MEET THE COMPANY
Alix Gabrielle Achée
Alix Achée hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she trained with multiple competitive studios starting from a young age. She holds a BA in physical theatre with a minor in dance from Louisiana State University. She performed with the LSU Dance Ensemble for two semesters, where she was afforded opportunities such as performing at the American College Dance Association Conference and at the International Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. During her senior year of college, she joined professional contemporary dance company, Of Moving Colors. After graduation, Alix moved to Orlando to continue pursuing her dream of dancing professionally. She feels incredibly grateful to have performed in Universal’s Superstar Parade, Halloween Horror Nights, Electric Daisy Carnival, and to open the new Sesame Street Party Parade at Seaworld this spring. She is thrilled to continue her artistic growth as an addition to Drapinski Dance Company.
Diana Alvarez
Diana Alvarez is a seasoned instructor and choreographer at the Orlando International School of Dance (OISD). Her keen aptitude and proficiency in the fields of jazz, musical theater, lyrical, cuban ballet, pointe, acrobatics, and contemporary have yielded herself and students dozens of awards at prestigious dance competitions in the state of Florida. She is certified in teaching ballet 1 by the director and professor of the National Ballet School of Cuba, Dr. Ramona De Saa. Additionally, Diana has also been trained for over a decade by their alumni, Elaine Garavelo. Through her hard work and dedication, Diana has netted various titles and recognition from her peers and mentors. Her unique teaching style is tailored specifically to the personalities and abilities of her students. As a teacher, she loves sharing her knowledge and passion for dance. Diana is currently pursuing her career as a professional dancer in New York City.
Aliecia Marie Anderson
Aliecia Marie Anderson is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has been passionately dancing since the age of three. She began her dance training at Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and Ballet Academy of Pittsburgh. Aliecia continued her training by obtaining a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography in Dance from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. In 2017, Aliecia kick-started her professional career by moving to Orlando, Florida. She has had the wonderful opportunity to have danced in many realms of Orlando’s entertainment world. She has danced for Universal Studios, Busch Gardens, Hardrive Productions, Vixens Talent Productions, and Warner Brother’s just to name a few. In addition, she has a passion for teaching. Classical ballet is her niche but has taught all styles collegiately to youth. Aliecia aspires to continue to perform and create art in Orlando and thanks all of the inspiring professors, dance masters, and role-models who have guided her through her journey.
Hunter Bean
Hello, my name is Hunter Bean, I’m 22, and was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. My love for dance started at my 4th grade talent show when my best friend did a tap solo and I was in immediate awe. The high energy, the music, and the amount of fun not only she was having but also the crowd instantly drew my attention. After that the rest is history! I started dancing at age 10 and by the age 12 started the long exciting journey of competing. At my studio we focused on various styles of dance. jazz , hip hop, tap, contemporary, ballet, pointe, salsa, break dancing workshops, and so many more. Growing older all styles of dance had my heart, but contemporary always sat a little more deep with me, it helped me express myself and helped me gain the confidence I had lacked to find. All the years of commitment, sweat, tears, laughs, 60 hour summer intensives, quick changes, awards, solos, and everything else that comes with growing up in competitive dance lead me to graduate from my studio ‘Gotta Dance’ at 18. Immediately after graduating both from the studio and high school I soon jumped into the role of being a dance instructor, from 2016-2018. During this time I was fortunate enough to teach the ages 2-18 in all styles of dance, and was able to set my choreography on stage for audiences to see. Meanwhile on the side I was able to audition for cruise lines, and audition for the AZ side Winders and was lucky enough to become a finalist. Although I didn’t make the team that year something so much bigger was waiting for me, the opportunity to move to Florida as a performer for the Walt Disney World Company. So that's what brings me to Florida, the sunshine state. I’ve been with the company since 2018 and have been able to do things I never dreamed were possible. Dancing down mainstreet, and creating unforgettable memories for guests all over the world has truly been a dream come true. Joining the Drapinski dance company is the next step to grow my dance journey and allow me to continue to express myself through contemporary and I can’t wait for what is ahead.
