MEET THE CHOREOGRAPHERS

CHOREOGRAPHER

Danica Adams (she/her) was born and raised in the Bay Area. She currently dances professionally with Pacific Ballet Dance Theater and New Classics Ballet Theater, and in 2019, she performed with Anaheim Ballet for The Nutcracker. As a student, Danica primarily trained at Shawl Anderson Dance Center, and she performed youth roles in Oakland Ballet Company’s The Nutcracker 2009-2017. As a student, she was accepted to summer intensive programs at American Ballet Theater NY, Joffrey Chicago, Hubbard Street, Bolshoi Ballet Theater NYC, and in 2017 she attended Joffrey Ballet School’s Pre-Professional Intensive on 90% scholarship. She is employed as a NASA Sagan Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA, and before that was a postdoctoral fellow for two years at Harvard University. She received her PhD in 2023 in Planetary Sciences from Caltech, and her BA in 2018 from UC Berkeley. Danica is also a competitive swimmer. Danica is passionate about ballet as an art and language, and she loves that there are so many opportunities to create something new in every mood, impulse, and day-to-day experience. She is passionate that ballet is for everybody and hopes to inspire others to create through ballet regardless of experience.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Emma Andres is a Los Angeles–based choreographer and Artistic Director whose work fuses classical ballet technique with contemporary theatricality, literary narrative, and interdisciplinary design. She creates choreographic worlds that are emotionally attentive, narratively driven, and visually inventive. Andres earned her BFA in Dance Choreography from the University of California, Irvine, where she was recipient of the merit-based William Gillespie Ballet Scholarship and distinguished choreography award.

In 2023, she founded Little Women Ballet, a contemporary ballet company dedicated to empowering women creatives and literary adaptation. The company’s landmark production, Little Women, premiered at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and was later staged at the Pasadena Playhouse—the first dance performance in the Playhouse’s 100-year history.

Andres’s work combines technical rigor, emotional depth, and innovative design. As an Artistic Director, she leads dancers, artists, and creative teams in realizing immersive and compelling productions that expand ballet’s expressive possibilities and bring new audiences into the art form.

CHOREOGRAPHER

CHOREOGRAPHER

Makenna Bolton grew up dancing in numerous styles from the age of 3, she began performing in dance recitals, eventually joining her studios company and performing at intensives, dance festivals, and conventions. She was inducted into the National Honors Society of Dance Arts and she graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles, CA. Makenna joined Little Women Ballet in 2024 and has had the most amazing experience performing in the full length ballet and working with such talented, kind, creative people. Makenna began choreographing professionally for dance recitals years back and has since begun choreographing musicals and dance videos. She is excited to make her choreography debut at this showcase, and she is beyond grateful to Emma Andres and the executive team for trusting her and allowing her to showcase her artistry and her talents. Thank you to her beautiful dancers, you have all worked so hard, and thank you to my beautiful friends and family for their constant support and love.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Claire Anna Brocker grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and began her formal training at the School of Classical Ballet and Dance under the direction of Serkan Usta and Lori Grooters.  She also performed with Ballet Des Moines, joining Ballet Des Moines 2 in 2016. From 2017-2019 she danced with Ballet Chicago’s studio company, studying Balanchine repertoire under Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair. In 2019, she joined the Los Angeles Ballet as a trainee under the direction of Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen. Following that experience she danced with City Ballet of San Diego from 2021-2023. She performed with Roanoke Ballet theater from 2023-2024. During the 2024-2025 season she danced with and choreographed for Southern Appalachian Dance Collective. In the summer of 2025 Claire travelled with Lexington Ballet to perform in Deauville, France. Participating in the show La Liberte was a beautiful beginning to Claire’s story with Lexington Ballet.

Some of her favorite ballets she’s performed include George Balanchine’s: Stars and Stripes, Serenade, Concerto Barocco, and La Bayadere Kingdom of the Shades, (Marius Petipa)

In addition to creating as a performer, Claire also enjoys teaching and choreography. She choreographed her first piece, “Mikrokosmos” at City Ballet of San Diego for the studio companies’ production of Forged by Fire in 2023. Following that experience, she choreographed “Summer” for Roanoke Ballet Theater’s tour of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons in 2024. She also choreographed “An Invitation to Dance” for their April Blackbox in 2024. She then created the Tea and Candy cane divertissements for Southern Appalachian Dance Collective's first performance of The Nutcracker in 2024. Recently she has choreographed for events such as Maven Women’s Art Experience in Lexington, KY and CLIO Art Fair in New York. 

