dancers


MEET THE COMPANY'S 16 DANCERS:
7 long-time company stars + 9 new stars.

Part 1 (sent previously): 7 long-time stars.

Part 2 (below): 9 new stars.
Julian Barnett, Patrick Corbin, Jay Franke, Junichi Fukuda, Tai Jimenez, Gabby Malone, Miho Kanani Morinoue, Sean Stewart & Rasta Thomas

Appearing November 8-12 in performances of
"Elemental Brubeck" (US premiere) and "Men's Stories" at
NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

To purchase tickets, call (212) 279-4200.
For NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, click here.
For more info about the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, click here.

dancers
Julian Barnett
Julian Barnett first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  Born in Tokyo and raised in California (where he grew up breakdancing), Barnett began his training at the Idyllwild Arts Academy and continued at The Joffrey Ballet and Alvin Ailey Schools.  He attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where his choreography was presented at the Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center and where he worked with Bill T. Jones.  He has performed and choreographed extensively across the US, Europe, and Asia and has had the privilege of working in the companies of Lubovitch, Doug Elkins, Mark Dendy, Shapiro and Smith, Larry Keigwin, Eun Me Ahn, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet under Doug Varone, and Johannes Wieland, where he was a guest artist with Pina Bausch's TanzTheater.  As a choreographer, his work has been presented by the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Hong Kong Cultural Center, the Joyce Theater, Berkshire Theater Festival, Dance Theater Workshop, Symphony Space, and PS 122 among others.  His piece Float is currently in the repertory of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.  He enjoys choreographing for film and video as well as for theater, and in 2005 co-founded Alexander Productions.
dancers
Patrick Corbin

Patrick Corbin first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  Corbin was born and raised in Potomac, Maryland.  In 1989 he joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company where he became one of its most celebrated members.  He danced there until 2005.  Corbin was featured in five PBS Great Performances between 1988 and 2004, including the 1998 Academy Award nominated documentary Dancemaker.  In 2001 he was the recipient of the New York Performance Award (Bessie) for Sustained Achievement with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.  He has staged his own work as well as the work of Paul Taylor on companies through out the United States.  He founded his own company, CorbinDances, in 2003, about which Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times wrote, "Patrick Corbin is a fabulous dancer... There is a welcome physical power and desperate edge to his choreography that comes from his own eclectic impulses...moving...exhilarating."  And Lisa Jo Sagolla of Backstage wrote, "In a smart and gracefully constructed evening of four mysterious dances Patrick Corbin made a glorious debut as a serious choreographer.

