outfit, Actors Express, Aurora Theatre, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, 7 Stages and Synchronicity Theatre. Dance design work includes collaborations with choreographers Ana Maria Lucaciu, Troy Schumacher and Danielle Agami, as well as with Atlanta Ballet, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, Fly on a Wall, staibdance, Bluebird Uncaged, Proia Dance Project and Emily Cargill and Dancers. Ben has also worked across the country as an associate and assistant lighting designer for San Diego Opera (CA), The Alliance Theatre (GA), Berkshire Theatre Festival (MA), Atlanta Opera (GA), Utah Opera (UT), Atlanta Ballet (GA) and Playmakers Repertory Company (NC). benrawsondesign.com

YURI POSSOKHOV (Choreographer, Firebird) danced for 10 years with the Bolshoi Ballet, performing leading roles in the company’s classical and contemporary repertoire. While performing, Possokhov studied choreography and ballet pedagogyat the State College of Theatrical Arts. He was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet for two years before joining the San Francisco Ballet (SFB) as a principal dancer in 1994. During his 12 years dancing with SFB, he began choreographing. Upon retirement from dancing, he joined the artistic staff at SFB as choreographer-in-residence. He has choregraphed 14 ballets for SFB ans continues to create new works for the company. Possokhov choreograph for companie worldwide. In 2015, his full-length for the Bolshoi Ballet, A Hero of Our Time, was met with critical acclaim, and the company invited him to stage a full-length ballet based on the life of Rudolf Nureyev that premiered in December 2017. For these two ballets, Possokhov received the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award, established by the International Dance Union. His Anna Karenina, premiered in 2019 as a co-production between Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet and the Australian Ballet. His most recent full-length ballet, The Seagull, premiered with the Bolshoi Ballet in the summer if 2021. Possokhov is a frequent guest with Atlanta Ballet. Learn more at yuripossokhov.com.

YURI ZHUKOV (Scenic Designer, Firebird) began his studies at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia, and danced professionally with Kirov Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet. His choreography has been performed by several European and American dance companies, including Zhukov Dance Theatre, which was founded in 2008 by Yuri Zhukov with Millicent Powers and Sandy Lee.

SANDRA WOODALL (Costume Designer, Firebird), visual artist and a leading designer for dance, has designed sets and costumes at San Francisco Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, The state Opera Ballet of Austria, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Royal Winnepeg Ballet, Houston Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Project, Singapore Dance Theatre, National Ballet of Finland and other companies around the world. Woodall’s artwork has been shown in exhibitions at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Connecticut, the San Franscisco Museum of Performance and Design, and at Wearable Art, Hong Kong. Shea has been a Fulbright scholar at Taiwan National University of the Arts and has designed many productions in Taiwan and China, including 2009’s stadium-scale opening fir the Deaf Olympics and the 100th anniversary celebration of Taiwan National Day, Winter Journey by Wan Fang in Beijing and the 2019 premiere in Shanghai of Stan Lai’s 8-hour epic, AGO.

DAVID FINN (Lighting Designer, Firebird) began his professional career as a lighting designer at age 16, working for puppeteer Burrr Tillstrom - “Kukla, Fran and Ollie.” His design credits for dance include works for such renowned choreographers as Sasha Waltz, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Merce Cunningham, James Kudelka, Jose Limon, Helgi Tomasson, Liam Scarlett, Yuri Possokhov and Dana Reitz, as well as leading international companies. Finn was the resident lighting designer for Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project from 1993 to 2000. His opera work includes projects for the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera, Paris Opera, La Scala Milan, Salzburg Festival and many others. Finn has designed the Cirque du Soleil shows ZED in Tokyo, and R.U.N. and Michael Jackson ONE in Las Vegas. Recent projects include the world premieres of The Flying Dutchman for the Metropolitan Opera, The Seagull for the Bolshoi Ballet, and Anna Karenina for the Joffrey Ballet. Upcoming plans include Lohengrin for the Bloshoi Opera & the Metropolitan Opera, Antony & Cleopatra for the San Francisco Opera, and Symphonie MMXX for Sasha Waltz and the Berlin Ballet.

JONATHAN MCPHEE (Conductor, Firebird) Is Music Director Emeritus for Boston Ballet after 29 years as music director. Currently Music Director for Lexington Symphony, his recent guest engagements include the New York City Ballet, Houston Ballet and Sarasota Ballet. McPhee has served as conductor for The Royal Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, The Australian Ballet, Den Norske Ballet in Norway and Royal Danish Ballet, among others. During the 2020-2021 season he was artist-in-residence at Boston University. Mr. McPhee’s works as an arranger and composer are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. and Schott Music. His edition of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” and “The Firebird” are the only authorized reduced orchestrations of these works. His adaptation of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” premiered to rave reviews. Mr. McPhee’s recordings of Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty”, Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet”, and Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” with the Boston Ballet Orchestra, are available on iTunes. McPhee received his Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music from the Royal Academy of Music and University of London, and a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from The Juilliard School.