CHOREOGRAPHER

Jenna Fleming is a multidisciplinary leader and creative strategist who brings together a passion for dance with a strong foundation in business and organizational leadership. She holds both an MBA and an MFA from California State University, Long Beach in theatre arts management, as well as a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine. This interdisciplinary training allows her to bridge artistic vision with sustainable strategy, ensuring that creative work is both impactful and meaningful.

With a background in dance and arts management, Jenna has worked across performance and creative organizations to develop programming, shape audience experiences, and support the long-term growth of mission-driven arts initiatives. Her approach is collaborative and audience-centric, grounded in the belief that dance has the power to tell timeless stories, spark empathy, expand representation, and foster meaningful connection.

As Executive Director of Little Women Ballet Company, Jenna is committed to presenting work that centers women’s voices and experiences while reimagining the possibilities of classical ballet.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Jackie Kopcsak joined the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance as a founding faculty member in 2014 and was appointed Assistant Dean in 2020. She has directed USC Kaufman dancers in debut performances at the Joyce Theater (NYC), Stadttheater Fürth (Germany), and the Nuit Blanche Art Festival (Paris). Jackie holds an M.F.A. in Dance (University of California, Irvine) and a B.A. in History from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she also trained and performed with Pacific Northwest Ballet. As a director/choreographer, curator, and producer, Jackie has enjoyed collaborating within the worlds of art, music, film, and theatre. Recent choreographic credits include a Mandy Moore-directed Gala Film, a world premiere for USC Kaufman's Jacob's Pillow debut, the USC Viterbi short film Volare, a devised theatre work for the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, Japanese rock star Yoshiki's debut at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, and a solo for former La Scala prima ballerina Petra Conti broadcast on Italian television. Other choreographic credits include works for the Colburn School of Performing Arts, Evergreen City Ballet, Inland Pacific Ballet, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Norton Simon Museum, NBC Sports, Pasadena Civic Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Pacific Symphony, University of California - Irvine, and the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Ludmila Malakhov is a professional dancer, choreographer, and ballet instructor based in Los Angeles. She has performed with Festival Ballet Albuquerque in productions including The Nutcracker, Dracula, Firebird, as well as Peter and the Wolf. She currently performs with Little Women Ballet in Los Angeles, an organization focused on amplifying women's stories through dance, for which she is also the ballet mistress and serves as a production advisor. She has taught and set choreography for various organizations, including Pasadena Civic Ballet and East Mountain Dance's production of Cinderella. Ludmila is deeply passionate about working with the next generations of dancers in finding their joy and artistry through dance, having the privilege of teaching students for over 11 years. Additionally, she received her Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California, and now works with dancers on achieving their movement and performance goals.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Makena's earliest and most enthralling memories are tied closely to growing up along the coast - from learning to swim in the ocean, to seeking to embody kelp forests' ethereal movement in her dancing and artistic practices, and discovering their ecological significance as a diver and restoration researcher. As a dance artist, she is deeply inspired by our kinship with the natural world, and aims to uplift the voices and stories of Indigenous marine stewards through her interdisciplinary work. Makena earned her BFA in Dance Performance, BA in Social Ecology, and Minor in Global Sustainability, as a recipient of the William J. Gillespie Foundation Ballet Scholarship from UC Irvine. She truly cherishes the priviledge of deeply exploring so many dance styles at UCI, while working with such brilliant faculty artists – including Vitor Luiz, Tong Wang, Diane Diefenderfer, Molly Lynch, Lar Lubovitch, and Dr. S. Ama Wray. She also earned her M.Sc. in Coastal Science and Policy at UC Santa Cruz, as a Coastal Climate Resilience Fellow, and continues to study the social and ecological dimensions of kelp forest stewardship along our coasts. As both a scientist and artist, she strives to use movement to spread compassion, relationship-building, and healing to both humans and ecosystems interconnectedly.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Deanna Stanton recently completed her thirteenth season with Ballet Arkansas. Since joining, she has performed principal roles in George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Gerald Arpino’s Reflections & Birthday Variations. In addition to performing, Deanna has created works for several choreography festivals across the US as well as professional companies.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Jill Oates, originally from Winters, California, is a graduate from UC Irvine with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and a B.S. in Biological Sciences. She originally trained with Vacaville Ballet School, The Sacramento Ballet, and Deane Dance Center before her college education. Jill was the inaugural recipient of the ASTAIREAWARDS Excellence in Dance Scholarship at UC Irvine and had the chance to perform pieces by accomplished choreographers: Tong Wang, Molly Lynch, Diane Diefenderfer, and Dante Puleio.

Jill danced as a company member with Central West Ballet Company for 5 years, ending as a soloist in 2023. She joined Little Women Ballet Company in Spring 2024 and recently joined New Classics Ballet Theatre for their inaugural season in 2026.