BALLET AUSTIN TWO
Endowed by Sarah and Ernest Butler through the Ballet Austin Foundation
Ballet Austin TWO, established in 1999, is Ballet Austin’s second company, with dancers also serving as apprentices to the main company. Currently, more than half of Ballet Austin’s main company positions are filled with Ballet Austin TWO graduates.
Ballet Austin TWO dancers are selected through a nationwide audition process and make Austin their home to participate in this unique training opportunity. With over 40 performances per season, they dance with the main company for larger productions and present their own extensive roster of work in Austin and on tour across the state.
Dancers range in age from 18-23 and are employed for a 32-week season. They are contracted with Ballet Austin TWO for up to two years, during which time they receive artistic guidance, career management counseling, and job placement assistance. Ballet Austin TWO members take company class, augmented by their own classes and rehearsals conducted by Ballet Austin’s artistic staff.
To date, more than 200 graduates of Ballet Austin TWO and the Butler Fellowship Program have secured contracts with more than 74 companies across the nation, including Ballet Austin, Sarasota Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Ballet Idaho, Nashville Ballet, Alabama Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theater, Oklahoma City Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Orlando Ballet, River North Dance Chicago, Charlotte Ballet, Boston Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Alberta Ballet, DanceWorks Chicago, Northwest Dance Project, Kansas City Ballet, Louisville Ballet, Collage Dance Collective, Wideman/Davis Dance, Spectrum/Byrd, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Thang Dao Dance, Grand Rapids Ballet, Nai-Ni Chen, and Big Muddy Dance Company.
Ballet Austin provides rehearsal and performance shoes, onsite physical therapy, as well as the option to participate in a group health insurance plan. Additionally, through a partnership with PeletonU, Ballet Austin TWO dancers may pursue a college degree. The competency-based structure of this online program allows dancers to complete a two-year Associates Degree in as few as nine months and includes access to tutors and advisors at PeletonU’s local campuses.
Recruitment
Ballet Austin TWO dancers are recruited through the Butler Fellowship Program, Ballet Austin’s Summer Intensive Program and partnerships with select training institutions across the country. Dancers age 18 and older may also follow the Company Audition process for consideration.
For more information about Ballet Austin TWO please visit our video gallery. You may also email Eugene Alvarez or call 512-476-9151 with any additional questions.
ANIKA CROUSER
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2023
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Anika received her early training from Dublin Dance Center and Columbus City Ballet. She supplemented her training with several summer intensive programs including Chautauqua Institution, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and BalletMet. She graduated from Southern Methodist University In 2023, where she received a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Creative Advertising. At SMU, her notable performance experience includes George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Duex, Silas Farley’s Meadows Serenade, Martha Graham’s Diversion of Angels, and Adam Houghland’s Less.
CELENA FORNELL
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2023
Celena Fornell is from Seattle, Washington. She trained at Pacific Northwest Ballet School on full scholarship and at Boston Ballet School. While at PNB, Celena has performed in many company productions, including Balanchine’s The Nutcracker and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Crystal Pite’s The Seasons’ Canon, Kent Stowell’s Swan Lake and Carmina Burana, Petipa’s Giselle, as well as the title role of Snow White in Bruce Wells’ Snow White. She was also a participant of the Student Exchange between PNB and The National Ballet of Canada in 2022.
KATELYN HAGEL
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2023
Born in Daegu, South Korea and raised in Ridgewood, NJ, Katelyn began her training at Petrov Ballet School where she performed the roles of Snow Queen, Dewdrop, and Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker with The Catskill Mountain Foundation. In 2020, she joined The Washington School of Ballet’s Professional Training Division under the tutelage of Xiomara Reyes, Rinat Imaev, and artistic director Julie Kent, and was promoted to Trainee the following year. Katelyn’s repertoire with the company included Julie Kent’s and Victor Barbee’s staging of Swan Lake, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Septime Webre’s The Nutcracker, and George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations. She spent her summers training at San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theater, The Washington School of Ballet, and Tulsa Ballet.
ISABELLE LAPIERRE
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2023
Isabelle began her dance training in Columbus, OH, with BalletMet. At age 14, she was invited to the School of American Ballet in New York City and performed in SAB’s Lecture-Demonstrations and with the New York City Ballet in their 2022 Spring Gala. She spent a post-graduate year with Miami City Ballet School performing in their company’s productions of Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, and Symphony In Three Movements. Her summer training included the Paris Opera Ballet, Académie Princesse Grace Monaco, American Ballet Theatre, and Royal Danish Ballet. Isabelle is also pursuing an undergraduate degree in clinical psychology.
JORDAN LOVELACE
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2023
Originally from Dallas, TX, Jordan trained at The Dallas Conservatory and Booker T. Washington for the Performing and Visual Arts. In 2015, he won the “Senior Grand Prix” at YAGP and in 2017 was awarded a scholarship to London’s Royal Ballet School summer intensive. In 2018, Jordan attended The Washington School of Ballet dancing works by Mimmo Miccolis and Xiomara Reyes, and roles including Solor in La Bayadere and Basilio in Don Quixote. With The Washington Ballet, Jordan danced the Prince in The Nutcracker as well as company and character roles in Julie Kent’s and Victor Barbee’s Sleeping Beauty. A year later, he went to San Francisco Ballet School and then to Houston Ballet as an apprentice for the 2021-22 season. In Houston, Jordan danced in Stanton Welch’s Silvia and Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.
ALEXANDRA OWENS
Butler Fellow: 2021-2023 | Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2023
Alexandra began her dance training at the age of 3 in Wichita, KS, under the direction of Jill Landrith. She performed with Ballet Wichita from 2013-2019. In the fall of 2019, she joined Next Generation Ballet’s trainee program under the direction of Philip Neal. Additionally, Alexandra has attended summer intensives at Kansas City Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Ballet Austin, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Next Generation Ballet. With Next Generation Ballet, she performed the roles of Clara and Shepherdess in The Nutcracker, as well as the Pas de Trois and Spanish in Swan Lake.
JACKSON RANKIN
Butler Fellow: 2022-2023 | Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2023
Originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas, Jackson spent his early years moving around the U.S. playing numerous sports and adventuring outdoors. He started dancing at a small studio in Northern California where he trained for 5 years. He later received a scholarship to dance with the Goh Ballet Academy under the direction of Chan Hon Goh. Since Jackson joined Goh Ballet Academy, he has danced in notable roles such as Basilio in Don Quixote, Franz in Coppelia, and the Nutcracker Prince. He has spent his summers training with Ballet West, The School of Washington Ballet, and Goh Ballet Academy.