dancers
Jay Franke
Jay Franke first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  Franke began his formal training at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas.  In 1993 he was selected as a Finalist for Presidential Scholar in the Arts and accepted into the Julliard School, were he furthered his studies by working with choreographers such as Benjamin Harkarvy, Glen Tetley, Igal Perry and Lila York.  Upon receiving his BFA in Dance from the Julliard School, Franke went to work with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company, "THARP!"  Franke has since danced with The 58 Group, Lyric Opera Ballet Chicago, and most recently Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
dancers
Junichi Fukuda
Junichi Fukuda first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  He is a native of Japan and trained at the Boston Conservatory as a full scholarship student, where he received a BFA in Dance.  Upon graduation, Fukuda moved to NYC and became a member of Ballet Tech, under the direction of Eliot Feld.  Later, he joined Michael Smuin's company, Smuin Ballet/SF, as a soloist.  He has worked with American choreographers such as Jacqulyn Buglisi, Colin Connor, Sean Curran, Eliot Feld, Jessica Lang, Murray Louis, Daniel Pelzig, Igal Perry and Michael Smuin.  He dances with the Buglisi/Foreman Dance Company and is a soloist with the Peridance Ensemble.  He also assisted Igal Perry in creating a new work for the Joffrey Ensemble in 2005.  Fukuda is also on the faculty of Peridance Center and other studios near NYC.
dancers
Tai Jimenez
Tai Jimenez first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  Jimenez is also a Principal Dancer of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.  She began her dance training under the direction of Joan Millen Mesh.  Before joining the Dance Theatre of Harlem School Ensemble, Jimenez studied at the School of American Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and with Madame Gabriella Darvash.  Jimenez has performed the title roles of "Giselle" and "Firebird."  She has an extensive Balanchine repertory and has also danced the works of choreographers Glen Tetley, Sir Kenneth MacMillian, Sir Frederick Ashton, Bronislava Nijinska, Alvin Ailey, Alonso King, Dwight Rhoden, Doug Varone, Billy Wilson, Robert Garland, John Alleyne and others. She has appeared as a guest artist with the NYCB, Virginia Ballet Theater, Hawaii Ballet, Maryland Ballet Theater, Complexions and other companies.  Jimenez performed the role of Ivy Smith (Miss Turnstiles) in the Broadway revival of On the Town, directed by George C. Wolfe.  She created the role of Fran in Marie Irene Fornes' play Letters from Cuba and Isabel in Debbie Allen's Soul Possessed.  Her television appearances include a featured performance on the Academy Awards with Desmond Richardson, Rasta Thomas, Savion Glover and Joaquin Cortez.  She has also danced in Prince's Rave Unto the Year 2000.  She played the role of Mela in an upcoming film starring Patrick Swayze entitled Without a Word.  Jimenez is a member of the improvisational performance group, "You are Madness, Diana!"  Her short dance film Down, created by Jimenez and Vipal Monga, was a featured favorite at the Brooklyn Rooftop Film Festival.  Jimenez's choreography has been shown at the International Blacks in Dance Conference, City Center Studio performances, Dance Theatre of Harlem Open House series, Baton Rouge Ballet, The Kitchen in NYC, Martha's Vineyard and has been selected for this year's E-Moves series at Aaron Davis Hall in NYC for emerging choreographers.
dancers
Gabby Malone
Gabby Malone first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  She trained at the New World School of the Arts in Miami under the direction of Danny Lewis.  In Florida she worked with Mary Street Dance Theater, Gerri Houlihan and Dancers and Gary Lunds Dance Waves.  In New York she has performed with Twyla Tharp, Irene Hultman, Jamie Bishton, Stephen Petronio and Martha Clarke, and also with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet.  She has also most recently assisted Martha Clarke on several projects, including SUENO for the Martha Graham Company.
dancers
Miho Kanani Morinoue
Miho Kanani Morinoue first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  She is a dancer, painter and designer and was born in Kealakekua, HI.  Morinoue studied ballet since she was 8.  She started with Yoko Saito in Japan and continued more seriously in Hawaii with Virginia Holte (founder of West Hawaii Dance theater), Earnest Morgan, Eva Lee, Ballet Hawaii and the Boston Ballet.  At 14, she moved to California with a scholarship to study at the Marin Ballet Academy.  There, she trained under the guidance of Maria Vegh and performed leading rolls in classical ballet and Balanchine.  In 1991, she moved to New York where she received a scholarship at the David Howard Dance Center.  Between 1992-2005, she worked with choreographers such as Leigh Wichel, Michelle Elliman, Jodie Gates, Desmond Richardson, Dwight Rhoden, Gina Grahm and Nathaniel Tryst.  In 1995, she joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet Co. (CCBC) and has performed all over the US and Europe.  As a visual artist, Morinoue's work includes design, painting and sculpture.  She has collaborated with Dwight Rhoden (director/choreographer of CCBC) on numerous projects, designing costumes and setting ballets.  Morinoue has showed her paintings in New York, Seattle and Hawaii.  In 2003, Morinoue became Director of Fine Arts for the Hilden Hahn Creatives Gallery (NY).  She has organized many group shows with a variety of artists such as Mark Hilden, Craig Hahn, Hiroki Morinoue, Setsuko Watanabe, Gabriella Zellapi, Timothy Ojile, Tim Davis, Jeera Ratanangkoon.
dancers
Sean Stewart
Sean Stewart first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  He began his training in California with Lisa Clark and Yanina Cywinska.  He spent two years as a member of the Joffrey II Dancers before spending a year studying at the Paris Opera Ballet School.  He joined American Ballet Theatre, where he went on to perform many soloist and principal roles in full length ballets, as well as mixed repertory pieces.  Some of the roles he has danced include Lankendem and Birbanto in Le Corsaire, Benno in Swan Lake, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Nutcracker prince in the Nutcracker, and Hortensio in Taming of the Shrew.  Stewart has performed in works by Balanchine, Tudor, De Mille and Macmillan.  He has created roles in works by Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Nacho Duato and many others.  He danced a soloist role in Jonathan's ballet in the feature film Center Stage.  His next project will be a new Broadway show by Twyla Tharp.
dancers
Rasta Thomas
Rasta Thomas first danced with the Lubovitch company in 2005.  He was born in San Francisco in 1981 and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  It was evident from the beginning that Rasta was a prodigy with a flair for the stage.  He studied at the world-renowned Kirov Academy in Washington D.C.  As a teenager, Thomas made dance competition history with honors including the Special Jury Prize from the 1994 Paris International Dance Competition, the Gold Medal in the Junior Men's Division of the 1996 Varna International Ballet Competition, and the Gold Medal in the Senior Men's Division of the Jackson, MS USA-IBC.  In 1995, he became a member of Le Jeune Ballet de France and in 1997, was invited to be a Principal Dancer with the Hartford Ballet.  His guest credits include the Russian Imperial Ballet, National Ballet of China, Victor Ullate Ballet of Spain, Inoue Ballet of Japan, Ochi Ballet, Universal Ballet of Korea, Joffrey Ballet, Washington Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, CityDance, and Philadanco.  He has been a featured soloist at many galas, including Le Gala Des Etoiles.  In 2001 he was the first American to become a member of the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia.  In 2003 he joined Dance Theatre of Harlem as its youngest principal dancer.  He has danced diverse roles including "Albrecht" in Giselle, "Basilio" in Don Quixote, "Ali" in Le Corsaire and "Death" in Debbie Allen's Soul Possessed.  Television credits include a Bravo documentary in 1997, CBS Breakfast with the Arts, Sesame Street, a featured solo during the 1999 Academy Awards and the Spring 2000 international ad campaign for the GAP.  He appears as "Timmy Chambers" in the feature film, One Last Dance, starring Patrick Swayze.  He most recently starred in Twyla Tharp's Broadway Hit, Movin' Out.  Critics have described his dance style as a mix of Baryshnikov, Bruce Lee, and Michael Jackson, "a force of nature."  A multi-talented artist, he spends most of his free time writing songs and scripts.
 