.jpeg)
Jeovanni Bonilla
Jeovanni Bonilla was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Florida. He began dancing at a late age, but instantly fell in love with the art of dance. Jeovanni attended Valencia College, where he graduated with his Associate in Arts in Dance Performance degree under the directions of Lesley Brasseux Rodgers and Dr. Suzanne R. Salapa. He was also a member and Principal Dancer of resident dance company Valencia Dance Theatre. Throughout his training, he has danced in works and worked alongside varies guest artist and companies such as Lehrer Dance, David Parson’s, Alwin Nikolais and mentor Derrick Minter (former Alvin Ailey Dancer). Jeovanni has served as a master class teacher and choreographer for the Valencia Summer Dance Institute, Valencia College’s Choreographers Showcase, Dr. Phillips High School and DeLand High School. Outside of school hours, he assisted professor and mentor Dr. Suzanne R. Salapa with her Dance for Parkinson’s classes and had the privilege of performing alongside them. Jeovanni continues to work towards becoming a professional choreographer and eventually owning his own company. He is thrilled to continue dancing with Drapinski Dance Company for their second season..
Kaylee Delany
.jpg)
Kaylee Delany is originally from Massachusetts where she had been dancing since the age of two as a competitive dancer, and has performed in Walt Disney World, Hershey Park, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Royal Caribbean Cruises. She graduated from Dean College with Honors in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, with concentrations in performance and choreography and a minor in Psychology. While attending Dean, she served as President of the College Dance Team for two years and performed in many student and faculty pieces as well as multiple Dance Company Performances. Soon after graduating, Kaylee auditioned and was awarded an amazing opportunity to study and perform abroad with Tecniche di Danza Moderna in Rome, Italy.
With more than twenty years of dance experience, Kaylee is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, modern, and acrobatics. She has taught and choreographed for numerous studios in New England where her choreography has won many awards at regional and national dance competitions. She enjoys sharing her love and passion for dance with dancers and helping them discover their own passion for it.
Since moving to Florida in 2019 to further her performance career, Kaylee has had the opportunity to perform for some amazing companies including SeaWorld, BMorrow Productions, and Odd-o-Ts’ Entertainment. She currently holds positions as a coach for Orlando Gymnastics and a performer for Odd-o-Ts’ entertainment. With a passion for performing Kaylee is excited to be a part of the Drapinski Dance Company and looks forward to the upcoming year.
April Gillett
April Gillett has been dancing since the age of 4 training in Jazz, Tap, Musical Theater, and Contemporary. April currently performs at Universal Studios, where she gets to share her love of dance in front of audiences. April also is a Dance Instructor at The Wright Step inspiring young dancers with her passion for the arts.
Caila Gowland
Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Caila Gowland has taken master classes and choreography workshops with David Parsons Dance Company and attended classes at Broadway Dance Center in New York City while in high school and college. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelors degree in Theatre, Dance and Aerial silks and minors in psychology and religious studies from Louisiana State University. She was highly involved throughout college including being President of the Music and Dramatic Arts Student Council, President of Dance Ambassadors, Secretary of Physical Theatre Club, and Treasurer of Legacy Dance Crew. She performed in numerous Dance Concerts, Plays, Operas, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and even the SuperBowl Halftime Show. After moving to Orlando in 2014, she has been performing in a variety of roles at Universal, Disney and Seaworld. She is currently a full time dancer at Universal Studios Superstar and Holiday Parade. She is super excited to be joining Drapinski Dance Company!
Rhe'a Hughes
Rhe’a, pronounced ray-uh, grew up in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina where she began dancing at age four. She received her BA in Dance Education from the University of South Carolina in 2016 and moved to Orlando shortly after graduation. Rhe’a has since performed at Sea World as a Performer, Capone’s Dinner and Show as a Dancer/Singer, and Universal Orlando Resort as a Dancer/Actor. She teaches dance locally at Studio K Orlando where she teaches jazz, contemporary, heels, and various other styles. Ms. Hughes is also signed to Level Talent Group as a Dancer and Actor. Rhe’a is humbled and thrilled to be a part of Drapinski Dance Company for her third season!
Natalie Krivokuca is thrilled to be back for her second season with The Drapinski Dance Company! Dancing since she was three years old, Natalie has been exposed to many different genres of dance. She graduated from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a minor in Dance and French. Since moving to Orlando, Florida, she has been performing for the Walt Disney World Company, Universal Studios and CFCArts Dance Company. Natalie would like to thank Drapinski Dance Company for giving her this opportunity and thank her family and friends for all of their love and support!
