Artists
Directors
James Sewell,
Artistic Director
(35th Season)
A Minneapolis native, Mr. Sewell (he/him) moved to New York and studied at the School of American Ballet with David Howard, and began performing with ABT II. He was a lead dancer with Feld Ballets/NY for six years and has performed as a guest artist with the New York City Ballet, Zvi Gottheiner and Dancers, and Denishawn. He has choreographed more than 100 ballets for companies in the United States and around the world, and collaborated with countless other artists across disciplines.
Projects include the New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, the New York State Council on the Arts grant to create “Independence In Dependence” for Feld Ballets/NY; “Aida” (1998) for the Minnesota Opera and 11 other opera companies; James Sewell Ballet’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” (1995); “Musical Toys” (1996) and “Nutcracker: The Untold Story” (1997) for the Minnesota Orchestra; “She Loves Me” (2005) and “1776” (2007) for the Guthrie Theater; and "Titicut Follies" (2017) with acclaimed documentarian Frederick Wiseman. James also has received commissions, including “Schoenberg Serenade” (2006) and “Passions” (1998), a work with composer Augusta Read Thomas, for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; “Metamorphosis” (2004) for the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus; “Awedville” (2004) for the Wharton Center for Performing Arts and “Turf” (2006) for the Minnesota Orchestra. Mr. Sewell received a Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship (2002), a Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography from the Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee Foundation (2006), and a McKnight Artist Fellowship for Choreography (2007). He is a past trustee of Dance/USA and a past director of the American Composer’s Forum.
Eve Schulte,
Executive Director
(16th Season)
Eve (she/her) is a dance artist and administrator based in Minneapolis, MN. She grew up training in ballet and modern at Minnesota Dance Theatre, and transitioned to company member in 2007. In 2009, she joined James Sewell Ballet, where she has also served as Artistic Associate (2017-2020) and currently as Executive Director.
She has collaborated with physical theater group Live Action Set, which is pioneering innovative immersive and interactive moving stories. Some of her more memorable performances include roles in Glenn Tetley’s Mythical Hunters; Leralee Whittle’s Displacement Activity; Live Action Set's Unset; and Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar’s Killer Pig. In the summertime, she often teaches at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and has twice served as co-director for their International Ballet Ensemble. She has been teaching various forms of dance for over a decade, and has performed or taught in France, Germany, Denmark, Canada, nationally in 17 states, and in 30+ Minnesota communities. Her choreographic work Any Offered None, developed as part of JSB's Ballet Works Project, was nominated for a 2016 MN Sage Award for Outstanding Performance. Eve also holds a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota, where she also teaches the advanced ballet course. “Dance should allow people to shed and discover many things about themselves, whether participating on stage or from the audience. The ways in which it can permeate one’s heart are boundless.”
Artists
Jarod Boltjes,
Artist & Company Liaison
(6th Season)
Jarod is a Minnesota native from Adrian, MN. He started his dance training at Saint Mary’s University where he also obtained his BA Degree in Dance Performance and Studio Art. His formal dance training began at the age of 18 in college where he had the opportunity to train and perform internationally with Rose Bruford College in the U.K. and The Gaiety School of Acting in Ireland. Upon arrival to the Twin Cities, Jarod has worked with several local companies; Contempo Physical Dance, Twin Cities’ Ballet, Collide Theatrical, and St. Paul Ballet to name a few. If he is not in the dance studio, you can find him leading class as a certified barre and yoga instructor or under the big top tent coaching and choreographing for Circus Juventas.
Kaylie Bullock,
Artist & Marketing Associate
(2nd Season)
Kaylie received her early training at Kansas Dance Academy. As a student she had the honor of being a Koch Cultural Trust recipient. She attended Texas Christian University’s School of Classical and Contemporary Dance on scholarship, graduating with honors. She recently completed her seventh season with Central Illinois Ballet as principal dancer. During her time with CIB, she had the privilege of dancing a diverse repertoire. Some of her favorite roles include Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Cinderella in the title role, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Myrtle in Gatsby, the Sugar Plum Fairy and Black Swan pas de deux. In addition, she has performed with Ad Deum Dance Company, Storling Dance Theater, and Common Thread Contemporary. Kaylie has been teaching pre-professional students for over a decade. She also loves creating opportunities to take dance classes into under-served communities.
photo credit Isabel Fajaro
Connor Simone,
Artist & Website Associate
(4th Season)
Connor is a Twin Cities dancer, performing artist, and IT specialist. He received training at Stage Left Dance Center, Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, the TU Dance School, and the University of Minnesota. Connor has previously danced with TU Dance and Threads Dance Project. Additionally, he has performed works by artists such as Marcus Willis, Kjara Wurst, Gregory Dolbashian, Berit Ahlgren, Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, Will Couture, Carl Flink, Sidra Bell, and Maurya Kerr among others. Alongside performing, Connor has worked for several arts organizations across the Twin Cities in IT and web development and is also teaching ballet and modern classes for Eleve’ Performing Arts Center. He will receive his BA in Dance with a minor in Computer Science from the University in the Fall of 2021.