 

The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company

Mission:  The Lubovitch company was created to realize the artistic vision of Lar Lubovitch, one of the foremost contemporary choreographers in the United States.  The company exists: (1) to create new work; (2) to perform those works (and facilitate the performance of those works by others) both in our home base of New York City and around the world; and (3) to teach people of all ages, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds, in order to increase awareness and appreciation of dance.

History Over the past 37 years, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company has gained a reputation as one of the world's leading modern dance companies and has performed in virtually every state of the US and in more than 30 foreign countries.  Lar Lubovitch has been cited by The New York Times as "one of the ten best choreographers in the world," and the company has been called a "national treasure" by Variety.  For the past ten years, the company has focused on the creation of new dances, sometimes created through unique collaborations with other top companies including American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet.

ContactThe Lubovitch company is located at 229 West 42nd Street, New York NY 10036.  You can reach us at (212) 221-7909 or Lubovitch@aol.com.  Or visit our website at www.lubovitch.org.

SupportPrograms of the Lar Lubovtich Dance Company are funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as by Altria, Atlantic Philanthropies, US Trust Company of NY, Irene Diamond Fund, Brooke Garber & Daniel Neidich Fund, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Carl Jacobs Fund, McMullan Family Foundation, Rodgers Family Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, A. Woodner Fund and numerous additional generous individuals, corporations and foundations.

MembershipsThe Lubovitch company is a member of Dance/USA, Dance/NYC, ART/NY and the Arts & Business Council.