Ariel Newman
.jpg)
Ariel Hughes was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida where she began dancing at the age of three. She has trained in various styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz and modern, as well as gymnastics and acrobatics. Ariel attended Florida State College at Jacksonville where she was a member of their dance repertory company, danceWORKS. While there, she had the opportunity to travel to Scottsdale, Arizona for the American College Dance Festival and to San Francisco, California where she took class at Alonzo King LINES Ballet and more. In 2019, Ariel moved to Orlando to pursue dance professionally. She currently dances at Universal Orlando Resort in Universal’s Superstar Parade and in the Triwizard Spirit Rally. She has also danced in Universal’s Holiday Parade and in SeaWorld Orlando’s Sesame Street Party Parade. Ariel is thrilled to be a member of Drapinski Dance Company where she can share her passion for dance!
Caitlin O'Connell
As a full time Entertainment Professional at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida Caitlin began her professional career in entertainment after graduating from Dean College School of Dance with her Bachelor of Arts Degree. Relocating from Massachusetts to Florida was nothing short of a dream. Caitlin has enhanced her growth in performing and entertaining in many ways. She has worked in theme parks for the past eight years doing numerous shows at Universal Studios, Walt Disney World and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay as well as dancing throughout Central Florida for Penguin Entertainment and DSquared Productions. She has recently expanded her growth into choreography and teaching and loves the creativity and knowledge she can help to educate our young dancers today!
Carly Rickman
Carly Rickman was born and raised in Troy, Alabama where she danced competitively for 12 years. In 2018 she graduated with her BFA in Dance from Troy University. Throughout her college years, Carly had the opportunity to train under Dante Puleio (Artistic Director of Limón Dance Company), Dominique Angel (former principal dancer for The Joffrey Ballet and Miami City Ballet), and Adria Ferrali (former dancer with the Martha Graham Company). She was selected as a scholarship recipient to attend American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina where she focused her studies on the art of improvisation. In 2019 Carly's choreography was chosen to perform at the Danza In Arte A Pietrasanta Festival in Pietrasanta, Italy. After graduating college, Carly and her husband made the move down to Orlando where she has spent time working as a performer and character trainer for the Sesame Street Party Parade at SeaWorld Orlando and teaching locally at Studio K. She is excited about her second season as a member of Drapinski Dance Company!
Crystal Ruiz
Crystal is excited to start her second season with the Drapinski Dance Company. Her dance career began in Miami, Fl where she learned styles in contemporary, modern, ballet and jazz. She moved to Orlando, Fl in 2015 and earned her degree in Broadcast Journalism with a minor in Dance from the University of Central Florida. While at UCF Crystal performed around Orlando with the Knights and Damsels Dance Company. After graduation, she followed her dream and performed in numerous shows and parades at Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando. Crystal is excited for the season ahead and knows she couldn’t have made it without the love and support from her family and friends.
Breann Veney
Beginning 21 years ago, Bre fell in love with the art of dance. Her mother was the
biggest influence in her starting, but as she grew up, she knew her heart (and feet) were in the
right place. After training in many genres, such as hip hop, modern, ballet, etc., Bre found that
jazz was her favorite. Once she completed high school, she continued her learning as a dance
major at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Sydney, Australia. She has been
performing at Universal Studios Orlando in the Superstar Parade for four years. Not only does
she work as a full-time dancer, but also in seasonal events like Halloween Horror Nights, Mardi
Gras, and Universal’s Holiday Parade. With the Drapinski Dance Company, Bre hopes to continue advancing her art, and be able to further show off her talents in the Central Florida area.
MEET THE APPRENTICE COMPANY
Tiva Deason
.jpg)
Tiva Deason is 18 years old and has been studying many forms of dance and performance arts since she was very young. Tiva started ballet training at the age of eight and has studied the Cecchetti, Vaganova, and American Ballet Theatre methods. She was then introduced to Modern and Contemporary styles at the age of thirteen when she entered a conservatory program at The Center for Contemporary Dance in Winter Park, Fl. Tiva discovered a passion for Modern dance and attended the Paul Taylor Dance Intensive at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland at age 15. From there she attended the Orlando Ballet School for pre-professional ballet training and then attended the Austin Ballet intensive at age 16. Tiva then joined the new ballet conservatory program at Skyra Studios (Altamonte) and later studied under their unique new program (called “The Hatch”) which incorporates many genres of dance, musical theatre and camera methods, in which Tiva discovered that she loves being behind the camera almost as much as in front of the camera.
