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. Currently, 50% 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 175 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 PelotonU, Ballet Austin TWO dancers 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
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.
EMILY HAIN
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2026
Originally from North Royalton, Ohio, Emily began her training at age 3 with Cleveland Ballet Conservatory. In high school she began training with Ballet Chicago under the direction of Daniel Duell and Patricia Blair, and later continued her ballet training and education at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, earning a Bachelor of Science in Ballet with minors in Public Health and Speech and Hearing Sciences. She has enjoyed performing many featured roles including Fascinatin’ Rhythm in Balanchine’s Who Cares?, The Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Prelude in Les Sylphides, and Medora in Le Corsaire.
ALAYNA HAMADE
Butler Fellow: 2023-2025 | Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2025
Native to Austin, Alayna began dancing at the age of three. She received her pre-professional training from Kelly Yankle at the Austin Dance Conservatory. At the age of 16, Alayna was accepted to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts on scholarship. During her time at UNCSA, Alayna performed the roles of Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in Ilya Kozadayev’s The Nutcracker as well as principal and soloist roles in Claudia Schrier’s First Impulse and George Balanchine’s Symphonie Concertante. Alayna is excited to be back in her hometown as a member of Ballet Austin.
ASA HOFMANN BURNS
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2026
Asa trained at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts Preparatory Dance Program before continuing at Pacific Northwest Ballet School under Le Yin and Jonathan Porretta. In 2024 he joined PNB’s Professional Division under Peter Boal, where he performed First Theme in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, various roles in Bruce Well’s Beauty and the Beast, and Ojiisan in Jessica Lang’s new work Momotaro. His performances with Pacific Northwest Ballet have included Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, and Kent Stowell’s Firebird. Asa has spent summers at Houston Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, and Ballet Austin, and performed soloist roles in Suite En Blanc, and Helgi Tómasson’s Concerto Grosso.
CALEB HOLT
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2025
Caleb started dancing at Hosanna Dance Studio at the age of six. After graduating high school, he went on to join the Ballet Program at the University of Utah. There he worked with many choreographers such as Kevin Thomas, Sussanne Haag, and Penny Saunders. Then he joined the Ballet Trainee program at the Grainger Academy of the Joffrey Ballet, where he has performed in many different ballets such as Esmeralda, Winning Works 2024 and 2025, and Gerald Arpino’s Kettentanz.
ALAYNA LAUTNER
Butler Fellow: 2024-2026 | Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2026
Originally from Newburgh, Indiana, Alayna started dancing at 9 years old at The School of Ballet Indiana under the direction of Kerri Lambert. In the following years, she attended summer intensive programs at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, and Miami City Ballet. After graduating high school in the spring of 2023, Alayna joined the Ballet Idaho Trainee Program for the 23-24 season. Here she was given the opportunity to perform Marzipan in Peter Anastos’ The Nutcracker and a townsperson in the world premiere of I Lost My Love by Joseph Hernandez.
CURTIS MOWLES
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2026
Curtis is from Dallas, Texas, where he trained with the Dallas Ballet Center, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and the Regeneration Company. He has spent his summers training with the School of American Ballet (SAB), Pacific Northwest Ballet, Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and The Colburn School. In 2025, he was accepted into SAB’s Winter Term where he performed in George Balanchine’s Who Cares? as well as premier works by Kiyon Ross and Laine Habony.
BRANNIC PENG
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2026
Brannic began dancing at the age of 9 with One Academy of Dance in Austin before joining the American Ballet Theater JKO School in NYC. While there, he studied under the teachers Stella Abrera, Ruben Martin, Caridad Martinez, Yan Chen, and Ethan Stiefel. At ABT JKO school he also learned and performed repertoire by Martha Graham, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, and George Balanchine along with original works by the Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Lauren Lovette, and Melvin Lawovi. After 4 years of training with the school, Brannic is excited to continue his learning and growing with Ballet Austin TWO.
ADDISON REID
Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2026
Addison is from south Florida, where she began dance training at a recreational studio before continuing with Rachel Speck at Speck Ballet. She later attended North Broward Preparatory School training under the direction of Magaly Suarez. Ms. Reid has spent summers at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Miami City Ballet, The Royal Ballet School, Cincinnati Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She went on to train as a Professional Division student at Pacific Northwest Ballet, where she performed in works including The Nutcracker® by George Balanchine, Cinderella and Firebird by Kent Stowell, Giselle by Doug Fullington, and Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco and The Four Temperaments.
EMILY SAFFOS
Butler Fellow: 2024-2026 | Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2026
Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Emily began training at age 7 at The School of First State Ballet Theatre under Kristina and Pasha Kambalov. While there, Emily performed with the company in the corps de ballet of Swan Lake, Don Quixote Dream Scene, and Snowflakes in The Nutcracker. Following graduation in 2022, she studied at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Graduate Program where she performed in Terrance Orr’s The Nutcracker (Snowflake and Waltz of the Flowers). In 2023, she joined Milwaukee Ballet’s Second Company and performed in Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker: Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium, and At World’s End by Timothee O’Donnell. She has attended summer intensives at Houston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Bolshoi Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet.
RYAN SMALLWOOD
Butler Fellow: 2025-2026 | Joined Ballet Austin TWO in 2026
Originally from Smyrna, Delaware, Ryan began training at The Dance Conservatory under Teresa Emmons. In 2021, she relocated to study at Colorado Ballet Academy and performed in the company’s Nutcracker and Septime Webre’s Wizard of Oz. As a Trainee with Colorado Ballet, Ryan danced as Aurora in the Academy’s production of The Sleeping Beauty. She joined Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company in 2023, performing in Swan Lake, Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll and Hyde, The Sleeping Beauty, George Balanchine’s Serenade, The Nutcracker, and Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland). Ryan’s summer training included Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Austin, and Chautauqua Institution.