BUTLER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Endowed by Sarah and Ernest Butler through the Ballet Austin Foundation

The Butler Fellowship Program serves as Ballet Austin’s trainee program. All Butler Fellowship positions are fully endowed, allowing up to 15 outstanding dancers the opportunity to train at Ballet Austin tuition-free. Currently, 5 graduates of the Butler Fellowship Program are members of Ballet Austin TWO and Ballet Austin’s main company.

The Butler Fellows are selected through a nationwide audition process and make Austin their home to participate in this unique training opportunity. Designed for post-high school dancers, the Butler Fellowship Program features an innovative and personal approach to professional-track training. It is linked directly to the artistic “arc” of Ballet Austin, with all daily technique classes taught by Artistic Director Stephen Mills, Associate Artistic Director Michelle Martin, and Rehearsal Directors Christopher Swaim and Alexa Capareda.

The Butler Fellows participate in up to 25 hours of classes and rehearsals per week including ballet technique, pointe, men’s technique, partnering, variations, contemporary movement, and repertoire. Particular attention is paid to helping dancers become familiar and comfortable with the improvisational and collaborative techniques now used by many choreographers as they create new work. The dancers present their own repertory performances each spring and perform with Ballet Austin TWO and the main company in larger productions.

In addition to classes and performance opportunities, the Butler Fellows receive access to onsite physical therapy as well as career management counseling and job placement assistance. To date, over 175 graduates of Ballet Austin TWO and the Butler Fellowship Program have secured contracts with more than 74 companies.

Interested Butler Fellows may choose to train as teaching assistants for Ballet Austin Academy or to serve as interns in other departments. Additionally, through a partnership with PelotonU, Butler Fellows may pursue a college degree. The competency-based structure of this online program allows dancers to complete a two-year associate’s degree in as few as nine months and includes access to tutors and advisors at PelotonU’s local campuses.

Recruitment

The Butler Fellows are recruited through the Ballet Austin Academy, Ballet Austin’s Senior Summer Intensive, and through partnerships with a select group of training institutions across the country. Students age 18 and older may also follow the Company Audition process for consideration.

For more information about the Butler Fellowship Program please visit our video gallery. You may also email Eugene Alvarez or call 512.476.9151 with any additional questions.

MAILE BUSCHMANN
Joined Butler Fellowship Program in 2026

Originally from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Maile trained with Colorado Ballet’s pre-professional division and later continued her training at Cary Ballet Conservatory for three years. She then joined Carolina Ballet’s pre-professional division. Maile has performed a variety of works, including Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes, and Who Cares? along with multiple full-length story ballets such as The Nutcracker, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and Alice in Wonderland. She has attended summer intensives at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Carolina Ballet, and Ballet Austin.

MORGAN CHARLES
Joined Butler Fellowship Program in 2026

Originally from Houston, Morgan Charles is a 20-year-old dancer with a strong classical foundation in ballet, complemented by training in contemporary, jazz, and modern. She received her previous training at the Houston Ballet Professional Division and Nashville Ballet II. Her repertoire includes works such as The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and contemporary pieces by acclaimed choreographers. Known for her discipline, attention to detail, and openness to feedback, Morgan brings both artistry and versatility to the stage as she continues developing her professional career.

SERAPHINA EMENHEISER
Joined Butler Fellowship Program in 2026

From Chapel Hill, NC, Seraphina began training at age 2.5 and later joined the pre-professional program at International Ballet Academy in Cary, NC, studying under Nadia Pavlenko, Rubén Cintas Martin, and Kathleen Dahlhoff. She trained summers at San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, BBSI, and IBA. Recent notable roles include Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop, and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Cinderella in Cinderella, Lise in La Fille Mal Gardée, Nymph Soloist in The Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake corps in the 2026 ADC Finals Gala. She has also earned top placements at ADC|IBC and YAGP, including for self-choreographed contemporary works.

SARAH-GRACE FFRENCH
Joined Butler Fellowship Program in 2026

Sarah-Grace is from Cibolo, Texas. She began her classical ballet training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under Marcia Dale Weary and went on to train with Next Generation Ballet in Tampa, Florida, under Philip Neal. She moved to San Antonio and trained for five years with San Antonio City Ballet under Danae Quevedo.  Sarah-Grace also spent summers training with Philadelphia Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, and Tulsa Ballet. Her performances include Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Odette in Swan Lake, Queen of the Dryads and Mercedes in Don Quixote, and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.

Sophie Godreau
Joined Butler Fellowship Program in 2026

Originally from Madison, Mississippi. Sophie began her training at Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet under Jennifer Beasley. In 2016, she relocated to Round Rock, Texas, and trained with Caroline Bognar at Texas Academy of Ballet. In 2021 she joined the Metamorphosis Dance senior company, performing featured roles in Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Little Mermaid, and annual Ballet Under the Stars productions. In 2025, she joined the Ballet Austin Academy, performing as a Little Swan, the second pas de trois variation from Swan Lake, and in Alexa Capareda’s Icefloe. Sophie’s summer training includes Ballet Austin, ABT, and Oregon Ballet Theater.

NAOMI STEELE
Joined Butler Fellowship Program in 2026

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah and raised in Idaho, Naomi started dancing at age three. To progress her training, Naomi studied at Ballet West Academy for seven years. At Ballet West she had the opportunity to perform roles in William Christensen’s The Nutcracker, George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. She also studied at Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Summer Intensive, University of Utah, and International Ballet Academy. More recently, Naomi spent two years in Richmond Ballet’s trainee program. Naomi performed in and understudied company productions such as Giselle and Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella.

CHARLIZE ZAVALETA
Joined Butler Fellowship Program in 2026

Born in Los Angeles, California, Charlize began her dance training at Ballet California under the direction of Diane Lauridsen, where she performed leading roles as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and as the Snow Queen and lead Marzipan in The Nutcracker. She later studied at Colburn Dance School under Kelly Ann Sloan, Seth Belliston, and other notable faculty. Charlize has further extended her training through summer programs with Boston Ballet and The Royal Ballet School in London.