Tiva has also performed in theater productions (specifically as a comedic actress) and as a soprano in musical theater. Tiva has been in several film productions as a dancer, she has performed in live rock shows as a vocalist in The School of Rock (Oviedo Fl )and has served as a principal violist in the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra.
In the future, Tiva hopes to continue to grow as a professional dancer, singer and performer while also balancing a college career, where she hopes to earn her degree in Psychology and Musical Theatre.
Alaina Ebenal
Alaina has been dancing for 10 years and has trained in many different genres of dance, including: Cuban Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Fusion. She is currently training at Orlando International School of Dance where she performed on the studio’s Competition team where she had the opportunity to compete at various competitions winning many different awards. Alain’s proudest accomplishment was taking first place at an international dance competition called All World Dance at the age of 13 years old. Dance is a part of her; it is how she expresses herself. She is an artist at heart and cannot wait to see what the future holds.
Faith Elevald
Faith Eleveld is a 16 years old who is originally from Chicago, Illinois but moved to Orlando, Florida when she was 6. She started dancing when she was 3 and has been training at Orlando International School of Dance since she was 12. She also teaches Ballet, Jazz, and Acro to preschool age children. She is a junior in high school and is apart of Timber Creek High Schools Apprentice Dance Team. She is incredibly honored to have this opportunity with Drapinski Dance Company and she can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Sarai Gonzalez
Coming Soon...
Skylar Orie
Skylar Orie from Orlando, Florida is a 16 year old girl who enjoys dancing. She is currently a student at Orlando International School of Dance where she was apart of their competition team for the past 3 years. Skylar, a Junior at Timber Creek High School also enjoys being a member of their Elite Dance Team for the first year after being a part of their Apprentice company for the past 2 years. She has been dancing ever since the age of 3 and has enjoyed studying many genres including Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Musical Theater, Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Lyrical, Acrobatics, Fusion, and Modern. She is thrilled with the opportunity of being a returning member of the Apprentice Team with Drapinski Dance Company in hopes of pursuing her passion for dance. With this opportunity she aspires to share her love for dance with all.
Amanda Ortiz
Amanda Ortiz is 17 years old and a Senior at Timber Creek High School. She was born in Massachusetts, but raised right here in Orlando, Florida. She started her dance training, performance journey and built a passion for dance at a young age of nine. As a student at Howard Middle School of Performing and Visual Arts, she was part of their prestigious dance magnet program. During this time she had the privilege of being selected for Howard Middle School’s dance troupe. One of her most memorable achievements during her time at Howard was being selected as an All County Dancer for 2016. This achievement was the result of her hard work and the opportunity to perform at the Dance Performance Assessments event for Orange County Public Schools. Currently she is a member of Timber Creek High School Varsity Dance Team. This is her 4th and final year on TCHS Dance Team, and she holds a leadership positions on the team as Spirit/Social Chair. During her time on the team she was selected again as an All County Dancer in 2018. With her dance education as a continued passion and focus, she competes as a member of the Starz Dance Company under the direction of Miss Kelly McGuire. As a member of SDC, she currently trains in the styles of ballet, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and hip-hop. In the future she she aspires to continue dancing and to work for a major theme parks in Orlando. Amanda is ready to learn, eager for new experiences and the opportunity to better her love of dance through being a member of the Drapinski Dance Company.
Marissa Ritz
Marissa Ritz is a 14-year-old dancer born and raised in Orlando, Florida. She is a freshman in high School currently enrolled in a Performing Arts Dance Magnet program. Since the age of five, Marissa has appeared in several commercials for Disney and Universal Studios. She has also been featured in many editorials for Vibrant Light Magazine. Marissa started dance when she was nine years old - after competing for three years as a gymnast. Since joining Orlando International School of Dance at the age of ten, she has focused on training more in ballet technique and studies all styles of dances; however, she really enjoys contemporary and jazz. She has been given the opportunity to perform with her dance company at Orlando’s Immerse by Creative City Project and Alexander Drapinski’s Catharsis Series. Marissa has also attended workshops with choreographers like Shannon Mather, Travis Wall, and Kobi Rozenfield. Her training has given her the chance to receive a Title and multiple scholarships for conventions through AMDA, Intrigue and Heat Convention. Marissa is passionate about dance and brings a unique movement quality. She is excited to have accepted a spot in Drapinski Dance Company’s Apprentice Program.