Laura Sewell,
Cellist
Minnesota cellist, Laura Sewell, has had a distinguished career as a chamber musician. She was the founder and cellist of the Lark Quartet, which was the bronze-medal winner in the Banff International String Quartet Competition and served as teaching assistants to the Juilliard String Quartet at the Juilliard School. As a member of the Lark, she performed in Europe, Asia, Canada, and throughout the United States. Later in her career, she was the cellist of the Artaria String Quartet from 2007–16. As both a soloist and chamber musician, Laura has premiered works by such distinguished composers as Libby
Larsen, Stephen Paulus, Paul Schoenfield, Peter Schickele, Steve Heitzeg, Andrew Waggoner, and Stanislaw Skrowacewski. Radio appearances have included the Dame Myra Hess Recital Series on WFMT in Chicago, American Public Media’s Saint Paul Sunday, and several times on A Prairie Home Companion. She is featured on the Centaur, Bridge, and Innova recording labels, as well as solo cellist throughout the soundtrack for the American Playhouse docudrama A Marriage: Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz starring Jane Alexander and Christopher Plummer. As a recipient of a 2020 Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Laura recorded a CD of works for cello and piano by Minnesota composers.
For the past five years she has served as part of the leadership team of the Inter-national Cello Institute, an intensive program for student cellists held every summer at St. Olaf College. Locally, she has been a member of the Isles Ensemble since 2007 and has performed as a substitute cellist with both the Minnesota and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras. Laura has been a guest artist with many prominent Twin Cities performing ensembles, including the Dale Warland Singers, Cantus, The Singers, Musical Offering, Bakken Trio, and the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota. She has performance degrees from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of Leonard Rose, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Alan Harris. At the age of 17, Laura had the unique opportunity to study in London with the legendary cellist, Jacqueline du Pré, which proved to be a truly life-altering experience.
Liv Thornton,
Artist & Shoe Wrangler
(2nd Season)
Born and raised in Minneapolis Minnesota, Olivia trained at Hopkins Dance Company for 15 years under the direction of Leslie Daly. Olivia’s pre-professional training included summer programs with Milwaukee Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet. After graduating in 2018, Olivia continued her dance education at The University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music. Majoring in Ballet Performance, Olivia had the privilege to dance roles in Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations, Cinderella, Balanchine’s Serenade, and several other modern pieces. In 2020, Olivia joined Ballet Fantastique as an Apprentice for the 2020-2021 season and continued dancing with Ballet Fantastique as a Company Corps in 2021-2022. Olivia will be continuing her work at Grand Jete as a pointe shoe fitter as well as teaching at Hopkins Dance Company this season. Olivia is grateful to be dancing back home and excited to be joining JSB.
Emily Trapnell,
Artist & Marketing Associate
(2nd Season)
Emily Trapnell graduated with her BFA in Dance at University of Iowa, earning both Honors and Distinction, and became a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa society. Currently, she is a Company Artist with James Sewell Ballet, following her time as a company member with Inaside Chicago Dance and a trainee with Visceral Dance Chicago. Recently Emily has danced in Minnesota Opera’s, “Romeo and Juliet”, performed as “Fairy Doll” in the “Fairy Doll Ballet” with Arts Ballet Conservatory, and assisted Hanna Brictson. Emily has previously performed with Minneapolis Ballet Dancers and Curio Dance Company. Other highlights include performing in the world premiere of the opera “Karkinos”, touring as a soloist to Trinidad, Iowa Dance Festival, Hancher Illuminated, and holding a soloist role in the touring UI Dance Company season in 2021. She has also enjoyed performing virtually with Mark Morris Dance Group, LA Contemporary Dance Company, and Mark DeGarmo Dance in the midst of Covid. Emily has received training with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Orsolina ‘28, Mark Morris Dance Group, Oklahoma City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Emerge 125 (formerly Elisa Monte Dance), Danceworks Chicago, LA Contemporary Dance Company, and Jacob Jonas The Company.
As a choreographer, Emily debuted her own choreography at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Englert Theatre's Marquee Lighting Ceremony, Mark DeGarmo's “Dance for their Futures”, Minnesota’s Boom Dance Festival, Iowa Dance Festival, and University of Iowa’s BFA Showcase. Along with being a Marketing Associate for James Sewell Ballet, Emily is the Social Media/Communications/Website Director for Iowa Dance Festival, International ScreenDance Festival, InterDance, and Eloy Barragan. A recent highlight from this spring is the time when Emily was invited back to University of Iowa as a Guest Teacher and Lecturer.
Michael Walters,
Guest Artist
Michael is originally from Detroit, Michigan. He attended The Juilliard School in New York City before dancing professionally with Nederlands Dans Theatre, Frankfurt Ballet, and Lyon Opera Ballet. During that time he has had the pleasure of working with an array of influential choreographers and perform on stages around the world. He then decided to take a sharp turn to redirect his artistic pursuits in the direction of theatrical arts. He attended and graduated from the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England. Since then Michael has had the pleasure of performing on stages in the West End of London as an actor. He is delighted to be a guest artist with James Sewell Ballet this season and make his return to the stage as a dancer in over ten years!
Admin & Marketing
Hector Cortes,
Video Producer
Hector is the CEO and Partner of Snack Media Group, a creative engine with the goal of making snack-able content to help people and businesses reach their audiences. People-centric and brand-building are the names of the game. Hector has helped JSB with various marketing projects since 2014, including the crafting of the company's outdoor “Winter” romp into a joyful artistic piece and many more promotional reels. He has previously worked with Hecco and Woodchuck USA, has a B.S. in Applied Economics, Business Administration and Management from the University of Minnesota, and originally hails from Rochester, MN.
